Religion

Sikhism is the predominant faiths in Punjab. More than 66% of the people in the state are Sikhs. The holiest of Sikh shrines, the Sri Harmandir Sahib(or Golden Temple), is in the city of Amritsar. The Sri Akal Takht Sahib which resides within the Golden temple complex is the temporal seat ofSikhs. Of the five Takhts (Temporal Seats of religious authority) of Sikhism, three are in Punjab. These are Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Damdama Sahib andAnandpur Sahib. Anandpur Sahib is where Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa in 1699 on the day of Vaisakhi. During major holidays on the Sikh calendar (such as Vaisakhi, Hola Mohalla, Gurpurb and Diwali), many Sikhs gather and march in religious processions through virtually every city, town and village in Punjab. Sikhism is in fact so common that at least one Sikh Gurdwara can be found in almost every village in the state beside towns and cities (in various architectural styles and sizes). Hinduism is the second most practiced faith in Punjab. A large segment of Punjabis who are now categorized as Hindus or who identify themselves as Punjabi Hindus, continue to live out heterogeneous religious practice that includes spiritual kinship with Sikhism. This not only includes veneration of the Sikh Gurus in private practice, but also visit to Sikh Gurdwaras along with hindu temples. This is evident from the continuing propensity to conduct important life cycle ceremonies such as on marriage or death by any of the Hindu or Sikh rites. This is especially true for the Khatri and Arora communities, and even more so among the Kukhran tribe . Other religions like Islam(1.5%) and Christianity(1.2%) are also followed by few people in the state,besideBuddhism(0.2%) and Jainism(0.2%).

Station sign at Southall, London,England, in the Latin and Gurmukhi scripts