The term 'gender' has been defined as an evolutionary, fluid construct; gendered realities are thus open to the vicissitudes of circumstance and time, emerging and developing with the shifting needs of the community within which they unfold. An analysis of gender construction is thus a useful mechanism to interpret the historical process on the whole. This theoretical position forms the framework for a reinterpretation of the Sikh community in the colonial context. The Sikh tradition itself has been part of an evolutionary process. From a primary focus on interior religiosity upon its inception, Sikhism developed into an increasingly militaristic order with highly prescribed exterior symbols and rituals. Accompanying this shift was a 'theology of difference', giving religious, symbolic and ritual sanctioning to a specific gender hierarchy. With a primary focus on male Sikh identity, female religious identity was relegated to a secondary position. Under-girding the annexation of Punjab into the British Empire were Victorian notions of the 'manly Christian', Christianized imperialism and chivalry, alongside rigid female ideals such as the 'helpmate'. The Sikhs came to be highly favoured by their imperial masters for their monotheistic ideals and what was perceived as their 'manly' and militaristic character. This hyper-masculine, militaristic construct, already enshrined within Sikh history through the creation of the Khalsa in 1699 received renewed emphasis by the British administration. The Singh Sabha reform movement initiated in the late-nineteenth century ingeniously accommodated selected aspects of the Victorian worldview into their reform agenda, particularly with regard to gender constructs. Leaders of the Singh Sabha began to actively safeguard Sikh interests in a political milieu increasingly defined by communal rivalry. A Sikh renaissance was born, bringing about a successful focus on linguistic concerns of the Sikhs, education, literature and a highly selective interpretive process of Sikh history and religion. Gender politics were pivotal to virtually all aspects of this endeavour. Novel interpretations and in certain instances 'inventions' of distinct female ritual traditions and symbolism alongside female educational initiatives fostering the 'ideal' Sikh woman were central to the objectives of the Singh Sabha reform movement.

The term 'gender' has been defined as an evolutionary, fluid construct; gendered realities are thus open to the vicissitudes of circumstance and time, emerging and developing with the shifting needs of the community within which they unfold. An analysis of gender construction is thus a useful mechanism to interpret the historical process on the whole. This theoretical position forms the framework for a reinterpretation of the Sikh community in the colonial context. The Sikh tradition itself has been part of an evolutionary process. From a primary focus on interior religiosity upon its inception, Sikhism developed into an increasingly militaristic order with highly prescribed exterior symbols and rituals. Accompanying this shift was a 'theology of difference', giving religious, symbolic and ritual sanctioning to a specific gender hierarchy. With a primary focus on male Sikh identity, female religious identity was relegated to a secondary position. Under-girding the annexation of Punjab into the British Empire were Victorian notions of the 'manly Christian', Christianized imperialism and chivalry, alongside rigid female ideals such as the 'helpmate'. The Sikhs came to be highly favoured by their imperial masters for their monotheistic ideals and what was perceived as their 'manly' and militaristic character. This hyper-masculine, militaristic construct, already enshrined within Sikh history through the creation of the Khalsa in 1699 received renewed emphasis by the British administration. The Singh Sabha reform movement initiated in the late-nineteenth century ingeniously accommodated selected aspects of the Victorian worldview into their reform agenda, particularly with regard to gender constructs. Leaders of the Singh Sabha began to actively safeguard Sikh interests in a political milieu increasingly defined by communal rivalry. A Sikh renaissance was born, bringing about a successful focus on linguistic concerns of the Sikhs, education, literature and a highly selective interpretive process of Sikh history and religion. Gender politics were pivotal to virtually all aspects of this endeavour. Novel interpretations and in certain instances 'inventions' of distinct female ritual traditions and symbolism alongside female educational initiatives fostering the 'ideal' Sikh woman were central to the objectives of the Singh Sabha reform movement. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

This thesis examines Sikh groups in Britain and the implications these have for criteria related to the issue of Sikh identity. Five groups have been selected. They are: the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jama; the Namdharis; the Ravidasls; the Valmikis; and the Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere, which is also frequently associated with the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO). The thesis begins with a historical analysis of Sikhism, to discover what it meant to be a Sikh in the days of the founder of the faith, Guru Nanak, and during the time of the successive Gurus. Political and social issues related to the development of Sikhism and emerging Sikh identity are examined also at the outset. Each group has its own unique contribution to make towards highlighting certain indicators and inhibitors of a Sikh identity. Thus, an important part of the present thesis is to examine the beliefs and practices of each group in order to assess its contribution towards a Sikh identity. Each group has unique leaders and founders; it is interesting, therefore, to see what implications the leaders' backgrounds and teachings have on the ethos of the group studied. The present thesis has aimed to highlight the implications of five groups ~ who have in the present and/or in the past have Sikh connections ~ on issues related to Sikh identity. This has been undertaken by continuous reference to four fundamental questions. A thematic approach was adopted for concluding the thesis. Each of the themes arose as significant factors developed throughout the research. The themes illustrate areas that are responsible for the promotion, as well as the hindering, of a uniform Sikh identity among the groups. The five themes that emerged were: (1) The concept of Guru in Sikhism; (2) Leaders and founders; (3) The role of the Rehat Maryada in relation to Sikh identity; (4) Caste and the Panth; (5) The issue of Sikh identity in relation to Punjabi ethnicity. The present research has shown that there are no overall dominant criteria with which to assess the Sikh identity of the Sikh community as a whole. Thus, contrary, to prevalent views about the Sikhs, there are many different "types" of Sikhs present today. I have suggested a federal identity of the Sikh community as a whole. This implies a unity of Sikhs worldwide but independence in the interpretation of Sikhism for the different groups. A federal identity might mean one or two core beliefs such as the acceptance of the Sikh Gurus' teachings and belief in the Sikh Absolute -- but, further than that, it is up to the individual group to express its unique beliefs and practices.

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This thesis recognizes the value of using a variety of perspectives to study the history of an ethnic minority group. The history of some groups is lacking in insider perspectives. I have attempted to add balance to the existing accounts by using an oral history approach to describe the experiences of the Sikhs living in British Columbia from 1920-1947. I am an insider, a Sikh whose grandfather was one of the original pioneers who came in the first wave of immigration in the 1904-1908 time period. These people are no longer with us, but some of their wives and children are still available to share their history with future generations. I interviewed and recorded 24 individual histories. From these I have formed a composite picture of the Sikh community in British Columbia from 1920-1947. Beginning with descriptions of social, political and cultural conditions in India and Canada at the time of arrival, we follow them through the important stages of their lives in their adopted land. They describe the journey over, settling in, adaptations, work, social life, the fight for rights, and the role of their temple and religion. We see the events and circumstances that eventually led to the Sikhs being able to call Canada their home. The many photographs, letters and documents give further insights into the lives of this distinctive group of Canadians. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This dissertation sheds new light on the Purātan Janamsākhī, the earliest available account on the founder and most important figure of the Sikh tradition – Gurū Nānak (d. 1539 CE). Scholarship on Gurū Nānak has largely dismissed the significance of this text and has overlooked the fact that, after its composition in 1588 CE, the Purātan Janamsākhī remained the most widely circulated account of Gurū Nānak’s life for two centuries. This thesis engages with the manuscripts and studies of the text to provide a life-history of the Purātan Janamsākhī, and, in arguing for a reclamation of this account, takes on a close reading of the Purātan Janamsākhī to identify how, within decades of his death, followers of Gurū Nānak remembered his life and message. This thesis situates the Purātan Janamsākhī within its historical context and compares it with some of its closest North Indian contemporaries, including other janamsākhīs composed on the life of Gurū Nānak and hagiographical writings written about religious figures from different North Indian communities. Our comparative approach allows us to identify some basic commonalities in hagiographical writing and glean aspects that distinguish the Purātan Janamsākhī from its counterparts, including Gurū Nānak’s unique interest in political critique and building a new community. This thesis, therefore, contributes significantly to our understandings of identity and community formation, to studies on hagiographical writing, and to our foundational understandings of Sikh history.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the development of the Sikh concept of hukam, which is usually translated as a divine command or order. The concept is prominently featured in the Sikh sacred scripture (Guru Granth) and is an important aspect of daily ritual life for the Sikhs. The goal of this study is to provide initial insight into how the concept developed in the Sikh scriptural tradition, as well as the implications that the concept had for the Sikh community. This paper traces the development of hukam from the concepts origin in the Islamic tradition, the writings of Kabir, and the Sikh Gurus, with primary interest in Nanak's compositions. Each of these helps to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the concept developed across cultures and religious traditions. The first section analyzes how hukam, originally an Arabic word and an Islamic concept, was employed in the Qur'an. This section includes an analysis of the derivative words that share the HKM verbal root with hukam. The second section analyzes hukam in its earliest South Asian context through the compositions of Kabir, a 15th century Indian Saint. The third and fourth sections of the paper deal with Guru Nanak and his successors, respectively. Starting with Nanak, who founded the Sikh religion, I analyze how he used hukam to emphasize a divine order that was familiar for South Asian traditions, while preserving much of the original themes discussed in the Qur'an. In the following section, I note how Nanak's successors build on his concept of hukam, utilizing it in a manner that reflects that growing Sikh identity and authority of the Guru. Through this analysis, I conclude that the continuity the Sikh concept of hukam displays with the Qur'an forces us to reexamine the connections between Sikhism and Islam, which have previously been overlooked or ignored amongst scholars of Sikhism. By analyzing the development of the concept across textual traditions, I provide a framework by which the uniqueness of the Sikh hukam can be extracted.

