Sikh diaspora

Prof. (Dr.) Balwant Singh Dhillon, a much-acclaimed Sikh-historian, a dedicated researcher, a prolific writer, and a profound scholar of religion, was born in 1950, at Village Ran Singh Wala, District Faridkot, Punjab, India. With his keen interest in learning, he received a B.A. degree from SGGS College, Chandigarh, in 1972, and an M.A. (History) degree from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur in 1974. During his younger days, he nurtured a keen interest in sports. On attaining the National Level Athlete ranking, he was enthusiastic about pursuing a career in sports. Thereby, he joined Master Course for Coaching in athletics at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, in 1974. Herein, he came in contact with Prof. Labh Singh of the Institute of Sikh Studies (IOSS, now Gurmat College), who inspired him to take up Sikh studies. This interaction brought a sea change in his life motive, and he committed himself to pursue a career in Sikh studies. After receiving M.A. (Religious Studies) degree from the IOSS in July 1976, he joined M. Lit. (Religious Studies) course at Punjabi University, Patiala. Here he had the opportunity to learn from several eminent scholars, e.g., Prof. Harbans Singh, Prof. Gurbachan Singh Talib, Prof. L.M. Joshi, and Dr. A.N. Sinha, etc., which made his resolve steadfast. In January 1977, he joined the Department of Guru Nanak Studies at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, to pursue his research activities for a Ph.D. degree. In March 1985, he was awarded with a Ph. D. degree by GNDU, for his outstanding research work on "The Sikh Gurus and the Mughal State." Starting, in April 1979, as a Research Assistant at the Department of Guru Nanak Studies, he rose to the position of Professor and Head of the department. He retired in June 2010. During his tenure at the university, he had also served as Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Religious Studies, Senator and Syndic of the University. As Head of the Department of Guru Nanak Studies, he played a vital role in starting the teaching of M.A. (Religious Studies and Philosophy)at GNDU, Amritsar. Under his stewardship, the research projects on "Sikh Religion and Philosophy," "Sikh History," and "Sikh Literature" were taken up, which led to a research and development grant of Rs. 3.2 Million from U.G.C., New Delhi, during 2006-2011. Dr. Dhillon was instrumental in establishing the Centre on Studies in Sri Guru Granth Sahib at the university, in April 2011, and served as its founding Director till February 2015. He has also served as the Editor-in-Chief for reputed Sikh research journals, "Journal of Sikh Studies" and "Perspectives on Guru Granth Sahib," published by the GNDU. In his forty years long professional career, he has been credited with authoring/publishing about a dozen books and over 100 articles in various research journals, books, and encyclopedias. Besides chairing several international seminars/conferences, he played a vital role in organizing many such events at the Department of Guru Nanak Studies and Centre on Studies in Guru Granth Sahib. He has the honour of representing India at many conferences/seminars within Canada, America, England, Germany, and Australia. With his continuous dedication to religious studies, he has established himself as an exponent of interfaith dialogue and an eminent writer in the field of Sikh history. Through his well-researched and analytic writings, he has created an indelible mark of scholarship on his readers' minds. For his outstanding contributions in the fields of Sikh history and literature, he has been honoured by several literary and social organizations. Despite his great love and commitment to Sikh History and Religion, Dr. Dhillon subscribes to the idea that Sikh Gurus' Philosophy is perennial and universal in its approach to understand cosmology, Nature, life, and human behaviour in the present era. Furthermore, He asserts that the Sikh Gurus' ideology, its beliefs and practices, social order, worldview, and devotional pattern, as propounded in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, address the basics befitting the 21st century. His views on various aspects of Sikh history and philosophy are presented here for the benefit of readers.

Despite clear evidence of caste-based discrimination, harassment and victimisation, Punjabis in Britain stand divided on identifying with the victims of casteism. In the context of legislative, religious and academic contestations on caste discrimination in Britain, this article argues for acknowledging casteism where it exists.

Organisms respond to changes in their environment by evolutionary adaptations in form and behaviour. At present, we face great survival challenges as both these factors have come under undue stress due to our unbridled demands of high national economic growth and expanding individual needs and desires.

Questo volume ricostruisce il quadro storico-sociale del contesto di origine del sikhismo e analizza i caratteri dell’immmigrazione indiana in Italia. Nella prima parte, dopo la presentazione dei tratti socioeconomici
del Panjab, dell’impatto del colonialismo inglese sulle
strutture sociali locali e della conseguente emigrazione di massa, gli autori approfondiscono i fondamenti dottrinali del sikhismo, le relazioni tra etica sikh e condotte sociali, i movimenti che attraversano l’identità sikh nell’India di oggi.
La seconda parte contiene i primi studi empirici sulla presenza degli immigrati indiani in alcune regioni italiane (Emilia-Romagna, Friuli, Lombardia, Veneto).

