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The Sikh diaspora is the modern Sikh migration from the traditional area of the Punjab region of South Asia. Sikhism is a religion native to this region. The Sikh diaspora is largely a subset of the Punjabi diaspora.[2]
The diaspora is commonly accepted to have begun after the fall of the Sikh Empire in 1849 and the empire's subsequent annexation into British India. The onset of the Sikh diaspora is represented by Duleep Singh, the last emperor of the Sikhs, who was forced into exile by the British. Starting with this event, the rate of Sikh migration from Punjab has remained high and included a number of international destinations.
Religion
With more than 25 million worldwide,[3] Sikhs are adherents of the fifth-largest religion in the world.[4] The 2011 Indian census reported approximately 20 million Sikhs living in India.[5] Of these, 16 million, or 76% of all Indian Sikhs, live in the northern state of Punjab, where they form 58% of the population.[5] Substantial communities of Sikhs also live in the Indian states and union territories of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir. The states of Maharastra and Bihar are home to the two important Sikh Takht of Hazur Sahib and Patna Sahib, respectively.[5] The Canadian province of British Columbia was home to close to 300,000 Sikhs as of 2011.[6]
Historical migration patterns
The Sikhs as a political entity, distinct from other Indian traditions, can be said to have begun with the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev, in 1606. Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the 1699 establishment of the Sikh brotherhood, or Khalsa (ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ), by Gobind Singh.[7] This gives the Sikhs, as an organized political grouping, a relatively recent history of around 400 years. Migrations during the era of the gurus were limited to the boundaries of modern-day India and Pakistan, and in particular, restricted to the Sikh tribal heartland of the Punjab region.The development of the Sikh Confederacy and the rise of the Sikh Empire (1716–1849) led to Sikhs migrating to conquered parts of their empire, such as Ladakh and Peshawar. However, these migrations were limited, transitory, and unsustained, depending on the empire's fluctuating boundaries. During the reign of the Sikh Empire, there was a net cultural immigration, with Napoleonic and British influences vying for the 'ear' of the then-Sikh maharajah Ranjit Singh.[8]
Annexation of the Punjab
Maharajah Duleep Singh, the first and most famous member of the Sikh diaspora
Sikh migration from Punjab began in earnest in the second half of the 19th century, when the British Raj had successfully completed its annexation of the region. The pivotal action in the British annexation was the lifetime exile of the then-eleven-year-old maharaja, Duleep Singh, making him the first (albeit unwilling) member of the Sikh diaspora.
Although a largely secular figure who did little for the Sikh body politic, Axel (2001)[9] argues that Singh's exile has had a major impact on the Sikh diaspora psyche. Axel[10] says that Singh is the archetypal "tragic hero" figure in Sikh culture, "a King without a Kingdom, a Sikh separated from his people".
Having annexed the Sikh Empire, the British preferentially recruited Sikhs in the Indian Civil Service and, in particular, the British Indian Army, which led to the migration of Sikhs to different parts of British India and the British Empire.[11] Semiskilled artisans were transported from the Punjab to British East Africa to help in the building of railways, while many Sikhs found themselves in Australia, working as ghans, or cameleers, and as labourers on cane plantations.[citation needed]
The era of peace and prosperity ended in 1947, with the partition of Punjab between India and Pakistan. Sikh communities were practically wiped out from Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Lyallpur, Jhelum, Gujrat, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, and other districts of West Punjab. The birthplace of Sikhism, Nankana Sahib, was split away in West Punjab. Millions of Sikhs fled to freedom and safety in East Punjab; smaller numbers also fled to Afghanistan.[12]
In the 1960s and beyond, many Sikhs migrated to the UK and North America in search of economic opportunities. Some of the Sikhs who had settled in eastern Africa were expelled by Ugandan leader Idi Amin in 1972.[13] Sikhs are traditionally an agrarian community, and with the pressures of having only a limited amount of land, high birth rates, and the desire to make a better living, male offspring of Sikh farmers were encouraged to migrate to foreign countries, with significant Sikh communities becoming established in the Philippines, Canada, the UK, US, Malaysia, East Africa, Australia, and Thailand.[citation needed]
