ਭੂਿਮਕਾ Introduction
The Forgotten Archive was built with three major goals in mind: present Punjabi history in a way that has not been done before in popular and academic accounts, provide a platform to share stories that currently documented history tends to forget, and engage with and complicate the formation of Sikh and Punjabi identity. The strategy to accomplish these goals was to build a framework through presenting evidence, interpreting it, complicating it, and then using that construct to build a story. The process of building these stories has taken many forms, in the following manuscript you will find letters, play dialogues, newspaper articles, and short songs.
This project, in being based in a historical analysis of the lives of the common people, hopes to
find and listen to the forgotten voices. Voices that have been lost over time, silenced through scholarship, and erased from the pages of history. My motivation to embark on this study as a
first generation Punjabi/America, first son of an immigrant couple, and first to pursue a higher education in the US is largely based in three realities. These stories may be the stories of my own ancestors, and this work honors their memory and the decisions they made. This work can serve as a tool for those like myself who haven’t been able to ask questions and engage with issues related to identity, and story making. And, most importantly, I enjoy reading about these stories and thinking of new ways to share them others.
The challenge of a project such as this is one centered on the idea of voices, and questioning what my role is in listening, writing and editing those voices. Narratives such as the ones included in this project can be problematic in two major ways. First, as fictional accounts they lack authenticity, regardless of the amount of research that has gone into creating them.
Secondly, they rely very heavily on primary, and academic accounts that document events from a specific perspective, which can influence the nature of the archives. Many of these sources were archived, documented and provide the interpretations of elite literate men. Not the average
Punjabi that this project is presenting. However, this is not to undercut the contributions of these scholars. Their work has been extremely influence in the field of Sikh and Punjab studies, but ultimately unsuccessful at embracing the messiness of the lived experiences of the common
Punjabis. I wanted this project to engage with the messiness of Sikh families visiting Muslim shrines, men leaving for war and choosing to not come back home, the hypocrisy of ideologues who preach equality yet practice the caste system, and other equally complicated and nuanced experiences.
In many ways, this manuscript may be thought of as a piece of historical fiction. In the forward to each document, I attempted to provide the historical context behind each piece. In those forwards the goal was to provide a surface level understanding of the source(s), and present a position on how that piece would be used in the construction of the forgotten archive.
Each archive piece was able to engage with at minimum one unique primary source. These primary sources included census data, newspaper articles (written in both English and
Gurmukhi), books, and tracts.
To develop a more well-rounded understanding on the nature of these different sources, and the larger conversations in play behind these sources, three different perspectives were employed from three different scholars. The works of Harjot Oberoi with The Construction of
Religious Boundaries1, Kahn Singh with Hum Hindu Nahi2, and Richard Fox with Lions of the
Punjab3, were the keystone works used in developing a more well balanced perspective on the nature, context and potential uses of the different primary sources, and the archival piece that was later composed. Although each of these works did an adequate job presenting, arguing and
1Harjot Oberoi, The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. (Chicago, IL: U of Chicago P, 1994)
2 Kahn Singh Nabha. Hum Hindu Nahi. (Amritsar Committee, 1973)
3Richard Fox, Lions of the Punjab: Culture in the Making. (Berkley: University of California Press, 1985) defending their own claims, in regard to this project they fell short in a few key departments.
Most prominently, the motivation for this project began as an effort to engage with the common
Punjabi voice, these three works were unsuccessful in representing the lived experience of common Punjabis within the framework of their books. Oberoi, in developing the Sanatan Sikh title though a useful tool in describing an intersection of Sikhism and Hindu Rituals, is inherently problematic in its attempt to bridge different Sikh identities, and in the process misleads and misrepresents the actual lived experiences of Sikhs. Kahn Singh approach in presenting a case by case example of how Sikhism and Hinduism differ, paints an ideal image of a Sikh that many self-identifying Sikhs do not embody. Fox’s heavy focus on the Jatt caste during the Third Sikh
War is dangerous in how it fails to highlight any lasting influence other artisan or non-elite castes may have had. This manuscript hopes to engage with this issues by provided an intimate look at the lived experiences of many Punjabis.
Oberoi relied on the idea of intertextuality when presenting his case for the Sanatan
Sikh tradition. In the second half of the 19th century, various ideologues like Sardar Gulab Singh used the Vedas, Puranas, and Guru Granth Sahib in the same breath when discussing the Sikh tradition. “These texts began to coalesce and form a common pool of history, knowledge, mythology, metaphors and symbols for the Sanatan tradition.“4 Using scripture as a keystone in discussing the formation of the Sanatan tradition, is slightly problematic in how the common
Sikh would likely not have been using these texts to build a new tradition. What is more likely is that individuals like Gulab Singh were simply tapping into already existing patterns of practice.
Meaning that many self-identifying Sikhs come from a complex cultural background, were many families in addition to going to Gurdwara would also practice certain folk traditions. Traditions that when examined looked at from the perspective of a Amritdhari Sikh, would be reminiscent of certain Hindu practices and rituals. In his closing, Oberoi summarizes the contrasting word
4 Oberoi, 102. views between the Sanatan Tradition, and the Tat Khalsa Tradition. Contemporary literature views the former as as more pure, orderly, and singular. In contrast to the Sanatan tradition is seen as “ambiguous, contaminated, and plural”5. This ambiguous, contaminated, and plural nature comes from Oberoi’s division between Amritdhari and non-Amritdhari Sikhs. In creating this bifurcated system, he inadvertently groups together people who identify as Sikh, but may or may not take Amrit. Those groups include; Nanakpanthi, Nirmala, Udasi, Akali, Namdhari,
Sahejdhari, etc. In using the term Sanatan Sikh to refer to these diverse groups of people, a term that was used many Hindus to define themselves, Oberoi in an effort to build a clean system of definitions, misleads and misrepresents the lived experiences of Sikhs in their daily lives.
In an effort to further this engagement with the messy matter of titles, identification, and culture it is important to consider the impact of Kahn Singh’s work in the early Twentieth
Century. Written well before Oberoi, Singh carefully picks his battles and contests the differences between Hindus and Sikhs on very specific topics. Ranging from the caste system to idol worship, Singh presents a compelling argument on the uniqueness of the Sikh religion. Hum
Hindu Nahin attempted to move the religious debates that were happening throughout Punjab to a less contentious space. During the 1890’s leading into the 1900’s many public spaces were witness too increasingly uncivil debates, as members of different religious groups would come together to discuss various topics. However public forums on the topic of religion in Punjab tend to not be the most constructive form of dialogue, as debates can quickly turn to personal attacks. That being said, Singh’s use of phrases like “My Beloved Hindu Brother”, though may sound patronizing in some readings of the work, does well to attempt to quell the hostility that is emerging between Sikh and Hindu groups. Before Hum Hindu Nahin was printed as a complete volume, parts of it were printed in the local vernaculars and shared widely across Punjab.
5 Oberoi, 421. Singh’s work had arguably found its way into many Sikh homes, and in the process was starting to better inform the average Sikh about Sikhi. However, in stating what made Sikhs not Hindus, he was beginning to define what a Sikh looks like. This boundary building inherently left some self-identifying Sikhs on the fringes of this boundary, this may have not been his intension but it definitely influenced the cultural perceptions of Sikhs.