Ogni antropologo è figlio del suo tempo. Il mondo che ci si presenta davanti è un mondo in rapido movimento (T. Ingold 2000) e le scienze sociali devono rapidamente analizzare e comprendere i cambiamenti. Un'antropologia, che in questo senso evidenzi, affronti e, se possibile, risolva i disagi sociali presenti nelle nuove società multiculturali, che hanno più visibilità nelle grandi metropoli europee e americane e si delineano sempre di più come "città globali"

Various religious philosophies the world over, although differ in many details, yet they all emphasize the basic unity of the universe, through the recognition of panch tattva as the basis of creation. Most of these philosophies agree that a continuous exchange between these basic elements life and the creation, helps to balance the ever ongoing cycles of creation and destruction. The existence of panch tattva, with their extraordinary qualities, makes us aware of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things. They help us to transcend the notion of an isolated individual self and to identify ourselves with the ultimate reality. In this article on panch tattva, a perspective from Sri Guru Granth Sahib is outlined.

Various religious philosophies the world over, although differ in many details, yet they all emphasize the basic unity of the universe, through the recognition of panch tattva as the basis of creation. Most of these philosophies agree that a continuous exchange between these basic elements life and the creation, helps to balance the ever ongoing cycles of creation and destruction. The existence of panch tattva, with their extraordinary qualities, makes us aware of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things. They help us to transcend the notion of an isolated individual self and to identify ourselves with the ultimate reality. In this article on panch tattva, a perspective from Sri Guru Granth Sahib is outlined

This paper provides an overview of the history of Sikh migration to Hong Kong. It will explore the Sikhs' experiences in migration, settlement, and remigration.

Cheuk, Ka-Kin. 2008. "Migration, Settlement, and Remigration: A Study of the Sikhs in Hong Kong." East Asia Forum - Mediation and Critique: Perspective on East Asia 11: 47 - 81.

Vastness of Universe: The Sun, the Earth, the Moon, the stars, the satellites and the galaxies etc. form our universe. A wreath like arch of stars, stretching across the sky is the Milky Way. It is a part of our galaxy, which is an enormous system of clouds of glowing gas and 100 billion stars. Our universe contains about 1011 galaxies. Our universe is vast. No one knows whether the universe is finite or infinite in size. The observable universe is a few tens of billions of light-years across. A light-year is a distance travelled by light in one year, at the speed of 300,000 kilometres per second. It is equal to 9.46x1012 kilometres. The bright, unusual objects called quasars are the most distant objects in the universe found to date. Quasars may be as far as 16 billion light-years from the earth. Even with all the latest scientific paraphernalia of radio telescopes, X-rays, observatories and space technology, our scientists are unable to find the edge of the universe. So until now, scientists could not find the limits of the creation. In this article, an attempt is made to describe Guru Nanak's exposition on the vastness and various other aspects of of the Universe.

This paper aims to explore various literary resources to showcase the role of Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan in the Sikh Homeland Struggle. Through various research methods including writings & speeches of Dr Jagjit Singh, foreign office correspondences and not limited to the oral interviews with associates of the late Doctor. Though Chohan spent over a decade living in London, England, his name has been forgotten in Sikh circles and hence, it is of great importance that a new study is carried out to provide clarity over a forgotten protagonist of the Khalistan Movement and to pinpoint his activities. The United Kingdom is home to a substantial number of Sikhs and as a direct result, has been intertwined with the ever-changing affairs in the Sikh Homeland namely East Panjab. This paper looks to identify the key events that took place in the United Kingdom & The Panjab in the struggle for an independent sovereign Sikh State in the late 60s & early 70s, with mention of 1984.

Introduction

When I first came across the name 'Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan,' I was researching the Anglo Sikh War period with emphasis on the personality named, General Sham Singh Attari.

'Sham Singh and Ranjodh Singh led the forces. Sham Singh Attariwala clad in white silks and riding a white steed, the grey bearded hero went into the field of action, pledged to victory or death. He rallied the ranks depleted by traitorous desertions. His courage inspired the Sikhs to make a determined bid to save the day, but the odds were against them. Sham Singh fell fighting in the foremost ranks. So did his dauntless comrades.' - Joseph Davey Cunningham

R. Bosworth Smith writes that Sham Singh Attari ‘among the faithless faithfully only found clothed in white and devoting himself to death.’ And it was this symbolism of white that I linked with Dr Jagjit Singh and his ever flowing white beard.

