Sikh Nationalism: From a Dominant Minority to an Ethno-Religious Diaspora
Channel: SOAS University of London
Date: 2022-03-04

Summary: 
SAI is pleased to host the book launch of Sikh Nationalism: From a Dominant Minority to an Ethno-Religious Diaspora (Cambridge University Press, 2021) by Gurharpal Singh and Giorgio Shani. The volume is a timely reflection on historical and contemporary development that have influenced the politics of the Punjab and much more widely in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora in the West.

Drawing on A.D. Smith’s ethno-symbolic approach, the authors use a new integrated methodology to understand the historical and sociological development of modern Sikh nationalism. By emphasising the importance of studying Sikh nationalism from the perspective of the nation-building projects of India and Pakistan, the recent literature on religious nationalism and the need to integrate the study of the diaspora with the Sikhs in South Asia, the authors provide a fresh approach to a complex subject. Singh and Shani evaluate the current condition of Sikh nationalism in a globalised world and consider the lesson the Sikh case offers for the comparative study of ethnicity, nations and nationalism.

Gurharpal Singh is Emeritus Professor of Sikh and Punjab Studies at SOAS, University of London. His previous publications include The Partition of India (2009), Sikhs in Britain (2006) and Ethnic Conflict in India (2000).

Giorgio Shani is Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics and International Studies at International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo. He is the author of Religion, Identity and Human Security (2015) and Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age (2010).

Discussants:

Ian Talbot is Emeritus Professor in History of Modern South Asia at the University of Southampton and has published over 10 monographs include recently A Modern History of South Asia (Yale 2016).

Peter Flügel is Professor in the Study of Religions and Philosophies and Chair of Centre for Jaina Studies at SOAS, University of London.