The perceptions of Sikhs has been a constantly evolving phenomenon. In the time leading up to WWI the idea of the Sikh martial race was quite a prevalent one in the British
Army. Historically, only Sikhs who were willing to accept the Singh identity and be initiated were allowed to enroll in the army6, and Fox dedicated a whole chapter to this phenomena. With representation of Sikhs in the army being largely those of the Singh identity, Fox was unclear how the turbans and beards of the Singhs were impacting the recognition of Sikhs on a larger scale. He highlights how British policy towards the Sikhs was slowly unraveling due to many of their contradictory strategies as the urban middle class developed a consciousness. And how one of these may have been due to alliances with Udasi temple managers who did not fit into the Singh identity7, yet identity as Sikh. It is slightly problematic in how it contributes to the construction of stereotypes, and misrepresents the larger Sikh community, some of whom do not wear turbans or keep their beards unshorn. Another point of interest in Fox’s work is in regards to his work with remembering the “Third Sikh War,” a term often used for the period of
Gurdwara reforms. In the 1920’s when Sikh political bodies like the Akali Dal were starting to mobilize, the representation of different groups within that political body were of great interest.
Fox in reviewing census data and figures found that over two thirds of the men in the Akali Dal came from the Jatt caste, and one fifth came from other “menial” castes8. This lumping together
6 Fox, 141.
7 Fox, 159.
8 Fox, 84. of other castes in the major Sikh political party hides some of the complexity regarding early representation in the Akali Dal, but it highlights some important caste dynamics. It is worth noting how in the Akali Dal, caste practices are often looked down upon from an ideological level, yet in practice higher castes like the Jatts are given much more representation, and power. However, Fox did mention these census figures could be flawed, and not be an accurate reflection of the reality of the group.
Foreward
The selection below is curated, and follows the path of one particular family in Punjab. A
Sikh family where the eldest son takes a pilgrimage to a Muslim shrine in 1901, and then in a short 12 years finds himself in the middle of the political revolution in California. A family where a mother who sends her son off to a foreign land, only to have to send her grandson away to the trenches soon after. A family where a soldier who returned home and raised his voice against the regime that trained him, and continues to pay him. A family whose members marched to liberate the Gurdwaras of Punjab, and a family that heard the whispers of the formation of the
SGPC and the Akali Dal. A family that navigated a time where people began to identity more on the basis of religious boundaries, and less on their shared cultural history and narratives. A time where everyone knew that independence and freedom were on the horizon, yet were bracing themselves for war.
The use of the both the Gurmukhi and English script serves two purposes. The first was that there are words, phrases, and emotions, that can not be translated with the same meaning when moving from Punjabi to English. The use of Punjabi titles, written in Gurmukhi were meant to add an additional layer of meaning, and attempt to represent the emotion behind each piece.
The use of English in virtually all other parts was simply a reflection of what language I felt most comfortable working in. In presenting complicated and nuanced topics such as the ones that will be discussed, it was important to me to be able to do that well and clearly. CONTENTS
1. ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੇਰ ਿਸੰਘ ਦੀ ਯਾਤਰਾ The Pilgrimage of Shamsher Singh
2. ਹਮ ਿਸੱਖ ਹੇ We are Sikh
3. ਇਕ ਬਦਮਾਸ਼ ਪੰਡਤ The Wicked Pundit
4. ਿਪੰਡ ਦੇ ਜਵਾਬ The Village Response
5. ਸਾਨੂੰ ਿਹੰਦੂ ਕਿਹੰਦੇ ਹਨ They Call us Hindu
6. ਪੁੱਤ ਸਾਡਾ ਿਵਦੇਸ਼ Our Son Abroad
7. ਿਪੰਡ ਹੋ ਿਗਆ ਸੁੱਨਾ The Village is desolate
8. ਗੰਡਾਸਾ ਰਖ | ਬੰਦੂਕ ਚੁੱਕ Lower the Gandasa, and Raise the Gun
9. ਰਾਜ ਦੇ ਦੁ ਸ਼ਮਣ ? Enemies of the State
10.ਰਾਜ ਕਰੇਗਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ The Khalsa Shall Rule
11. Exhibition Files
12.Bibliography ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੇਰ ਿਸੰਘ ਦੀ ਯਾਤਰਾ The Pilgrimage of Shamsher Singh
Forward The shrines of Sakhi Sarvar play a unique role in the cultural fabric of Punjab. In many ways they bridge the different faiths of the region through common folk traditions and an ancient oral history. However, the lives of those involved in these traditions have not been well documented, and there exists a risk of losing these stories. The following piece hopes to address this by sharing a story of a man who had to navigate a changing Punjab, a Punjab where lines were being drawn, sides were being chosen, and Punjabi identity was being redefined. Shamsher Singh represents an idea. It is not of particular significance whether he was a real man or not, what matters more is that he will embody the lives and stories of those who were unable to keep theirs alive. The following letter hopes to capture the experience of his pilgrimage, and the thoughts that crossed his mind.
______
April 1st, 1901
The journey from Amritsar to Nigaha took two days. I traveled on foot, on train, and on bullock cart. Feet aching from the retracing the steps of Bibi Dani Kaur, my back was stiff from the long hours on the train from Amritsar to Lahore, and then from Lahore to Ghaz Ghat. I spent that night at a dharmsala near the station in Ghaz Ghat to rest my aching bones. With parshad in hand I departed the dharmsala.
I left before the sunrise on a Bullock cart headed to Dera Ghazi Khan, stopping once for lunch at a halvai. With a belly full of aloo khachori I convinced another farmer and his bull (the gurh from the dharmsala came in very handy here) to take me the rest of the way to the shrine. I don’t know if the journey of 508 kilometers was meant to bring me closer to my faith, but it was tested.
From the moment I had left Amritsar, the words of Ditt Singh echoed through my head, making me question how a gursikh, Guru Ka Sikh, could also be a follower of Sakhi Sarvar. As I walked up the steps from the stream to the tomb on the west, and with Guru Nanak’s shrine to the north-west, I wondered how my sultani ancestors found turbans atop their heads and steel bracelets around their wrists. So flexible were these arbitrary religious boundaries that as my muslim and hindu neighbors found sikhi, they decided to continued the practice of worshiping the sufi healer. Each generation took something from the previous and transformed it into something new, however some things remained unchanged.
This mystic, regardless of what role he played in resurrecting my great-great-grandfather has indeed continued to live on in my family. My mother sent me on this trip with one goal, to continue to seek the blessings of Sarvar. As the pragmatist that I am, I embarked to the shrine responsible for the genesis of my family. Regardless of my own personal beliefs, I did not want to be the one responsible for bringing the wrath of Sarvar upon my family.
As I continued closer to the shrine, I looked upon the faces of the other pilgrims, thousands of them having made this trek with me. I knew I was not alone as I looked at their tired faces, and could see them asking questions similar to mine. Trying to find a connection between how their worship of this sufi pir’s shrine here would cure their brother’s sickness, or wives barrenness, or camels broken leg back home in their villages.
I’m at the front of the line, I leave my offering of 1 rupee, bow my head, turn to the right, and the attendant ushers me to the next line leading to the large cauldrons of parshad. The aroma of the sweet pudding fills my nostrils and I remember the parshad I had at the Golden Temple before departing Amritsar, difference being no fresh fruit in that parshad. With outstretched hands I make another offering in exchange for parshad, I have a small amount there and wrap the rest in a handkerchief to take home to the family. If I could slay a lion with a slipper I would hope people would build shrines like these to remember me, alas sons of Nais as better suited for cutting nails and sending wedding invitations.
