Chandigarh August 27, 2025 (Bharat Khabarnama Bureau) – Sikh organisations have again raised serious concerns over increasing challenges to Sikh identity and the denial of their constitutional rights in several parts of India. The latest outcry has come from Tamil Nadu, where the Tamil Sikh Sangat has appealed to the State Minorities Commission to officially recognise Tamil Sikhs as a minority community and to acknowledge the religious conversions taking place in southern districts like Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar.
The Sangat has complained that revenue officials routinely rejecting applications filed by Dalits and backward-class families who have embraced Sikhism and are seeking to change their religious status in official records. In many cases, officials either refuse to issue community certificates mentioning “Sikh” or wrongly categorise converts under Hindu denominations.
Sardar Jeevan Singh, founder of the Tamil Sikh Sangat and national president of the Bahujan Dravida Party (BDP), said: “It is our constitutional right under Articles 25-28 that Sikhs be recognised distinctly in government records. Community certificates must clearly mention ‘Sikh’ along with social status, but officials are denying this. Tamil Sikhs face unnecessary hurdles that amount to harassment and denial of identity.”
Apart from documentation hurdles, Tamil Sikhs have alleged police harassment for carrying the kirpan, one of the five sacred symbols of Sikh faith. Community members say they are frequently stopped in public places, malls and transport hubs, with police officers questioning the legality of their religious practices.
Korkai P. Palani Singh, a Dalit convert who adopted Sikhism two years ago, shared his ordeal: “When I applied to change my certificate at Kariapatti, the tahsildar refused and instead issued me a Hindu-SC certificate. I declined. He even accused me of fraud and demanded a conversion certificate from the Darbar Sahib, Amritsar which is completely unconstitutional.”
The Tamil Sikhs emphasises that Dalits embracing Sikhi are returning to their “true religion” of equality and dignity, rejecting caste oppression. Leaders like S. Selva Singh of the Tamil-Sikh Cultural Brotherhood Foundation have urged the government to end bureaucratic discrimination and extend minority rights to Tamil Sikhs, as guaranteed by the Constitution.
While the Tamil Nadu State Minorities Commission has assured that recommendations would be forwarded to the state government, experts note a larger issue at play: Sikhs across India are increasingly facing challenges to their distinct identity, including racial profiling and institutional ignorance of Sikh practices.
Scholars point out that though Sikhism is the world’s fifth-largest religion, Article 25 (2)(b) of the Indian Constitution ambiguously clubs Sikhs with Hindus, often leading to administrative misuse. This constitutional anomaly continues to affect Sikh converts in southern states as well as long-settled Sikh communities in places like Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Sikh leadership has urged both the Union and State governments to ensure that community certificates should explicitly mention “Sikh” without forcing individuals under Hindu categories. In addition to this, Police and officials be sensitised about Sikh practices such as wearing the kirpan and ‘Karra’. Besides, minority safeguards guaranteed to Sikhs under the Constitution be uniformly enforced across India. Unless immediate policy-level decisions are made, Sikh organisations warn that the denial of recognition to Tamil Sikhs and the harassment of converts may escalate into a wider social conflict, deepening the identity crisis of Sikhs in India.