Where as General Sham Singh was trying to prevent the downfall of the Khalsa Raj, Dr Jagjit Singh was trying to once more establish a vision/version of the rule of the Khalsa Punth through the implementation of the Republic of Khalistan.

Gur Ratanpal Singh describes Dr Jagjit Singh's character as ‘energetic, witty, friendly' and was possessed of original ideas. Sardar Seva Singh Lalli who was assigned the role of Vice President of the Republic of Khalistan Government in Exile in 1984 describes Dr Jagjit Singh as very strange, whereby he was the friend of friends but also the enemy of enemies. John Marshall, a conservative MEP, though of Dr Chohan as simply a ‘nice old chap.’

At this crucial injunction, I knew there was something special about Dr Jagjit Singh, something I couldn’t quite fathom at the time. But after meeting with associates of the Doctor, searching archives and reading books, I was in a position to relay my findings on this forgotten man of iron.

On November 31st, 2019, I delivered a research lecture titled ‘The Political History of Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan and his role in the Sikh Homeland Movement' at the prestigious Kings College London. My research lecture consisted primarily of photographs, news clippings and speeches of Dr Jagjit Singh’s alongside my analysis of events and narrative.

During my presentation at Kings College, my presentation aroused much interest from attendees, many of whom were students who wished to know more about Dr Jagjit Singh. In the 20 minute allocated period, there was only so much I could include, but to reinforce some of my findings, I was happy to distribute two editions of the Khalistan Bulletin published by the Aston University Khalistan Society and edited by myself. Copies of this magazine were also submitted to the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Library, Southall.

The fire alarm rang twice in two intervals whilst I was delivering my lecture, and interestingly enough, the fire alarm rang in resonance when two different segments of Dr Jagjit Singh’s speech were aired.

‘Our final concept is nothing less than independent, sovereign state of Khalistan, the Republic of Khalistan’.

This bold statement ringed from the lecture theatre at Kings College, and once more were the bold words of Dr Jagjit Singh heard in Central London, a place he called home for 17 years after the Indian State revoked his Passport. 

At the beginning of my search for the lost Doctor, I had no idea what I would come across/be exposed to and my words will never do enough justice to his character, nor is it possible that my tongue will ever be able to praise this man enough, but here it goes.

Chapters

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Abstract
Chapter 3. The Past is not Dead
Chapter 4. The Polish Government in Exile
Chapter 5. The Doctor’s Early Political History
Chapter 6. 1966
Chapter 7. 1967-68
Chapter 8. 1969
Chapter 9. The Immortal Martyr
Chapter 10. The Sardar of Kapurthala
Chapter 11. 1970
Chapter 12. 1971
Chapter 13. The Doctor’s First Exile
Chapter 14. Giani Bakshish Singh’s Incarceration
Chapter 15. The Sardars Rebel (1975-77)
Chapter 16. The Doctor & The Prime Minister
Chapter 17. The Sikhs of the Panjab & The Indian State
Chapter 18. Conclusion

This essay probes the interplay between gurbani, sakhi and the human self. It attempts to show that a study of textual nuances (in this case the meaning of the word Chaubole) can sometimes be helpful in detheorizing varied conceptualizations of language, subjectivity and love in relation to the human body-self. While many of the prevalent methodological techniques in scriptural analysis are informed by the culture of modernity and are founded on supposedly universal notions of language as a tool of rational communication, I argue that this need not always be the case. The language of the Guru Granth Sahib, for example, stirs multiple effects in the human subject that urge us to tread a path of spiritual love. Sakhis are seen here not as mere myth, which conveys meaning through metaphor, but as vehicles that deliver the force of spiritual teachings right up to the door of the reader's subjectivity. This force empowers the subject's spiritual quest and it exists in the form of a charged language that retains the capability of transforming the self. This is one reason why I have chosen to write this essay in a language other than English. Interpretive frameworks imposed by the global spread of English through several centuries of colonialism can only be counteracted by resurrecting the particularities of oppressed, silenced and mutilated languages.

Cheuk, Ka-Kin. 2017. “China, including Hong Kong.” In Knut A. Jacobsen, Gurinder S. Mann, Eleanor Nesbitt, and Kristina Myrvold, eds, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Sikhism, 473–479. Leiden: Brill.

This article will explore the relationship between the historical Chinese-Sikh encounters and its impact on the representation of Sikhs in today’s China including Hong Kong. By looking at their early and colonial encounters in China, particularly those that Sikhs and Chinese have perceived as genuine and significant, this article aims to unpack the historical discourse that has shaped the contemporary Sikh representations in China and across the Sino-Indian borders.