The journey back was less eventful, many more bullock carts were ready to take the pilgrims from the shrines back to the towns and villages. People eager to get home readily negotiated prices, I tagged along with another Sikh family. As the husband haggled, their younger son, about 5 years old looked at me and asked me what I asked for at the shrine.
Taken back, I smiled and replied I didn’t know we were supposed to ask for things. He shrugged his shoulders, said he asked for a new pair of shoes, and returned to eating his much more interesting patasha. With the return fair to Ghaz Ghat in order, I boarded the cart with the family. After exchanging some pleasantries with the husband (offering my share for the ride which he accepted after the third attempt, the dance was complete) we began a more interesting conversation. He asked me one question, a question that quickly silenced me, that question being, what I would do when I got home?
The easy response, and quite possibly the one he was searching for was sharing the parshad with my family, sharing the story of my journey, and returning back to my work. After respectfully laughing and saying he would do similarly, I added that I would also start the planning for my next trip, and how I would intend to bring my son with me next time. ik panth, lakh rah | lakh rah, ik jind | ik jind, lakh panth |
Apna,
Shamsher Singh
______
References
“India 1909. General Map of Railways”, Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 25 (Atlas), Oxford University Press, 1909
Jones, Kenneth. “Religious Controversy in British India” State University of New York Press 1992. Oberoi, H.S. “The Worship of Pir Sakhi Sarvar: Illness, Healting and Popular Culture in the Punjab”, Studies in History, vol.3, issue: 1, 1987, 29-55.
R.C. Temple, “A Song about Sakhi Sarwar”, Calcutta Review, vol. 73, 1882. 253-274.
Singh, Ditt. “Sultan Puara”, Panjab Digital Library. 1896. ਹਮ ਿਸੱਖ ਹੇ We are Sikh
Foreward The work of Kahn Singh was foundational in systematically representing the uniqueness of Sikh identity as being independent from Hindu identity. Hum Hindu Nahi was the first of its kind, read by both scholars and laypeople alike. From excerpts printed and circulated in the Khalsa Akhbar to the first complete edition, in the hands of many Sikhs it functioned as a guide for how to stake their ground, and helped start them down a path of constructing distinct religious boundaries between the Sikhs and Hindus9. As historians, we tend to grapple with the significance of texts like these from this era from a larger ideological and societal level. It is rare and difficult for a historian to step through the doors of Shamsher Singh’s home, and try and understand his daily life, and the impact of these works on the individual. As a Nai, Shamsher Singh would have been directly impacted by the criticisms of the Singh Sabhas, and as a result may have felt a certain amount of conflict with how he lived his life, and what was being printed and circulated as he was growing up. Growing up during the Singh Sabha movement would have likely influenced the way that Shamsher would view himself as a Sikh. However, it is also likely that the distinctions between Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims in the villages were more clear than what many historians have demonstrated. This means that as scholars have complicated the issue of Sikh identity through dissecting and analyzing ritual practices, it is likely that in practice, certain practitioners did not struggle to define their own religious identity10. This theory suggests that individual who came of age during and after the Singh Sabha movement knew with relative confidence whether they were a Hindu, Sikh, or Muslim. The following piece is a response to Hum Hindu Nahi, as a conversation with Shamsher Singh and his son. ______
April 6th, 1909
Having returned home from Sakhi Sarvar my family was quick to barrage me with questions about my pilgrimage. From asking if I ate well on the trip and how I slept, to what he shrine was like and if I asked for the right things. My mother was most pleased with my safe return, yet was quick to ask specific questions like how much money I offered, and jay mann lakay matha tekaya (prayed with true intentions). After reassuring her and recounting all the details from the trip, she seemed satisfied and told me we would be having daal chawal for dinner.
Before I had time to even put my bag down, my son rushed and jumped into my arms and asked what I brought him. Equally excited to see him after nearly 6 days I told him that I would show him after I put him down and could open my bag.
SON Daddy ji!!!! Tell me what you brought back from your trip!!!!
SHAMSHER
9 Nabha, Kahn Singh. Hum Hindu Nahi (Amritsar Committee. 1973)
10 Jones, Kenneth. Religious Controversy in British India (State University of New York Press 1992) Haha wait putt, let me rest first and I’ll open my bag to show you soon.
SON No! show me now! I waited 5 days for you! (SON pouts and crosses his arms)
SHAMSHER Okay, okay, sit down, let me show you what I brought (SHAMSHER sits down on a manji, and pulls his bag on to his lap)
SON (Jumps next to SHAMSHER on the manji with an eager look of excitement on his face)
SHAMSHER I brought you this prashad, have a little bit, and share the rest with your mother, sister, and daddi ji okay.
SON (SON tastes a little bit and scowls) It tastes stale daddy, why did they give you stale prashad, didn’t you offer them money?
SHAMSHER (Chuckles softly) It tastes stale because it’s been wrapped up in my handkerchief for three days. It was very delicious when I first had it. Very warm, very soft, and very sweet.
SON (Reluctantly takes another bite, and the scowl softens as he finds a small dried raisin) WOW! They put raisins in this! Why doesn’t the Gurudwara do that?
SHAMSHER (Taken back slightly, not knowing how to answer the question) Well, son the Gurudwara has a different recipe. They make things a little bit different.
SON Well, we should go there and tell them to put fruit in the prashad!!! I really like it!
SHAMSHER Haha, thats a good idea, maybe we can go tomorrow.
SON What kinds of people did you see on your trip? Tell me what you saw! SHAMSHER There were many people! Some people from our village went as well, Kumar Sahib, and Khan Sahib were there. I ran into another Sikh family on the way back, Saini Sahib had a young boy just like you!
SON WOW! Did Kumar uncle and Khan uncle to inside the gurdwara with you?
SHAMSHER Haha no son, there wasn’t a gurdwara there. It was a shrine, it was similar though. We climbed up these stairs and made a offering and bowed our head at the shrine. Everyone did the same thing, Kumar and Khan as well.
SON Oh, I thought we could only go to gurdwaras. Our teacher said we don’t need to go any where else.
SHAMSHER (Looks up to find the school teacher walk past the main gate,and continues on his way) Nothing stops us from going to the Shrine puth, we just go to the gurdwara more that’s all. Your teacher doesn’t think it’s important to go to shrines .
SON NO! Master Ji said that Sikhs only go to the gurdwara, believe in the gurus, and read the guru granth sahib!
SHAMSHER (Takes a deep breath ) Thats true puth, we do all of that. (SHAMSHER then smiles and wraps and arm around his son, bring him in closer) But going to the shrine is a long family tradition. And one day it’ll be your turn to go and keep the tradition alive. The pilgrimage is great fun, you meet a lot of people, see parts of the country you’ve never seen before, and shows you a different part of your history.
SON Master Ji said we shouldn’t believe in that stuff, it’s against our religion.
SHAMSHER Master Ji is entitled to his own opinions, and believe me that he has many of them.
