Abstract
This article focuses on the Sikh community in Kwazulu/Natal (KZN), a province located on the east coast of South Africa. The Sikhs are usually distinguished by their socio-religious practices and outward appearances, their language, and their historical experiences. In KZN they are a small unknown community whose history and integration into South African society have yet to be fully understood. The aims of this paper are threefold: It examines the origins and nature of Sikhism in India and the gradual development of the Sikh identity. Secondly, it charts the history of Sikh migration and settlement to colonial Natal in the late 19th century. And thirdly, it examines ways in which the Sikh community in KZN have sustained their religious and cultural beliefs during the apartheid and post apartheid period.
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