This article attempts to stretch the boundaries of the discourse of political economy, social theory, religious and Punjab studies by deploying the concept of spiritual economy in advancing the understanding of the politicoeconomic
dimensions of a key religious shrine in the Indian sub continent.
Amritsar’s Golden Temple as a holy shrine is known as a site of sacred pilgrimage in the cultural universe of many communities in the sub-continent and diaspora. This article expands on the religious significance of the Golden Temple by exploring the site also as an economic institution in the daily lives of many communities in the region. By capturing the exalted religious economic importance of the place, the article aims to add to the understanding of the site as a place of political contestation and of many conflicts in the history of the evolution of the Sikh community

Edited by two leading scholars, this compendium is undoubtedly a landmark, no less in the field of Sikh studies than of Punjab studies. But just how do the two disciplines relate to one another? That they intertwine is plain to see, since the former is intrinsically a component of latter. But if that is so, just how is that intertwinement best understood? Is it the case that Sikh studies is so unique that it deserves to be filleted out into a singular disciplinary strand in its own right, running in parallel to, but independent of, strands labelled (Punjabi) Hindu studies, (Punjabi) Muslim studies and so forth? Moreover is it the case that each of those strands can be boiled down to an orthodox essence? Or are they all just as extensively internally multistranded themselves? But if so, just how and why have clashes between these perspectives arisen? Are they of ancient origin, or is it the case that the current search for religious purity is a thoroughly modern phenomenonnamely an egregious outcome of ideological and political disputes which emerged in the colonial era, and which have become even more vigorous in post-colonial times, thereby undermining the integrity of Punjab's longestablished condition of religious and socio-cultural plurality?

Many previous translations of the Sikh scriptures, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, gender the creative force with terms like Lord/Master/Redeemer and add biblical and Christian concepts such as sin, heaven, hell, saviors, congregation, salvation, and hymns to the 16th century Punjabi poems. Now posting a decolonized translation of the shabads sung during the Anand Karaj (Sikh wedding ceremony).

My thanks to Sikhnet.org for the booklet template.
Thanks to the Sarang family for photos included, and for the opportunity.

https://www.shaunasinghbaldwin.com/home-page/for-your-enjoyment/
#Sikh #Lavan #weddingceremony #translationstudies #punjabiwedding

For related scholarly work, I recommend Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh's remarkable translations, especially Poems from the Guru Granth Sahib (2022), Harvard University Press. Available at: https://amzn.to/3yhrJEe.

This article examines the role played by five Punjabi Sikh immigrants as teachers of yoga in the United States during the early to mid-twentieth century: Wassan Singh (1882-1942), Bhagwan Singh Gyanee (1884-1962), Rishi Singh Gherwal (1889-1964), Bhagat Singh Thind (1892-1967), and Sadhu Balwant Singh Grewal (1899-1985). After placing them in the context of modern yoga and its early history in America, it is suggested that as yoga teachers these five are best understood as immigrants and merchants who occupied a unique and liminal position between the prevailing antagonisms against South Asian immigration and a fascination with an imagined “metaphysical Asia.” In addition to their political activities for rights within the United States and an independent Indian nation abroad, they are cast as a significant presence in both the history of yoga and the history of the Punjabi diaspora in America.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji fell as a martyr to the freedom of consciousness and belief, under the orders of Aurangzeb, a ruler, who with his puritanical views had an attitude of narrow exclusiveness in the matters of religion. Sikhism, of which Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was the Ninth Apostle, has all through upheld the spiritual approach in matters of faith, and its message has been free from the rancor of any kind against any set of beliefs. The great sacrifice made by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji to vindicate the right of the people to profess and practice the faith, meant, in fact, the assertion of the principle of justice for which the ruling Mughal rulers of the day had very scant regard. For this reason, the life, career, and teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib are of immense significance even in contemporary times, when the forces of hate, fanaticism, and tyranny are still very dominant and assertive. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was a multifaceted genius. He was not only a martyr and a prophet but was also a great poet. In addition to his 57 Salokas, 59 of his other compositions (Shabds), written in 15 Raagas (measures) are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. His hymns deal with the pathos of the human predicament. Though he articulates on the unreality of human passions and possessions, yet his hymns have been a source of spiritual succor and solace to millions of people in their hours of personal grief and affliction. He brightens our awareness of the ephemerality of the material phenomena, however instead of creating a sense of despair and depression, elevates the human mind and imbues it with the hope which permeates the cosmos. He fortifies our faith in human nature and makes it possible for us to rise above the irritants of the immediate problems of existence and keep our attention focused on the everlasting and eternal. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's hymns seek to redeem life from meaninglessness and fear, to enlarge and enliven humans’ consciousness, and to open their inward eye to the glory of all redeeming, ever-existent truth. Herein, a few of his ideas, on the various aspects of life, are being reported.

