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.     

Precarious and model minorities: Sikh identities in the ‘new’ global politics of religion

ABSTRACT

In many parts of the world, Sikhs have come to be perceived as a ‘model' minority – so much so that some have critiqued the Sikh community for taking up positions that are perceived as assimilationist. Such critiques, however, gloss over the sense of precarity, and the litany of hardships, racial discrimination and legal battles in which Sikhs have been forced to be engage in a post-9/11 world. Ultimately, this discrimination is enabled and justified by historical western notions of the incommensurability of the sacred and secular. Engaging with recent critical debates over the on-going meanings of the sacred and the secular, this paper argues that the contemporary moment requires a cosmopolitan religious outlook. Such debates reveal the separation between the public and the private, and between the sacred and the secular, to be ‘zombie categories' that fail to capture contemporary realities. Hence, conceptualizing Sikh identities as precarious, vulnerable ‘model minorities' in a post-Brexit/Trump era allows us to explore a Sikh ethics underpinned by the universal message of SGGS Ji. This is so because such ethics have never been conceptualized as simply being ‘other-worldly’, but rather as precisely grounded in the world that has been entrusted to us.     

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.     

Documentary practices: Race,bureaucracy, and the legal regulation of gurdwaras in British Columbia

ABSTRACT

Since the 1990s, disputes over the political leadership of gurdwaras in British Columbia have formed the basis of a substantial body of case law, which has afforded courts different forms of authority over the affairs of these Sikh institutions. By analyzing 55 legal decisions related to gurdwara leadership, this article examines how law has transformed the political conditions of local Sikh populations by enfolding litigants in bureaucratic practices of documentation. Particular attention is paid to how these documentary practices are often animated by the racial spectre of fraudulence, which shapes how local Sikhs are governed as religious and racialized minorities.     

‘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.     

Ethical narratives,street kitchens and doing religious difference amongst post-migrant communities in contemporary Britain

Street kitchens organised by religious groups in response to food poverty and homelessness have become a ubiquitous feature of British cities. Although a good deal of literature has explored this genre of social action, relatively little has analysed it as a feature of religious practice associated with post-migrant communities. This paper uses data drawn from ethnographic research on Sikh and Muslim street kitchens in two British cities to consider the significance of such initiatives amongst Britain’s South Asian communities. The paper focuses on the role of narrative in this context, deploying Ingold’s notion of ‘storied knowledge’ to analyse fluid, emergent ethical practices expressed through religion-related stories. These practices, envisaged here as ‘religioning’, draw on South Asian religious traditions creatively reconfigured in the postcolonial city. I argue that such developments constitute a significant diasporic intervention into settled accounts of ‘faith’ as a vehicle for ethical citizenship in British urban environments.     

Materializing Sikh pasts1

Objects and sites related to the Sikh Gurus, heroes and martyrs are ubiquitous in Punjab and beyond. As objects of memory, they function to represent the past and participate in a larger narration of that past as history. This paper examines exemplary cases of Sikh historical objects and sites and considers their role as lieux de memoire, as theorized by Pierre Nora, to commemorate the Guru and the relationships that constitute the community around him. Narration constitutes the animating principle for these objects, making them both like and unlike other kinds of material religious traditions generally known as ‘relics’. The early Buddhist tradition is provided for productive contrast, to suggest a parallel case of a narrative frame that determines the historical meanings of the material aspect of religious practices and ideologies.     

THE OTHER SIKHS

In the last 100 years, Sikhs have travelled to different countries in the West and beyond. There is a significant amount of scholarly writing about the presence of Sikhs across the globe. However, their experience in migration and settlement in different parts of India beyond Punjab remains a comparatively neglected area of Sikh studies. Its history goes back to the medieval days and includes a larger numbers of Sikhs than that exist in the Western diaspora. These Sikh sites are numerous and scattered across India. They communicate the message of home in poly-vocalic voices and point to the surfacing of another Sikh diaspora within India beyond Punjab. This article seeks to outline a small part of it with reference to the Sikh past in Manipur. Manipur is located along the Indo-Myanmar border and seeks to emphasize the local Sikh community's distinctiveness and plurality.     

FEMALE VOICES IN GURBĀNĪ SANGĪT AND THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN PROMOTING FEMALE KĪRTANĪE

This paper discusses the performance of Gurbānī kīrtan rendered by female singers, an activity that is an integral part of the Sikh spiritual practice, yet at a professional level has always been considered a male domain.

The study is framed within the wider context of Indian traditional culture, analyzing the social norms that for centuries prevented women from public exposure in the fields of religious and classical music. In relation to the Sikh tradition, the author explores the variety of musical forms (classical and folk) adopted by female kīrtanīe for performing Gurbānī hymns, raising important issues about music education.

Based on ethnographic research among the community of contemporary kīrtanīe, the article explores the key role of media in promoting female performers during the last three decades, through dedicated TV and radio shows, social networks and web sites. In the author's analysis, each decade has brought about radical shifts in the strategies of production and perception of Gurbānī kīrtan, opening up new opportunities for performance by female kīrtanīe.     

