Gangs, Migration, and Crime: The Changing Landscape in Europe and the USA

The history of gangs is intertwined with migration. In America, a number of classic studies have reported on the possible causal link between immigration, socio-economic position, social disorganization, and gang formation. More recently in Europe, the impact of migration on gangs reflects a complex mix of factors that also includes cultural and media influences. In addition, there are other contextual factors such as immigration and population movement that have received less attention, yet condition the relationship between structural factors and the formation of gangs. Processes such as immigration, migration, and resettlement have had an important impact on the transmission of gangs on an international, national, and local scale, often enhanced by the impact of immigration. This article examines the relationship between immigration, culture, and gangs and contrasts European and US research.     

South Asian American millennial marriages: Sikhs,Hindus, and Muslims

ABSTRACT

South Asian American millennial Sikhs, like millennial Hindus and Muslims, demonstrate a widening range of partner choices, marriage rituals, and celebratory practices. For young Sikh Americans, the roles of the bride and groom in planning their weddings are increasingly important, as are the cultural or secular aspects of the weddings. Furthermore, rather than considering community, the young people are emphasizing individual choice. These conclusions point to adaptation and cultural translations at the level of the couples, families, religious or regional diasporic communities, and diasporic communities more broadly defined (as Indian, Pakistani, South Asian), translations that reflect the changing context in America and the American cohorts of which these young people are members.     

British multiculturalism and Sikhs

British Sikhs are often portrayed as the pioneers of British multiculturalism, a public policy that has come under serious introspection since 9/11 and 7/7. This article argues that although the development of the British Sikh community since the Second World War has contributed significantly to the shaping of national and local policies to manage religious and cultural diversity, this achievement has been realised within a traditional British statecraft that promotes opt-outs from general rule-making, localisation and asymmetrical pluralism. The dispute over the recent play Behzti highlights the tensions between this mode of diversity management and the need to address the claims of deep multiculturalists who call for the further cultural democratisation of public spaces.     

TUR(BANNED) MASCULINITIES: Terrorists,Sikhs, and trauma in Indian cinema

This paper looks at two noteworthy cinematic representations of events in Punjab in the last two decades. The films Maachis and Hawein are important in the severely limited subsection of films on Punjab. A critical reading of these films throws up many conflicted junctures of representation, political commentary, historical envisioning, and gendered narratives. Both films tend not to engage with the larger political questions and remain sequestered in microcosmic renditions of the events, which, though necessary, continue to represent Punjab, the insurgency or the riots, as isolated events of a larger national history rather than defining moments which point to the very instability of the nation.     

Sikhs and Sikhism in Bihar: Their distinctiveness and diversity

Medieval Bihar served as an important corridor for Sikh dispersal to other areas in eastern and north-eastern India. It stimulated the birth of native Sikh groups who significantly differ from their Punjabi-speaking counterparts in physical presentation and mother tongue. The essay examines why the native Sikhs’ perception of Sikhism differs from Singh Sabha’s (1873–1909) narrative of a monolithic Sikh identity, distinct from Hinduism. The study debates whether it is the perceived centrality of Sikhism’s self-representation in Punjab that stimulates fissures in the Punjabi-Bihari Sikh relationship – fissures that periodically surface and rupture an imagined, homogenized Sikh identity within the sacred precincts of twenty-first-century Patna city.     