Axel (2001)[9] argues that the Sikh diaspora community, having established themselves in foreign countries, began to fetishize the past and nurture idealized designs for their 'lost and imaginary' Sikh empire. This came to fruition to a certain degree with the establishment of Indian Punjab in 1966 as a Sikh-majority state. However, Tatla (1998)[14] argues that the marginalization and sense of grievance that Indian Sikhs were facing due to Indira Gandhi's heavy-handed tactics were amplified in the Sikh diaspora. Subsequently, the Sikh diaspora, especially in south Vancouver, Canada,[15] and the UK, become willing suppliers of logistical and financial support when the organic agitation for a separate Sikh nation, Khalistan, began in the late 1970s. The actions taken by the Indian government to counter the Sikh separatist movement, via 1984's Operation Blue Star, had a seismic effect on the Sikh diaspora. Axel (2001)[16] argues that the desecration of the Sikhs' holiest shrine, Harimandir Sahib, and the following Sikh pogrom in which thousands of Sikhs were massacred, led to a resurgence in Sikh religiosity and a strengthening of ties with their Sikh brethren in Punjab. Diaspora Sikhs felt betrayed by India, and the events of 1984 defined their Sikhism and underlined a distinct commonality shared with other diaspora Sikhs. Mark Tully[17] describes Operation Blue Star as the Sikhs' 9/11. This was certainly the case for diaspora Sikhs, who in the main could only watch on in horror as the events of 1984 played out on TV.
In 1971, Jagit Singh Chohan, an ex-minister in a short-lived government of Akali dissidents, saw an alignment of like-minded Sikhs. Chohan placed a half-page advertisement in The New York Times on 12 October 1971, making several claims about Punjab as a Sikh homeland. However, Chohan won little sympathy from ordinary Sikhs.[18]
Sikhs in London protest against Indian government actions
Tatla summarises the change in Sikh diaspora community leaders post-1984 a being a "painful transition from a self-confident community with haughty discourse, to the self-defensive strategies of a vulnerable minority".[18] Organisations such as the International Sikh Youth Federation, the Babbar Khalsa, and the Council of Khalistan emerged within the diaspora, and these agencies rallied against "Hindu imperialism" or "Indian nationalism" and lobbied to join the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, aligning the Sikh cause with other ethnic groups seeking freedom, citing cases of Jews, Palestinians, Kurds, Balochis, Kashmiris, and Sri Lankan Tamils. Another organization, by the name of Sikhs for Justice, headquartered in New York, which surfaced roughly in 2014, has campaigned for the cause using activities like #BurnTheTricolour.[19][20][21][22][23]
Axel (2001)[9] argues that the history of the Sikh diaspora, its psyche of grievance, and the violence inflicted on it, means that the notion of the Sikh diaspora as a community today inevitably converges on the notion of Khalistan. In addition to this, Axel points out the "nightmare" scenario facing the Sikh diaspora: the Indian state "demands" the "Unity-in-Diversity" model of rashtriya ekta (national integration), which Axel contends is signified by "the denial of difference through surrender, assimilation and integration".
Sikh identity today
Whilst the rate of Sikh migration from Indian Punjab has remained high, traditional patterns of Sikh migration that favored English-speaking countries, particularly the United Kingdom, have changed in the past decade due to factors such as stricter immigration procedures. Moliner (2006)[24] states that as a consequence of the "fact" that Sikh migration to the UK had "become virtually impossible since the late 1970s", Sikh migration patterns altered to continental Europe. Italy has now emerged as a fast-growing area for Sikh migration,[25] with Reggio Emilia and the province of Vicenza being areas of significant Sikh population clusters.[26] Italian Sikhs are generally involved in the areas of agriculture, agro-processing, machine tools, and horticulture.[27] Canada has maintained a liberal immigration policy, and the Sikh community there is the largest in proportion to the country's population, even above India (2.1% of Canada's population versus 1.7% of India's). The largest North American Sikh community is thought to be located in south Vancouver, British Columbia, and nearby Surrey.[citation needed]
In the post-9/11 era, the Sikh diaspora in Europe and North America stood out as a visible minority often confused with radical Islamic groups because of their turbans. This has included numerous hate crimes targeting Sikhs.[citation needed] France banned turban-wearing Sikh students from publicly funded schools as part of a broader policy originally intended to restrict Muslim headscarves.[citation needed] Western security think tanks have quoted the Air India bombing to justify profiling of Sikh travellers at airports.[citation needed] Countering this train of thought, on 1 October 2017, Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh, was elected leader of the federal New Democratic Party,[28] and on 16 January 2018, Gurbir Grewal became attorney general of New Jersey—the first practicing Sikh in the US to become a state attorney general.[29]
Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religions and among the largest in the world with about 25–30million adherents.
Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning 'seeker', 'disciple' or 'student'.
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno-religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
The term Khalsa refers to both a community that follows Sikhism as its religion, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was initiated in 1699 by the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh. Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
The Damdamī Ṭaksāl, Jatha Bhindra(n), or Sampardai Bhindra(n) is an orthodox Khalsa Sikh cultural and educational organization, based in India. They are known for their teachings of vidya as well as gurbanisanthiya. Its headquarters are located in the town of Mehta Chowk, approximately 40 km north of the city of Amritsar. It has been described as a seminary or “moving university” of the Sikh countryside.
Dal Khalsa is a radical Sikh organisation, based in the city of Amritsar. The outfit was formed in 1978 by Gajinder Singh, the hijacker of Indian Airlines Flight 423. It came to prominence during Insurgency in Punjab along with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in 1981. Members of the Dal Khalsa have also been accused of the assassination of Lala Jagat Narain. The primary aim of Dal Khalsa is to form a Punjabi Sikh nation state called Khalistan.
The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the separatists of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This movement was initially peaceful, but foreign involvement and political pressures drove a heavy handed response from Indian authorities. The demand for a separate Sikh state gained momentum after the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984 aimed to flush out militants residing in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a holy site for Sikhs. Terrorism, police brutality and corruption of the authorities greatly exacerbated a tense situation. By the mid-1980s, the movement had evolved into a militant secessionist crisis due to the perceived indifference of the Indian state in regards to mutual negotiations. Eventually, more effective police and military operations, combined with a policy of rapprochement by the Indian government and the election loss of separatist sympathizers in the 1992 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, largely quelled the rebellion by the mid-1990s.
The Namdharis or Namdhari Sikhs, also known as Kuka, are a Sikh sect that differs from mainstream Sikhs chiefly in that they believe that the lineage of Sikh Gurus did not end with Satguru Gobind Singh (1666–1708) in 1708, as they recognize Satguru Balak Singh (1797–1862) as the 11th Guru of the Sikh religion, thus continuing the succession of Sikh Gurus through the centuries from Satguru Nanak Dev to the present day. Their 12th Guru is Satguru Ram Singh [1816–1885(disputed)], who moved the sect's centre to Sri Bhaini Sahib (Ludhiana) and is regarded as the first Indian to use non-cooperation and non-violence boycott in order to combat the British Empire in India.
Jagjit Singh Chohan was an Indian political activist who was a leader of the Sikh Khalistan movement that sought to create a sovereign Sikh state in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Chohan established the Council of Khalistan at Anandpur Sahib on 12 April 1980 and became its first self‐styled president.
Harjot Singh Oberoi is a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He received his PhD from the Australian National University. His thesis earned him the J.G. Crawford Prize in 1987. He is known for his studies of Sikh history, particularly during the late 19th-century and early 20th-century.
Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century and opposed many traditional practices like fasting, Upanayana, idolatry, caste system, ascetism, azan, economic materialism, and gender discrimination.
Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas. It was considered a sect within Sikhism until 2009. However, some Ravidassias continue to maintain Sikh religious practices, including the reverence of the Guru Granth Sahib as their focal religious text, wearing Sikh articles of faith (5Ks), and appending Singh or Kaur to their names.
The Sikhs are adherents to Sikhism, the fifth largest organized religion in the world, with around 25 million adherents. Sikh History is around 500 years and in that time the Sikhs have developed unique expressions of art and culture which are influenced by their faith and synthesize traditions from many other cultures depending on the locality of the adherents of the religion. Sikhism is the only religion that originated in the Punjab region with all other religions coming from outside Punjab. All the Sikh gurus, many saints, and many of the martyrs in Sikh history were from Punjab and from the Punjabi people. Punjabi culture and Sikhism are mistakenly considered inseparably intertwined. "Sikh" properly refers to adherents of Sikhism as a religion, strictly not an ethnic group. However, because Sikhism has seldom sought converts, most Sikhs share strong ethno-religious ties, therefore it is a common stereotype that all Sikhs share the same ethnicity. Many countries, such as the U.K., therefore misconcievingly recognize Sikh as a designated ethnicity on their censuses. The American non-profit organization United Sikhs has fought to have Sikhs included on the U.S. census as well, arguing that Sikhs "self-identify as an 'ethnic minority'" and believe "that they are more than just a religion".
