Thursday, September 21, 2023

Khalistan

Below, a short overview of the Sikh Empire, translated from the French language wikipedia:


 The Sikh Empire (Punjabi: ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਰਾਜ, Khālsā Rāj) was an empire of the Indian subcontinent, whose sovereignty extended over Punjab between 1799 and 1849. It was founded by the Khalsa, a chivalric order of Sikhs, under the rule of Prince Ranjit Singh.1,2. It has its origins in the decline of the Mughal Empire.


History and dissolution

Ranjit Singh was crowned on 12 April 1801 by Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Gurû Nanak, coinciding with Vaisakhi (festival commemorating the establishment of the Khālsā), creating a unified Sikh political state.3. He pursued a policy of modernizing his army, both in arms and artillery.


At its peak in the nineteenth century, it extended to the Khyber Pass in the west, Kashmir in the north, Sindh in the south and Tibet in the east. After Singh's death in 1839, the empire was weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. Sikhs were a minority in their own Empire, with the majority of the population being Muslim, with a strong Hindu minority. Even Punjab will never be predominantly Sikh.


In 1840, the Sikh Empire probably had about 60% of its  population Muslim, Sikhs must have made up between 25 and 30% of the population, and Hindus between 10 and 15% of the population. The rest of the other religious minorities might represent between 3 and 5 per cent of the population. In 1849, the state was dissolved after its defeat in the Anglo-Sikh Wars.


In 1947, what once corresponded to the Sikh Empire was divided into two during the partition of India: Pakistan received the western part of Punjab (more than 95% Muslim), and India, eastern Punjab (mostly Sikh, with a large Hindu minority). Kashmir will be occupied almost 2/3 by India, about 1/3 by Pakistan and a small part by China (Aksai Chin).




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What is Khalistan, the independent homeland some Sikhs yearn for? (economist.com)

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