History of Sikhism

Essentially Sikh history, with respect to Sikhs as a distinct political body, can be said to have began with the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1606, Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the establishment of the Sikh 'Pure' brotherhood or Khalsa, by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699. This gave the Sikhs, an organized political grouping, a history of around 400 years.

Generally Sikhs have had amicable relations with other religious communities. However during the Islamic conquest of India (1556–1707), 2 Sikh Gurus were martyred by the ruling Mughals for opposing the Mughul's persecution of non-Islamic religious communities. Subsequently, the Sikhs militarized to oppose Islamic hegemony. Nevertheless the emergence of the Sikh Empire under reign of the Sikh Maharajah Ranjit Singh was characterized by religious tolerance and pluralism with Christians, Muslims and Hindus in positions of power. The establishment of the Sikh Empire is commonly considered the zenith of Sikh political sovereignty, during this time the Sikh Empire came to include Kashmir, Ladakh, and Peshawar. The Empire's secular administration integrated innovative military, economic and governmental reforms heavily influenced by the Napoleonic model. Culturally amongst the achievements of the Empire was the establishment of the Imam Bakhsh Lahori school of painting, the discovery of Gandhara art, and the exploration of the Himalayas.