‘So people know I'm a Sikh’: Narratives of Sikh masculinities in contemporary Britain

This article examines British-born Sikh men's identification to Sikhism. In particular, it focuses on the appropriation and use of Sikh symbols amongst men who define themselves as Sikh. This article suggests that whilst there are multiple ways of ‘being’ a Sikh man in contemporary post-colonial Britain, and marking belonging to the Sikh faith, there is also a collectively understood idea of what an ‘ideal’ Sikh man should be. Drawing upon Connell and Messerschmidt's discussion of locally specific hegemonic masculinities (2005. “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.” Gender and Society 19 (6): 829–859), it is suggested that an ideal Sikh masculine identity is partly informed by a Khalsa discourse, which informs a particular performance of Sikh male identity, whilst also encouraging the surveillance of young men's activities both by themselves and by others. These Sikh masculinities are complex and multiple, rotating to reaffirm, challenge and redefine contextualised notions of hegemonic masculinity within the Sikh diaspora in post-colonial Britain. Such localised Sikh masculinities may both assert male privilege and reap patriarchal dividends (Connell, W. 1995. Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press), resulting in particular British Sikh hegemonic masculinities which seek to shape the performance of masculinity, yet in another context these very same performances of masculinity may also signify a more marginalised masculinity vis-à-vis other dominant hegemonic forms.     

(EN)Gendered Sikhism: The iconolatry of manliness in the making of Sikh identity

Among the most insidious regimes of control inaugurated by the British in India was the identification of a fundamental affinity between themselves and manly ‘races’ such as the Sikhs. I will suggest that this apparent commensurability of colonial and native traditions depended upon the Sikhs readily accepting a masculine signature which restricted the ambiguous organization of the Khalsa Sikh body to the muscular piety prescribed by colonial discourse. Thus, far from inscribing ontological parity between the British and the Sikhs, this advocacy of ‘racial’ kinship actually communicated a censorious judgement about Sikh identity. The significance of interventions by Sikh reformers, such as Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha (1861–1938) and Bhai Vir Singh (1872–1958), will be highlighted as key influences in the disciplining of a native semiotics of the body. This reformist ideology encouraged the representation of Sikh corporeality as not-effeminate, signalling not only the insinuation of a colonial iconolatry of manliness at the heart of Sikh tradition, but also the disingenuousness of received opinion concerning the progressive nature of Sikh sexual politics.     

Creating a Pindh: Place-Making within a Sikh Diasporic Community in Malaya

This paper examines a diaspora group's claiming and contesting of physical space and actively engaging in host country multiracial spaces, I co-opted the Pindh, a Sikh concept incorporating relationships with the landscape and social structure, re-defining its original meaning to encompass this unique consolidation of identity, home and belonging. Addressing the use and meaning of space and the transformation of Peraktown, the geographical location, I explore this transformation to a place of meaning through the practices of everyday life within the Sikh community. It describes the concepts of spatial relationships and their impact on the construction and solidification of the Peraktown Sikh community in contrast to their inherited connection to the land and inherent romantic nostalgia for Punjab, as they recreated the meanings it contained and inscribed these on the physical map of the town. In the four spaces addressed, the home, the Gurdwara, the school and the gendered work spaces, I demonstrate the ways that space altered, through claiming, adoption and subversion. The lens of the Pindh offers a uniquely Sikh way to view and analyse the constitution of common identity and a place to belong. The Peraktown Sikhs extend the discourse of diaspora beyond postcolonial and Western modes of thought of being ‘other’ yet simultaneously belonging ‘here', ‘back there’ and to multiple places of home.     

VIOLATIONS OF PAROLE: LANGUAGE,RELIGION, AND POWER AMONG THE MODERN UDASI MOVEMENT AND THE SGPC

This article explores a subaltern framework to examine language, religion, and power among contemporary Sikh movements, such as the Udasis, that oppose the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC). From the late nineteenth century, the Punjab environment progressively communalized as religious groups competed internally and externally to win supporters and define outsiders. Emblematic of these processes in Sikhism are those affirming ties to Hinduism, such as the Udasis, and those seeking a separate religious identity, such as the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha. This paper begins with an overview of constructions of Hinduism and Sikhism in the colonial period. Next, the theory of parole is developed to trace the relationships among language, religion, and power transacted through speech. Finally, the SGPC's portrayals of the Udasis and modern Udasi responses are presented. The Udasis exemplify how certain sects fell outside of epi-colonial religious demarcations in the Punjab that progressed toward a single Sikh identity. As a theory linking language and power, parole surpasses the classification of religious groups as ‘orthodox’ and ‘heterodox’ to uncover histories where communities define Self and Other.     

