Sikh Nationalism From a Dominant Minority to an Ethno-Religious Diaspora New Approaches to Asian History Series

This important volume provides a clear, concise and comprehensive guide to the history of Sikh nationalism from the late nineteenth century to the present. Drawing on A. D. Smith's ethno-symbolic approach, Gurharpal Singh and Giorgio Shani use a new integrated methodology to understanding 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, they 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 lessons the Sikh case offers for the comparative study of ethnicity, nations and nationalism.

Introduction; 1. Understanding Sikh nationalism; 2. Sikhism and the Sikhs up to the 1890s; 3. The emergence of modern Sikh nationalism, 1880s to 1930s; 4. The Partition of India and the Sikhs; 5. An uneasy accommodation: the Indian union and the Sikhs, 1947-84; 6. After operation blue star: militancy, anti-terrorism, and the khalistan movement, 1984-97; 7. Sikh nationalism in the age of globalisation and hindutva, 1997 to the present; 8. The diaspora; Conclusion.

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: The Making of a Community (2006), and Ethnic Conflict in India: A Case Study of Punjab (2000).
Giorgio Shani is Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics and International Studies at International Christian University (ICU) in Japan. He is the author of Religion, Identity and Human Security (2015) and Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age (2010).