The Impact of Migration on Evangelism in Europe

The extensive secularization that eroded Christian belief and practice and that caused a drastic decline in church membership and the presence of an increasing number of non‐Christian migrants in Europe today is not only endangering the future of Christian faith, but reminding us that there are millions of people in Europe who need to hear the gospel. But generally, there is a continuing decline of interest in evangelism among the local churches and theological training in Europe, with the exception of free churches and some mission organizations. Theological training in Europe, at least in its present shape, has not been successful in shaping, leading and equipping the church for the task of evangelism as discipleship: a life‐transforming encounter. Therefore, we need a renewed vision of evangelism to develop contextual evangelistic approaches that takes paradigm shifts of our time into account. Migrant Christians bring a remarkable new dimension to the understanding and practice of evangelism in Europe. They come from a context where evangelism is intrinsically interrelated to discipleship making and is seen as the central identity of a church and a primary goal of theological training. This can inspire, encourage and compel European Christians to rediscover a courageous missional identity and develop effective cross‐cultural evangelism. Meanwhile, migrant Christians need the guidance of European Christians in order to use a proper and contextualized approach to win the trust of Europeans and succeed in evangelizing them. Humility is the key element that is commonly needed in this win‐win situation. Positive theological and multicultural networks along with interdependence and mutual learning–oriented relationships between migrant and local Christians can help to develop ecumenical missiologies that are relevant to diverse contexts of Europe today. The issue of the International Review of Mission focuses on the theme of Evangelism as Discipleship. This theme is held by most migrant Christians and congregations as the main interrelated aspect of evangelism. I will start by giving a brief background on the status of migration and evangelism in Europe. The main focus will be the impact of and contribution of migration on evangelism and some major aspects in which migrants may influence the search for new ways of evangelism and the development of ecumenical missiologies in Europe.     

Thai Transgenders in Focus: Demographics,Transitions and Identities

ABSTRACT

Data was analysed for a sample of 195 Thai transgendered females (i.e., male-to-female (MtF) transgenders) who had completed a questionnaire covering, inter alia, demographics, transition histories and sexual/gender identities. Mean age was 25.4 years.

For demographic data, we found that our participants were often among the youngest in their family, that females played a prominent role in their lives (often rearing them without any male help), and that around one in five brothers (natural or step) were also transgendered.

With regard to transition histories, we found that many participants had transitioned very early in life, beginning to feel different to other males, and identifying as non-male by middle childhood. By adolescence many were living a transgendered life. Many took hormones, beginning to do so by a mean age of 16.3 years, and several from as early as 10 years. Many underwent surgeries of various kinds, on average in the twenties, with one undergoing SRS as early as 15 years.

As to identity, most of our participants thought of themselves simply as phuying (women), with a smaller number thinking of themselves as phuying praphet song (a ‘second kind of woman’). A small number thought of themselves as kathoey (a more general Thai term embracing a variety of gender non-conformities). While most participants would prefer to be a woman, there were a few who seemed comfortable being transgendered. A few foresaw that they would not be living a transgendered life into old age. The vast majority expressed a sexual attraction to men.     

Sketches of Sikhs in the 1880s

Between 1883 and 1885 the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway commissioned a sailing expedition around the world with the frigate Vanadis. On board was the Swedish archaeologist and ethnographer Hjalmar Stolpe who during land excursions collected no less than 7500 cultural specimens for an intended ethnographical museum in Sweden. When reaching India in late 1884 he travelled through the northern British territories, including Punjab, for almost three months. This article gives an overview of the Indian and Sikh ethnographical objects preserved in the Vanadis collection and how the material entered the collection through Stolpe's travels, scholarly networks, and encounters with Sikhs in Punjab.     

Human and Global Identities: Different Prototypical Meanings of All-Inclusive Identities

The impact of identities encompassing all human beings (e.g., human and/or global identities) on intergroup relations is complex, with studies showing mostly positive (e.g., less dehumanization), but also negative (e.g., deflected responsibility for harm behavior), effects. However, different labels and measures have been used to examine the effects of these all-inclusive superordinate identities, without a systematic empirical examination of the extent to which they overlap or differ in their sociopsychological prototypical content. This study examined whether different labels activate the same contents in laypeople's conceptualization. Two hundred and forty-eight participants openly described one of six labels: “All humans everywhere”; “People all over the world”; “People from different countries around the world”; “Global citizens”; “Citizens of the world”; and “Members of world community.” Results from quantitative content analyses showed that the different labels activated different thematic attributes, representing differences in their core prototypical meaning. We propose that a general distinction should be made between labels that define membership based on human attributes (e.g., biological attributes) and those that evoke attributes characteristic of membership in a global political community (e.g., attitudinal attributes), as their effect on intergroup relations may vary accordingly.     