The Council of Khalistan is a non‐profit political organization based in Washington, D.C., United States. It is seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign nation‐state called Khalistan. The Council of Khalistan is one of the key fighting forces of the Khalistan movement. It played important role during the Insurgency in Punjab.
The International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) is an organisation that aims to establish an independent homeland for the Sikhs called Khalistan.
Malaysian Sikhs are known to be the fourth largest Malaysian Indian ethnic group. It is estimated that there are around 100,000 Sikhs in Malaysia.
Sikh sects, denominations, traditions, movements, sub-traditions, also known as sampardai in the Punjabi language, are sub-traditions within Sikhism that believe in different approaches to practicing the religion. All sampradas believe in the One Creator God typically rejecting both idol worship and caste systems. Different interpretations have emerged over time, some of which have a living teacher as the leader. The major historic traditions in Sikhism, says Professor Harjot Oberoi, have included Udasi, Nirmala, Nanakpanthi, Khalsa, Sahajdhari, Namdhari Kuka, Nirankari and Sarvaria.
Sikhism is a minority religion in South America, which is estimated to be less than 0.01% of the total continent's population.
References
↑ Johnson and Barrett (2004) used in map construction. Research Paper: Quantifying alternate futures of religion and religions by Todd M. Johnson and David B. Barrett (2004). Refer to Table 1. Global adherents of the world’s 18 major distinct religions, AD 1900–2025. Published by Elsevier Ltd, Available online 15 July 2004
↑ Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers (French Sources of Indian History Series) by Jean-Marie Lafont. Pub. by Oxford University Press (2002). pp. 23–29. ISBN0-19-566111-7
1 2 3 A review of The Nation's Tortured Body: Violence, Representation, and the Formation of the Sikh "Diaspora" by Brian Keith Axel . Pub. by Duke University Press (2001).
↑ A review of The Nation's Tortured Body: Violence, Representation, and the Formation of the Sikh "Diaspora" by Brian Keith Axel . Pub. by Duke University Press (2001). pp. 48–65
↑ Diffusion of Sikhism and recent migration patterns of Sikhs in India by A. K. Dutt1 and S. Devgun. Pub. GeoJournal Volume 1, Number 5 / September,1977.Pp 81-89. Available online [dead link]
↑ A review of The Nation's Tortured Body: Violence, Representation, and the Formation of the Sikh "Diaspora" by Brian Keith Axel . pp. 68–72. Pub. by Duke University Press (2001).
↑ Sikh Migration Patterns – 'Workshop on Indian Migration' at Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Urbaine/CNRS (14/15 November 2006) Abstract 'Sikhs in France' by Christine MOLINER (PhD Student, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 November 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
"Twice Versus Direct Migrants: East African Sikh Settlers in Britain" by Parminder Bhachu. Pub. by Clark University (7 April 1990).
"The Sikh Diaspora Search for Statehood" by Darshan Singh Tatla (1998) University of Washington Press. ISBN0-295-97715-9
"Contesting Khalistan, the Sikh diaspora, and the politics of separatism" /Gunawardena, Therese Suhashini. Jan 2001 Thesis (PhD). Pub. by University of Texas at Austin, 2001. Available at: http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/6181
"Sikhs at Large: Religion, Culture, and Politics in Global Perspective" by Verne A. Dusenbery (2008) Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-568598-5; ISBN0-19-568598-9
"Sikh Diaspora Philanthropy in Punjab: Global Giving for Local Good" by Verne A. Dusenbery and Darshan S. Tatla, eds. (2009) Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-806102-1; ISBN0-19-806102-1
"Sikhs in Latin America: Travels Among the Sikh Diaspora" by Swarn Singh Kahlon (2012) Manohar Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi, India. ISBN978-81-7304-938-5
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