English Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.9% of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

's population in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. In 2006 there were 352

gurdwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

s in

. The largest Sikh populations in the U.K. are in the West Midlands and

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

Simon_King_Sikh_Sikhi_Nagar_Kirtan_Convoy

History

The permanent arrival of Sikhism in England is dated to 1850 A.D. with the arrival of Maharajah

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh (6 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), also spelled Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

(last ruler of the Sikh Empire). The first Sikh place of worship, called a Gurdwara, was opened in 1911 in London and this was partly funded by the Maharaja of Patiala. Prior to this the first Sikh Society called Khalsa Jatha was formed in 1908. In 2019, the statue of

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

soldier was unveiled in the West Yorkshire to commemorate the Sikhs martyrs in the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Demographics

Geographical Distribution

National and Ethnic Origins

Between 2001 and 2011, the proportion of English Sikhs who identified as Indian declined from 91.6% to 74.0%, while the proportion of English Sikhs who identified as "Other Asian" rose from 4.6% to 12.0% and the proportion of English Sikhs who identified as "Other Ethnic group" rose from 0.7% to 9.5%.

Sikh Schools

There are currently 13 Sikh Schools in England that teach the national curriculum alongside Sikh values. These schools are often oversubscribed and outperform regular schools, for example the Nishkam High School in Birmingham was recently rated by Ofsted as outstanding in every area. The Nishkam School Trust is also developing a sister school in West London, which is an area with a large Sikh community, which is due to open in September 2016. The schools include: * Akaal Primary School, Derby * Atam Academy, Romford * Falcons Primary School, Leicester * Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Chigwell * Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, Hayes * Khalsa Primary School, Slough * Khalsa Primary School, Southall * Pioneer Secondary Academy, Stoke Poges * Nishkam Nursery & Primary School, Birmingham * Nishkam High School, Birmingham * Nishkam School West London, Isleworth * Seva School, Coventry * The Khalsa Academy, Wolverhampton

Gurdwaras

Southall, in London, is home to the largest Sikh temple outside India, known as Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha. It opened in 2003 after almost three years construction and a cost of £17 million. Another large Gurdwara in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

began construction in 2001, and was officially opened in November 2010 . In

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, a former Church of England church has been transformed into a Sikh Gurdwara by the Sunderland Sikh Association. Many cities, especially those with large Sikh communities, now have several Gurdwaras to cater to their growing congregations. For example, Bradford is a city that now has 6 Gurdwaras. Many Gurdwaras will have had other uses and have been converted from industrial buildings to even former churches that have closed down. Increasingly, Gurdwaras are being purposely built, The Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara in Bradford is an example of a purpose built Gurdwara.

Notable British Sikh organisations

In addition to Gurdwaras there are now a variety of additional organisations which have been setup by Sikhs to support the community: * British Sikh Report * City Sikhs * Gurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick * Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha * Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall *

Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick (ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਮੈਦਿਕ) is a Sikh ''gurdwara'' in Smethwick, in Sandwell, near Birmingham in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It was established i ...

* Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara * Nishkam SWAT * Sangat TV * Sikh Pioneers & Sikh Light Infantry Association UK * Sikh Channel *

Sikh Federation (UK) The Sikh Federation (UK) is a non-governmental organisation that works with the main political parties to promote relevant Sikh issues. The organisation is the largest pro-Khalistan movement, Khalistan organisation campaigning for the re-establishm ...

* The Sikh Awards

Sikh Media

Sikhs in England have managed to establish a range of media outlets to propagate and encourage dialogue between Sikhs across the country, predominantly in Punjabi, although increasingly media is produced in English to include the new generation. Many Sikhs still speak Punjabi as a first and second language. In England there are currently no less than 4 Sky channels including, Sikh Channel, Sikh TV, Akaal Channel and Sangat TV, all are also broadcast worldwide and on the internet. There are now also radio stations, which broadcast Gurbani at different times during the morning and evening hours. In radio there are numerous stations broadcast on analogue in areas with large Sikh communities as well as internationally on the Sky platform, since 2001 Sukh Sagar on Sky channel 0150 is one such station that was also the world's first 24-hour Gurbani (Sikh prayer) radio station.
Sukh Sagar radio station, accessed on 1 October 2014

References

External links

National Network of British Sikh ProfessionalsGurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha's official website

Information Portal of the Sikh faith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikhism In England