Sikh diaspora
Encyclopedia
The Sikh diaspora is a relatively recent term used to describe the phenomenon of Punjabi Sikh
migration from the traditional area of the Punjab region
. Sikhism
is (de facto) an ethnic religion
but welcomes converts, the Punjab region
being the historic homeland of Sikhism. The Sikh diaspora is largely a subset of the Punjabi diaspora
.
The starting point of the diaspora is commonly accepted to have begun after the fall of the Sikh Empire in 1849 and the Empire's subsequent annexation into the British Raj
. The most famous personification of the Sikh diaspora was the first, Maharajah Duleep Singh
, the last Emperor of the Sikhs who was coerced into a lifetime exile by the British Raj
. Since Duleep Singh's exile, the rate of Sikh migration from the Punjab has remained high; however the destination for Punjabi Sikh migrants has changed during the ensuing 150 years. The development of the Punjabi Sikh diaspora concept has given diaspora Sikhs a conscious political and cultural identity, which forms a reference point for their 'Sikhism'.
, where they form a majority 65% of the population. Substantial communities of Sikhs, i.e. greater than 200,000, live in the Indian States/Union territories of Haryana
, Rajasthan
, Uttar Pradesh
, Delhi
, Himachal Pradesh
, Maharashtra
, Uttarakhand
and Jammu and Kashmir
.
(ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ), by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
in 1699. This gives the Sikhs, as an organized political grouping, a relatively recent history of around 400 years. Migrations of Sikhs 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 development 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 time 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
. With respect to the Sikh diaspora, the most important political aspect of this period was the historical establishment of a Sikh homeland; the idea of a powerful Sikh state was a reality.
Sikh migration from the Punjab began in earnest in the second half of the 19th century when the British Raj
had successfully completed its annexation of the Punjab
. The pivotal action in the British annexation was the lifetime exile of the then eleven year old Maharaja, Duleep Singh
, thus making Singh the first (although unwilling) member of the Sikh diaspora.
Although a largely secular figure who did little for the Sikh body politic, Axel (2001) argues that Duleep Singh's exile has had a major impact on the Sikh diaspora psyche. Axel(2001) says that Duleep Singh
is the archetypal 'tragic hero' figure in Sikh culture, "a King without a Kingdom, a Sikh separated from his people"; the contrast between Duleep Singh
and his strong ruler father, Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ji, makes Duleep's exile even more 'galling' for the Sikhs and results in a strong sense of communal injustice, which is a later trait in the diaspora's development.
Having annexed the Sikh Kingdom, the British Raj
preferentially recruited Sikhs in the Indian Civil Service and, in particular, the British Indian Army
, which led to migration of Sikhs to different parts of British India
and the British Empire
. 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.
. Sikh agricultural and entrepreneurial skills brought prosperity to Sheikhupura
, Sialkot
, Jhelum, Multan
, Sargodha
, Gujrat
, Ludhiana, Amritsar
, Jullundar. Lahore
, the capital of undivided Punjab, had thriving Sikh neighborhoods.
The era of peace and prosperity turned into a nightmare in 1947. The partition of Punjab between India and Pakistan
was a seminal tragedy for Sikhs. Islamic fanatics launched attacks on Sikh communities in villages and cities across West Punjab
. Initially Sikhs thought the attacks were temporary but their intensity increased after Pakistan's independence on August 14, 1947 when the Pakistani police and military failed to protect the Sikh community. Sikhs were killed, raped, robbed, forcibly converted and deported en masse. The 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 in India. On the other hand, in East Punjab
many Sikhs took revenge and slaughtered a great number of the Muslim population of Amritsar
, Ludhiana, and Qadian
in just three months. Other cities such as Gurdaspur
, Faridkot
, Ambala
, Moga
, Jalandhar
, and Batala
had large casualties against Muslims. Most of the Muslims in East Punjab were wiped out in the middle of 1948, but some converted just to stay alive. Such intense violence in East Punjab had caused many villages and cities to go through construction.
In 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 dictator Idi Amin
in 1972. Sikhs are primarily 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, the male offspring of Sikh farmers were encouraged to migrate to foreign countries. Subsequently the main 'push' factor for Sikh migration has been economic with significant Sikh communities now being found in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, East Africa
, Australia
and Thailand
.
Axel (2001) argues that the Sikh diaspora community, having established themselves in foreign countries begin to fetishize the past and nurture idealized designs for their 'lost' Sikh empire. This comes into fruition to a certain degree with the establishment of Indian Punjab
in 1966 as a Sikh majority state. However Tatla(1998) 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 Canada 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 Bluestar, had a seismic effect on the Sikh diaspora. Axel (2001) argues that the desecration of the Sikh's holiest shrine, Harimandir Sahib, and the following Sikh Genocide 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 describes 1984's Operation Bluestar as the Sikh's '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 Dr 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 of 12 October 1971, making several claims about Punjab as a Sikh homeland. However Chohan won little sympathy from ordinary Sikhs
.
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". Organisations such as the International Sikh Youth Federation
(ISYF), 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 UNPO aligning the Sikh cause with other ethnic groups seeking freedom, citing cases of Jews, Palestinians, Kurds, Balochis, Kashmiris and Sri Lankan Tamils.
Axel (2001) 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".
Since the formation of the Khalsa, the Sikhs have defined themselves though their 'separateness' and have differentiated themselves philosophically and physically from other Indian religious communities, thus the process of 'rashtriya ekta' is a threat to Sikhi itself. Any 'weakening' or 'dilution' Sikhi in the Punjab, is doubly painful for the Sikh diaspora for it means a corresponding weakness in Khalistan, which, both real and imaginary, epitomizes the Sikh diasporic place today.
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Whilst the rate of Sikh migration from the Punjab
has remained high, traditional patterns of Sikh migration, that favored English speaking countries, particularly the United Kingdom has changed in the past decade due to factors such as stricter immigration procedures. Moliner(2006) 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, with Reggio Emilia
and the Vicenza
province being areas of significant Sikh population clusters. The Italian Sikhs are generally involved in the areas of agriculture
, agro-processing, machine tools and horticulture
. Canada has maintained a liberal immigration policy, and the Sikh community there is the second largest in proportion to the country's population after only India, and about 2.5 times the size of the American Sikh community. The largest North American Sikh community is thought to be in Vancouver, British Columbia, and its surrounding communities. The Sikh migration to Australasia
has also increased to a large extent in the first decade of the 21st century.
In the post-9/11 era, the Sikh diaspora in Europe and North America stand out as a visible minority often confused with radical Islamic groups because of their turbans. There have been numerous hate crimes targeted at Sikhs. France banned turban-wearing Sikh students from publicly-funded schools, as part of a broader policy originally intended to restric Muslim head-scarves. Western security think-tanks quote the Air India bombing
to justify profiling of Sikh travellers at airports. The soft influences of popular culture and the need for fitting in with peers is driving many young Sikhs to shed Khalsa symbols such as the turban and beard. Some second generation Sikhs growing up in the West do not have proficiency in the Punjabi language. On the other hand small groups of Westerners have converted to Sikhism. There are now Sikh temples scattered across Europe, North America, Australia and Malaysia. The combination of these factors creates a new and more complex Sikh identity that may slowly emerge in the 21st century.
As globalisation progresses and India's & Punjab's economy continues to expand, the question is whether the Sikh diaspora's focus will shift from inward-looking identity and Khalistan issues to outword-looking global trade and homeland investment like the successful Jewish and Chinese diasporas.
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
migration from the traditional area of the Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
is (de facto) an ethnic religion
Ethnic religion
Ethnic religion may include officially sanctioned and organized civil religions with an organized clergy, but they are characterized in that adherents generally are defined by their ethnicity, and conversion essentially equates to cultural assimilation to the people in question. Contrasted to this...
but welcomes converts, the Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
being the historic homeland of Sikhism. The Sikh diaspora is largely a subset of the Punjabi diaspora
Punjabi diaspora
The Punjabi diaspora refers to the descendants of ethnic Punjabis who emigrated out of the Punjab region to the rest of world. Punjabis are one of the largest ethnic groups in both the Pakistani and Indian diasporas...
.
The starting point of the diaspora is commonly accepted to have begun after the fall of the Sikh Empire in 1849 and the Empire's subsequent annexation into the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. The most famous personification of the Sikh diaspora was the first, Maharajah Duleep Singh
Duleep Singh
This article is about Maharaja Dalip Singh. For other uses, see Dalip SinghMaharaja Dalip Singh, GCSI , commonly called Duleep Singh and later in life nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire...
, the last Emperor of the Sikhs who was coerced into a lifetime exile by the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. Since Duleep Singh's exile, the rate of Sikh migration from the Punjab has remained high; however the destination for Punjabi Sikh migrants has changed during the ensuing 150 years. The development of the Punjabi Sikh diaspora concept has given diaspora Sikhs a conscious political and cultural identity, which forms a reference point for their 'Sikhism'.
