The history of Sikhism is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the sociopolitical situation in medieval India. Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the establishment of the Khalsa, by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Sikhism originated based on the spiritual revelations of Nanak, the first Guru or Prophet-master , during the fifteenth century in the Punjab region. The religious practices was finalized by Guy Gobind Singh on 30 March 1699. The latter baptized five people from different social backgrounds yo form Khalsa. The first five, pure ones. Then baptized Gobind Singh into the Khalsa fold. This gives the order of Khalsa, a history around 300 years.
During the mughal rule of India (1556-1707), the emerging religion had strained relation with the ruling mughals. Prominent Sikh Gurus were martyred by mughals for opposing some mughals emperors' persecution of Sikhs and Hindus. Subsequently, Sikhism militarized to oppose mughals hegemony. The emergence of the Sikh confederacy under he misls and Sikh Empire under the reign of the Maharajah Ranjit Singh was characterized by religious tolerance and pluralism with Christians, Muslims and Hindus in positions of power. The establishment of the Sikh empire is commonly considered the zenith of Sikhism at political level, during the time the Sikh Empire came to include Kashmir,Ladakh,and Peshawar. Hari Singh Nalwa, the commander-in-chief of the Sikh army along the North West frontier, took the boundary of the Sikh empire to the very mouth of the Khyber Pass. The Empire's secular administration integrated innovative military, economic and governmental reforms.
The months leading up to the partition of India in 1947, saw heavy conflictin Punjab between Sikh and Muslims, which saw the effective religious migration of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus from west Punjab which mirrored a similar religious migration of Punjabi Muslims in east Punjab.