El objetivo de esta tesis es, por un lado, conocer, comprender y visibilizar una creciente y significativa comunidad sikh que desde hace décadas habita en Barcelona y, por otro, analizar los cambios y las modificaciones en el cuerpo y la corporalidad como necesarios o pertinentes para la inserción y adaptación en un contexto nuevo tras el proceso migratorio. Dadas las particulares características del grupo de estudio, una comunidad en la que determinada corporalidad es en gran medida un elemento significante de su adscripción religiosa, en este trabajo se ha tratado de observar y analizar las transformaciones y las continuidades en el cuerpo y la corporalidad como parte del proceso de adaptación de los individuos sikhs inmigrados que habitan Barcelona. Para ello se parte de la idea del cuerpo –y por extensión la corporalidad-, como elemento a disposición de los individuos y grupos, a veces mediatizado por el contexto en el que habitan, pero también como lugar para la agencia; imbuido de ideologías político-religiosas, que pueden ser corporalizadas, pero también susceptible de ser negociadas en función de las coyunturas. Para el desarrollo de la investigación se ha llevado a cabo trabajo de campo etnográfico durante más de 18 meses mediante etnografía multisituada donde Barcelona, Londres, Delhi y el Panyab han sido lugares para el trabajo.

ART COLLECTORS, like works of art, have diverse influences and inspirations. They also often flourish in unexpected places, and have unique or individual variations of the collecting passion. For Dr Parvinder Singh Khanuja of Phoenix, Arizona, his Sikh religion and background emphasise the importance of the virtue called "seva" in Punjabi, often translated as “service to community”. Most Sikhs consider seva to be a central tenet of their faith.  [...] Phoenix is the locality where Khanuja practices collecting Sikh art as his own form of service and devotion. [...] Admitting his religiosity is perhaps lacking in sufficient quiet reading of sacred texts, Parvinder S. Khanuja says he considers art collecting a form of religious practice. “At the end of the day”, he says, “collecting is for the community, and also to safeguard this art”. He finds inspiration in several verses of the Sikh sacred book, the Guru Granth Sahib. [...] Recently, he succeeded in fulfilling his long-held dream of building local public awareness of his Sikh culture and religion, by funding a permanent “Sikh Art Gallery” at the Phoenix Art Museum. [...] Khanuja hopes that by means of this gallery at the Phoenix Art Museum, and other opportunities for public dissemination, he can spread awareness of his Sikh religion and heritage through art. He feels that despite being the world’s fifth largest religion by number of adherents, Sikhism is still little known by non-Sikhs. Consequently, he readily agreed to the illustration here of examples from his own collection, not only to introduce this particular collection and himself as a collector, but also to introduce, through these works, some important aspects of the heritage of the Sikhs.
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Published in: Arts of Asia 49(1):107-116 (January-February 2019). See publisher's website for information on purchasing full journal:  https://www.artsofasianet.com/back_issues/

Guru Nanak, in his hymns of Jap(u) Ji, Asa di Var, Siddh Gosht and Maru Sohilé has shown an incredible understanding of the mystery of creation. It is fascinating to note that some of the concepts/theories expressed in these hymns were not known to modern science until the eighteenth century. In this way, one can safely observe that Guru Nanak’s ideas were the forerunner of the modern scientific tradition. Let us now analyze the ideas about the physical world as mentioned in Guru Nanak’s hymns.

This paper explores the nature of the diasporic Sikh nationalism in the post-1984 period. Generally labelled as a movement for an independent Sikh state, Khalistan, overseas Sikhs' reaction was a highly emotional demonstration of anger and protest at the desecration of the Golden Temple in Amritsar -the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. While it seems certain that most Sikhs were suddenly made aware of the lack of state power, the strategy and ideas advocated by various Sikh leaders and their organisations did not produce a sustainable movement. The paper discusses reasons why such a widespread and shared diasporic nationalist movement failed to generate ideas and appropriate strategies for statehood and instead subsided with pleas fro recognition.

The book under review is divided into 13 chapters followed by 10 appendices. A few years back, I was introduced to the author when he called me after reading my travelogue to Uzbekistan and Myanmar published in the Sikh Review, Kolkatta. I found Swarn Singh Kahlon deeply motivated to write about the Sikh Diaspora.

Punjabi heritage language maintenance and development are rooted in community, identity, and, for many, faith. Various opportunities are available for maintaining linguistic ties to Punjabi (also spelled Panjabi) and for developing proficiency in the Punjabi language. They range from community-based to federally funded programs, available in person and online.

