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Sikh Studies is a field of academia focused on the study of Sikhism. [1] It is sometimes referred to as Sikhology with its academics called Sikhologists. [2] [3] [4] [5] It remains an understudied yet growing field of scholarly work. [1]
The field focuses on "the Sikh community, its history, and religious culture, Sikhism." [1]
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| Sikh scriptures • Punjabi literature |
The majority of serious academic literature produced remains in European languages, such as English, French, and German, but there are many works being produced in Indic languages, such as in Hindi, Urdu, and especially Punjabi. [1]
The field is seen as beginning around the mid-20th century, during the time of the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two domains: Pakistan and India. [1] Literature in European languages regarding Sikhs and Sikhism has existed since the 18th century but the institutional environment did not exist at that period to further these inquiries and attempts into a proper field of study. [1] With worldwide interest in the Sikhs growing in the aftermath of the partition, increased Sikh migration around the world, plights of ethnic and religious minorities being recognized, the institutional apparatus needed to birth the field of Sikh studies began to form and take shape. [1]
Initially, the field focused on historical and philological textual study but later-on delved into philosophy and ethics. [1] The early works were authored with the aim to "assert the uniqueness of Sikhs as a separate world religion". [1] However, recent works produced have ventured into exploring anthropology, sociology, and political sciences of the Sikhs. [1] Whilst the field looks at the Sikhs as being a production of the cultural framework and tapestry of the Indian subcontinent and its civilization, scholars in the field admit that the Sikhs oftentimes "confounds categorical schema at every turn". [1]
Recently, a newfound direction of the field is toward "incorporation of critical modes of thinking, theory, philosophy, and antiphilosophy which uses central Sikh texts, culture, and history to engage and actualize Sikh thinking to force an encounter with its hegemonic other." [1]
The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) established a Sikh Studies endowed chair in 2024 to improve research in the field. [6] It is the only one of its kind in Canada. [6]
Pashaura Singh's scholarly work has faced push-back and criticism from some traditionalist and conservative sections of the Sikh community. [7]
A few Sikh groups have put pressure on universities to stifle academic criticism of popular Sikh literature and theories of Sikh history. [8] In the early 1990s, Pashaura Singh, an academic of the Macleodian school, was campaigned against for challenging the authenticity of Guru Granth Sahib. Singh was pressured to withdraw sections of his thesis. [9] [10] [11] The Akal Takht issued a statement that Pashaura Singh was afforded due opportunity by the Akal Rakhta and other Sikh scholars on his comparative method (borrowed from Trumpp) and his hypothesis of the draft theory was rejected as forcibly injecting undated texts dated much beyond the timeline of the Adi Granth. [12] Another academic also praised by MacLeod, Harjot Oberoi, was also campaigned against for his removal by parties which denounced his methodology towards the study of Sikhism. [13]
According to the Indologist Mark Juergensmeyer, the largest group of scholars dedicated to Sikh Studies are based in and near Punjab, but these scholars project themselves as proud Sikhs and predominantly focus on showing distinctiveness of their faith rather than examine the connections and similarities of Sikhism to other religious traditions based on comparative studies of texts and manuscripts. [14] Sikh writers criticize methodologies to "coldly dissect" their personal faith and Sikh history by "methods of social science" and by critical comparative textual or literary analysis. [14] This, critiques Juergensmeyer, has set the stage for an "unhappy confrontation" between the academic scholars versus those motivated in defending the dignity of their faith, including publications by Sikh institutions that are hostile to W. H. McLeod and other scholars who are based outside India, [14] and as Juergensmeyer states, some conservative Sikh scholars have made important contributions to the scholarship of Sikhism by discovering old Sikh manuscripts and publishing their analysis. [14]
There are five identified schools of historiography within the field of Sikh studies: [15]
These schools may disagree on facts but also on interpretation of said facts. [15] Differences between the various schools of thought have increased since 1984, a tumultuous year for the Sikhs. [15]
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 25–30 million adherents.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.
Adherents of Sikhism follow a number of prohibitions. As with any followers of any faith or group, adherence varies by each individual.
The Dasam Granth is a collection of various poetic compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. The text enjoyed an equal status with the Adi Granth, or Guru Granth Sahib, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and were installed side by side on the same platform. The Dasam Granth lost favor during the colonial period when reformist Singh Sabha Movement scholars couldn't contextualize the reworkings of Puranic stories or the vast collection of 'Tales of Deceit' Sri Charitropakhyan.
Ik Onkar, also spelled Ek Onkar or Ik Oankaar ; literally, "one Om", hence interpreted as "There is only one God or one Creator") is a phrase in Sikhism that denotes the one supreme reality. It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy.
The Sarbloh Granth or Sarabloh Granth, also called Manglacharan Puran or Sri Manglacharan Ji, is a voluminous scripture, composed of more than 6,500 poetic stanzas. It is traditionally attributed as being the work of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. Scholars, on the other hand, attribute the work to after the Guru's death, being authored by an unknown poet. The work is mostly revered by the Nihang sect.
