This book is the third in the trilogy of books looking at the comparatively less-known destinations of Sikh migration to non-English speaking countries. The first one was Sikhs in Latin America, followed by Sikhs in Asia Pacific. Earlier Sikh migration was focused on the British Commonwealth and the USA. Once restrictions were placed on entering the UK, the Sikhs were forced to explore the possibility of migrating to other countries including Continental Europe. The pace of migration picked up in 1970s. Later there were more asylum seekers in the 1980s and 1990s adding to the migration numbers. Some could enter Europe through legal channels, while others found alternative routes as undocumented migrants. Sikhs found employment mostly as unskilled labour but now they have been able to create niche professions such as dairying in Italy and restaurants/bars in Finland. There is now a large second generation who is fully qualified to enter other professions. The author describes how Sikhs have kept up their traditions through ‘Nagar Kirtans’, Turban, Youth Summer camps, and ‘sewa’. There are almost 140 gurdwaras in Europe with a meagre population of less than a quarter million.This book is the third in the trilogy of books looking at the comparatively less-known destinations of Sikh migration to non-English speaking countries. The first one was Sikhs in Latin America, followed by Sikhs in Asia Pacific. Earlier Sikh migration was focused on the British Commonwealth and the USA. Once restrictions were placed on entering the UK, the Sikhs were forced to explore the possibility of migrating to other countries including Continental Europe. The pace of migration picked up in 1970s. Later there were more asylum seekers in the 1980s and 1990s adding to the migration numbers. Some could enter Europe through legal channels, while others found alternative routes as undocumented migrants. Sikhs found employment mostly as unskilled labour but now they have been able to create niche professions such as dairying in Italy and restaurants/bars in Finland. There is now a large second generation who is fully qualified to enter other professions. The author describes how Sikhs have kept up their traditions through ‘Nagar Kirtans’, Turban, Youth Summer camps, and ‘sewa’. There are almost 140 gurdwaras in Europe with a meagre population of less than a quarter million. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Sikhs in Europe are neglected in the study of religions and migrant groups: previous studies have focused on the history, culture and religious practices of Sikhs in North America and the UK, but few have focused on Sikhs in continental Europe. This book fills this gap, presenting new data and analyses of Sikhs in eleven European countries; examining the broader European presence of Sikhs in new and old host countries. Focusing on patterns of migration, transmission of traditions, identity construction and cultural representations from the perspective of local Sikh communities, this book explores important patterns of settlement, institution building and cultural transmission among European Sikhs.

Sikhs Across Borders is the first study to explore patterns of transnational practices among European Sikhs, with particular focus on the links between the Sikhs in Europe, Punjab (the 'home-land') and within a global Sikh community. The book illustrates how local and transnational spheres coexist and interact in a multitude of social and cultural practices and discourses among European Sikhs past and present. Based on new empirical research Sikhs Across Borders book explores how religion continues to play a significant role in the daily lives of European Sikhs and is important for their maintenance of links with the homeland, as well as Sikhs in other parts of the world. The team of international contributors show how Sikhs are shaping new self-representations and identity constructions through a multitude of transnational practices on the individual, national and global level, such as marriages, pilgrimage narratives, and the use of the internet and new media. Further transnational practices examined include religious learning and teaching practices and responses to political events in the diaspora.

This book is the second in a global trilogy looking at the unreported Sikh diaspora comprising mainly the non-English speaking countries. The first one in the Sikh Global Village series was Sikhs in Latin America published by Manohar. This volume covers Sikhs in Asia Pacific countries. The third will be on Sikhs in Europe. The Asia Pacific region is a vital and under-recognized home for the Sikh diaspora. Before 1947, most Sikhs migrated East. In addition to the commonly known destinations, the author also examines lesser known cases of Sikh migration to China, Korea, Japan and the Philippines. The book covers various aspects of the diaspora including the history of migration relating to the British Indian Army police force. The British gave preference in recruiting Sikhs, and encouraged them to build gurdwaras and supported them to keep their Sikh identity. Soon after arrival, these early immigrants encouraged their village compatriots and relatives to migrate in large numbers to avail of the various opportunities for gainful employment or business. Not only is this wave of migration important in its own right, but Sikh migration to North America finds its origins in the Asia-Pacific Sikh diaspora, specifically from Shanghai. The decolonization of Asian countries slowed down the migration and in some cases resulted even in exodus of Indians/Sikhs at the same time as new destinations to North America and UK opened up. Migration to each country has a unique profile, traced vividly in the book. Additionally the author has made an effort to outline the similarities and differences in migration of Sikhs to the East against present migration to the West. Case studies are extensively used.