This brief focuses on the use, maintenance, and development of Eastern Punjabi, spoken primarily by the California-based Punjabi Sikh population. In the United States, the most visible variety of spoken Punjabi is Eastern Punjabi, in great part due to the vibrant Sikh community, which uses this variety and seeks to maintain it in both oral and written forms. This community constitutes one of the largest populations of early South Asian immigrants (La Brack, 1988; McMahon, 2001). Furthermore, today the oldest and largest populations of Punjabis in the American diaspora are of Sikh background, particularly in California.

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.

In this article, the latter half of the life of Guru Nanak is described. Missionary Travels: Guru Nanak was not content to remain a mystic. He undertook9-11 four long travels, called udasis, to spread his message far and wide, and to share his spiritual experiences with others. Bhai Mardana always accompanied the Guru during the missionary tours. During the four travels, Guru Nanak visited different religious places. He went to Kurukshetra, Haridwar, Joshi Math, Ratha Sahib, Gorakh Matta (Nanak Matta), Audhya, Prayag, Varanasi, Gaya, Patna, Dhubri and Gauhati in Assam, Dacca, Puri, Cuttack, Rameshwaram, Ceylon, Bidar, Broach, Somnath, Dwarka, Junagarh, Ujjain, Ajmer, Mathura, Pakpattan, Talwandi, Lahore, Sultanpur, Bilaspur, Rawalsar, Jawalaji, Spiti Vally, Tibet, Ladakh, Kargil, Amarnath, Srinagar and Baramula. Guru Nanak also paid a visit to Muslim holy places. He went to Mecca, Medina, Baghdad via Multan, Peshawar Sakhar, Son Miani, Hinglaj etc. Some accounts say that Guru Sahib reached Mecca by sea-route. He also visited Syra, Turkey and Tehran (Iran). From Tehran, he set out on the caravan route and covered Kabul, Kandhar and Jalalabad. The aim of his tours was to awaken the people, to realize the truth about God and his creation. He established a network of preaching centers of his philosophy, which were called “Manjis”. He appointed able and committed followers as their in-charges. The basic tenets of Guru Nanak's philosophy was willfully conceived by people from all walks of life. Thus the seeds of Sikhism were sown all over India and abroad in a well-planned manner.

ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ ਬਹਾਦਰ ਜੀ ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਦੇ ਨੌਵੇਂ ਗੁਰੂ ਸਨ, ਜੋ ਆਪਣੀ ਸਾਦਗੀ, ਧਾਰਮਿਕ ਸੁਭਾਅ, ਦ੍ਰਿੜ ਇਰਾਦੇ ਅਤੇ ਲਾਸਾਨੀ ਕੁਰਬਾਨੀ ਕਾਰਣ ਯਾਦ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ। ਮਨੁੱਖੀ ਹੱਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਰਾਖੀ ਲਈ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਵਲੋਂ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ ਬਲੀਦਾਨ ਨੇ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਦਾ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੋੜ ਦਿੱਤਾ। ਸਮਕਾਲੀ ਬਾਦਸ਼ਾਹ ਔਰੰਗਜ਼ਬ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਹਿੰਦੂਆਂ ਦੇ ਜਬਰੀ ਧਰਮ ਪਰਿਵਰਤਨ ਵਿਰੁੱਧ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਜਾਨ ਕੁਰਬਾਨ ਕੀਤੀ। ਗੁਰੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਇਕ ਮਹਾਨ ਕਵੀ ਅਤੇ ਚਿੰਤਕ ਵੀ ਸਨ। ਗੁਰੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਨੇ 57 ਸਲੋਕਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਇਲਾਵਾ ਪੰਦਰਾਂ ਰਾਗਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਲਿਖੀ। ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਦੇ ਦਸਵੇਂ ਗੁਰੂ, ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਇਹ ਬਾਣੀ ਆਦਿ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼ਾਮਿਲ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ। ਇਸੇ ਗਰੰਥ ਨੂੰ ਸਮੇਂ ਨਾਲ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦਾ ਦਰਜਾ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੋਇਆ। ਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਦੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਹਰ ਜ਼ੋਖਮਮਈ ਹਾਲਤ ਵਿਚ ਵੀ ਨਿਡਰ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਸਬਕ ਸਿਖਾਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ।

Guru Nanak, one of the saints of the medieval period of Indian history, occupies a unique place amongst the spiritual leaders, preceptors, reformers and saints of India. His teachings have universal appeal and are good for all ages. The impact of his teachings on Indian society has been incredible. He traveled far and wide to dispense his message of love, peace, devotion to God, social justice, religious toleration and universal brotherhood. He was a great thinker, a wonderful mystic and a distinguished social reformer. He was a revolutionary prophet, a litterateur of high caliber, a person of extraordinary foresight and scientific attitude. Guru Nanak’s hymns, teachings and several incidents of his life confirm these facts.

