Over twenty million Sikhs follow a revealed, distinct, and unique religion born five centuries ago in the Punjab region of northern India. Between 1469 and 1708, ten Gurus preached a simple message of truth, devotion to God, and universal equality

be worshipped; Sikhs may only worship God.

omeland, Punjab;

Even so, the Sikhs, because of their unique appearance sometimes stand for India.

A Sikh place of worship is called Gurdwara. Sikhism does not support pilgrimage to holy sites because according to Sikhism, God is everywhere and not in any certain place. But Sikhism has a few important sites, of which, the Hari Mandir, also known as the 'Golden Temple' in Amritsar in Punjab is the most important site and is considered the holiest shrine of Sikhism.

Guru Nanak who established Sikhism was its first Guru. After him there were nine more Gurus who were the highest religious authority. The last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, proclaimed that after him the Guru of the Sikhs would be the holy book of Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib.

Main Principles. The word 'Sikh' means a disciple. So Sikhism is essentially the path of discipleship.

i) Faith in God. ii) Following Truth. iii) Unattachment and desirelessness. iv) Control over throught, word and deed. v) Association with holy men(Satsang) vi) Humanity and submission to Hukam.

Salvation/Mukti: The Guru says, "The man of God rejects salvation. He wants only love of God and nothing else. The joys of heaven are nothing as compared to the merging in the Divine Spirit. The ultimate goal of man is union with God. Man does not become God, only the spark merges in the fire. This is called self-identification." A man may have done many noble deeds but if he has not undertaken meditation on God, he cannot have any hope of Mukti. Guru Nanak Sahib says in Asa-di-Var: "That is true knowledge when the thruth is in the heart, when the dirt of falsehood vanishes and life is pure and clean. That is true living when one fixes one's love on truth and finds joy in the hearing of the Name."

He is the first Sikh to hold the office.

Singh previously carried out economic reforms in India in 1991, during his tenure as the Finance Minister, under the leadership of P. V. Narasimha Rao, from 1991 to 1996. These reforms resulted in the end of the Licence Raj system, helping to open the Indian economy to greater international trade and investment.[2]

Newsweek magazine recognized him as a world leader who is respected by other heads of state, describing him as "the leader other leaders love."