—END SCENE ਇਕ ਬਦਮਾਸ਼ ਪੰਡਤ The Wicked Pundit
Forward As historians we look at how different forms of media choose to remember their histories. We tend to look back at what was recorded and try to extrapolate what was in the minds of those recording the history. The editorials found throughout the publication history of the Khalsa Akhbar provide a small open from which we can hope to have a more direct line to the thoughts and concerns of the average Punjabi. In the form of question answers we see Sikhs asking what the religion Guru Nanak followed11. In the responses we see how the editorial staffs attempt to answers these questions, and how they attempt to frame each response as a teaching opportunity for the readers. We see recurring themes such as urging readers to read gurbani and study sikh history, not surprisingly which the editors are happy to provide, such as on the martyrdom of Bhai Bota Singh12. However, this does suggest that the average Punjabi did have questions about Sikhi, and was willing to send in questions and await responses. In addition to sending in questions, it is possible that certain Sikhs would also write in to inform the Khalsa Akhbar about news in their regions. Even with their own reporters, it is impossible to cover every corner of Punjab, and this following piece attempts to follow the story of a young school master who is troubled by something occurring in his village. He takes the initiative to write to the paper, and is then provided an opportunity and platform to contribute to the wellbeing of the panth. ______
June 1st, 1901
Editor Sahib,
Waheguru ji ka Khalsa! Waheguru ji ki Fateh! I am teaching at a village school in Rawalpindi, and something of great concern is occurring here. A new pundit has entered the village and has attracted a small following! During the day while the men are in the fields, and the children are in class, I’ve noticed some women going to him for guidance. I have heard them asking for help with household issues such as getting the children to study, husbands to leave drinking, and bountiful harvests. He wears a kara, but tells the women to wear red threads, not to sweep the home in the evening, and to not wash clothes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is troubling to find Sikh families straying from guru ji. They are trying to find something that they simply need open the Guru Granth Sahib for. I have gone forward and complied my notes below on this mischievous pundit in the hopes you can share this information and help make people aware.
Apna, Master Sukhdev Singh, Rawalpindi
Enclosure
Listen my beloved brothers and sisters. In Rawalpindi a new pundit has come and has started to sell his services. Be cautious and alert! Do not follow the pundit who promises
11”Sri Guru Nanak Sahib da Dharam ki si?”, The Khalsa Akhbar, Lahore, no.5, vol.9, May 31, 1901. Panjab Digital Library.
12”Bhai Bota Singh di Saheedi” The Khalsa Akhbar, Lahore, no.5, vol.9, May 31, 1901. Panjab Digital Library. sons and bountiful harvests in exchange for your donations. His attempts to misguide Sikhs has lead to a small following, a small following that is forgetting the teaching of the gurus. Remember Japji Sahib, remember naam, study gurbani, and you will have no need to these tricksters. -Master Sukhdev Singh, Rawalpindi
-END Correspondence
Pyare Bhai,
Waheguru ji ka Khalsa! Waheguru ji ki Fateh! Thank you very much for sharing this troublesome news with us. It is shame to see Sikh families being misguided, rest assured that we will do our best to better educate the community and spread awareness about these characters. We value your contribution to the panth, and want to invite you to continue to share your insights in Rawalpindi with the Khalsa Akhbar. I’ve attached a copy edited form of your piece and hope you find it to do a similar job in sharing this story and educated the community.
Sat Sri Akal, Maeeya Singh Ahluwalia
Enclosure
One Mischievous Pandit Rawalpindi has become home to a mischievous pandit who wears a kara and is misguiding local Sikh women. The pandit takes offerings in exchange for granting boons such as sons, ending quarrels, and bountiful harvests. Be alert and cautious of tricksters such as these!
-END Correspondence ______ਿਪੰਡ ਦੇ ਜਵਾਬ The Village Response
Forward Patriarch is exceptionally strong in Punjab, however it would surprise an outsider to discover the central role that women play in village life. It is by no stretch of the imagination to assume that the women of Punjab held power. They held power over the household, power over the children, and to a certain degree power over men. In Rawalpindi from the 1901 census, of the 6302 Sikhs counted, only 1810 were women, making up less than 30% of the population13. Even in their relatively small numbers they were able to impart lasting influence on Punjab’s cultural fabric. This however is not meant to distract how, in many ways women were treated like second class citizens, practices like kudi-mar and sati were still prevalent during colonial India14. However, a double standard is quite prevalent in Punjabi culture where women are seen to uphold the honor of a family, yet arguably hold few if any rights in the eyes of men. When a woman’s character is questioned, by extension so is that of the family and the men of that family. Returning to our story from Rawalpindi, Master Sukhdev Ji’s article was published in the Khalsa Akhbar, and intensionally or unintentionally painted the women who interacted with the pundit in a less than pleasant light. Sarbjit Kaur, a prominent matriarch in the village took particular offense to the article, and decided to speak up. With the help of her son Shamsher Singh she drafted a response and scolded the editor of the Khalsa Akhbar. This response was not published, but has been recreated below.
______June 15th, 1901
Editor Sahib,
It is matter of great regret that you printed the khabr of the pundit without asking more of the villagers. Master ji is always critical of the things that we do, and is always interfering in our daily lives. He doesn’t understand what we are going through. Our families are furious with how your reckless article described our spending time with the pundit. Our husbands very angry and some women are not allowed to leave their homes.
The canals never came to our village and many of our fields have dried, and with them our pockets. No one will marry daughters of families that can not help support their daughters’ married life. We have sent too many of our young sons vades, and don’t know when we will see them again. We women want to provide for our family, provide them with an heir, provide them with a future and security. That is why we pray for sons.
13 Rose, H.A. Census of India, 1901. Vol. XVII-A. (Civil and Military Gazette, 1902). Print
14 Manchanda, Mahima. Kudi-Mar: The Vexed Question of Infanticide in Punjab: A Colonial Perspective. MA Thesis. (University of Birmingham, 2014) It does not concern many women to whom they must pray to receive these sons, what does concern these women is how the article attacked their character. Master ji refuses to listen to our reasoning, we ask then that you please try and understand our feelings, and what we are going through
-Sardarni, Sarbjit Kaur ਸਾਨੂੰ ਿਹੰਦੂ ਕਿਹੰਦੇ ਹਨ They Call us Hindu
Foreword The early 1900’s leading up to WWI, thousands of East Indians, especially Punjabis could be found working along the west coast. Stretching from California to Canada, building tunnels, railroads, and bridges along the way. The lumber mills of the Pacific Northwest were especially successful at attracting young men from Punjab. Between 1900-1909, 3,026 individuals from India obtained permanent residence status15. However, this figure does not represent how many Indians were actually in the US and working at the time. Many of these immigrants were men who were drawn by the allure of economic opportunity. They abandoned their fields and crossed oceans, to come to the shores of North America. This immigration helped to balloon the populations of smaller towns, by 1907 Bellingham reached a population of 35,000, and included over 200 Punjabis16. Our character Shamsher Singh may have been among these men. As an immigrant, Shamsher may have experienced racism, and unfair treatment in the work place. The Bellingham Herald and Puget Sound American were known to print articles with extremely anti-immigrant slants. This archive below looks at a note Shamsher shared with his fellow Punjabi working in the Bellingham mills, regarding an article that painted them as a “Dusky Peril”17. ______
September 17th, 1906
Have you read the paper? They say our morals are bad. They say we will become troublesome. They say we are undesirable. They confuse our turbans for those of Hindus, Mohammedans, and Buddhist. They see us as snake charmers. They claim we have driven their wages down, yet they refuse to work the same jobs we do. Work is plentiful in the mills, but not for those who are lazy. They refuse to work as hard like us, and they put the blame on us for their condition. Yet, tensions are high, and we must be careful. What starts as words in the paper may soon find its way onto the streets. I urge you not to find reason to quarrel with the other men at the mill, and those of the town, there are many more of them then there are of us*.
