WORKING PAPER NO: 509
Religion and Economic Growth: Elements from Sikhism
Charan Singh
Charan Singh
RBI Chair Professor
Economics & Social Science
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 5600 76
Ph: 080-26993818
Economics & Social Science
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 5600 76
Ph: 080-26993818
Abstract: The Sikh religion is one of the most recent religions of the world, which originated during the late fifteenth century and finally formalized in early eighteenth century. There is limited material available in English on Sikh religion and its impact on economic growth. In this article, an attempt has been made to examine the important issues mentioned above in the context of Sikh religion and their impact on economic growth. The emphasis is on education, rational thinking, long term planning, modest consumption, high investment, self-employment, and employment generation. In all the pursuits of economic well-being, the guiding principle has to be meditation, honest work and sharing with others the fruit of hard labor.