Sikhism  is a religion founded by Guru Nanak who was born  in 1469 in NorthWest India.  It developed in an environment heavily influenced by conflict between the Hindu and Muslim religions.

Sikhism comes from the word Sikh, which means a strong and able disciple. The  core beliefs of Sikhism are: belief in one God and the teachings of the Ten Gurus, enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book. It departs from some of the social traditions and structure of Hinduism and Islam such as the caste system and purdah. Sikhism was influenced by reform movements in Hinduism (e.g. Bhakti, monism, Vedic metaphysics, guru ideal, and bhajans) as well as Sufi Islam.

Its  founder, Guru Nanak Dev, was born in 1469 to a Hindu family. After four epic journeys (North to Tibet, South to Sri Lanka, East to Bengal and West to Mecca and Baghdad) Guru Nanak preached to Hindus, Muslims and others, and in the process attracted a following of Sikhs or disciples.  Religion, he taught, was a way to unite people, but in practice he found that it  set men against one another. He particularly regretted the antagonism between  Hindus and Muslims. He wanted to go beyond what was being practised by either  religion and hence a well-known saying of Guru Nanak Dev is, "There is no Hindu,  There is no Muslim." Guru Gobind Singh reinforced these words by saying "Regard the whole human race as  equal".

Guru Nanak was opposed to the caste system. His followers referred to him as the guru (teacher). Before his death he designated a new Guru to be his successor and to lead the Sikh community. This procedure was continued, and the tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind (AD 1666–1708) initiated the Sikh ceremony in AD 1699 ; and thus gave a distinctive identity to the Sikhs.  The five baptised Sikhs were named Panj Pyare (Five Beloved Ones), who in turn baptised the Guru at his request. This is an empowering and democratizing  phenomenon rarely seen in other major religions, i.e. a leader acknowledging the primacy of his followers, although Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and  was baptised by John.

Shortly  before passing away Guru Gobind ordered that Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scripture, would be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs and temporal authority would vest in the Khalsa Panth – The Sikh  Nation. The first Sikh Holy Scripture was compiled and edited by the Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev in AD 1604.(Although some of the earlier gurus are also known to have documented their revelations.) This is one of the few scriptures in the  world that has been compiled by the founders of a faith during their own life  time. The Sikh Holy Scripture is particularly unique in that it is written in Gurmukhi script but contains many languages including Punjabi, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri and Persian.

Guru Nanak's doctrinal position is clear, despite the appearance that it is a blend  of insights originating from two very different faiths. Sikhism's coherence is attributable to its single central concept – the sovereignty of the One God, the Creator. Guru Nanak called God the "True Name" because he wanted to avoid any limiting terms for God. He taught that the True  Name, although manifest in many ways, many places and known by many names, is eternally One, the Sovereign and omnipotent God (the Truth of Love).

Guru Nanak ascribed to the concept of maya, regarding material objects and realities as expressions of the creator's eternal truth, which tended to erect "a wall of falsehood" around those who live totally in the mundane world of material desires (consumerism). This materialism prevents them from seeing the ultimate reality, as God created matter as a veil, so that only spiritual minds, free of desire, can penetrate it by the grace of the Guru  (Gurprasad).

The  world is immediately real in the sense that it is made manifest to the senses as  maya, but is ultimately unreal in the sense that God alone is ultimate reality. Retaining the Hindu doctrine of the transmigration of souls, together with its corollary, the law of karma, Guru Nanak advised his followers to end the  cycle of reincarnation by living a disciplined life – that is, by moderating egoism and sensuous delights, to live in a balanced worldly manner, and by accepting ultimate reality. Thus, by the grace of Guru (Gurprasad) the cycle of re-incarnation can be broken, and the Sikh can remain in the abode of the Love of God.

A  Sikh should balance work, worship and charity - and meditate by repeating God's  name, nama japam (another Hindu practice), to enhance spiritual  development. Salvation, Guru Nanak said, does not mean entering paradise after a  last judgment, but a union and absorption into God, the true name. Sikhs believe  in neither heaven nor hell. They strive for the grace of the Guru during the  human journey of the soul.

Political  pressure from surrounding Muslim nations forced the Sikhs to defend themselves and by the mid-nineteenth century, the Punjab area straddling modern-day India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kashmir was ruled by them. The Sikh's Khalsa Army defeated  the invading British army and signed treaties  with China.