SikhiWiki
 | |
| Owner | SikhNet branch of 3HO |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Ash Singh Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa |
| URL | sikhiwiki |
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | 93,526 (July 2024) |
| Launched | 2005 |
| Current status | Active |
SikhiWiki is a Sikh-centric online encyclopedia operated by the 3HO organization under its SikhNet umbrella.[1]
History
[edit]The idea of creating an online Sikh encyclopedia is attributed to Ash Singh after he had a television interview where the importance of documenting Sikh history, from both the distant past and present, was discussed.[2] Ash Singh partnered with Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa, then webmaster of SikhNet, to create SikhiWiki.[2] SikhiWiki was launched in 2005.[3] The website was inspired by Wikipedia and claims to cover "Sikh philosophy, history, culture and lifestyle".[2] The website is open to the wider community who can freely edit its pages.[2] The operators used the term 'encyclomedia' to describe their website.[2] SikhiWiki is maintained by SikhNet and most of the individuals maintaining it are volunteers.[2]
Statistics
[edit]As of March 2012, there were nearly 6,000 articles hosted on SikhiWiki.[1] As of July 2024, the website contains 6,359 articles and 10,123 uploaded files, with 93,526 registered members.[4]
Commentary
[edit]According to Conner Singh VanderBeek, SikhiWiki provides "... the most comprehensive resource on basic terms, tenets, and histories of the Sikh faith".[3] SikhiWiki does not absolve Sikh separatists as guiltless in its article covering the Khalistan movement.[3] Doctrinal discussions and debates also occur on SikhiWiki, such as on the practice of vegetarianism.[1]
SikhiWiki promotes a mainstream, normative, orthodox, Khalsa-orientated narrative of the Sikh religion.[1] An example of this is on their article covering the heterodoxical Namdhari sect, which contains a disclaimer warning about sects and cults that evolved after the timeline of the Sikh gurus.[1] This disclaimer is followed by a further explanation warning about sects, cults, "fake" babas, deras, "fake" Nihangs, Sanatan Dharmis, "pseudo" Akalis and Mahants, "pseudo" intellectuals and historians, leftists, and agnostics, which it claims are "not considered a part of Sikhism".[1] SikhiWiki asserts that these above groups are distortions of Gurmat (the true teachings of Sikhism) created to damage Sikhism.[1] It further claims that none of the above groups were created by a guru or bhagat.[1] This leads to Sikhs belonging to heterodoxical, non-normative Sikh sects to go elsewhere for information.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Prill, Susan Elizabeth (27 March 2014). "Sikhi Through Internet, Films, and Videos". In Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 473–474. ISBN 9780191004117.
- ^ a b c d e f "About". SikhiWiki. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ a b c VanderBeek, Conner Singh (2023). "The Sikh Internet". In Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh; Singh, Pashaura (eds.). The Sikh World. Routledge. pp. 507–509. ISBN 9781032488110.
- ^ "Statistics". SikhiWiki. Retrieved 6 July 2024.