*Shamsher Singh and his fellow millworkers were lucky enough to enjoy another year of working at the mills without major incidence. However, tensions were continuing to grow, and the occasional brawl would break out at the town pubs between the Indian immigrants and those who saw them as a nuisance. The following piece will highlight the tipping point, and what took place when the locals decided to take action against Shamsher and his friends.
15 United States. Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2008. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, 2009.
16 Paul Englsberg. EdD. The 1907 Bellingham Riot and Anti-Asian Hostilities in the Pacific Northwest. (Walden University. March 16, 2013) Gadar Conference, Surrey, BC.
17 Have we a Dusky Peril? The Sunday Puget Sound American. Bellingham, WA. September 16th, 1906. ਪੁੱਤ ਸਾਡਾ ਿਵਦੇਸ਼ Our Son Abroad
Foreword At the turn of the century, Bellingham was home to an 800 member organization that, in it’s mission statement vowed to “to guard the gateway of Occidental Civilization [West Coast] against Oriental invasion.”18 The Japanese-Korean Exclusion League was quick to shift it’s focus towards the new South Asian immigrants coming from Punjab in between 1900 and 1907. The league was very well organized and and labor day in 1907, over 1000 members paraded through the city in solidarity against the immigrants. The parade had little affect, because the very next day the workers returned to the mills, and on September 4th, 1907 a full out riot took place.19 The riot was interesting in how it took place during the late evening and night time hours. Our friend Shamsher would likely have been roused from bed, and dragged through the street. With the mob in a frenzy over 200 immigrants were rounded up, and locked beneath the Bellingham Town Hall.20 The riot was ultimately more successful than the initial labor day parade, as it was very effective at forcing the Punjabis and other immigrants out. With the help of the police the following morning, the prisoners were allowed out of the basement, and on board to trains headed either north to Vancouver (where many of them initial had come from), or down south to California in search of more work. In a letter sent back home, Shamsher details the event to his family, and informs them of this current plans. ______
September 10th, 1907
Bebe, I miss Punjab. We work in the mills, the work is hard, but the money is good. The goray don’t like us because we accept lower wages than them and we look different. We don’t fit in, and they call us Hindus. Their newspapers published grievances with us, and continue to say that we will never fit in. A mob came a few nights ago, and took us from our beds. The pushed us through the streets, the police was unable to help, and they locked us in the basement of town hall. We waited over night, and in the morning we were allowed to leave. Some of the men I worked with traveled south to California, others up north to Vancouver. I used the money I made and boarded a train headed to California, I hear there is work on the farms. I will make some more money, and then I will come home. —Shamsher Singh
18 Robert E. Wynne. American Labor Leaders and the Vancouver Anti-Oriental Riot. (Pacific Northwest Quarterly. Vol. 57, 1966) Cited in Hallberg, p.147
19 David Cahn. The 1907 Bellingham Riots in Historical Context. (Seattle Civil Rights and Labor Project: University of Washington. 2008)
20 Cahn ਿਪੰਡ ਹੋ ਿਗਆ ਸੁੱਨਾ The Village is desolate
Foreword When the young men of Punjab left to find work and opportunity in the US and Canada, it is important to think of what, and more specifically who they left behind. Many men who left would likely have come from lower caste families, where the economic burdens of being a farmer in Punjab would have made life near impossible. For them, hearing tales from soldiers returning after service in the British Army, of the opportunities aboard, the risk of leaving everything behind was well worth it. The loss of these men, and boys would often be felt the most during festive times, such as Lohri and Vasakhi. During the time of Lohri, it was quite common for women to exchange Boliyan, short songs that tell a story. Usually these Boliyan are meant to be fun and light hearted, but sometimes they can be ways for women to voice concerns, greivences, and even sadness. The boli below tries to capture the sentiments of the Shamsher Singh’s mother who has not seen her son in over 10 years, and now her only grandson is set to join to British Army and leave as well. ______
January 12th, 1913,
Jattan de putt jaan bahr nu | Gehenay rakh jaameena |
Ki patha kithay kam karday | Mil de ho vi roti? |
Vadesha quio paj gey? | Ni pind ho geya sunah |
—Translation—
Our sons have all left for abroad, and We have mortgaged our fields.
We don’t know where they are working, Or if they even eat at night.
Why did they leave for abroad? And leave our villages empty and desolate ______ਗੰਡਾਸਾ ਰਖ ਬੰਦੂਕ ਚੁੱਕ Lower the Gandasa, and Raise the Gun
Foreword When Sikh boys were being recruited into the British Army, they were not just being enlisted as soldiers, but also inducted into the Singh (lion) Identity. Many British Commanders held a belief that the military prowess of Sikh Punjabi men was closely tied to their faith. This genetic/spiritual predisposition made these Lions of Punjab the ideal candidates for soldiers, and the Sikhs were accepted as a martial race.21 It is worth mentioning as well that other groups such as the Rajputs, and Gurkas were seen in a similar fashion. Attempting to move past the inherently problematic, racists, and imperialistic undertones of such deep seeded beliefs, it is important to acknowledge that this way of thinking provided many Sikh men with certain opportunities that would have been unavailable to them otherwise. Joining the army allowed these men with opportunities to travel, provided steady income, and recognition in the community. When these young men exchanged their farming tools for rifles and bayonets, they introduced another dimension into Sikh identity. We often recall the tales of these great warriors from the trenches, and remember their great acts of valor and sacrifice, yet we sometimes forget they were human just like us. The work of David Omissi, in collecting and presenting the letters of Indian Soliders from WWI provides us with a better glimpse of what soldier lives were actually like. We see letters asking friends for opium, details of the favors that frenchwomen have bestowed upon some of them, sharing tales of lost limbs, taking gunfire by the Germans, and saying goodbye to loved ones because they might not return.22 Shamsher Singh’s son, Shivdev may have been among these men, below are letters that were inspired by Omissi’s work. ______
October 15, 1915 Tell Bebe that her grandson is alive. The Guru Granth Sahib that Sardar Bhuttar Singh sent has been a great blessing. With great pride we carry the Guru from camp to camp, the other soldiers look at us, and I can see their moral rising. By the Guru’s Grace we have won many battles in France. It is a beautiful country, with very pleasant people. They say that the winter will be hard this year, but I excited to see snow for the first time! -Shivdev
December 25, 1915 The Christians wanted us to celebrate the birth of their Jesus with them. They have always been very cold towards us, but on the birth of their guru, they have welcomed us with open arms and open bottles. Bir Singh shared some of his opium with the other soliders, and morals are very high! It is good that tensions have gone down, as it has become very cold. Everything is white, from the skies and trees to the ground and lakes. My mustache is frozen, but it has helped me to style it like Bapuji. -Shivdev, Kundiyan Mucha Wala
21 Fox, 140-161
22 David Omissi, Indian voices of the Great War. Soldier’s Letters, 1914-18, London, 1999. ਰਾਜ ਦੇ ਦੁ ਸ਼ਮਣ Enemies of the State
Foreword The anti-colonial Ghadar Party was formed with one major goal in mind, rid India of the British Raj. Their quest for independence drove them to take some extreme actions, and many members ultimately found themselves spending time in jail, targets of political attacks, exile, and even killed23. The Ghadar party drew it’s membership from South Asian Immigrants who lived in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. The West-Coast during the early 1900’s before WWI was a booming market, and immigrants were readily able to find work in the mills, railroads, farms, and other labor markets. The name Ghadar which comes from the Urdu word for mutiny, was given to the group after they launched their official newspaper, Ghadar. Prior to which they were known as the Pacific Coast Hindustani Association24. The Ghadar Party was known for printing their newspapers and tracts in English, Gurmukhi, and Urdu25. The Ghadar Party has a long history that spans both countries and decades, the following piece hopes to look at an early meeting of the Ghadar Party. In 1913 Sohan Singh Bhanka likely deliver a speech to his fellow Ghadarites, the speech as remembered by Shamsher Singh is detailed below, the message of the speech could be summarized in the first issue of the Hindustan Ghadar26: Wanted - Brave soldiers to stir up Ghadar in India Pay - Death Prize - Martyrdom Pension - Liberty Field of battle - India ______
April 13th, 1913
Listen my friends! I have news to share with you! We came here to this country for a better life, a chance to leave the problems of home behind, and start anew. But, that has not been so easy. Our brothers were chased out of Bellingham, our ships were sent back after being shot at, and we continue to be treated as second class citizens here! Why?! I will tell you! It is because the British still have a hold on India!
