Punjabi Sikhs in the context of "Punjabis"

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⭐ Core Definition: Punjabi Sikhs

Punjabi Sikhs are ethnic Punjabis who adhere to Sikhism. They are the second-largest religious group among Punjabis, constituting ~15 to 17 percent of the total Punjabi population, second only to Punjabi Muslims (~73 to 75 of the population) who predominantly inhabit Pakistani Punjab. Punjabi Sikhs form the largest religious community in the Indian state of Punjab. The global Sikh population is primarily composed of ethnic Punjabis.

Punjabi Sikhs primarily inhabit the Indian state of Punjab, the only Sikh-majority administrative division on Earth. Punjabi Sikhs make up 57.69% of the state’s population. Many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region, an area that was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947. In the contemporary era, apart from Indian Punjab, Punjabi Sikhs are found in large numbers across the Indian states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Large numbers are also found in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, due to various immigration waves over the centuries.

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👉 Punjabi Sikhs in the context of Punjabis

The Punjabis (Punjabi: پنجابی (Shahmukhi); ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Gurmukhi); romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. They generally speak Standard Punjabi or various Punjabi dialects on both sides.

Majority of the overall Punjabi population adheres to Islam with significant minorities practicing Sikhism and Hinduism and smaller minorities practicing Christianity. However, the religious demographics significantly vary when viewed from Pakistani and Indian sides, respectively, with over 95 percent of the Punjabi population from Pakistan being Muslim, with a small minority of Christians and Hindus and an even smaller minority of Sikhs. Over 57 percent of the population of the Indian state of Punjab is Sikh and over 38 percent Hindu with a small minority of Muslims and Christians.

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Punjabi Sikhs in the context of Punjabi Hindus

Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the third-largest religious group of the Punjabi community, after the Punjabi Muslims and the Punjabi Sikhs. While Punjabi Hindus mostly inhabit the Indian state of Punjab, as well as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh today, many have ancestry across the greater Punjab region, which was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947.

Punjabi Hindus comprise a diverse range of castes, with the urban upper castes, particularly Khatris and Aroras, having historically played a dominant role in the region's trade, commerce, and industry. According to available demographic data, out of the Punjab state's total Hindu population of 38.5% (2011 census), Scheduled Castes constitute approximately 11%, while Other Backward Classes account for around 8.3%.

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Punjabi Sikhs in the context of Punjabi Christians

Punjabi Christians are ethnic Punjabis who adhere to Christianity. They are mainly found in the Pakistani province of Punjab, forming the largest religious minority. They are one of the four main ethnoreligious communities of the Punjab region with the others being Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Punjabi Christians are traditionally divided into various castes, and are largely descendants of Hindus who converted to Christianity during the British Raj in colonial India. About 90 to 95% of Punjabi Christians are Dalits from the Chuhra caste who converted from Hinduism.

Today, the Punjabi Christians reside in the Punjab region, which includes the countries of Pakistan and India; they are almost equally divided between Catholicism and Protestantism. With an estimated three million living in the Pakistani province of Punjab, they account for 75 percent of the country's total Christian population. They are the second-largest religious community in the province behind Muslims, comprising approximately 1.5 to 2.8 percent of its population. In India, a significant Punjabi Christian community is also found in the Indian state of Punjab. With a population of roughly 350,000, they comprise 1.26 percent of the state's population according to official Indian government figures.

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