Between Colonialism and Diaspora: Sikh Cultural Formations in an Imperial World

This book offers a bold revaluation of Sikh identity from the late eighteenth century to the early twenty-first. Ballantyne examines Sikh communities and experiences in Punjab, South Asia, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world where Sikhs and Sikhism have spread. Bringing South Asian and British imperial history to bear on his analysis, Ballantyne charts the shifting, complex, and frequently competing visions of Sikh identity that have emerged in response to the changes wrought by colonialism and diaspora. In the process, he argues that Sikh Studies must expand its scope to take into account not only how Sikhism appears in religious and political texts, but also on the battlefields of Asia and Europe, in the streets of Southall and Singapore, and within the night life of New Delhi and Newcastle.