The Sikhs
Numbering approximately 26 million worldwide, the Sikhs are adherents to the fifth largest organized religion in the world, Sikhism. The Sikhs make up 0.39% of the world population of which approximately 83% live in India. Of the Indian Sikh community 19.6 million, i.e. 76% of all Indian Sikhs, live in the northern Indian State of Punjab (India)Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, where they form a majority 65% of the population. Substantial communities of Sikhs, i.e. greater than 200,000, live in the Indian States/Union territories of Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
and Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
.
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, Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1606, Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the establishment of the Sikh 'Pure' brotherhood or KhalsaKhalsa
+YouWebImagesVideosMapsNewsMailMoreTranslateFrom: ArabicTo: EnglishEnglishHindiEnglishAllow phonetic typingHindiEnglishArabicAssumptionGoogle Translate for Business:Translator ToolkitWebsite TranslatorGlobal Market Finder...
(ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ), by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Gobind Singh
Gobind Singh VC was an Indian soldier, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest Commonwealth award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War....
in 1699. This gives the Sikhs, as an organized political grouping, a relatively recent history of around 400 years. Migrations of Sikhs during the era of the Gurus were limited to the boundaries of modern day India and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and in particular restricted to the Sikh tribal heartland of the Punjab Region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. The development of the Sikh Confederacy
Sikh Confederacy
The Sikh Empire was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The empire, based around the Punjab region, existed from 1799 to 1849. It was forged, on the foundations of the Khalsa, under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from a collection of autonomous Punjabi Misls...
and the development of the Sikh Empire (1716–1849), led to Sikhs migrating to conquered parts of their empire such as Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
and Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. However these migrations were limited, transitory and unsustained, depending on the Empire's fluctuating boundaries. During the time of the Sikh Empire, there was a net cultural immigration, with Napoleonic and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
influences vying for the 'ear' of the then Sikh Maharajah Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
. With respect to the Sikh diaspora, the most important political aspect of this period was the historical establishment of a Sikh homeland; the idea of a powerful Sikh state was a reality.
Annexation of the Punjab
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
had successfully completed its annexation of the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. The pivotal action in the British annexation was the lifetime exile of the then eleven year old Maharaja, Duleep Singh
Duleep Singh
This article is about Maharaja Dalip Singh. For other uses, see Dalip SinghMaharaja Dalip Singh, GCSI , commonly called Duleep Singh and later in life nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire...
, thus making Singh the first (although unwilling) member of the Sikh diaspora.
Although a largely secular figure who did little for the Sikh body politic, Axel (2001) argues that Duleep Singh's exile has had a major impact on the Sikh diaspora psyche. Axel(2001) says that Duleep Singh
Duleep Singh
This article is about Maharaja Dalip Singh. For other uses, see Dalip SinghMaharaja Dalip Singh, GCSI , commonly called Duleep Singh and later in life nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire...
is the archetypal 'tragic hero' figure in Sikh culture, "a King without a Kingdom, a Sikh separated from his people"; the contrast between Duleep Singh
Duleep Singh
This article is about Maharaja Dalip Singh. For other uses, see Dalip SinghMaharaja Dalip Singh, GCSI , commonly called Duleep Singh and later in life nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire...
and his strong ruler father, Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
Ji, makes Duleep's exile even more 'galling' for the Sikhs and results in a strong sense of communal injustice, which is a later trait in the diaspora's development.
Having annexed the Sikh Kingdom, the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
preferentially recruited Sikhs in the Indian Civil Service and, in particular, the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
, which led to migration of Sikhs to different parts of British India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Semiskilled artisans were transported from the Punjab to British East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
to help in the building of railways, while many Sikhs found themselves in Australia
Sikhism in Australia
Sikhism is a small but growing minority religion in Australia, that can trace its origins in the nation to the 1830s. The Sikhs form one of the largest subgroups of Indian Australians with 26,500 adherents according to the 2006 census, having grown from 17,000 in 2001 and 12,000 in 1996...
working as Ghans, or cameleers and as labourers on cane plantations.
20th century
The Sikhs made tremendous contributions to Punjab from 1857 to 1947. Sikhs founded the city of RawalpindiRawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
. Sikh agricultural and entrepreneurial skills brought prosperity to Sheikhupura
Sheikhupura
Sheikhupura or Shekhupur , formerly Kot Dayal Das or Singhpuria or Virkgarh , is an industrial city in the province of Punjab slightly northwest to Lahore in Pakistan. It is known for its historical places, and is commonly known locally as Qila Shaikhupura, because of the fort in the city,...
, Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
, Jhelum, Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
, Sargodha
Sargodha
Sargodha is a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab province, Pakistan.Sargodha is located in the northwest of Pakistan. It is the eleventh largest city of Pakistan and also known as Pakistan's best citrus-producing area. It is an agricultural trade centre with various industries...