The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth, more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second most important scripture of the Sikhs is the Dasam Granth. Both of these consist of text which was written or authorised by the Sikh Gurus.
Rehat refers to the rules and traditions which govern the unique Sikh lifestyle and determines correct Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The Sikh Rehit Maryada is a code of conduct and conventions for Sikhism. The final version of the Rehat Maryada was controversially approved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar in 1945. The Rehat Maryada was created to provide guidance to Sikhs on practical and functional aspects of daily life, including the operations of Sikh Gurdwaras, and religious practices to foster cohesion throughout the community. Rehitnāma is a Punjabi term that refers to a genre of Sikh religious literature which expounds upon specifying an approved way of life for a Sikh.
Suraj Prakash, also called Gurpartāp Sūraj Granth, is a popular and monumental hagiographic text about Sikh Gurus written by Kavi Santokh Singh (1787–1843) and published in 1843 CE. It consists of life legends performed by Sikh Gurus and historic Sikhs such as Baba Banda Bahadur in 51,820 verses. Most modern writing on the Sikh Gurus finds its basis from this text.
A Hukamnama, in modern-times, refers to a hymn from the Guru Granth Sahib which is given as an injunction, order, or edict to Sikhs. It also refers to edicts issued by the contemporary Takhts. In the historical sense, it was used to refer to an issued commandment, instruction, injunction, order, or edict given by one of the Gurus of Sikhism or their officiated followers and associates during their lives.
Bhai Gurdas was a Sikh writer, historian and preacher who served as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht from 1606 to his death in 1636. He was the original scribe of the early version of Guru Granth Sahib, having served as the amanuensis of Guru Arjan in its compilation.
Harjinder Singh Dilgeer is a Sikh historian and author.
Gurinder Singh Mann is a Punjabi-American scholar and professor of Sikh studies, and the author of multiple books on Sikh religion and society. Mann taught religion at Columbia University from 1988 to 1999 and then held the Kundan Kaur Kapany Chair in Sikh Studies from 1999 to 2015 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He retired from Santa Barbara in 2015, and founded the Global Institute for Sikh Studies in New York City, which he presently directs.
The Golden Temple (also known as the Harmandir Sahib, or the Darbār Sahib, is a gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib.
A takht, or taḵẖat, literally means a throne or seat of authority and is a spiritual and temporal centre of Sikhism. There are five takhts, which are five gurudwaras that have a very special significance for the Sikh community. Three are located in Punjab whilst the remaining two are located outside of it.
Ernest Trumpp was a Christian missionary sponsored by the Ecclesiastical Mission Society. He was also German professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Munich and a philologist. With an intent to convert the populace of western un-divided India to Christianity, he was seconded and sent to the Sindh and Punjab region. He first came to India in the 1850s and published scholarly work on the Sindhi and other western subcontinental languages. He also worked to translate the Sikh scriptures to help Christian missionaries to understand Sikhs and thereby aid their conversion.
Sikhism has often been criticised by non-Sikhs regarding its texts, practices, and societal norms, but Sikhs and other scholars argue that these criticisms are flawed and are based on a biased and poor understanding of the texts, especially of the multiple languages used in the Sikh scriptures. They also argue that most Western scholars who attempted to interpret Eastern religious texts were missionaries and could not overcome the bias they carried with them, irrespective of whether they were translating the Quran, Vedas, Puranas or the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak rejected ritualistic worship and encouraged belief in one God: Waheguru. The veneration and bowing to the Guru Granth Sahib, has often been interpreted by Western scholars as akin to idolatry, as observed by the Hindu faith, which defeats the ideology of Guru Nanak. Other scholars dismiss Sikhism as, either consciously or spontaneously, a syncretism of the Hindu Bhakti and Islamic Sufi movements.
The Jathedar of the Akal Takht is the head of the Akal Takht and head of the Sikhs worldwide. The jathedar has the de facto power as the supreme spokesperson of the Khalsa to summon, trial and sentence any person who identifies as a Sikh from the Akal Takht.
Pashaura Singh is a religious studies scholar and a professor at the University of California, Riverside where he currently holds the Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies.
Panth Prakash, also called Pracīn Panth Prakash ["Old' Panth Prakash, not to be confused with "Naveen" Panth Prakash by Giani Gian Singh], is a historical text about Sikh history in the 1700s by Rattan Singh Bhangu and was completed in the early 1810s. The text's opening foundation briefly covers the lives of the ten Sikh Gurus, then traces the accomplishments of the Sikh community from 1708 to the establishment of Sikh rule in Punjab. The text provides the most comprehensive compilation of stories related to the feats of Sikh warriors in the 18th century, the evolving Sikh martial formations, and the internal power dynamics between Sikh Misl groups.
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