Sikhism in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi Sikhs
বাংলাদেশী শিখ
Founder
Guru Nanak
Regions with significant populations
Dhaka
Chittagong
Mymensingh
Scriptures
Guru Granth Sahib
Languages
Sant Bhasha (sacred)
Punjabi (cultural)
Bengali (national)
Hindi • Urdu

Sikhism in Bangladesh has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikhs had always been a minority community in Bengal. Their founder, Guru Nanak visited a number of places in Bengal in the early sixteenth century where he introduced Sikhism to locals and founded numerous establishments. In its early history, the Sikh gurus despatched their followers to propagate Sikh teachings in Bengal and issued hukamnamas to that region. Guru Tegh Bahadur lived in Bengal for two years, and his successor Guru Gobind Singh also visited the region. Sikhism in Bengal continued to exist during the colonial period as Sikhs found employment in the region, but it declined after the partition in 1947.[1] Among the eighteen historical gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) in Bangladesh, only five are extant. The Gurdwara Nanak Shahi of Dhaka is the principal and largest gurdwara in the country. The Sikh population in the country almost entirely consists of businessmen and government officials from the neighbouring Republic of India.[2]

  1. ^ "Prayers from Punjab". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference banglapedia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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