397p., Illus., Gloss., Bib., 22 cm. (First pub. in 1999)
CONTENTS
CONTENTS:- I. Introductions and keynote speech: Introduction: 1. Conference activities and Sikh studies at Michigan/Pashaura Singh; II. Issues of Sikh identity/N. Gerald Barrier. Keynote speech-Sikh identity in historical and contemporary perspective/N. Gerald Barrier; III. Symbols of identity and Sikh tradition: 1. The Turban: symbol of Sikh identity/W.H. McLeod; 2. Early markers of Sikh identity: a focus on the works of first five Gurus/Pashaura Singh; 3. The end of syncretism: anti-syncretism in Sikh tradition/Gurudharm Singh Khalsa; 4. Sahajdhari Sikhs: their origin and current status within the Panth/Bhai Harbans Lal; 5. 'Nation' or 'world religion'?: master narratives of Sikh identity/Verne A. Dusenbery; IV. Recent Sikh history and issues of identity: 6. Sikhs and state: troublesome relationships and a fundamental continuity with particular reference to the period 1849-1919/Ian J. Kerr; 7. Sikh identity formation and the British rural ideal, 1880-1930/Brian P. Caton; 8. Sikh identity question: a view from Eastern India/Himadri Banerjee; 9. Fundi: Sikh contribution to East Africa's development/Vishva Bandhu Lalchand Sharma; 10. Nabha's Ham Hindu Nahin: a declaration of Sikh ethnicity/J.S. Grewal; V. Politics, social issues and contemporary Sikh identity: 11. The Sikhs and caste: the development of Ramgarhia identity in Britain/Sewa Singh Kalsi; 12. Second generation Sikhs in the US: consensus and differences/Karen Leonard; 13. Transmitting and regenerating culture: the Sikh case/Arthur W. Helweg; 14. Sikhs and proper Sikhs: the representation of Sikhs in curriculum books and young British Sikhs' perception of their identity/Eleanor Nesbitt; 15. Religious authority and influence in the diaspora: Sant Jaswant Singh and Sikhs in West London/Joy Barrow; 16. Sikh youth aspirations and identity: some perspectives from Britain/Shinder S. Thandi; 17. The Fairfax, Virginia Gurdwara case and Sikh identity/N. Gerald Barrier; Glossary of Punjabi terms; Bio-bibliographical notes on contributors; Conference participants; List of donors to the Sikh studies program at the University of Michigan (May 1997).
DESCRIPTION
The collection of seventeen essays, two critical introductions, and a keynote speech, resulted from an International Conference on 'Sikh identity: Continuity and Change' held at the University of Michigan in 1996. The contributions are in four sections which include introductions and keynote speech: symbols of identity and Sikh tradition; recent Sikh history and issues of identity; and politics, social issues and contemporary Sikh identity. The scholarship covers a wide range of important issues pertaining to the complex process of 'coming to be', a class notion of identity. Emphasized are the connections between formal, conscious and organized processes of institutional development/identity markers and the informal, unconscious and spiritual ways in which people come to know themselves. These in turn fashion responses to how others understand and accept identity. The papers address 'Who is a Sikh?' and provide insights from disciplines such as history, sociology, anthropology, political science and religion. Doctrine, code of conduct, historical interpretation, authority, and creative response to changing circumstances are issues that do not lend themselves to easy solutions. Yet an open exchange of ideas and alternatives hopefully should reduce tension and lead to a resolution of differences acceptable to Sikhs as a whole. This volume makes a positive contribution toward that process.