GURBANI KIRTAN RENAISSANCE: REVIVING MUSICAL MEMORY,REFORMING SIKH IDENTITY

This article examines the modes of revival within the contemporary renaissance of traditional Gurbani Kirtan (Sikh devotional music) in an effort to differentiate historically operative practices from modern products being sold as tradition. Modern reformist tendencies have attempted to institutionalize a normative Sikh musical identity into one homogeneous ‘Gurmat Sangeet’ genre through codifying Sikh raga forms and promoting a particular Sikh musical orthopraxy and history. The process of institutionalization privileges written sources as authoritative, erasing the memory of operative practices passed down orally since the time of the Sikh Gurus through the Gurbani Kirtan parampara (tradition). In questioning how Sikh musical knowledge has been propagated and authenticated since modernity, I propose a reassessment of what values and musical modes are indelible to the fabric of Gurbani Kirtan, what aspects are modern derivatives, and what aspects are negotiable. I believe such an approach will not limit Sikh musical expression to a past identity subsumed by orthodox rigidity. Instead it will move toward a phenomenological epistemology that recognizes how orality and embodied experience are intrinsic to the Gurbani Kirtan parampara that remembers, practices, and teaches a particular methodology to embody the Bani as Guru for newly creative Sikh subjectivities.     

Songs to the Jinas and of the Gurus: historical comparisons between Jain and Sikh devotional music

ABSTRACT

Jain worship has always been accompanied by music and likewise for Sikhs the performance of and listening to the singing of hymns, as composed by several of their Gurus, continuously has been central to the community’s spiritual experience. For different reasons, however, Sikh and Jain devotional music, known as kirtan and bhakti respectively, until recently were neglected subjects in historiography. This article investigates the parallels and differences among the two genres from a historical comparative perspective against the successive backgrounds of the bhakti movement and Indic culture, the imperial encounter and globalization. In doing so, it particularly emphasizes the importance of identity politics to the making of modern Sikh and Jain devotional music, as well as the fact that, in comparison to Jain bhakti, Sikh kirtan generally remains North Indian ‘Hindustani’ art music, rather than regional folk music.     

AT HOME IN MOTION

This paper was first delivered as the keynote address at the ‘Transnational Punjabis in the 21^st Century: Beginnings, Junctures and Responses’ Conference held in May 2011 at the University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. It argues that there are two dimensions to evolving Sikh diasporic identities that are firmly anchored in being at home whilst in motion. These two dimensions are rooted in culture and dharam. The ways in which Sikh culture travels and evolves is illustrative of post-colonial transformations and largely dependent on the host culture as well as the product of being part of either an ‘old’ or ‘new’ diaspora – that is, being a diaspora that has been forged in either the age of colonization or the age of globalization. While it remains to be seen how a Sikh diasporic identity will be shaped in the future, it is apparent that diasporic processes will be played out on a global stage as communications between Sikhs and others throughout the world are further revolutionized.     

Rethinking Sikh Nationalism in the Twenty-First Century

This article seeks to draw attention to some of the core issues which beset the study of Sikh nationalism as a coherent phenomenon in an increasingly globalized and socially fragmented world. First, it highlights the importance of revisiting the debate about the community's religious boundaries, arguing that in contrast to the new conventional wisdom informed by poststructuralism, Sikh identity has exhibited a remarkable degree of continuity from the establishment of the Khalsa in comparison with other South Asian religio-political communities. The second key issue highlighted is the role of the Sikh diaspora in the development of Sikh nationalism and statehood. It critically examines the extent to which diaspora may be regarded as an instrument of ‘long-distance’ nationalism. Third, it argues that the existing literature on Sikh nationalism is remarkably community-centric and needs to engage with theories of nationalism. Finally, while acknowledging the cleavages which fragment the Sikh nation, it concludes that Sikh nationalism has been remarkably cohesive.     

Reforming Siki and re-devising the panth: The influence of the Singh Sabha movement on the Millenial Sikhs in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

The Sikh community in the UK consists of various ‘Jathebandia’, loosely translated as ‘units’ or ‘sects’. All of these groups have varied histories, practices, and theological beliefs. This paper examines the influence of the Singh Sabha movement on the millennial generation in some of the largest Sikh groups in the UK. Some of the groups claim orthopraxy and orthodoxy, but this essay argues the majority of these groups are an amalgamation of different influences that have adapted their practices according to the Singh Sabha movement and concludes with an analysis of how these influences play out via Sikh media and the internet.     

EMOTION IN SIKH MUSICOLOGY

Recent studies in Sikh musicology have focused on its history and theory. However, there is an absence of theoretical research which focuses on the role of emotions in Sikh music. In this paper, we contribute to this research by investigating key issues relating to emotions in Sikh musicology. We explore theories which propose that a rāga will evoke a particular emotion/mood in the listener and that there are a number of factors which influence this process. In particular, we focus on two parallel theories which we term the ‘one rāga one emotion’ and the ‘one rāga multiple emotions’ theories. We consider these theories within the context of the shabads (We are adding an ‘s’ for Punjabi plural words such as shabads and rāgas although the plural in Punjabi in this case would be Shabad or rāga. By Anglicising the words in this way we hope that it makes the paper easier to read), in particular rāgas of the Guru Granth Sahib which convey a number of emotions/moods. In this paper, we explore the problem of how to approach the interpretation of rāgas within the context of the emotions/moods presented in the shabads of those rāgas whilst adhering to the musical structure of the rāga. We use rāga Sirī to exemplify and focus the discussion. We challenge the ‘one rāga one emotion’ theory and propose that a rāga can be performed to evoke a number of emotions/moods but that certain considerations have to be taken into account by the performer during the rendition of the rāga.     

