Gurharpal Singh

British multiculturalism and Sikhs

British Sikhs are often portrayed as the pioneers of British multiculturalism, a public policy that has come under serious introspection since 9/11 and 7/7. This article argues that although the development of the British Sikh community since the Second World War has contributed significantly to the shaping of national and local policies to manage religious and cultural diversity, this achievement has been realised within a traditional British statecraft that promotes opt-outs from general rule-making, localisation and asymmetrical pluralism. The dispute over the recent play Behzti highlights the tensions between this mode of diversity management and the need to address the claims of deep multiculturalists who call for the further cultural democratisation of public spaces.

Understanding the "Punjab Problem"

No other subject since the Emergency in India (1975–77) has commanded such attention as the recent developments in Punjab: specialists and non-specialists alike have felt the need to comment on the events that preceded and followed the Indian Army’s Operation Blue Star. The purpose of this chapter is not to add to this output, but rather to distinguish and evaluate the various explanations that have been offered for what is commonly referred to as the ‘Punjab problem’. Such an exercise is unlikely to be comprehensive or satisfactory. However given the confusion which characterizes many of the accounts, its value would appear to justify the liberties taken. In this effort I have divided the literature into five categories: Sikh nationalism, conspiracy theories, regional and national factors, and Marxist interpretations. These headings, it is stressed, are neither exclusive nor exhaustive; at best they provide questionable divisions of convenience.

Gurdwaras and community-building among British Sikhs

Abstract This paper examines the role of gurdwaras (temples) in community-building among British Sikhs since the early twentieth century. Like the Punjab, Britain has witnessed the emergence of a modern gurdwara movement that now embraces almost 250 institutions, and has succeeded in establishing distinct sacred spaces in the inner-city, some of which resemble Golden Temple-like structures. These institutions increasingly reflect the internal and denominational diversity within Sikhism, a characteristic that has contributed significantly to their growth. The paper examines the patterns of growth and geographical distribution of gurdwaras, as well as the resources they are able to generate. The functions of these institutions, it is argued, are changing as result of pressure to adapt to both new conditions of faith in the inner-city and generational changes within the Sikh community itself. Additionally, in a post-9/11 and post-7/7 world where minority religious institutions are now easily associated with transnational terrorism, gurdwaras, like Muslim mosques and Hindu mandirs (temples), face new challenges of close state monitoring.

The Punjab crisis since 1984: A reassessment

Abstract Over the last decade there has been increasing scholarly interest in the ethnic character of the Indian state. This interest has coincided with the rise of the Hindu revivalist Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP], nation‐wide clashes between Hindus and Muslims, and bitter conflict over affirmative action for backward classes. Simultaneously, the Indian state has been confronted by regional movements in Kashmir, Assam and Punjab seeking secession from the Indian Union. By focusing on the Punjab crisis this article argues that conventional explanations have concentrated on national political centralization and regional economic factors, to the neglect of Sikh ethno‐nationalism and its dialectical relationship with strategies for ethnic conflict management followed by the Indian state since 1947. Drawing on recent revisionist accounts, the Indian state, it is suggested, should be viewed as a form of an ethnic democracy in which hegemonic control is exercised over non‐Hindu ethnic groups. The Punjab case‐st...

Racial Equality, Housing and the Local State

Few aspects of racial inequality have over the years attracted as much attention as housing. From the earliest stages of the arrival of black migrants in post-war Britain the disadvantages they suffered in the housing market were a major issue of concern in some localities. Additionally, during this time anti-immigrant groups found that housing was an emotive issue around which they could attempt to organise political support. One way or another, therefore, it can be said that it is on the question of housing that many local political debates about racial issues have focused.

The Punjabi press

Abstract Longitudinal studies of the ethnic press in Great Britain provide interesting insights into the development of ethnic minorities. In this paper we examine the case of the Punjabi press with special reference to the Sikh community. The paper is divided into three sections: (i) an examination of the motives for establishing publications; (ii) an evaluation of some of the common problems encountered by these ventures; and (iii) reflections on the factors likely to influence the future of the Punjabi press. In conclusion it is argued that the industrys fortunes are largely determined by three factors: political, technological, and the size of the market. Although the Punjabi press appears to be adapting to social change within the Sikh community, its competitive structure will continue to produce a high rate of failure.

India's Akali-BJP Alliance: The 1997 Legislative Assembly Elections

In the 11th Lok Sabha elections (May 1996), the BJP emerged as the largest single political party. As speculation intensified about the possibility of the BJP forming its first ever national government, one regional party, the AD(B), made a public declaration of support for the BJP’s claim, which surprised many observers. Why, they wondered, was the Sikhs’ premier political representative prepared to give support to the leading Hindu nationalist party? Was there not something fundamentally irreconcilable in AD(B)-supported Sikh agitation in favour of regional political and cultural autonomy as proposed in the ASR and BJP’s national agenda for a common national culture as espoused in Hindutva ideology? How could two such parties become political bedfellows?

The Punjab legislative assembly elections of February 1997: The BJP's regional road to power?

Abstract Since 1984, the Indian state of Punjab has become synonymous with political disorder, violence, and counter‐insurgency. The February 1997 election of a popular state government coalition made up of the Akali Dal (Badal), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) marks a radical development in the ‘Punjab problem’. As well as providing a popular mandate for the former, a moderate Sikh political party, the elections have created a model for the regional expansion of the Hindu nationalist BJP. Although their alliance initially was tactical and continues to be fraught with tensions, it has significant strategic value for both the Akali Dal (Badal) and the BJP, especially in the latters policies towards the minorities and its quest to form a stable government at the national level.

The Partition of India as State Contraction: Some Unspoken Assumptions

The fiftieth anniversary of the partition of India is likely to be accompanied by renewed calls for a more detailed re-examination of the causes and consequences of the most significant event in the modern history of the subcontinent. Coming as it does soon after the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR and its European satellites, the reunification of Germany and the implosion of Yugoslavia, the anniversary provides an ideal moment for reflection in a world where conventional assumptions have been turned upside down. The old world order of imperialism and the Cold War is a distant memory and the political elites who were bloodied in the partition no longer hold sway. As sub-national problems dating from the partition refuse to go away and South Asia faces the economic challenge of the ASEAN countries, there is a growing realism among leading politicians that an open discussion of the previously unmentionable is needed.1

Rethinking Sikh Nationalism in the Twenty-First Century

This article seeks to draw attention to some of the core issues which beset the study of Sikh nationalism as a coherent phenomenon in an increasingly globalized and socially fragmented world. First, it highlights the importance of revisiting the debate about the communitys religious boundaries, arguing that in contrast to the new conventional wisdom informed by poststructuralism, Sikh identity has exhibited a remarkable degree of continuity from the establishment of the Khalsa in comparison with other South Asian religio-political communities. The second key issue highlighted is the role of the Sikh diaspora in the development of Sikh nationalism and statehood. It critically examines the extent to which diaspora may be regarded as an instrument of ‘long-distance’ nationalism. Third, it argues that the existing literature on Sikh nationalism is remarkably community-centric and needs to engage with theories of nationalism. Finally, while acknowledging the cleavages which fragment the Sikh nation, it concludes that Sikh nationalism has been remarkably cohesive.