A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a religious faith originating in Indian subcontinent (historic Punjab).
The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit word shishya which means disciple or student. In the Punjabi language the word Sikh also means to learn. So a Sikh is a disciple of the Ten Gurus and a follower of the teaching the many Hindu and Muslim saints whose teaching are incorporated in the Sikhism's holy book, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS).
The baptised Sikh is called a Khalsa or the "Pure One". When a Sikh becomes a Khalsa, he/she is supposed to have pledged his/her life to the Guru, and is expected not to desist sacrificing anything and everything in a struggle for a just cause.
Historically, Sikhs have been known to be great warriors. The tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh is considered a great military leader and strategist of his time. He inspired and eventually lead a relatively small number of Sikh forces to remarkable triumphs over expansive state armies of the Mughal king Aurangzeb. It is perhaps owing to such inspired passion or the singular religious devotion of the Khalsa that one may encounter many instances of remarkable gallantry displayed by Sikh fighters throughout history. The Battle of Saragarhi (1897) is remembered as one of many battles where the Sikhs have fought with unflinching strength. In the Battle of Saragarhi, the Sikh Havildar Ishar Singh with 21 other soldiers fought with great bravery against 10,000 Afridi tribesmen. This battle has been taught in history lessons in French schools for many years as a model and an example of extreme human bravery, sacrifice and of comradeship. In the two World Wars, over 80,000 Sikhs died for the allied forces in battles. Many Sikhs have received the Victoria Cross and the Param Vir Chakras for their gallantry and courage.
As a consequence of the above, even today gallantry and machoism are much appreciate values in Sikh cultures. It is not uncommon to see tall, well-built Sikh youths driving open (roofless) Jeeps, SUV's or bigger, macho motorbikes such as Royal Enfield's Bullet. Despite their small percentange in Indian population, Sikhs have regularly figured in national Indian sports squads (especially field hockey and athletics, the traditional dances and sports of Punjab almost always manifest flowing energy or physical strength.
Precisely for this prevalence of machismo, Sikh culture is clearly male dominated and women play, as in myriad other cultures, only a secondry role in society.
Since Sikhism originated in the region of Punjab, most Sikhs trace their roots to that region (though in recent times, with the spread both of Sikhism and Sikhs, one might encounter Sikhs belonging to other geographical locations across the world). So more often than not, a Sikh might also be identified as a Punjabi, although one should not be confused with the other. Consequently, and also because the Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi, the script of the Punjabi language, most Sikhs are able to speak, read or write the language, or are at least familiar with it.