I stand before you here, not as a Sikh or Punjabi. But as an Indian, and before me I see my Indian Brothers. Although we are thousands of miles away from home right now, my heart still burns with the passion of revolution! Our oppression here in this country is directly tied to the oppression of our families back home. For us to be free here, we must be free at home!
Join the fight, join the struggle, join us in our fight for freedom!!!
23 Singh, Gurpreet. Bujha Singh’s sacrifice proves Ghadar struggle didn't end with Indian independence. The Georgia Straight. July 26th, 2013. Accessed: June 1st, 2016. Digital.
24Singh
25 Echos of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California. Chapter 7: Ghadar. University of California. Berkley. Digital
26Echos of Freedom ਰਾਜ ਕਰੇਗਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ The Khalsa Shall Rule
Foreword The events surrounding the formation of the Shiromini Gurdwara Prabandakh Committee (SGPC) and the Akali Dal Party are often looked at as a transitionary period in Sikh history. Likewise, because these two bodies are so closely related, history often remembers these two as the same, or at least they are similar in the eyes of the average Punjabis. For the average Punjabis the leaders of this movement were seen as heroes. Men like Bhai Vir Singh, Gaini Ditt Singh, and Master Tara Singh have entered the Sikh mythos for their contributions. The foundation that Vir Singh and Ditt Singh helped to lay down with the Singh Sabhas in regards to helping bolster the Sikh voice, made it possible later for Gurdwara Movement to take place. The transition from the Sabhas to the Jatha (battalions of Sikhs who marched to liberate Gurdwaras), marked a turning point in Sikh History. The average Sikh who may have grown up reading about Sikh philosophy in the Khalsa Akbar, was now in a position to take action, and make his own contribution back to the community. They were heroes who saved the Gurdwaras from the hereditary Mahants, and championed the efforts for better political recognition. However this type of community mobilization in the form of marches on the Gurdwaras, massive community forums such as the Sarbat Khalsa made the British Raj uneasy. Two nights before the 1920 Sarbat Khalsa, the governor of Punjab, Edward Douglass Maclagan, appointed an emergency Gurdwara Managing Committee of 36 individuals.27 This committee was tasked with managing the largest Gurdwaras in Punjab, as an effort to foil the attempts of Sikh leaders to organize and elect their own committee. The following piece looks at the emergency meeting minutes from Gov. Maclagan’s office before he commissioned his managing committee. ______
November 11th, 1920
EMERGENCY MEETING
Meeting called to order 8:30
Members Present: Gov. Maclagan Michael O’Dwyer Malcolm Hailey
New Business: Sarbat Khalsa 1920 - Gov.Maclagan presented the issue - “Gentlemen, the Sikhs are mobilizing their community. We have heard that they plan on elected a Gurdwara Advisory Council of sorts. It appears that they are attempting to regain control of their shrines, specifically the Golden Temple and it’s subsidiaries. I am unsure as to how we should proceed which is why I’ve asked for your council on this matter. O’Dwyer you worked with General Dyer and the incident at the well, and you
27 Kashmir Singh. Shiromni Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee: An Overview. Contributor: The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. (Oxford University Press 2014) 328-330. understand that these people can be dangerous. Hailey your son fought along some of these Sikhs during the war, I’m sure he sent you letters about the abilities of these men when given proper arms. it is my fear, should their meeting take place, their council will try to undermine the authority of the crown, we can not have these people making their own decision like this, because the last thing we need now is a nationalist movement or a revolution.” - Michael O’Dwyer responded - “Gov, I see what your concerns are. When I was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab I had to deal with the Ghadrites. This group here does not seem to be armed the same way as those, but I would imagine that they would be willing to put of a fight, I’m sure Hailey will attest to the Sikh Militant nature. That said, if they want a committee to manage their temples, lets give them a committee. Just make sure it’s our people. - Malcolm Hailey responded - “I agree with O’Dwyer, I son told me in his letters that these men are always looking for an opportunity to fight, he would write that they would charge from the trenches with smiles on their faces. However the point that these men here aren’t all ex-soldiers is reassuring. They should be easier to handle, and I would rather not have another incident like the well again Mr.O’Dwyer. If they want a committee to feel as if they have control over their temples, give them a committee, just make sure we know what they will be discussing at their meetings.” - Maclagan closes - “I agree, I would rather not have another blood bath, but I have a fear that these committees will potentially use the temples as centers for further political mobilization. If we give them back the temples, we lose support of the Mahants who currently management them, and we lose our own cut of the money these shrines generate…[pause]…I need a list of 36 members I can appoint on this temple committee that will answer to me. Get me the list by the end of the day, and I want to issue the statement tomorrow morning to take the steam out of the Sarbat Khalsa that is in two days. We can’t have the Sikhs rule themselves, but we can make them think like they are.”
Meeting Adjoined 9:30
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ahluwalia, M. L. Gurdwara Reform Movement, 1919-1925, an Era of Congress-Akali Collaboration : Select Documents. New Delhi, India: Ashoka International, 1985. Print This piece of primary literature that looks at the Gurdwara Reform Movement. I’ve not yet read it, but it seems like it could provide some interesting insight into the different political climates surrounding Punjab during this era.
Arvinder Singh. (2013). SIKH ETHICS: THE HIGH ROAD TO EMANCIPATION OF MANKIND. Indian Streams Research Journal, III(I), 1970. This article seems the most relevant to the work I’m trying to do. It seems to look at how the Sikh Faith informs and develops a type of Sikh Ethics, and how that particular types of ethics is relevant to a collective world view.
Banerjee, Anil Chandra. Guru Nanak and his Times. 1st ed. Punjab University, Patiala 1971. Print. A very useful text that highlights a lot of the key political and social climates surrounding the early years of Guru Nanak (the founder of Sikhism), as well as early Punjab History (which is closely tied to early Sikh History).
Doabia, Harbans Singh. Sacred Nitnem. Singh Brothers Amritsar. 31st Edition 2011. Print. The Nitnem contains the five major daily prayers that Sikhs around the world recite. This edition is very useful because it provides translations of the traditional Gurmukhi script into English, as well as providing a pronunciation key of the words. It’s been very helpful in understanding some of the guiding principals of the Singh Sabha Movement and to a greater extend Sikhi.
