Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs

Sikhs Across Borders is the first study to explore patterns of transnational practices among European Sikhs, with particular focus on the links between the Sikhs in Europe, Punjab (the 'home-land') and within a global Sikh community. The book illustrates how local and transnational spheres coexist and interact in a multitude of social and cultural practices and discourses among European Sikhs past and present. Based on new empirical research Sikhs Across Borders book explores how religion continues to play a significant role in the daily lives of European Sikhs and is important for their maintenance of links with the homeland, as well as Sikhs in other parts of the world. The team of international contributors show how Sikhs are shaping new self-representations and identity constructions through a multitude of transnational practices on the individual, national and global level, such as marriages, pilgrimage narratives, and the use of the internet and new media. Further transnational practices examined include religious learning and teaching practices and responses to political events in the diaspora.

Table of Contents:
Notes on Contributors List of Tables Introduction: Transnational European Sikhs Knut A. Jacobsen and Kristina Myrvold Part I: Migration, Settlement and Challenges in the Diaspora 1. Comparative Experiences of Sikhs in Europe: Reflections on Issues of Cultural Transmission and Identity 30 Years On Shinder S. Thandi 2. Sikh Soldiers in Europe during the First World War, 1914-1918 David E. Omissi 3. Mobility as a Transnational Strategy: Sikhs Moving to and from Belgium Quincy Cloet, Sara Cosemans and Idesbald Goddeeris 4. Transnational Sikh Marriages in Italy: Facilitating Migration and Negotiating Traditions Barbara Bertolani Part II: Constructing Identities, Representations and Belongings 5. Narratives of 'Return'? Travels to Punjab in the Contemporary Transnational Sikhscape Federica Ferraris 6. Tuning Identity in European 'Houses of the Guru': The Importance of Gurdwaras and Kirtan among Sikhs in Europe Knut A. Jacobsen 7. Attending the Cyber Sangat: The Use of Online Discussion Boards among European Sikhs Satnam Singh 8. 'Sikhizing the Sikhs': The Role of 'New Media' in Historical and Contemporary Identity Construction within Global Sikhism Doris R. Jakobsh Part III: Learning, Teaching and Contesting Religious Beliefs and Practices 9. Global Sikh-ers: Transnational Learning Practices of Young British Sikhs Jasjit Singh 10. Transnational Sikh Preachers: Local Training and Global Aspiration of Kathavacaks in Punjab Kristina Myrvold 11. The Journey of Guru Granth Sahib to Italian Sikhs: Defining 'National' Leadership in Transnational Mass Media Barbara Bertolani and Iqbal Singh 12. Contesting and Confirming Religious Authority in the Diaspora: Transnational Communication and the Dasam Granth Controversy in the Nordic Countries Knut A. Jacobsen, Kristina Myrvold, Ravinder Kaur and Laura Hirvi Glossary Index

About the Author :
Knut A. Jacobsen is Professor of History of Religions at the University of Bergen, Norway. Kristina Myrvold is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Linnaeus University, Sweden.

Review :
The internet, pilgrimage, religious controversies, kinship networks, Sikh soldiers in World War 1 - these are just some of the subjects addressed in a work that very accessibly presents fine scholarship from seasoned specialists in Sikh Studies and younger scholars. Research in specific fields and European national contexts is excellently set in wider historical and geographical contexts. This volume will be important to teachers and students of religious and diaspora studies from a range of disciplines. -- Eleanor Nesbitt, Professor Emerita at the University of Warwick, UK Enriched by the contribution of a new generation of scholars from different disciplines of social sciences, the volume suggests how Sikh Studies continually incorporates new frontiers of academic enquiry and appeals to the interest of scholars of migration studies, demographers, students of economic development and researchers on social mobilization -- Himadri Banerjee, Department of History, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India Sikhs Across Borders illuminates a multitude of ways that Sikhs have sought to represent themselves across the varied geo-cultural landscape that is Europe. Moving beyond simply migration history, Sikhs Across Borders offers a diverse collection of essays that are both theoretically grounded and rich in their substantive content.The essays in this volume are engaging in their presentation, and contain a wealth of empirical data making them valuable resources for future scholarship in the area. Jacobsen and Myrvold have produced what is sure to become required reading for those interested in this newly emerging and rapidly growing area of study. -- Michael Hawley, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Mount Royal University, Canada The book offers empirically based case studies on Sikhs living in different regions of Europe. A pioneering effort in examining the history of establishment of these recent communities, the book would serve as a major building block for the emerging sub-field of Sikhs in Europe -- Gurinder Singh Mann, Professor of Sikh Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA