"Sikhs and Hindus are not separate. Sikhs will survive only if Hindus survive. Sikhs are part and parcel of the Hindu Society. Guru Govind Singhji brought in Gurumukhi the wisdom and philosophy from our scriptures and Puranas. Are we going to give up this heritage?"

          - Master Tara Singh at a meeting in Mumbai on 19th August, 1964

Sikhism and Hinduism are considered as separate religions today. A closer look at the origin of Sikhism shows that Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, had started a reformatory movement. He despised the evils that had crept into Hinduism like the worship of many deities, caste system, fasts, pilgrimage and preached that God is one, eternal and transcends time - the original teachings of the Vedanta. He did not denounce the holy Hindu scriptures but despised their being read without understanding their meaning. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and the last Guru, criticised the Hindu dictum of “ahimsa paramo dharma” and was inspired by the Puranas and the Bhagwad Geeta wherein the lord sends saviour whenever there is oppression and injustice. He founded the Khalsa to protect the Hindus from the Muslim tyranny and oppression. Thus the Sikh gurus tried to revive the original spirit and teachings of Hinduism and tried to build a society which was moral, virtuous and strong.  

The basis of the tradition established by Shri Guru Nanak Dev is the Sanatana Dharma. The Guru had preached the message of Sanatana Dharma in the language of the masses, in order to raise the flagging spirits of Hindu society in a Punjab relentlessly overrun by Muslim invaders. The nectar-laden words of the nine Gurus who followed were also expressions of Sanatana Dharma. Every verse of the Shri Guru Granth Saheb is testimony to this fact.

Here are some stanzas from the Gurus and the Guru Granth Saheb in which the Hindu-Sikh affinity is evident :

• Taha hum adhik tapasya sadhi
  Mahakal kalika aradhi
  - Guru Govind Singh
  (There I worshipped and did penance to seek Kali.)
• Ram katha jug jug atal
  Sab koi bhakhat net Suragbas Raghuver kara
  Sagri puri samet Jo en Katha sune aur gaave
  Dukh pap tah nikat na aave
  - Guru Govind Singh
  (The story of Ram is immortal and everyone should read it. Ram went to heaven along with the whole city. Whoever listens to or sings His story, will be free of sin and sorrow.)
• Kahaiya Hinduan daro na ab tum
  Im likho pathon dil sain Guru Nanak ki gadi par
  Ab hain Tegh Bahadur Unko jo Muhummadi kar lihoon
  To ham hain sab sadar Arya Dharma rakhak pragatiyo hain
  - Guru Tegh Bahadur
  (Hindus, do not fear, Guru Tegh Bahadur is Guru Nanak's successor. If Muslims bother you, I'll take care of them. For I am the protector of Hinduism.)
• Tin te sun Siri Tegh Bahadur
  Dharam nibaahan bikhe Bahadur Uttar bhaniyo, dharam hum Hindu
  Atipriya ko kin karen nikandu Lok parlok ubhaya sukhani
  Aan napahant yahi samani Mat mileen murakh mat loi
  Ise tayage pramar soi Hindu dharam rakhe jag mahin
  Tumre kare bin se it nahin
  - Guru Tegh Bahadur's reply to Aurangzeb's ordering him to embrace Islam.
  (In response, Shri Tegh Bahadur says, My religion is Hindu and how can I abandon what is so dear to me? This religion helps you in this world and that, and only a fool would abandon it. God himself is the protector of this religion and no one can destroy it.)

• Sakal jagat main Khalsa Panth gaje
  Jage dharam Hindu sakal bhand bhaje
  - Guru Govind Singh
  (The Khalsa sect will roar around the world. Hinduism will awaken, its enemies will flee.)

In his autobiography Bachitra Natak, Shri Guru Govind Singh Dev has claimed that he was a descendant of Lord Rama's younger son Lava, and that Guru Nanak Dev was a descendant of Lord Rama's elder son Kusha (2/18-34, 2/52, 4/1-10 and 5/1-10). This statement is confirmed in several other authentic source-books of Sikhism.

Many Sikh intellectuals, including Dr. Gopal Singh and Khushwant Singh have been expressing their views that Sikhism and Islam are close to each other and have much in common while the teachings of the Guru Granth Saheb indicate that the two religions are not only different but opposite. The Guru Granth Saheb has 1430 pages, out of which the mention of Islam in some context or the other is found from page number 24 to page number 1412. The hymns of the Guru Granth Saheb which mention Islam may be divided into four categories - First, in which the atrocities committed by Babar and other Muslim rulers have been described; Second, in which an effort has been made to see the various Islamic practices such as Namaz, Roza, Haj, Halaal, etc. in the light of Vedanta; Third, in which Islam has been criticised and all have been advised to remain Hindus; and Fourth, in which Islamic concepts and beliefs have been directly or indirectly criticised.

Those who think of Sikhism as a synthesis between Hinduism and Islam will probably be shocked to find Guru Nanakji Himself claiming that the Kali Yuga was ushered in into India with the advent of Islam, in the poem "Makke-Madine di Goshti". In the same poem, the Guru refers to the Sufis Moinuddin Chishti (of Ajmer) and Shah Madar (of Makanpur) as imposters who were leading Hindus astray with the intention of converting them.

Hindus and Sikhs are brothers of the same family. Clashes between the two would mean clashes within the family. Sikhs are the brothers of the family who took upon themselves the responsibility to protect the family. The other members of the family must show respect to these soldiers for the services rendered by them to the family. We cannot forget their contribution to India’s freedom movement; nor can we forget that they were worst hit by the partition of our country in 1947 when it was their homeland Punjab which was torn apart and thousands of Sikhs were killed and many more uprooted from the land of their fore-fathers. But they chose to remain with India and the Hindus. Both the communities inter-dine, inter-marry, observe the same festivals and visit each other’s places of worship. Differences between these communities are created by the politicians to meet their selfish purposes. Let us not allow the players of the power game to create a rift in our family.  

To read more about the history of Sikh Gurus go to :

Brief History of Sikh Gurus

To know Swatantryaveer Savarkar's views on Sikh Brotherhood go to :

Swatantryaveer Savarkar on Sikh Brotherhood