, Gujrat
Gujrat
Gujrat is a city in Pakistan. It is the capital of Gujrat District and the Gujrat Tehsil subdivision in the Punjab Province. People living in Gujrat refer to themselves as Gujratis, which sometimes leads to confusion with people from the Indian state of Gujarat which adjoins Pakistan...
, Ludhiana, Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, Jullundar. Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, the capital of undivided Punjab, had thriving Sikh neighborhoods.
The era of peace and prosperity turned into a nightmare in 1947. The partition of Punjab between India and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
was a seminal tragedy for Sikhs. Islamic fanatics launched attacks on Sikh communities in villages and cities across West Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
. Initially Sikhs thought the attacks were temporary but their intensity increased after Pakistan's independence on August 14, 1947 when the Pakistani police and military failed to protect the Sikh community. Sikhs were killed, raped, robbed, forcibly converted and deported en masse. The Sikh communities were practically wiped out from Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Lyallpur
Lyallpur
Lyallpur may refer to* the former name of Faisalabad city, Pakistan* Lyallpur Town, a municipal area of Faisalabad city, Pakistan...
, 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 in India. On the other hand, in East Punjab
East Punjab
East Punjab was the part of the Punjab region that went to India following the Partition of the Punjab Province of British India between India and Pakistan in 1947...
many Sikhs took revenge and slaughtered a great number of the Muslim population of Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, Ludhiana, and Qadian
Qadian
Qadian is a small town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India....
in just three months. Other cities such as Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur is a city in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of the Republic of India. It is located in the center of and is the administrative head of Gurdaspur District. It was the location of a fort which was famous for the siege it sustained in 1712 from the Mughals...
, Faridkot
Faridkot
Faridkot is a small city and a municipal council in Faridkot district in the state of Punjab, India.It's a division with headquarter at Faridkot consists of three Districts Faridkot, Bathinda and Mansa...
, Ambala
Ambala
Ambala is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border of the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. Politically; Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantt and Ambala City, approximately 3 kilometers apart from each other...
, Moga
Moga, Punjab
Moga is a city and a municipality in Moga district in the Indian state of Punjab.It became part and headquarter of 17th District in the state, Moga district of Punjab State on 24th day of November 1995, by then Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar. Before this, Moga was a part of Faridkot District...
, Jalandhar
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
, and Batala
Batala
Batala is a municipal council in Gurdaspur district in the state of Punjab, India. It is located about 30 km from Gurdaspur, the headquarters of the district....
had large casualties against Muslims. Most of the Muslims in East Punjab were wiped out in the middle of 1948, but some converted just to stay alive. Such intense violence in East Punjab had caused many villages and cities to go through construction.
In 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 dictator Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
in 1972. Sikhs are primarily 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, the male offspring of Sikh farmers were encouraged to migrate to foreign countries. Subsequently the main 'push' factor for Sikh migration has been economic with significant Sikh communities now being found in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Australia
Sikhism in Australia
Sikhism is a small but growing minority religion in Australia, that can trace its origins in the nation to the 1830s. The Sikhs form one of the largest subgroups of Indian Australians with 26,500 adherents according to the 2006 census, having grown from 17,000 in 2001 and 12,000 in 1996...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Agitation for a homeland
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
in 1966 as a Sikh majority state. However Tatla(1998) argues that the marginalization and sense of grievance that Indian Sikhs were facing due to Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
's heavy handed tactics, were amplified in the Sikh diaspora. Subsequently, the Sikh diaspora, especially in Canada and the UK become willing suppliers of logistical and financial support when the organic agitation for a separate Sikh nation, Khalistan
Khalistan
Khalistan refers to a global political secessionist movement to create a separate Sikh state, called Khālistān , carved out of parts mostly consisting of the Punjab region of India, depending on definition....
, began in the late 1970s. The actions taken by the Indian government to counter the Sikh separatist movement, via 1984's Operation Bluestar, had a seismic effect on the Sikh diaspora. Axel (2001) argues that the desecration of the Sikh's holiest shrine, Harimandir Sahib, and the following Sikh Genocide 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 describes 1984's Operation Bluestar as the Sikh's '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 Dr Jagit Singh Chohan, an ex-minister in a short-lived government of Akali
Akali
In the context of Sikhism, Akali may refer to:*any member of the Khalsa, i.e. the collective body of baptized Sikhs*a term for Nihangs*a politician of the Akali Dal political parties...
dissidents, saw an alignment of like-minded Sikhs. Chohan placed a half-page advertisement in The New York Times of 12 October 1971, making several claims about Punjab as a Sikh homeland. However Chohan won little sympathy from ordinary Sikhs
.