È oramai attestato da molte ricerche che la città di Roma costituisca "a Religious Global City" 1 , trasformata profondamente dalla popolazione straniera che trova nei suoi quartieri molte opportunità lavorative, un network di sostegno e la possibilità di esprimere la propria appartenenza religiosa grazie alla molteplicità di luoghi di culto esistenti. Tuttavia, in determinate condizioni questi stessi fattori possono indurre alcune collettività a spostarsi in aree periferiche della regione. Sembra questo il caso della comunità punjabi di religione sikh 2 e dei propri luoghi di culto, i gurdwara 3 , secondo quanto rilevato dall'indagine condotta dall'antropologa Ester Gallo tra il 1996 e il 2006. Nel suo contributo dal titolo "Creating Gurdwaras, Narrating Histories: * Dottore di ricerca in Storia, Territorio e Patrimonio culturale presso il Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Roma Tre 1 V. Fabretti, P. Vereni, "When Homogeneity Calls for Superdiversity: Rome as a Religious Global City", in New Diversities, 18(1), 2016, pp. 73-89. 2 Il sikhismo si colloca tra le religioni monoteiste più recenti, originatasi nella seconda metà del XV secolo dall'insegnamento di Guru Nanak Dev Ji e dai successivi nove guru che guidarono la comunità radicatasi nell'attuale Punjab indiano. Il termine sikhismo, sikkhi in lingua punjabi, introdotto dagli inglesi durante il periodo coloniale, deriva dalla parola "sikh", a sua volta legata al sanscrito, traducibile con i termini "discepolo" e "allievo". Sikh è, dunque, colui che crede in un solo Dio e che segue la dottrina dei dieci guru raccolta nel testo sacro, lo Sri Uno dei massimi studiosi del sikhismo, William McLeod, definisce il gurdwara come uno spazio polifunzionale che custodisce il testo sacro. Pertanto, è un luogo di formazione religiosa, uno spazio di incontro e di sostegno per i membri. A partire da questa definizione nell'analisi sono stati considerati solo quei luoghi frequentati da persone di nazionalità indiana che si presentano come spazi accessibili, caratterizzati da: presenza del testo sacro all'interno della sala adibita alla preghiera; un'altra stanza dove il volume viene riposto la notte; un ambiente per il langar; una cucina; la presenza, all'esterno dell'edificio, della bandiera color giallo zafferano su cui è impresso il simbolo del khanda.

11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 12 SCOPE 15 METHODOLOGY 18 HATE & BIAS 19 BACKGROUND ON SIKHS 23 RESULTS & ANALYSIS 63 CONCLUSION 64 SELECTED REFERENCES ABSTRACT How does a growing minority community in the US prepare itself to prevent and/ or respond to hate crimes when advocacy alone has not been effective? That was the question posed by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) in the summer of 2013 when it commissioned the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab to conduct a study on perception of Sikh Americans and to develop recommendations based on the Lab's conceptual framework of "behavior design" -an emerging science that applies the precepts of behaviorial psychology to optimize technology and communication programs for behavioral outcomes. A combination of conditions -America's profound lack of knowledge of the Sikh community, widespread American bias against the turban, the limits of advocacy in the context of hate and bias -makes the case for a series of community-designed interventions optimized for more positive behavioral responses to the turban and "the people who wear them." Drawing on a number of data resources, community surveys, and academic studies the SALDEF/Stanford initiative presents a new approach to managing a specific cultural bias that may have an impact on how other communities manage their relations in an increasingly multicultural world.

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, was a divine
preceptor and crusader for noble cause of human welfare. He was a great religious leader, a poet and a mystic, a true scholar and philosopher. He was also a fearless warrior and a military commander, who always
fought against tyranny and oppression, to establish a
just and benign state. In his hymns of 'Bachitar Natak',
he proclaimed his mission as 'to protect the righteous,
oppressed and downtrodden people and to destroy the
evil-doers'. He stressed on the unity between humans,
rejected all sorts of discriminations and preached
equality and goodwill.
Being a prolific writer and a poet of rare sensibility, Guru Gobind Singh greatly enriched the literary heritage
of India. His poetic vision depicts the glorious epitome
of medieval Indian literary traditions. Through his
compositions, he enunciated a doctrine of armed struggle for the protection of truth and justice. The fusion of the devotional and martial, of the spiritual and the heroic ethos is the most important feature of his literary
work and his charismatic leadership.
With his spiritual dynamism, he attempted to reconcile
the transcendent with the immanent through his creation
of the Khalsa. The commonwealth of the Khalsa was founded based on all round equality and total dedication
to one Supreme Reality. Guru Gobind Singh was a pioneer Indian leader to introduce republican set up and democratic institutions. His teachings have great
relevance for the modern man to build a global society
with a commitment to peace and goodwill across all
sorts of constraints and geographical boundaries.