On the role of Sikh soldiers in the second World War in Europe.

Arguing that intellectual movements, such as deconstruction, postsecular theory, and political theology, have different implications for cultures and societies that live with the debilitating effects of past imperialisms, Arvind Mandair unsettles the politics of knowledge construction in which the category of "religion" continues to be central. Through a case study of Sikhism, he launches an extended critique of religion as a cultural universal. At the same time, he presents a portrait of how certain aspects of Sikh tradition were reinvented as "religion" during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. India's imperial elite subtly recast Sikh tradition as a sui generis religion, which robbed its teachings of their political force. In turn, Sikhs began to define themselves as a "nation" and a "world religion" that was separate from, but parallel to, the rise of the Indian state and global Hinduism. Rather than investigate these processes in isolation from Europe, Mandair shifts the focus closer to the political history of ideas, thereby recovering part of Europe's repressed colonial memory. Mandair rethinks the intersection of religion and the secular in discourses such as history of religions, postcolonial theory, and recent continental philosophy. Though seemingly unconnected, these discourses are shown to be linked to a philosophy of "generalized translation" that emerged as a key conceptual matrix in the colonial encounter between India and the West. In this riveting study, Mandair demonstrates how this philosophy of translation continues to influence the repetitions of religion and identity politics in the lives of South Asians, and the way the academy, state, and media have analyzed such phenomena.

This volume is a multidisciplinary approach to the subject of Indian international emigration and comprises contributions by demographers, economists, sociologists, geographers, anthropologists and historians. The book highlights emerging issues such as the political economy of international migration, skilled and unskilled migration, body shopping, return migration, immigration policies in the Gulf and experiences of emigrants from the states of Kerala and Punjab. It focuses on the current dimensions like skilled migrants in the IT sector of Malaysia, the entrepreneurial ventures of Keralites in the UAE, household remittances, inequality and poverty in Kerala, the gender dimension of Indian migration (with focus on nurses and housemaids in the Gulf) and cross-border migratory movements connected to the European Union, with an overview of the migration of Sikhs and Tamils to France. Finally, it carries a discussion of the evolution of India’s public policies towards its diaspora.

The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies innovatively combines the ways in which scholars from fields as diverse as philosophy, psychology, religious studies, literary studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics have integrated the study of Sikhism within a wide range of critical and postcolonial perspectives on the nature of religion, violence, gender, ethno-nationalism, and revisionist historiography. A number of essays within this collection also provide a more practical dimension, written by artists and practitioners of the tradition. The handbook is divided into eight thematic sections that explore different 'expressions' of Sikhism. Historical, literary, ideological, institutional, and artistic expressions are considered in turn, followed by discussion of Sikhs in the Diaspora, and of caste and gender in the Panth. Each section begins with an essay by a prominent scholar in the field, providing an overview of the topic. Further essays provide detail and further treat the fluid, multivocal nature of both the Sikh past and the present. The handbook concludes with a section considering future directions in Sikh Studies.

The Sikh World is an outstanding guide to the Sikh faith and culture in all its geographical and historical diversity. Written by a distinguished team of international contributors, it contains substantial thematic articles on the dynamic living experiences of the global Sikh community. The volume is organised into ten distinct sections: History, Institutions, and Practices Global Communities Ethical Issues Activism Modern Literature and Exegesis Music, Visual Art, and Architecture Citizenship, Sovereignty, and the Nation State Diversity and its Challenges Media Education Within these sections, interdisciplinary themes such as intellectual history, sexuality, ecotheology, art, literature, philosophy, music, cinema, medicine, science and technology, politics, and global interactions are explored. Integrating textual evidence with Sikh practice, this volume provides an authoritative and accessible source of information on all topics of Sikhism. The Sikh World will be essential reading to students of Sikh studies, South Asian studies and religious studies. It will also be of interest to those in related fields, such as sociology, world philosophies, political science, anthropology, and ethics.