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". Organisations such as the International Sikh Youth Federation
International Sikh Youth Federation
The International Sikh Youth Federation is banned under British, Indian, Canadian and American terrorism legislations.- Bannings :In February 2001, the United Kingdom banned twenty-one groups, including the ISYF, under a new terrorism law....
(ISYF), the Babbar Khalsa
Babbar Khalsa
Babbar Khalsa , also known as Babbar Khalsa International , is a Sikh armed organisation based in India. Many consider the Babbar Khalsa a Resistance movement, and it played a prominent role in the Punjab insurgency. Babbar Khalsa International was created in 1978, after a number of Sikhs were...
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 UNPO aligning the Sikh cause with other ethnic groups seeking freedom, citing cases of Jews, Palestinians, Kurds, Balochis, Kashmiris and Sri Lankan Tamils.
Axel (2001) 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".
Since the formation of the Khalsa, the Sikhs have defined themselves though their 'separateness' and have differentiated themselves philosophically and physically from other Indian religious communities, thus the process of 'rashtriya ekta' is a threat to Sikhi itself. Any 'weakening' or 'dilution' Sikhi in the Punjab, is doubly painful for the Sikh diaspora for it means a corresponding weakness in Khalistan, which, both real and imaginary, epitomizes the Sikh diasporic place today.
Sikh identity today
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
has remained high, traditional patterns of Sikh migration, that favored English speaking countries, particularly the United Kingdom has changed in the past decade due to factors such as stricter immigration procedures. Moliner(2006) 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, with Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
and the Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
province being areas of significant Sikh population clusters. The Italian Sikhs are generally involved in the areas of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, agro-processing, machine tools and horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
. Canada has maintained a liberal immigration policy, and the Sikh community there is the second largest in proportion to the country's population after only India, and about 2.5 times the size of the American Sikh community. The largest North American Sikh community is thought to be in Vancouver, British Columbia, and its surrounding communities. The Sikh migration to Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
has also increased to a large extent in the first decade of the 21st century.
In the post-9/11 era, the Sikh diaspora in Europe and North America stand out as a visible minority often confused with radical Islamic groups because of their turbans. There have been numerous hate crimes targeted at Sikhs. France banned turban-wearing Sikh students from publicly-funded schools, as part of a broader policy originally intended to restric Muslim head-scarves. Western security think-tanks quote the Air India bombing
Air India Flight 182
Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi route. On 23 June 1985, the airplane operating on the route a Boeing 747-237B named after Emperor Kanishka was blown up by a bomb at an altitude of , and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while in Irish airspace.A...
to justify profiling of Sikh travellers at airports. The soft influences of popular culture and the need for fitting in with peers is driving many young Sikhs to shed Khalsa symbols such as the turban and beard. Some second generation Sikhs growing up in the West do not have proficiency in the Punjabi language. On the other hand small groups of Westerners have converted to Sikhism. There are now Sikh temples scattered across Europe, North America, Australia and Malaysia. The combination of these factors creates a new and more complex Sikh identity that may slowly emerge in the 21st century.
As globalisation progresses and India's & Punjab's economy continues to expand, the question is whether the Sikh diaspora's focus will shift from inward-looking identity and Khalistan issues to outword-looking global trade and homeland investment like the successful Jewish and Chinese diasporas.
Further reading
- The Sikh Diaspora Search for Statehood by Darshan Singh Tatla (1998) University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97715-9
- Contesting Khalistan the Sikh diaspora and the politics of separatism /Gunawardena, Therese Suhashini. , Jan 2001 Thesis (Ph. D.). Pub. by University of Texas at Austin, 2001. Available at: http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/6181
- Twice Versus Direct Migrants: East African Sikh Settlers in Britain by Parminder Bhachu. Pub. by Clark University (07 Apr 1990).
- Relational Embodiments of a Sikh Diaspora by Anjali Gera Roy Pub. by Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India (2001). Available on http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/jouvert/v7is1/gera.htm.
- Sikhs at Large: Religion, Culture, and Politics in Global Perspective by Verne A. Dusenbery (2008) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-568598-5; ISBN 0-19-568598-9
- Sikh Diaspora Philanthropy in Punjab: Global Giving for Local Good by Verne A. Dusenbery and Darshan S. Tatla, eds. (2009) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-019-8061021; ISBN 0-19-806102-1
External links
- Indian Diaspora, Official Government of India Website
- Sikh NRI Online, Info pertaining to Sikh NRIs Worldwide
- History of Sikh Diaspora in Canada and USA