This paper offers a set of nuanced narratives and a theoretically-informed report on what is the driving force and motivation behind the movement of Hindus and Sikhs from one continent to another (apart from their earlier movement out of the subcontinent to distant shores). What leads them to leave one diasporic location for another location? In this sense they are also 'twice-migrants'. Here I investigate the extent and nature of the transnational movement of diasporic Hindus and Sikhs crossing borders into the U.S. and Australia – the new dharmic sites – and how they have tackled the question of the transmission of their respective dharmas within their own communities, particularly to the younger generation. Two case studies will be presented: one from Hindus and Sikhs in Australia; the other from California (temples and gurdwaras in Silicon Valley and Bay Area).

Despite clear evidence of caste-based discrimination, harassment and victimisation, Punjabis in Britain stand divided on identifying with the victims of casteism. In the context of legislative, religious and academic contestations on caste discrimination in Britain, this article argues for acknowledging casteism where it exists.

Barah Maha (Twelve months) is a form of folk poetry that describes the emotions and yearnings of the human heart, expressed in terms of Nature's changing moods over the twelve months of a year. In this poetic form, the spirit of Nature in every specific month of the Indian calendar describes the inner agony of the human heart, which in most cases happens to be a lovelorn young woman separated from her spouse or beloved. In other terms, the separated woman finds her agony reflected in the different faces of Nature.
          There are two such compositions in Sri Guru Granth Sahib [1-2] (SGGS). The first composition, in Rag Tukhari, is authored by Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru. The second composition, in Rag Manjh, is written by Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru. Both the compositions describe the yearnings of a lovelorn young woman (a metaphor for the human soul) for her beloved (a metaphor for God).

In recent years, Sikh nationalism has attracted much scholarly attention. Whilst some scholars have focused on 'the struggle for Sikh sovereignty'within the Indian state of Punjab (Pettigrew 1995, Deol 2000, Singh 2000), others have stressed the key role played by the Sikh diaspora in the search for statehood (Tatla 1999, Axel 2001).

ਪਰਵਾਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਗਏ ਭਾਰਤੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਲਈ ਪਛਾਣ ਇਕ ਮਸਲਾ ਕਿਉਂ ਬਣ ਗਈ ਅਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਉੱਪਰ ਇਸ ਦਾ ਅਸਰ ਕਿਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਪੈ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ? ਅਜੋਕੇ ਸਮੇਂ ਵਿਚ ਇਹ ਪ੍ਰਸ਼ਨ ਬਹੁਤ ਅਹਿਮੀਅਤ ਰਖਦਾ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਦਾ ਇਕ ਬਹੁਤ ਸਧਾਰਣ ਜਵਾਬ ਤਾਂ ਇਹ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਭਾਰਤੀਅਤਾ ਜਾਂ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਪਛਾਣ ਬਨਾਉਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਮਾਨਸਿਕਤਾ ਸਦੀਆਂ ਪੁਰਾਣੀ ‘ਭਾਰਤੀ ਸਭਿਅਤਾ’ ਦੀ ਹੀ ਦੇਣ ਹੈ। ਅਨੇਕਾਂ ਮਤਾਂ-ਮਤਾਂਤਰਾਂ, ਧਰਮਾਂ, ਜਾਤਾਂ, ਅਤੇ ਨਸਲਾਂ ਆਦਿ ਦੇ ਮਿਲਗੋਬੇ ਨਾਲ ਨਿਰਮਿਤ ਅਜੋਕਾ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਉੱਤਰ-ਆਧੁਨਿਕਤਾ ਦੀ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਵਲੀ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਇਕ ‘ਬਹੁਲਵਾਦੀ’ ਸਭਿਅਤਾ ਦੀ ਉਪਜ ਹੈ। ਭਾਰਤੀਅਤਾ ਦਾ ਨਿਰਮਾਣ ‘ਬਹੁਲਵਾਦੀ’ ਪ੍ਰਕਿਰਿਆ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਹੀ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਇਕੋ ਵੇਲੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਪਛਾਣਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਮੂਹ ਹੈ।