Sikh Identity: an exploration of groups among Sikhs
TL;DR: Sikh Identity: an exploration of groups among Sikhs Opinderjit Kaur Takhar Ashgate, 2005 215 pp., $100.00, ISBN 978-0-7546-5202-5 as discussed by the authors
Abstract: Sikh Identity: an exploration of groups among Sikhs Opinderjit Kaur Takhar Ashgate, 2005 215 pp., $100.00, ISBN 978-0-7546-5202-5Opinderjit Kaur Takhar's Sikh Identity begins with the question ‘Who...
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TL;DR: This paper explored how a group of young British-born South Asians understood and defined their religious and linguistic identities, focusing upon the role played by heritage languages and liturgical languages and by religious socialisation.
Abstract: This study explores how a group of young British-born South Asians understood and defined their religious and linguistic identities, focusing upon the role played by heritage languages and liturgical languages and by religious socialisation. Twelve British-born South Asians were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interview transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four superordinate themes are reported. These addressed participants’ meaning-making regarding “the sanctification of language” and the consequential suitability of “the liturgical language as a symbol of religious community”; the themes of “ethnic pride versus religious identity” and “linguistic Otherness and religious alienation” concerned potential ethno-linguistic barriers to a positive religious identity. Findings are interpreted in terms of concepts drawn from relevant identity theories and tentative recommendations are offered concerning the facilitation of positive religious and ethnic i...
71 citations
Cites background from "Sikh Identity: an exploration of gr..."
...However, Baljit does not opt for the greeting associated with his religion (Sikhism), which perhaps implies his acknowledgement of difference between himself and his interlocutor, and similarly, he refuses to use the Islamic greeting....
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...Bally’s account appears to express a strong reciprocal link between religious identity and language: her departure from her ascribed religion of Sikhism also entails her departure from the Sikh (Punjabi-speaking) community....
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...Baljit’s account echoes writings on Sikhism....
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...Despite the mutual intelligibility which Hindi and Punjabi afford their speakers, Kiren was reportedly mocked in her religious classes due to the fact that she used Punjabi, a language traditionally associated with Sikhism (Takhar, 2005)....
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...Since in Sikhism the holy book is considered not only the final Guru but also the ultimate embodiment of the preceding 10 human Gurus (Singh, 2005), one might interpret Veer’s conceptualisation of the Guru Granth Sahib in anthropomorphic terms....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an overview of research on UK Sikh communities, focusing on four ethnographic studies conducted by the author, two focused on unambiguously Sikh communities and two of which challenge presuppositions of boundedness of faith communities.
Abstract: Against a backdrop of phases of Sikh settlement in the UK, this article provides an overview of scholarship on UK Sikh communities. Attention turns to four ethnographic studies conducted by the author, two of which focused on unambiguously Sikh communities, and two of which challenge presuppositions of the boundedness of faith communities. Of these one was a study of two historically stigmatised caste-specific Punjabi communities; the other is currently examining the religious identity formation of young people in families in which only one parent is Sikh. Pointers and questions are identified that arise from these UK studies for researchers in mainland Europe. These include methodological considerations and encouragement to contribute to debates in the sociology of religion and to take account of Sikhs' increasing appearance in creative literature.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a retrospective look on the ways in which young Sikhs are nurtured and socialised into Sikism, providing an understanding from the perspective of young Sikh themselves about which methods actually work and why.
Abstract: Although young Sikhs are regularly accused of not attending gurdwara and not being interested in Sikhism, many young Sikhs are now learning about Sikhism outside traditional religious institutions. Using data gathered as part of a research project studying the transmission of Sikhism among 18- to 30-year-old British Sikhs, this essay explores how young Sikhs are learning about Sikhism in their pre-adult life stage. Examining the influences of the family and the school environment and the various methods used in gurdwaras, this essay offers a retrospective look on the ways in which young Sikhs are nurtured and socialised into Sikhism, providing an understanding from the perspective of young Sikhs themselves about which methods actually work and why.
16 citations
Cites background from "Sikh Identity: an exploration of gr..."
...For further details about the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, see Nesbitt 2005, 51; for details about the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha and Namdharis, see Takhar 2005....
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...The fact that children born in East African households are generally more likely to encounter turban wearers may have an impact on their religious socialisation in various ways....
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...In East African families, the percentage of male turban wearers with trimmed beards (25...
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...If an East African family has a number of turban wearers and is therefore viewed as being religious, there is little need for female family members to express their religiosity explicitly, as they are ‘included’ in the males’ maintenance of the family’s honour....
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...That members of East African families are viewed as being religious may help explain why so few East African females wear turbans....
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Dissertation•
01 Jun 2017
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the connection between Sikhs and the First World War and explored the making of the Sikhs as a "martial race" and the role of Sikhs in the first World War.
Abstract: Sikhism and warfare have been inexorably linked throughout history. As Singh and Madra note, ‘Five hundred years ago, this land (Punjab) of conquest serial subjugation was the crucible from which emerged the Sikh warrior’ (2013, p. V). Although there is some truth to the statement, the idea of the warrior Sikh has been exaggerated. Remembrance Day and the Centenary of the First World War, serve as places to facilitate constructions of the warrior Sikh (Qureshi, 2013). What often gets overlooked is Sikhism and the colonial constructions of them as a martial race. The martial race theory in India advocated that only specific communities were fit to serve in war, which formed the link between war service and Sikhism. This thesis is an attempt to investigate this connection by exploring the making of the Sikhism as a ‘martial race’. It will also address the role of martiality for Sikhs in the First World War.
