Search Results

This chapter assesses the development of Sikh culture and politics in Britain in the post-World War II period, stressing the ways in which ideas about 'Sikh identity' were formed through engagement with the British state. It also argues that Sikh identity was defined through a shifting set of engagements with other 'new' communities, including Afro-Caribbean  and South Asian Muslim migrants.  While the chapter locates the discourses and practices that framed these ideas about Sikhism within a longer tradition of Punjabi cultural definition, it highlights the particular pressures that the changing nature of British governmental policy (multiculturalism) and the politics of race and religion in Britain inflected visions of what it is to be a Sikh.

This chapter describes the educational role of Sikh children’s literature (such as the Amar Chitra Katha comic books) and its influence on the development of a Sikh identity among the young. It concentrates on the material aspects of this literature—the books, their artistic depictions, and the specific manners chosen to express Sikhism—that condition the reception of the Sikh tradition by a child, even by one too young to read. The examples presented provide warnings against going off the moral course set by the Gurus. The concept of the Khalsa as a normative identity is presented so ubiquitously that no child can be oblivious of it. Sikhism is expressed through the use of cross-cultural motifs (such as the use of the overtly Christian ‘halo’, the motif of Madonna and Child etc.) that bring Sikhism closer to children growing up in the West. Since the situation for Sikhs in twenty-first-century America is far different than it was thirty years ago, the author points to over-simplification in this literature as being delimiting, and how the continued use of these texts—and the implications of their use—needs to be examined more critically.

Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha’s magnum opus, Gurshabad Ratanākar Mahān Kosh (The Encyclopaedia of Sikh Literature), published in 1930, was preceded by two seminal works: Gurmat Prabhakār (1898), a collection of verses from the Gurū Granth Sāhib, and Gurmat Sudhākar (1899), which dealt with various themes based on Sikh literature produced during the precolonial period. Bhai Kahn Singh’s Ham Hindū Nahīn explores the issue of Sikh identity, one of the major concerns of the Singh Sabha reformers. Bhai Kahn Singh presents his thesis in the form of a dialogue between a Hindu and a Sikh. It also discusses issues related to scriptures, caste system, idea of incarnation, worship of Goddess among the Sikhs, and idol worship. Ham Hindū Nahīn can be interpreted as an argument for Sikh nationality based on a distinct Sikh identity. The chapter also discusses recent historical perspectives of scholars like Daljeet Singh, W.H. McLeod, and Harjot Oberoi.

This chapter attempts to excavate the hermeneutics of the Guru Granth Sahib to evaluate why lower-caste members of the Sikh Panth (community) have felt that their Mazhabi labelling has prevented their equal assimilation into the Sikh Panth. The Ravidasis and the Valmikis broke away from the Panth, and sought social and religious satisfaction through their distinct identities as separate from both Hindus and Sikhs. The development of the Sikh faith in practice shows that these teachings were used in practice through the lives of the Sikh Gurus. Both the Ravidasi and Valmiki Sabhas play important roles as religious institutions in the lives of their diasporic communities, with the author focusing on these groups in Britain. The author describes how the existence of clearly defined boundaries between being a follower of Guru Ravidas/Guru Valmiki and also being a follower of the ten Sikh Gurus is particularly problematic, more so in the context of the Sikh diaspora in Britain.

This chapter considers the Sikh religious and cultural identity/ies in southern California. It also addresses how Sikh identities are formed, performed, informed, interpreted, and understood through the participants’ relationship with the Sikh practice of Gurbani kirtan (or Shabad kirtan), the musical and vocal performance of the central Sikh scripture, the Adi Granth. The analytical lens of diaspora studies used by the author understands musical and oral/aural performances of Gurbani as taking on multiple roles in the diasporic Sikh communities. The performance of kirtan can be regarded as a form of continuous self-commemoration for Sikh communities. Kirtan appears as a significant locus for identity transmission. The performance of Gurbani kirtan makes manifest the majesty and consciousness-transforming power of the eternal Naad. The obvious centrality of kirtan to the lives of diaspora Sikh communities indicates the ripeness of this topic for further research.

The secular state in the context of India's major indigenous religious traditions—namely, Hinduism and Sikhism—does not mean that a constitutional wall separates the state from the church here as it does in the United States. The Sikh gurdwara (temple) is sometimes loosely called a church, but such a comparison is misleading, for the gurdwara is a place of worship rather than an organ of institutional control. The freedom to hold any religious beliefs and engage in related religious practices has, however, given rise to one of the most agonizing dilemmas of the Indian polity: how to cope with the demand of some religious communities, notably the Sikhs, for the recognition of their ‘right’ to repudiate the separation of religion and politics in the conduct of their own community life. This chapter discusses Sikh fundamentalism, gurdwara agitation, Sikh separatism, and the Operation Blue Star of 1984–94.