Dhavan, Purnima. Sikhism in the Eighteen Century. Contributor: The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press 2014. This article highlighted some of the major factors that eventually lead to the rise of the Sikh Empire, including the rise of independent Sikh Confederacies (Misls) during the time of the tenth Guru.
Dhavan, Purnima. When Sparrows Became Hawks the Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print This book dives deep into how the Khalsa and the Sikh warrior tradition is one of the few examples in human history where the armed peasantry are able to overthrow their despotic rulers and establish a successful independent state. Granted the state was ultimately unsuccessful and the came to power the same time as rise of the East India Company and eventually the British Raj, in addition to a multitude of other factors.
Englsberg, Paul, EdD. The 1907 Bellingham Riot and Anti-Asian Hostilities in the Pacific Northwest. Walden University. March 16, 2013. Gadar Conference, Surrey, BC. Englsberg analysis of the events surround the riots in 1907 demonstrated a great deal of sensitivity to the sentiments of the people of Bellingham. He did a good job presenting the different motivations for all the parties involved in the riots, from the rioters and police, to the Punjabis and other mill-working immigrants.
Fenech, Louis. Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition. Playing the Game of Love? Archives De Sciences Sociales Des Religions 47.118 (2002): 111-14. Web. Fenech provides a comprehensive presentation on the tradition of martyrdom in Sikhi, the book follows a chronology of some of the earliest Sikh histories both written and oral. The true utility of this book comes from Fenech’s extensive background research and ability to weave multiple stories and perspectives in to an easy to digest format.
Fenech, Louis. The Khalsa and the Rahit. Contributor: The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press 2014. The Khalsa has a very interesting history, and the question of who is the Khalsa is one that has continued to be of great interest. Fenech introduced some very interesting historical points regarding how the court of the 10th guru contained both Sikhs and Non-Sikhs and what that may mean about who counts as a member of the Khalsa.
Fox, Richard. Lions of the Punjab: Culture in the Making. Berkley: University of California Press, 1985. Print. Fox provided a comprehensive approach towards looking at the factors involved in construction of the Sikh/Singh identity. I found the chapter on the canal colonies and canal systems to be very helpful in understanding some factors that eventually lead to the Akali Movement the Gurdwara liberation.
Perinet, G. (Editor) Have we a Dusky Peril? The Sunday Puget Sound American. Bellingham, WA. September 16th, 1906. This front page article on the Sunday paper shows the extent to which native Bellingham citizens attested the presence of the Punjabi immigrants, and other brown mill workers. They make the effort to break down their concerns in different categories, and it very interesting to see most of their claims are motivated by fear. Claims like these men coming from military background are well trained with weapons, and how they refuse to assimilate into American culture.
India, and Shiromani Akali Dal. White Paper on the Punjab Agitation. New Delhi: Govt. of India, Minto Road, 1984. Print. The white papers are a series of documents that are related to the role of the Indian Governments attack on the Golden temple in 1984 and the subsequent genocide that started in Delhi.
"INDIAN GOVERNMENT: Government Awaits Comments on the Proposed Amendments in the Sikh Gurdwars Act 1925." M2 Presswire (1999): 1. Print. This piece looks more deeply into the relationship between the Akali and Congress political parties in Punjab, and the subsequent amendments they made together on the Gurdwara Act of 1925.
Khawaja, Sarfraz. Sikhs of the Punjab, 1900-1925 : A Study of Confrontation & Political Mobilization. 1st ed. Islamabad: Modern Book Depot, 1985. Web. The period from 1900-1925 was a very interesting period in Punjab history. The Singh Sabha movement was well under way and India was in a very tumultuous situation as political mobilization was occurring across the subcontinent. Gandhi in the south and the Sabhas in the north were making it very difficult for the British to maintain control.
Kuldeep Kaur. Akali Dal in Punjab Politics : Splits and Mergers. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications, 1999. Print. A basic history of the Akali party and the different alliances and power struggles it has experienced.
Mann, Jasbir Singh., Sodhi, Surinder Singh, Gill, Gurbaksh Singh, and Canadian Sikh Study & Teaching Society. Invasion of Religious Boundaries : A Critique of Harjot Oberoi's Work. Vancouver B.C., Canada: Canadian Sikh Study & Teaching Society, 1995. Print. This book is one of the first written response and critiques on Oberoi’s work with Religious Boundaries, the views presented here are highly conservative relative to how Oberoi presented in the current state of Sikh affairs.
Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley. Fighting for Faith and Nation : Dialogues with Sikh Militants. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 1997. Print. Ser. in Contemporary Ethnography. Mahmood research in trying to better understand the events leading up to the Sikh Genocide in 1984 were commendable. Her first hand interviews provided a view into the world of militants in rural Punjab as they were fighting for in many ways for the right to self determination underneath and Indian Government that wanted to control them and take away their power.
Mandair, Navdeep S. Colonial Formations of Sikhism. Contributor: The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press 2014. This article discusses the controversial topic of the role of the British in redefining and restructuring of the Sikh Identity. It looks specifically the the period of history right before and leading up to Partition and Independence, and is very aligned with my research topics.
Manchanda, Mahima. Kudi-Mar: The Vexed Question of Infanticide in Punjab: A Colonial Prespective. MA Thesis. University of Birmingham, 2014. Manchanda uses a colonial perspective to address the issue of female infanticide as a cultural phenomenon. He demonstrates how it is something that transcends religious barriers as it is a practice that was common in many families. McLeod, W.H. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Oxford University Press, New Delhi 1995. Print. McLeod’s comprehensive dictionary highlights some of the most important and widely used words used in Sikh studies. There is a very large appendix at the end that provides a great database for further understanding some of the terms and the context under which they are used. I had a good understanding of a lot of the words, but it’s nice to see some alternate definitions that showed me something that I didn’t know of.
McLeod, W.H. Who is a Sikh? The Problem with Sikh Identity. Clarendon Press. Oxford 1989. Print. McLeod has been in the game for a while when it comes to Sikh studies, this book is a short on that highlights some points about the issues related to Sikh identity. It’s very useful because there is a whole chapter dedicated to the Singh Sabha movement.
Nabha, Kahn Singh. Sikhs…We are not Hindus. Singh Brothers Publishers. Amritsar August 2006. Print. Translation: Jarnail Singh Ph.D This book is a translation of a Punjabi text (one that I will also be using) that looked at asserting in the most clear and concise way that Sikhism is a religion independent of Hinduism. The translation is helpful, but fails to capture the same tone as the Punjabi text. This book was originally printed and circulated back in 1898, and has been around for a long time.
Nabha, Kahn Singh. Hum Hindu Nahi. Amritsar Committee. 1973. Print The book was first printed in 1898 in the Punjabi Gazette under the pen name HB and in 1907 did Singh start putting his name on new addition. It is difficult to read through the original Punjabi, but I have found it very useful to hear how Sikhs from this time were dealing with creating an identity unique from Muslims and Hindus. The book reads as a Hindu is asking question and a Sikh is answering them.
Oberoi, Harjot. The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. Chicago, IL: U of Chicago P, 1994. Print. Oberoi’s book on religious boundaries highlights come of the key issues that are leading to the fragmentation of the Sikh Diaspora. His work has received a lot of backlash from more conservative and orthodox Sikh scholars.