The Linguistic Territoriality Principle — A Critique

In this essay, I develop a critique of the linguistic territoriality principle, which states that, for reasons related to the value of language identity, language groups should be territorially accommodated. While I acknowledge the desirability of implementing a linguistic territoriality principle in some specific cases, I claim that this principle is in general inappropriate for the ‘post‐Westphalian’ linguistic world in which we live. I identify, analyze and reject two distinct justifications for the linguistic territoriality principle: the Linguistic Context justification and the Language Survival justification. Finally, I argue for different means of giving political recognition to the fact that most people value their language as an importance source of identity. This alternative theory sets out to officially recognize multiple languages in a given territory.     

‘HOW MANY OF US REMEMBER 1984?’: NARRATING MASCULINITY AND MILITANCY IN THE KHALISTANI RAP BRICOLAGE

For some Sikh rappers and their audiences, the utopian concept of Khalistan serves as an ideological grid, in which specific masculine and militant logics become meaningful and acceptable. In diasporic settings, such as in the UK, memories of ancestral cultures serve as mythical resources for constructing coherent narratives vis-à-vis metaphorical discourses of contemporary youth cultures. This article investigates the ways in which such narratives are constructed, and how historical remembering is explicitly and tacitly made relevant. An analysis of the lyrics of one song by a London-based hip-hop group will help to inform such perspectives on the negotiation of culture in diasporic settings, and will further deconstruct essentialist notions of ‘culture’ and ‘identity’.     

Sikh millennials of the ‘kirtan generation’ in the making of an ‘American Sikhism’

ABSTRACT

This essay focuses on the millennial generation of Sikhs in the United States. Based on extended ethnographic research in Sikh communities, the author explores the role of Sikh millennials in the making of an ‘American Sikhism’, the contours of which are taking shape having followed after the explosive growth of gurdwara communities – and the educational, social, and other resources they provide – which were largely made possible by the affluence of Sikh communities beginning with the previous ‘Brain Drain’ generation. In particular, the author discusses this ‘kirtan generation’ of Sikhs, educated in gurdwara schools, and their growing leadership of Sikh communities.     

The millennial generation of Sikhs in North America

ABSTRACT

Millennial Sikhs are second- or in some cases third-generation children born in North America in the last two decades of twentieth century. They have been actively involved in the process of ‘renewal and re-definition’ of the Sikh tradition. Cross-cultural encounters heighten their sense of identity. They constantly draw from their Sikh inheritance the universal values of social justice and equality to reach out to their non-Sikh neighbors and to fight against discrimination and injustice. Their principal strategy has been to downplay the Punjabi cultural traditions of their parents and to highlight the universal aspects of their faith in their dealings. Although they have consciously stayed away from the ‘factional politics’ of gurdwaras, they have made incredible strides in Sikh activism and political arena.     

Nominalism and Realism. How Not to Read the Tractatus' Conception of a Name

This paper focuses on a central aspect of the “picture theory” in the Tractatus – the “identity requirement” – namely the idea that a proposition represents elements in reality as combined in the same way as its elements are combined. After introducing the Tractatus' views on the nature of the proposition, I engage with a “nominalist” interpretation, according to which the Tractatus holds that relations are not named in propositions. I claim that the nominalist account can only be maintained by rejecting the “identity requirement.” I then consider an opposite – “realist” – interpretation, according to which Tractarian names include names of properties and relations. I argue that, although it can accommodate the “identity requirement,” the realist interpretation falls short of providing a correct interpretation of the Tractatus' conception of a name. I conclude by presenting an alternative account (to both nominalism and realism) of the Tractatus' conception of a name.     

Deconstructing the Punjab crisis of 1984: Deer,hawks, and siqdārs (‘officials’) as agents of state-sponsored violence

Acts of violence or non-violence are social phenomena that take place at particular historical junctures. They cannot be described as essential features of any community. The Punjab crisis of yesteryear reflected the multidimensionality of violence. On the one hand, involvement of the agents of ‘Third Agency’ in the garb of Sikh militants in random acts of violence and guerrilla warfare was totally unwarranted and counterproductive; on the other, one cannot overlook the sheer egregious and unjust acts of state, killing in the name of order, security, and sheer power. This paper looks at this dark period in recent Sikh history through the lens of Gurū Nānak’s Malār hymn. This is an insightful composition in which the Guru employs the metaphors of deer (hara?), hawks (bāj) and state officials (siqdār) who act as trained agents provocateurs to push a community in a particular direction – especially on the path of self-destruction – to justify state violence.