This chapter explores the legacy of history and migration to understand contemporary challenges to Sikhism in the global context. When the Sikhs settle abroad, tensions between their former and new cultural settings influence their lives. Although coming from one region in India—the Punjab—the Sikh community has always been relatively small in size. However, the means of communication between different diasporic communities—and with their homeland in Punjab— have grown steadily over the years. The author discusses the role of a new print culture, internet chatrooms, and websites as places of debate about issues relating to Sikhs and Sikhism. In the diaspora, the Sikhs have managed an increasingly stable and productive adaptation in new cultural settings. Most legal cases against the key symbols of Sikhism—the kirpan and turban—have been won by the Sikhs in different countries. The author discusses how Sikhs perceive their faith as a world religion, and are working at the local, national and international levels to build bridges to other religions. Contrary to stereotypical images of the community, Sikhs have moved toward resolving organizational disputes without resort to violence and legal proceedings. The author concludes by pointing out how the educational efforts of the Singh Sabhas and the Chief Khalsa Diwan have seen growth in the number of young Sikh scholars with broad visions and the capacity to adapt to a world of rapid change.

The Gurdwara Reform Act changed the way that colonial governance interacted with always-evolving definitions of being Sikh. The definition of being Sikh was connected in the Act to the designation of the historical gurdwara, and therefore to the designation of a landscape of the Sikh past articulated through this institution and its control, as well as to the definition of the Sikh community and Sikh individuals who comprise it. It is through this that we see the linking of a particular kind of territoriality with the articulation of what it means to be Sikh, and with the inscription of being Sikh into the past. In this formula, identity, land, and history were linked in political and administrative terms. This built upon but also transformed existing ideas of the past and its representation in material and geographical forms that were engaged in diverse ways since the beginning of the eighteenth century, and caused a change in the way the past is imagined in material terms. Objects, which accompanied sites as a part of a historical imaginary that constructed the community of Sikhs as a web of relationships, occupy a less prominent place in a memorial landscape mapped onto territory.

This chapter examines the displacement and reorganization of traditions to initiate markers and rituals of a specifically Sikh identity. The passing of the Anand Marriage Act of 1909—in the teeth of opposition from the Arya Samaj—came to represent Sikhism's distinction from the wider Hindu culture. The author contextualizes the Anand Marriage Act within the wider framework of Punjab politics, both communal and administrative. The deepening of communal rivalry suited colonial rulers, especially the Indian Army wherein Sikh soldiers had been trained to be loyal to the British. This led the objectives of the Tat Khalsa to become gradually aligned with British goals. Though the Singh Sabha reformers loudly promulgated the improvement of females as central to their reform mission, little was done about it. Instead, a ‘new patriarchy’ came to be established in which issues like women's ornamentation, women's clothing, the ban on the use of abusive language etc. in favour of ‘sober and solemn’ ceremonies resulted in Sikh women being confined to home and hearth. The ‘gentrification’ and other patterns of control over Sikh womanhood constituted an important aspect of the hegemonic position coveted by the Tat Khalsa. The author concludes by discussing how such strictures were resisted by women, even as they were reviled in moralistic writings as being responsible for the degeneration of Sikhism in general.

This chapter investigates the roots and context of the Singh Sabha Reform Movement and its influence within the colonial context in Punjab. The author goes through describing the following: the contribution to female education by the Kuka Movement; British support to the efforts of the Punajbi intelligentsia in spreading education and the learning of Gurmukhi; the Christian missionary contribution to improving the status of women; the combined efforts of colonial rulers and the Sikh elite in the eradication female infanticide, dowry, mourning and marriage rituals, prostitution, women's songs, and women's clothing; the dissenting interpretations of women's reforms under the Namdharis led by Guru RamSingh; the contribution of the Arya Samaj Movement towards women's upliftment; and, finally, the taking over of gender re-construction by the Singh Sabha Movement (in which 120 were in operation by 1899). By the end of the nineteenth century, the women's question became integral to defining the religious identity of the Sikhs as being different from that of the Hindus and the Muslims. The author concludes by pointing out that only Sikh males were involved in these transformational measures: Sikh women were not consulted.