Skilled German Migrants and Their Motives for Migration Within Europe

German migration within Europe has so far received little attention from researchers. This is especially true of migrants with intermediate qualifications (vocational training, technical school, master craftsman’s certificate). The present contribution is devoted to this phenomenon and examines the reasons why people belonging to this particular group migrate. To do this we pick up on central theoretical arguments in migration research, on the basis of which we examine the relevance of economic and social factors for Germans who migrate within Europe. It emerges that, empirically, for Germans with intermediate qualifications, economic factors are crucial. In particular, unemployment, low or falling wages, as well as poor working conditions in Germany constitute important push factors, while job offers, higher wages and better working conditions in the destination countries constitute the main pull factors. In comparison, social networks are less important factors in migration, since only in a few cases did the interviewees have solid contacts abroad. The empirical results of the study are based on the analysis of available population statistics and 40 problem-centred, biographical interviews carried out between October 2006 and April 2007 in various regions of Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Berlin).     

The Living Words of the Living Master: Sants,Sikhs, Sachkhand Nanak Dham and the Academy

This article investigates a new religious movement, Sachkhand Nanak Dham, by comparing it with Sikhism. It argues that Sachkhand Nanak Dham has affinities with both Punjabi popular religiosity and Sikh sectarian movements. Further, it argues that Sachkhand Nanak Dham today is similar to an earlier stage in the development of Sikhism. It provides an account of the life and work of the founder of Sachkhand Nanak Dham, Mahraz Darshan Das Ji, and identifies significant continuities with the life and work of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, suggesting that these continuities may be explained by reference to the Sant tradition. Finally, the article speculates about the future development of Sachkhand Nanak Dham, specifically whether it can avoid the fate of becoming a ‘religion’, according to Mahraz Darshan Das Ji, an institutionalised orthodoxy antithetical to revelatory insight, and in so doing considers the possibility of a new lineage of living Masters.     

Educated millennial Sikhs: Higher education,social mobility and identity formation among British Sikh youth

ABSTRACT

Large scale Sikh male migration to Britain in the 1950s gave way to family re-unions, leading to the development of vibrant Sikh communities across major cities and emergence of a millennial second and third generation Sikh youth. This chapter specifically identifies and evaluates higher education and labour market experiences of these millennial Sikhs. It argues mass participation in higher education produced differential outcomes, with a small upper segment becoming high achievers but a large bottom segment unable to realise the full potential. Further, these experiences had varied effects on their identity formation, with some moving away from their parental religion whilst others (re)embracing their tradition and adopting Sikh articles of faith. Finally, these differential experiences have also contributed to the widening of socio-economic differentiation within the British Sikh community as a whole and on potential for upward social mobility.     

Caste and Identity Processes among British Sikhs in the Midlands

This article examines the role of caste in the lives and identities of a small sample of young Sikhs in the English Midlands, using social psychological theory. In many academic writings, there is an implicit representation of caste as a negative aspect of South Asian culture and religion, and of caste identification as a means of oppressing vulnerable outgroups. Twenty-three young Sikhs were interviewed, and the qualitative data were analysed using Identity Process Theory. The following themes are discussed: (i) Caste as a Dormant Social Category, (ii) Anchoring the Caste Ingroup to Positive Social Representations, and (iii) Caste as an Inherent or Constructed Aspect of Identity? It is argued that neither caste nor caste-based prejudice appear to be prominent in the lives and identities of our interviewees but that, because caste is an important symbolic aspect of identity which can acquire salient in particular contexts, some Sikhs may wish to maintain this identity though endogamy. What is understood as caste-based prejudice can be better understood in terms of the downward comparison principle in social psychology. The implications for caste legislation are discussed.