Sikhism in Iran – a part of cultural diaspora

Iran is a predominantly a Muslim populated country. The majority of the population that lives here are Muslims. In fact, Islam is the official religion of Islam. But there's a lot more that Iran has to offer in terms of its cultural diversity.

Watch this video on Sikhism in Iran:

• Besides Islam, there are several other minority religious groups living in Iran such as Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrians, Hindus etc.
• Sikhs in Iran are sort of a closed community. The first Sikhs came to Iran from Punjab before 1947 via Zahedan border. Iran and India were neighbours and Pakistan was not yet established. Iran was a secure country so, they started to do business in Iran.
• Sikhs are monotheists. They worship only one God (almighty). They believe that God brought them to this world to learn and follow his orders and also to build our lives according to his teachings.

Related article : India seeks enhanced economic ties with Iran

• Sikhs men wear Turbans and women wear Indian traditional dresses. Everyone cover their head inside Gurudwaras as a sign of respect. There are even schools attached to the temples which are opened to non-Sikh students. Occasionally Langars (community kitchen) are organised in which pure vegetarian food are served.
• There have been rumours that Sikhs were inspired by Iranian flags. Some speculate that the new Iran's flag looks a lot like Sikh symbol.
• Initially, nearly 5000 Sikhs were settled in Iran but with the Islamic revolution population of Sikhs declined significantly. Presently in Tehran (Iran's national capital), nearly 60-100 families live.

• Sikhs have been in Iran for more than 100 years. Apart from some occasional repressions, there hasn't been any major violence in Iran against Indians (especially Hindus). Iranians love the Sikh community and same goes the other way round. Sikhs living there love Iran. They consider Iran as their homeland. Pleased with the government they feel safe and happy there.

Prepared by Pritam

Pritam is a 3^rd year engineering student in B.P. Poddar institute of management and technology, Kolkata. Twitter @pritam_gogreen