While it is true that the eldest son of the Hindu family commonly was given to the Sikh panth and that mixed Hindu Sikh families still exist. Hindus and Sikhs still intermarry. It is also true that Sikhi was not envisaged to be a hereditary system where the child of a Sikh will only be a Sikh. That is a later modification to the system.

However, it is wrong to assert that there was no separate Sikh identity, it was just another Hindu panth. The Sikh panth clearly rejected the Vedas and Hindu deity worship system. Sikhism emphasised on Seva (selfless service) including seva of the Granth Sahab as a living guru.
Nanak was a reformist who outright rejected the Brahminical Hindu ritualistic faith and social stratification prevalent in the Hindu society of his time. He championed a new egalitarian social order that became the foundation of Sikhism. Clearly Nanak was not on the same page with orthodox Hindu proponents.
Sikhs did save Hinduism from Mughal atrocities, the Sikh class, especially after the Khalsa panth was born under Guru Gobind, their primary role was to protect Hindu-Sikhs.
LASTLY
What has been described as the flag of Maharajah Ranjit Singh having Chandi Devi and Hanuman, is NOT Maharajah Ranjit Singh's flag at all. "Akal Sahai, Sarkar-e-Khalsa" (or "Sarkar Khalsa") was the official title and emblem for the Sikh Empire (Khalsa Raj) under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The phrase appears on the banners of the Sikh Empire, representing its divine sanction and Khalsa identity.
This flag you put forward as evidence and circulating on social media and WhatsApp, was the BATTLE STANDARD of the Hindu Dogra units in the Ranjit Singh Army. Ranjit Singh also had Muslim units which had their own Islamic flag/BATTLE STANDARD, typically all green and featured an image of a curved moon and star.
Colonel Shaikh Basawan, a Muslim officer, commanded a Muslim regiment and was responsible for raising the Khalsa flag over the fort of Kabul in 1839. The artillery wing was also largely staffed by Punjabi Muslims. At least 90% of Ranjit Singhs Artillery were Muslim.
Other regiments also had distinct flags. For instance, the elite Fauj-i-Khas had its own French-style tricolor flag, and many other flags featured Hindu deities or symbols like the sun motif, representing victory.
While the overall national or state flag had inscriptions like "Akal Sahai, Sarkar Khalsa" in Persian, individual regiments were permitted to have their own distinct battle standards (flags).





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