The Sikh diaspora is the modern Punjabi Sikh migration from the traditional area of the Punjab region. Sikhism is (de facto) an ethnic religion but welcomes converts, the Punjab region being the historic homeland of Sikhism. The Sikh diaspora is largely a subset of the Punjabi diaspora.
The starting point of the diaspora is commonly accepted to have begun after the fall of the Sikh Empire in 1849 and the Empire's subsequent annexation into the British Raj. The most famous personification of the Sikh diaspora was the first, Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last Emperor of the Sikhs who was coerced into a lifetime exile by the British Raj. Since Duleep Singh's exile, the rate of Sikh migration from the Punjab has remained high; however the destination for Punjabi Sikh migrants has changed during the ensuing 150 years. The development of the Punjabi Sikh diaspora concept has given diaspora Sikhs a conscious political and cultural identity, which forms a reference point for their 'Sikhism'.
Read more about Sikh Diaspora: The Sikhs, Historical Migration Patterns, Annexation of The Punjab, 20th Century, Agitation For A Homeland, Sikh Identity Today, See Also