Exploring the relationship that second-generation Sikh-Canadians have with alcohol, this research focuses on predominant understandings of alcohol in the community. Themes include Panjabi culture, Sikh understandings of alcohol, masculinity, intergenerational trauma and colonialism. / This thesis explores the relationship that second-generation Sikh-Canadians have with alcohol. Predominant understandings of alcohol in the community argue that Panjabi culture promotes the consumption of alcohol while Sikhi prohibits it yet culture and religion cannot easily be separated or understood in such monolithic ways. Problems with alcohol are often relegated to a Panjabi issue stemming from a hypermasculine culture that emphasizes overconsumption. Simply blaming “the culture” misses the heterogeneity of the community and the impacts of intergenerational trauma and contemporary formations of masculinity, culture, and religion that are rooted in colonialism. Furthermore, stating that Sikhi is vehemently anti-alcohol fails to engage with the Guru Granth Sahib and the lived reality. The central thesis of the Guru Granth Sahib, IkOankar (1-Ness), advocates against binaries, moving away from normative and simplistic understandings of good and bad or prohibited and accepted. This is not to argue that Sikhi promotes alcohol consumption rather, depicting alcohol consumption in reductive and binary terms is against the IkOankar paradigm and fails to engage lived Sikhi. Although in mainstream understandings of Sikhi, alcohol is prohibited, this is not always what is practiced. Moving beyond simple prohibition or acceptance, alcohol consumption can be understood through the dynamic ways in which Sikh-Canadians engage with the substance. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / Predominant understandings of alcohol in the Sikh community argue that Panjabi culture promotes its consumption while Sikhi prohibits it yet culture and religion cannot easily be separated or understood in such monolithic ways. Simply blaming “the culture” misses the heterogeneity of the community and the impacts of intergenerational trauma and contemporary formations of masculinity, culture, and religion that are rooted in colonialism. Furthermore, stating that Sikhi is vehemently anti-alcohol fails to engage with the central thesis of the Guru Granth Sahib, IkOankar (1-Ness), and the lived reality.

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No description available.