The positioning of Sikhs as a martial race was a multi-faceted negotiation and not simply an imposition from above. The thesis will show that ideas of martiality grew out of a joint political agenda from Sikhs and the British Raj. Sikhs sought the protection of their religion, and in return provided military service. Therefore, Sikh martiality is understood as a meeting point between the coloniser and colonised. The First World War presented the first significant challenge to this relationship. This can be seen through Sikh soldiers’ letters that were sent to their families in India, and official military documents. The thesis will show that issues of recruitment, morale, and anti-imperial movements, caused ideas of martiality to be rewritten, despite martiality being based on the fixed notion of race. These changes ranged from introducing new ‘races’ to amending the entire recruitment process. Consequently, the thesis will argue that the pressures of the First World War undermined pre-war ideas of martiality. The war also demonstrates an awareness from Sikh soldiers’ of being a martial race and its advantageous position in Colonial India. Hence, the final chapter addresses how this awareness led Sikhs to gain a form of political autonomy by 1925, a
luxury many Indians did not gain until 1947. As Sikhs achieved a form of independence in 1925, it exemplifies the point about colonial negotiation. In summary, the Sikh martial race theory not only uncovers new knowledge of military history but also partly uncovers insights into Sikh soldiers and the agency of their community.
15 citations
References
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TL;DR: This paper explored how a group of young British-born South Asians understood and defined their religious and linguistic identities, focusing upon the role played by heritage languages and liturgical languages and by religious socialisation.
Abstract: This study explores how a group of young British-born South Asians understood and defined their religious and linguistic identities, focusing upon the role played by heritage languages and liturgical languages and by religious socialisation. Twelve British-born South Asians were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interview transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four superordinate themes are reported. These addressed participants’ meaning-making regarding “the sanctification of language” and the consequential suitability of “the liturgical language as a symbol of religious community”; the themes of “ethnic pride versus religious identity” and “linguistic Otherness and religious alienation” concerned potential ethno-linguistic barriers to a positive religious identity. Findings are interpreted in terms of concepts drawn from relevant identity theories and tentative recommendations are offered concerning the facilitation of positive religious and ethnic i...
71 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an overview of research on UK Sikh communities, focusing on four ethnographic studies conducted by the author, two focused on unambiguously Sikh communities and two of which challenge presuppositions of boundedness of faith communities.
Abstract: Against a backdrop of phases of Sikh settlement in the UK, this article provides an overview of scholarship on UK Sikh communities. Attention turns to four ethnographic studies conducted by the author, two of which focused on unambiguously Sikh communities, and two of which challenge presuppositions of the boundedness of faith communities. Of these one was a study of two historically stigmatised caste-specific Punjabi communities; the other is currently examining the religious identity formation of young people in families in which only one parent is Sikh. Pointers and questions are identified that arise from these UK studies for researchers in mainland Europe. These include methodological considerations and encouragement to contribute to debates in the sociology of religion and to take account of Sikhs' increasing appearance in creative literature.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a retrospective look on the ways in which young Sikhs are nurtured and socialised into Sikism, providing an understanding from the perspective of young Sikh themselves about which methods actually work and why.
Abstract: Although young Sikhs are regularly accused of not attending gurdwara and not being interested in Sikhism, many young Sikhs are now learning about Sikhism outside traditional religious institutions. Using data gathered as part of a research project studying the transmission of Sikhism among 18- to 30-year-old British Sikhs, this essay explores how young Sikhs are learning about Sikhism in their pre-adult life stage. Examining the influences of the family and the school environment and the various methods used in gurdwaras, this essay offers a retrospective look on the ways in which young Sikhs are nurtured and socialised into Sikhism, providing an understanding from the perspective of young Sikhs themselves about which methods actually work and why.
16 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jun 2017
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the connection between Sikhs and the First World War and explored the making of the Sikhs as a "martial race" and the role of Sikhs in the first World War.
Abstract: Sikhism and warfare have been inexorably linked throughout history. As Singh and Madra note, ‘Five hundred years ago, this land (Punjab) of conquest serial subjugation was the crucible from which emerged the Sikh warrior’ (2013, p. V). Although there is some truth to the statement, the idea of the warrior Sikh has been exaggerated. Remembrance Day and the Centenary of the First World War, serve as places to facilitate constructions of the warrior Sikh (Qureshi, 2013). What often gets overlooked is Sikhism and the colonial constructions of them as a martial race. The martial race theory in India advocated that only specific communities were fit to serve in war, which formed the link between war service and Sikhism. This thesis is an attempt to investigate this connection by exploring the making of the Sikhism as a ‘martial race’. It will also address the role of martiality for Sikhs in the First World War.
The positioning of Sikhs as a martial race was a multi-faceted negotiation and not simply an imposition from above. The thesis will show that ideas of martiality grew out of a joint political agenda from Sikhs and the British Raj. Sikhs sought the protection of their religion, and in return provided military service. Therefore, Sikh martiality is understood as a meeting point between the coloniser and colonised. The First World War presented the first significant challenge to this relationship. This can be seen through Sikh soldiers’ letters that were sent to their families in India, and official military documents. The thesis will show that issues of recruitment, morale, and anti-imperial movements, caused ideas of martiality to be rewritten, despite martiality being based on the fixed notion of race. These changes ranged from introducing new ‘races’ to amending the entire recruitment process. Consequently, the thesis will argue that the pressures of the First World War undermined pre-war ideas of martiality. The war also demonstrates an awareness from Sikh soldiers’ of being a martial race and its advantageous position in Colonial India. Hence, the final chapter addresses how this awareness led Sikhs to gain a form of political autonomy by 1925, a
luxury many Indians did not gain until 1947. As Sikhs achieved a form of independence in 1925, it exemplifies the point about colonial negotiation. In summary, the Sikh martial race theory not only uncovers new knowledge of military history but also partly uncovers insights into Sikh soldiers and the agency of their community.
15 citations