Public Opinion on Church-State Issues in a Changing Environment

The recent waves of Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, and other non-Judeo-Christian immigrants in American cities have increased religious diversity. This article examines changes in public attitudes on church-state issues in the Washington, D.C. metro area—a region that has experienced significant religious diversification. We find that between 1993 and 2000, aggregate support for public displays of Christianity decreased in the Washington area, and support for free exercise of minority religions increased. Yet the changing structure of church-state attitudes suggests that many residents are beginning to think of religious issues in a more polarized way.     

The Third Ghallughara: On the Sikh Dilemma Since 1984

This article examines the enduring impact of 1984 tragedy upon the Sikh community. After outlining the initial reaction to the Government of India's army action in the Golden Temple Amritsar, it looks at some of the ways common Sikhs made sense of the loss of the Sikh heritage and the hurt of desecration of their holiest shrine. While the Indian stately discourse enforced by the media tried to justify its ghastly action, this was challenged, by a section of the Sikh elite. Even after three decades the reverberations of the tragedy seem unending, reminding Sikhs individually as well as collectively about the precarious public space available for community's cultural, linguistic, and political expressions. The article points towards the persistent dilemma of the Sikh elite as it makes sense of various compulsions, choices, and strategies in the postcolonial Indian polity.     

(THE IMAGE OF) GOD IN ALL OF US

This essay compares Sikh and Christian thought about and practices of hospitality in light of the global refugee crisis. It aims to show how both practices of hospitality, and religious ethical thought about hospitality, can be enhanced by dialogue between traditions. The refugee crisis arises out of a global failure of hospitality, and the type of hospitality refugees most fundamentally need is that which confers membership in a political community. Comparing Christian and Sikh ethics of hospitality provides guidance toward building rooted religious communities that welcome outsiders, including by incorporating them into political communities. In particular, Christians who hold social power and privilege can better fulfill ethical mandates of hospitality by looking to the example of Sikhs and other marginalized groups. Sikhs have often built communities through acts of hospitality and welcomed outsiders without fear, even in contexts where their own belonging is questioned and their own security is under threat.     

MAKING MEANING OF 1984 IN CYBERSPACE

VANCOUVER –A group of B.C. Sikh students who wore controversial T-shirts to school have sparked a debate within their community and left some wondering why a group of youths would latch onto a divisive movement dating from before they were born.

The students showed up to Surrey's Princess Margaret Secondary School earlier this month wearing shirts emblazoned with the word Khalistan, referring to a Sikh separatist movement advocating for a Sikh homeland in India's Punjab region that was often linked to violence in the 1980s.

On the back was a quote from Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a Khalistan advocate who was killed during India's 1984 raid on the Golden Temple.

School administrators told the students not to wear the shirts again.

Some have brushed off the T-shirts as youthful rebellion or dismissed the students as naive and uninformed.

The teens, however, insist they know the history and wanted to make a statement that would be heard.

‘When people see this, they'll look at it and be like, “Wow, there's people still out there that still believe in this stuff. And it's not just the older generation, it's the youth”,’ one of the boys said last week during a call-in show on a local multicultural radio station.

Another student – they didn't provide their names – made it clear the group was, in fact, advocating for an independent Sikh state.

‘We want freedom in Punjab’, he said.

Students at Surrey's Princess Margaret High School wear T-shirts some say are controversial, Friday, April 18th, 2008.

The Canadian Press. April 27 2008 12:53 PM ET     

Lost in translation? The emergence of the digital Guru Granth Sahib

ABSTRACT

This article explores the impact of the digital online environment on the religious lives of Sikhs with a particular focus on the emergence of the ‘Digital Guru’, i.e. digital versions of the Guru Granth Sahib. Using data gathered through interviews and an online survey, I examine how the ‘Digital Guru’ is impacting on the transmission of the Sikh tradition and on Sikh religious authority. I then explore some of the issues faced in engaging with the ‘Digital Guru’ and the consequences of the emergence of online translations. Given that ‘going online’ has become an everyday practice for many, this article contributes to understandings of the impact of the online environment on the religious adherents in general, and on Sikhs in particular.     

Sikh millennials engaging the earth: Sikhi,environmental activism,and eco-enchantment

ABSTRACT

Diaspora Sikhs of and at the millennium are involved in a broad range of causes. This paper examines two Sikh environmental organizations: KarmaGrow and EcoSikh. Drawing from three previously unrelated strands of the Sikh and Punjabi studies literature (millennial Sikh identities in diaspora; engagements with land and landscape among Punjabis; and the influence of Sikh ethics), I explore the millennial diaspora environmentalisms of these cases. I argue that they challenge Weber's proposition that modern society is disenchanted, as well as Western notions of development, by re-engaging Punjabi ecological traditions, recuperating sacred geography and landscape, and uniting householding and stewardship.