Official Resolutions from the Sarbat Khalsa 2015. Sikh24. November 11, 2016. Accessed: January 5, 2016.
Punjab, and Punjab. Legislative Department. The Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925. (Punjab Act No. VIII of 1925.) (With the Rules Thereunder) [As Modified by the Government of India (adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 and Punjab Act, No. VII of 1938]. Lahore, Punjab: Printed by the Superintendent, Government Printing, 1939. Print. This is an interesting piece of legislation that made it so that the Sikh Temples of India would be returned to people from the Sikh Tradition. Prior to this many Sikh temples were under the control of Mahants (typically Hindu families) who owned the property that the temple was and would use the money the temples were making for upkeep of the temple as well as keep it for themselves. This marked a very pivotal point in Sikh history because Sikh identity as something unique from Hinduism and Islam was beginning to get recognized.
Rose, H.A. Census of India, 1901. Vol. XVII-A. Civil and Military Gazette, 1902. Print This census data collected by the British Raj was particularly helpful in understand on the different populations and communities of Punjab were spread out. Better understanding the breakdowns between different religions and genders, was very interesting, yet I acknowledge the danger in using strict definitions of Hindu/Sikh/Muslim as it risks diluting the true diversity that was inherent in Punjab.
Shapiro, Michael C. Linguistic and Philological Approaches to the Sacred Sikh Text. Contributor: The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press 2014. Shapiro does a fantastic job and presenting the hidden and nuanced complexities of the Punjabi language and it’s relationship to a greater level to the grammar and languages of the Guru Granth Sahib. It’s a short article so it’s difficult to delve too deep into all of the issues, but it does a good in providing a starting ground for further grammatical studies.
Singh, Sunit. The Sikh Kingdom. Contributor: The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press 2014. Singh highlights some of the key events that help to set up Punjab to come under the rule of the Sikh empire after the fall of the Mughals in the late 1700’s. However looking at his sources, they were mostly British, which heavily informed his perceptions of the Sikh Empire and the actions of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
"Singh Sabhas Condemn Article on Sikhs." Asia Africa Intelligence Wire 08 Oct. 2003: Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, Oct 8, 2003. Web. This newspaper article is at another library and I haven’t been able to look too deeply into it. However the context around these events as it was written in 2003 is important because it took place around the most recent Sikh Revivals in Punjab. Singh, Harinder: Singh, Jaswant: Singh, Surinder Pal. Guru Granth Sahib: It’s Language and Grammar. The Sikh Research Institute (Sikhri). 2014. Print Working through the text of the Guru Granth Sahib is challenging on many levels. Mostly this is due to the fact that the language and grammar that is used is not strictly Punjabi, but a combination of multiple other tongues like Arabic, Braj, Hindi, Persian, and Urdu. This book provides some basic rules on how the grammar in the text is structured and how to read the text in the proper way.
Singh, Gurpreet. Bujha Singh’s sacrifice proves Ghadar struggle didn't end with Indian independence. The Georgia Straight. July 26th, 2013. Accessed: June 1st, 2016. Digital.
Tan, Tai Yong. "Assuaging the Sikhs: Government Responses to the Akali Movement, 1920-1925." Modern Asian Studies 29.3 (1995): 655-703. Web. The time of the Singh Sabhas during the early 1900’s provided a perfect stage or young charismatic Sikhs to engage in political mobilization and become the voice of the greater Sikh population. From this movement we see that the birth of the Akali movement and the Akali Dal Party took place, and in modern day Punjab, the Akali Dal are still the major political party in control.
Thukral, G. PUNJAB: CONTROVERSIAL OUTBURST. INDIA TODAY 11.21 (1986): 22-23. Web. This news paper article from India Today shares a perspective on the corruption with in the Akali Dal party in Punjab and Badal who is the speaker for the party. Being written in 1986 it is a little dated, but with Badal still being in power in 2016 it is very interesting piece because things have not changed very much in Punjab, in fact they have gotten much worse.
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2008. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, 2009. This resources details some very interesting immigration data over the last 100 years. Broken down by country, it’s is easy to see where many immigrants were coming from each year. In regards to this project, it was still difficult to get a sense of how many Indians were actually coming to the US, because the exact numbers of people crossing the boarder from canada, or being smuggled across oceans in boats is not clear.
Wallace, Paul. Sikh Militancy and Non-violence." Sikhism in Global Context. Oxford UP, 2011. Sikhism in Global Context, Chapter 5. Web. The Singh Sabhas marked a time when Sikhs were reconciling their past history of militancy and warfare with a new world where nonviolent protest seemed like the only way forward. It marked a very interesting piece in Sikh History and shows a group of people trying to redefine their identity within the context of a changing cultural and political landscape.
Wynne, Robert E. American Labor Leaders and the Vancouver Anti-Oriental Riot. Pacific Northwest Quarterly. Vol. 57, 1966. Cited in Hallberg, p.147 This piece by Wynne looked at the early anti immigration groups in Bellingham that were against the massive migration of South Asians coming in to work in the mills. In particular the Japanese- Korean Exclusion League, which later evolved to include Indians within it area of interest.
Exhibition Archive Photographs
Andrews, CF. Guru Ka Bagh, September 12, 1922. Tribune India. Online.
Bagai, Rani. India Against Britian. Donor: South Asian American Digital Archive. May 25th, 2011. Online.
Cahn, David. The 1907 Bellingham Riots in Historical Context. Seattle Civil Rights and Labor Project: University of Washington. 2008 This digitally available source highlighted the key historical events that lead up to the riots in Bellingham in 1907. Many of the old photographs used in the archive were obtained from this source, specifically the photographs of the young Sikh men.
DS. Creations. Sacred Sounds: Sikh Participation in WWI. HOLA MAHALLA. Online.
Echos of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California. Chapter 7: Ghadar. University of California. Berkley. Digital
Ghadar Di Gunj. 1913. Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkley. This image of the cover page of an early Ghadar poems book. Multiple versions of this file are available on online, this was found from a google search that redirected to a wikipedia entry on the Ghadar Movement.
Have we a Dusky Peril? The Sunday Puget Sound American. Bellingham, WA. September 16th, 1906. This was the Sunday headline in the Puget Sound American, it was an editorial on the presence of South Asian immigrants in the Pacific Northwest, who they described as Hindus.
Jhubal, Amar. Sardar Amar Singh Ji spent 4 years & 9 months in jails. Sikh Stalwart. Online.
Josh, Sohan Singh. Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna: Life of the Founder of the Ghadar Party. The Peoples Publishing House. 1970. Accessed Online: Punjab Digital Libaray. June 1, 2016.
Panesar, Amerdeep. WWI – Sikh soldiers fought and died for Britain, often overlooked. University of Huddersfield. September 22nd, 2015. Online.
Punjab Province in 1909. From the Imperial Gazetteer of India, Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, (1840-1900), Cotton, James Sutherland, (1847-1918) ed. Burn, Richard, Sir, (1871-1947) joint ed. Meyer, William Stevenson, Sir, (1860-1922). joint ed. This map of pre-partition Punjab was very useful in developing a better understanding of how diverse the cultural history of Punjab was, seeing how large Punjab was instrumental in developing a holistic view the the different types of voices and people who were alive during the early 1900’s. The Ghadar Party. Pacific Coast Khalsa Diwan Society Centennial. June 11, 2016. Online.