To be a child of diaspora: The irreconcilable outsider in Sikh discourse

2019/01/11 by Conner Singh VanderBeek · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #South Asian Studies and Diaspora #South Asian Cinema and Culture #Diaspora, migration, transnational identity

paper · doi:10.1080/17448727.2018.1545192

openalex publication_date 2019/01/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06

Abstract

Scholarship, media, and activism engaging Sikhism construct a standardized Sikh who carries a specific configuration of language, ethnicity, historical memory, and physical appearance. Nijhawan calls this ‘the prevailing identity politics of hegemonic diasporas’ [2016. The Precarious Diasporas of Sikh and Ahmadiyya Generations: Violence, Memory, and Agency. New York: Palgave Macmillan, 2], noting how diasporic religious subjectivity becomes globally standardized as Sikhs advocate for inclusion in public and political spheres. Using the visual and sonic iconography of Sikh diaspora, I explore how this socio-historical construction of the proper Sikh also alienates difference within Sikhism, despite diaspora itself constantly generating heterodox bodies.

Citations

• Globalization and Religious Nationalism: Self, Identity, and the Search for Ontological Security

Cited by

• From ‘overseas Sikhs’ to ‘the Sikh diaspora’ to ‘global Sikhs’: Retrospect and prospects in the study of Sikhs beyond the subcontinent
• Rupi Kaur [wikipedia]

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