The Sikh scripture is known as the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ because it is believed to be the actual embodiment of the eternal Guru. As the living word of the eternal Guru, the Adi Granth has a central role in divine reality, wherein its meaning assumes critical importance in the life of the Sikh Panth. This basic understanding must be kept in mind when exploring the place of scripture in the Sikh tradition. This chapter shows how the Guru Granth Sahib has functioned as a supratextual source of authority in the Sikh tradition, and how the place and function of the Adi Granth as Guru has inspired Sikhs throughout their history in personal piety, liturgy, ceremonies, and communal solidarity. In addition, the scripture has given them a sacred focus upon which to discover the meaning of life as Sikhs and has been a decisive factor in shaping a distinctive Sikh identity.

This chapter focuses on the works of the Sufi poet, Shaikh Farid (1173-1265), a celebrated Punjabi poet representing the Chisti line of thought in the Punjab. It examines the Sikh Gurus' treatment of the verses of Shaikh Farid, in the Adi Granth, to fully understand the extent of interaction and mutual influence between the Sufi tradition and early Sikh tradition. In particular, it addresses the various issues raised by the comments made by the Sikh Gurus—Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, and Guru Arjan—on certain verses of the Sufi poet. It argues that these comments reflect the atmosphere of the religious dialogues and debates between the Sikh community and the followers of Shaikh Farid in the Punjab. The issues raised in these early Sikh-Sufi encounters were crucial for shaping the emerging Sikh identity. They play an important role in defining what it means to be a Sikh in relation to the commonly held Sufi ideals.

In recent decades a number of scholars have discussed new issues like Sikh identity, martyrdom in the Sikh tradition, and caste and gender in the Sikh social order. At the same time, new perspectives have developed on the Sikh scripture (Adi Granth) and the Dasam Granth as well as the legacy of Guru Gobind Singh. The literature produced at the court of Guru Gobind Singh has come to be seen as a contemporary source of great importance. Sikh literature of the eighteenth century period has also been explored by scholars in different disciplines. These new issues and sources are taken up in this chapter, along with the main sources in Persian and English.

This chapter explores how Guru Arjan's editorial insights enabled him to produce the first canonical text of the Adi Granth in 1604. It shows that Guru Arjan applied meticulous standards to give the scripture its distinctive form in terms of both content and style. The theological aspects of texts of the Adi Granth are consistent with their metrical, poetic, and linguistic structures, providing an internal unity to the Adi Granth. Guru Arjan was also largely responsible for the final text of the scripture, and some of the fundamental aspects of his editorial policy are reflected in the rédaction process itself. An analysis of his editorial decisions reveals five major guiding principles: doctrinal consistency, the ideal of balanced life, the spirit of optimism, the inclusive ideal, and the concern for a distinctive Sikh identity.

This chapter describes the teachings, rituals, practices, and festivals of the Sikh religion. Issues of Sikh identity are also explored—an important feature of Sikhism both historically and in the present day. Central to Sikh teachings is the belief in the oneness of God, whom the Sikhs refer to in a variety of names, among them, “Akal Purakh,” Eternal Being. The gurus described the striving for union with the Divine in terms of the joys of marital bliss. A true devotee of the Divine was often presented as the bride of Akal Purakh. They also taught that while the essence of Akal Purakh is beyond human comprehension, that essence is everywhere, in every object, experience, and relationship.

Master Tara Singh’s differences with the Congress Government in political matters began to emerge in 1948. In March 1948, the Akali legislators joined the Congress party in the legislature. Master Tara Singh underscored, nevertheless, that it was essential to preserve Sikh identity in religious, social, and political matters. The Akali Dal made it clear in October 1948 that the most effective safeguard for a minority was the right to choose its own representatives through separate electorates. In February 1949, Master Tara Singh emphasized that the root of all demands and all principles for the Sikhs was to have political power. Sardar Patel kept Master Tara Singh under detention for about eight months as a political prisoner under the Bengal Regulation III of 1818, which did not allow any legal intervention. His purpose was to settle all major Sikh issues without Master Tara Singh.

This chapter considers the diversity of Sikh identity, specifically distinct groups included under the umbrella of “Sikhism.” Although the Khalsa Sikh identity has often been presented as normative and the only authentic expression of what constitutes Sikh identity, there is no such consensus in this regard among Sikhs. Differences in the Sikh community existed from the very beginning of the Sikh tradition. As a result of Guru Nanak’s establishing succession based on merit as opposed to lineage, a number of the gurus’ sons created their own followings. One such group is the ascetic Udasi order, who claim to trace their authority to Guru Nanak’s eldest son, Srichand. Another guru’s son established a following whose members came to be called Minas.