There are two themes that are explored in this thesis. The first is an examination of the process of acculturation, defined here as the process of learning skills and strategies native to another group. The second is comparative and examines the causes for the relative success that the Portuguese had in learning to accommodate and be accepted in Canada. By the same token the sources of acculturative stress for the Sikhs will be identified. The two groups are comparable along several dimensions such as age, education, skills, knowledge of English on arrival and so on. Learning to be effective in Canada means understanding and acting appropriately in given contexts. The spheres that I have identified as important are the workplace and the community in which they live. The other spheres that come under scrutiny as a result of the spillover of public activities and experiences are the family, and the sphere of religious beliefs and practices. The workplace, I argue, is a central institution wherein acculturation is imperative. Secondly, the establishment of individuals in the community is a crucial factor. While the formation of an ethnic enclave might serve as a support system for newcomers, it also isolates and separates them from others. The Sikh definition of identity is hierarchical, with religion providing an anchorage for all other spheres such as the family, caste, village, and occupation. In sort, individuals did not experience life activities as differentiated or unrelated. Given the contexts of ambivalence and hostility they perceived and/or experienced in Canada, the acquisition of new forms of thought were neither seen as a challenge nor a necessity; but as a threat to their identity. The Portuguese model, on the other hand, recognizes the distinction between public and private lives. To them being "Portuguese" and/or "Catholic" are primarily private matters. Also, by and large they gave importance to individual achievement over corporate identity. To them, acculturation and ethnic identity were complementary modes for the definition of themselves within the Canadian context. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

La problématique de cette thèse est d'interroger la catégorie « réfugié » et son impact dans le processus de construction identitaire à Delhi, lieu de convergence et espace de dispersion. Se dégage-t-il, parmi des personnes de divers groupes ethniques, religions, nationalités et aux origines sociales variées, des représentations et des modes d'action communs, témoins de l'existence d'une identité basée sur la condition de réfugié ? <br />La déconstruction de la catégorie « réfugié » s'opère à trois niveaux : celui des organisations de tutelle des réfugiés qui donnent corps à ce « label » réfugié ; celui des acteurs politiques et sociaux qui apportent leur soutien aux réfugiés ; et celui des acteurs religieux (chrétiens) qui, eux aussi, sont partie prenante du « système-réfugié ».<br />Un regard transversal permet de conclure à l'émergence d'une société civile portant l'expression d'une identité hétérogène et d'une dynamique communautaire par laquelle peut se définir l'identité « réfugié ».

This analysis addresses the relationship between pre-political cultural identity and political outcomes. It posits that the political mobilization of sub-national groups cannot be understood without an examination of the cultural processes of identity formation. The analysis engages cultural discourse and its organization as an explanatory factor in the examination of the variation in ethnic political outcomes. Hence, important questions about ethnonational conflict can be answered by engaging the levels at which identity is constructed and reshaped through cultural discourse. It shifts the arena of analysis from the state to the ethnic groups themselves. The two empirical cases analyzed are that of Sikh nationalism in Punjab and 'ethnic' Assamese nationalism in Assam.

The Khalsa is a militant sect of the Sikh religion officially created by Guru Gobind on Baisakhi Day in 1699. Sikhism, as a religion and culture, existed within the overarching structure of lndian society during the reign of the Muslim Mughal Empire. Over the course of its history, Sikhism sought to evolve and adapt to internal and external pressures, and the creation of the Khalsa was a momentous and transformational step in that evolutionary process. Using Kenneth Burke's guilt-redemption cycle as a model, this study analyses the events that created the Khalsa. The study found that historical and social pressures provided the rhetorical exigence for the creation of the Khalsa. Guru Gobind isolated and used the guilt of the Sikhs people, the guilt of being passive observers in the face of external pressures, the guilt of living in caste-organized society, the guilt of living in a bureaucratic system wherein the priests had seized power and control, and the guilt of living without external markers of the faith. These sources of guilt were brought to the forefront by Guru Gobind, and resolved through the symbolic sacrifice of five men, after which Guru Gobind created the Khalsa as an answer. Through the Khalsa, its symbols and rituals, the Sikhs were provided with a way to escape the flaws and guilt of the old order. The creation of the Khalsa was an important milestone in the evolution of the Sikh culture and religion. Through this study, the processes and methods of this identity transformation were isolated. Guru Gobind activated social and collective levels of identity through the medium of performance in order to transform his audience of Sikhs into the Khalsa.

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Suivant un terrain ethnographique mené à l’été 2012 ainsi qu'une phase exploratoire pendant le baccalauréat en anthropologie, ce mémoire a pour tâche d'investiguer la diaspora sikhe montréalaise de l'intérieur. Des entretiens semi-dirigés avec différents acteurs sikhs et des observations dans les gurdwaras m'ont permis de constater les disjonctions intra-communautaires. À cet effet, je questionne l’utilisation des notions de diaspora et d’ethnicité à des fins essentiellement inclusives. J'ai noté chez les Sikhs des divergences d'opinions notables sur la relation à la « mère-partie », le Punjab, et sur le mouvement nationaliste Khalistani. Par ailleurs, l'autorité religieuse portée par les Sikhs amritdharis les mésententes politico-religieuses divisant les temples seront soulignées. En contrepartie, j'ai constaté qu'en diaspora, le poids du nid familial, des institutions, des symboles et de l'histoire mythifiée propre au sikhisme engendrent une cohésion ethnique particulière. / Following an exploratory phase during my undergraduate studies in anthropology, and an ethnographic fieldwork conducted in summer of 2012, this dissertation investigates the Montréal Sikh diaspora from the inside. Semi-structured interviews and observations in different gurdwaras (temples) led me to see internal disjunctures in the community. To explain these, I investigate the use of diaspora and ethnicity as inclusive notions. I find among the Sikhs subjects several interpretations of the Punjab "homeland", and opposing views concerning the Khalistani nationalist movement. Moreover, religious authority carried by amritdhari Sikhs and politico-religious divisions between multiple gurdwaras are being paid special attention. Concurrently, I suggest that in the Montréal Sikh diaspora, the weight of family, institutions, symbols and mythical history related to the religion produce a particularly solid ethnic cohesion.