2010/05/31 by Neil Krishan Aggarwal · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Aesthetics #Archaeology #Colonialism #Gender studies #Hinduism #History #Identity (music) #Law #Linguistics #Movement (music) #Philosophy #Political science #Politics #Power (physics) #Religious identity #Religious studies #Sikhism #Social science #Sociology #South Asian Cinema and Culture #South Asian Studies and Conflicts #South Asian Studies and Diaspora #Subaltern #TRACE (psycholinguistics)
paper · doi:10.1080/17448727.2010.484140
openalex publication_date 2010/05/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This article explores a subaltern framework to examine language, religion, and power among contemporary Sikh movements, such as the Udasis, that oppose the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC). From the late nineteenth century, the Punjab environment progressively communalized as religious groups competed internally and externally to win supporters and define outsiders. Emblematic of these processes in Sikhism are those affirming ties to Hinduism, such as the Udasis, and those seeking a separate religious identity, such as the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha. This paper begins with an overview of constructions of Hinduism and Sikhism in the colonial period. Next, the theory of parole is developed to trace the relationships among language, religion, and power transacted through speech. Finally, the SGPC's portrayals of the Udasis and modern Udasi responses are presented. The Udasis exemplify how certain sects fell outside of epi-colonial religious demarcations in the Punjab that progressed toward a single Sikh identity. As a theory linking language and power, parole surpasses the classification of religious groups as ‘orthodox’ and ‘heterodox’ to uncover histories where communities define Self and Other.