Sikhism is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent during the fifteenth century. Sikhs follow the teachings of 'gurus', who descend from the first guru Guru Naruk who established the faith. Followers of Sikhism are monotheists, believing in only one god, and other core beliefs include the need to meditate, the importance of community and communal living, and the need to serve humanity selflessly (or 'seva'). Sikhism and the British Empire In total, there are around 26 million Sikhs worldwide, and over 24 million of these live in India. Outside of India, the largest Sikh populations are mostly found in former territories of the British Empire - the UK and Canada both have Sikh populations of over half a million people. Migration from India to other parts of the British Empire was high in the 19th century, due to the labor demands of relatively newer colonies, as well as those where slavery had been abolished. These countries also remain popular destinations for Sikh migrants today, as many are highly trained and English-speaking. Other regions with significant Sikh populations Italy also has a sizeable Sikh population, as many migrated there after serving there in the British Army during WWI, and they are now heavily represented in Italy's dairy industry. The Sikh population of Saudi Arabia is also reflective of the fact that the largest Indian diaspora in the world can now be found in the Middle East - this is due to the labor demands of the fossil fuel industries and their associated secondary industries, although a large share of Indians in this part of the world are there on a temporary basis.

In 2011, about 1.87 percent of the population identified with Sikhism as their religion, a slight decrease from about 1.9 percent in 1951. Overall, India has been a religiously pluralistic and multiethnic democracy with people of several faiths.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Haryana data was reported at 1,243,752.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,170,662.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Haryana data is updated decadal, averaging 1,207,207.000 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,243,752.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 1,170,662.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Haryana data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Punjab data was reported at 16,004,754.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 14,592,387.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Punjab data is updated decadal, averaging 15,298,570.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16,004,754.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 14,592,387.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Punjab data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

The statistic displays the Sikh population in India in 2011, by state and union territory. The region with the highest Sikh population was the state of Punjab, followed by the state of Haryana with up to 1.2 million Sikhs. The region with the least Sikh population was the union territory of Lakshadweep in that year.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Delhi data was reported at 570,581.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 555,602.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Delhi data is updated decadal, averaging 563,091.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 570,581.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 555,602.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Delhi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Karnataka data was reported at 28,773.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 15,326.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Karnataka data is updated decadal, averaging 22,049.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28,773.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 15,326.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Karnataka data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Autosomal STR typing using capillary electrophoresis is a reliable method for establishing parentage and for deciphering genomic ancestry. This study was planned to show the genetic diversity of the Jat Sikh population, which is a widespread community of the Punjab region, and to assess its genetic relationship with existing Indian populations. Blood samples of unrelated healthy individuals of the Jat Sikhs (n = 123) were used in this study. Fifteen autosomal STR markers along with the sex determination genetic marker Amelogenin were amplified using AmpFlSTR®Identifiler® Plus kit, and genetic analyser 3100 was used for genotyping. A total of 246 alleles were observed with allele frequencies ranging from 0.004 to 0.447. The heterozygosity ranged from 0.659 to 0.886, and all studied loci were in Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE). Fibrinogen A alpha (Aα) chain (FGA) was found to be the most polymorphic and also the most discriminating locus in the studied population. Neighbor-joining (NJ) tree, principal component analysis (PCA) plot, and Nei’s Distance matrix revealed genetic affinity with the previously reported Jatt Sikh (Punjab) population and showed the outlier nature of this population compared with other Indian populations. The data generated by this study enhance the database of Indian populations to be used in civil and forensic cases and also in other population-based genetic studies.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Punjab: Male data was reported at 8,395,797.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 7,692,776.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Punjab: Male data is updated decadal, averaging 8,044,286.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8,395,797.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 7,692,776.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Punjab: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

With almost all major religions being practiced throughout the country, India is known for its religious diversity. According to the Indian census of 2011, Sikhs made up the highest share of population among minority religion followed in the country.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Himachal Pradesh data was reported at 79,896.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 72,355.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Himachal Pradesh data is updated decadal, averaging 76,125.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 79,896.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 72,355.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Himachal Pradesh data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Chhattisgarh data was reported at 70,036.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 69,621.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Chhattisgarh data is updated decadal, averaging 69,828.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 70,036.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 69,621.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Chhattisgarh data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Andhra Pradesh data was reported at 40,244.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 30,998.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Andhra Pradesh data is updated decadal, averaging 35,621.000 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 40,244.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 30,998.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Andhra Pradesh data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Uttarakhand data was reported at 236,340.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 212,025.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Uttarakhand data is updated decadal, averaging 224,182.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 236,340.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 212,025.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Uttarakhand data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Introduction

Welcome to the Punjabi General Conversation Speech Dataset — a rich, linguistically diverse corpus purpose-built to accelerate the development of Punjabi speech technologies. This dataset is designed to train and fine-tune ASR systems, spoken language understanding models, and generative voice AI tailored to real-world Punjabi communication.

Curated by FutureBeeAI, this 30 hours dataset offers unscripted, spontaneous two-speaker conversations across a wide array of real-life topics. It enables researchers, AI developers, and voice-first product teams to build robust, production-grade Punjabi speech models that understand and respond to authentic Indian accents and dialects.

Speech Data

The dataset comprises 30 hours of high-quality audio, featuring natural, free-flowing dialogue between native speakers of Punjabi. These sessions range from informal daily talks to deeper, topic-specific discussions, ensuring variability and context richness for diverse use cases.

Topic Diversity

The dataset spans a wide variety of everyday and domain-relevant themes. This topic diversity ensures the resulting models are adaptable to broad speech contexts.

Transcription

Each audio file is paired with a human-verified, verbatim transcription available in JSON format.

These transcriptions are production-ready, enabling seamless integration into ASR model pipelines or conversational AI workflows.

Metadata

The dataset comes with granular metadata for both speakers and recordings:

Such metadata helps developers fine-tune model training and supports use-case-specific filtering or demographic analysis.

Usage and Applications

This dataset is a versatile resource for multiple Punjabi speech and language AI applications:

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Goa: Male data was reported at 863.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 590.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Goa: Male data is updated decadal, averaging 726.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 863.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 590.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Goa: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Lakshadweep data was reported at 8.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 6.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Lakshadweep data is updated decadal, averaging 7.000 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 6.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Lakshadweep data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Assam data was reported at 20,672.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22,519.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Assam data is updated decadal, averaging 21,595.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22,519.000 Person in 03-01-2001 and a record low of 20,672.000 Person in 03-01-2011. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Assam data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Gujarat: Female data was reported at 26,177.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 20,600.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Gujarat: Female data is updated decadal, averaging 23,388.500 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26,177.000 Person in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 20,600.000 Person in 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Gujarat: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.

Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Mizoram data was reported at 286.000 Person in 03-01-2011. This records a decrease from the previous number of 326.000 Person for 03-01-2001. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Mizoram data is updated decadal, averaging 306.000 Person from Mar 2001 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 326.000 Person in 03-01-2001 and a record low of 286.000 Person in 03-01-2011. Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh: Mizoram data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAE005: Census: Population: by Religion: Sikh.