First Class Mail VOL. 1 NO.1 APRIL 2004 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Hofstra University Hofstra Sikh Studies Bulletin Newsletter of the Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies Welcome from Bindra Endowed Chair Dr. Mandair Welcome to this inaugural issue of Hofstra Sikh Studies Bulletin, the annual newsletter supported by the Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies. The aim of this newsletter is to Mark Your provide the broader community with up-to- Calendars: date knowledge, information and news about courses, projects and events being organized at Hofstra University. This newsletter will be Sikh Studies published at the time of the Vaisakhi festival. 2004 Events ... Vaisakhi is both the harvest festival and the Sikh New Year, marking the birth of the Sikh The year 2004 is a special year for order of the Khalsa. the Sikh community which is celebrating, among other events, The publication of this newsletter also the 400th anniversary of the can- coincides with a remarkable period of expan- onization of the Adi Granth (the sion in the study of religions at Hofstra. Since original Sikh scripture) and its the establishment of the Sikh Chair, the installation at the Harimandar Department of Philosophy and Religious Sahib — the central shrine of the Sikh religion — or, as it is better Studies has hired scholars specializing in New known, the Golden Temple at Testament studies (early Christianity) and Dr. Arvind-pal S. Mandair, A Look Back ... Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies Amritsar. It will also be 20 years more recently in the study of Islam. With a since Operation Blue Star (the Chair in Catholic Studies on the horizon, the storming of the Golden Temple The Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies hosted • Tejwant Kaur Purewal, speaker was Professor Christopher Shackle, pro- department will be able to offer undergradu- In future issues, we hope to highlight not complex by the Indian army in several successful international conferences in University of Manchester (U.K.) director of the University of London’s prestigious ate study in a wide selection of the world’s only the activities of the previous year, but June 1984) an event that led to • Jeevan Deol, School of Oriental and African Studies, and himself Sikhism, including Aspects of Sikh Heritage (April religious traditions, including Chinese also the work of our students who are study- one of the most traumatic periods Cambridge University and Smithsonian Institute a leading scholar of Sikhism. A special element of 2001), Sikhism and Critical Theory (September religion, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism, in the history of Punjab, particularly • Gurcharan Singh, Marymount Manhattan College this conference was the Public Forum, which fea- ing Sikhism and South Asian religions. 2002) and Sikhism and Inter-Religious Relations for the Sikhs. It is appropriate that • Surindar Singh Matharu, tured prominent members of the Sikh community Christianity and Islam. (October 2003, co-hosted at the University of these diverse events be commemo- Sikh Musical Heritage (U.K.) who led a discussion on the future of community Birmingham in the United Kingdom). rated by reflecting on the very • Daljit Singh, Sikh Musical Heritage (U.K.) education in the Sikh diaspora. means by which cultural memory Aspects of Sikh Heritage Conference itself is shaped. In this special Discussions included: “The Khalsa: Past, Present This conference marked an innovation in the field anniversary year, the Bindra and Future”; “Reflections on the 200th Anniversary of Sikh studies. During the last two decades, the Aspects of Sikh Heritage was the first conference of Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies is of the Sarkar Khalsa of Maharajah Ranjit Singh”; growth of Sikh settlement in North America has many to follow and was appropriately marked as an proud to serve the community by and “Sikh Musicology.” The keynote speaker was given the Sikh diaspora a voice hitherto occupied introduction to Sikhism. hosting the following events: T. Sher Singh from Toronto, Canada. by a few mostly non-Sikh Western academics. Recent years have seen the emergence of new intel- A series of panels were led by prestigious speakers, lectual demands for a Sikh studies agenda capable In This Issue Saturday and Sunday, including: Sikhism and Critical Theory Conference of addressing the needs of a Sikh diaspora in the May 8 and 9 • Nikky Singh, Colby College English-speaking world. In accordance with this Remembering and Forgetting: • Navddep Singh, University of Warwick (U.K.) This second conference attracted a field of distin- Bindra Chair Established ........2 A Look Ahead ................................3 demand, Sikhism and Critical Theory explored new Memory and Trauma in Recent Sikh • Virinder Singh Kalra, guished scholars from the United States, Canada, ways of relating contemporary Sikh experience to and Punjabi Experience University of Manchester (U.K.) the United Kingdom and Japan. Over the course of About The Bindras ........................2 A Look Back ..................................3 recent movements of critical thinking in the • Jasdev Singh Rai, University of Nottingham (U.K.) two days, participants debated a wide range of humanities and social sciences. • Amandeep Singh Madra, issues, including Sikh bodily identity, text interpre- Saturday, September 18 Victoria and Albert Museum tation and diasporic transnationalism. The keynote Sikh and Punjabi Film Festival 804:3/04 APRIL 2004 HOFSTRA SIKH STUDIES BULLETIN 1 Hofstra University Establishes Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies A Look Ahead ... The Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies was estab- Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, 2004 Preserving Sikh Heritage: June 2-6, 2005 lished at Hofstra University in September 2000 with a generous endowment from the Bindra family of Brookville, New York. This Chair aims to provide Remembering and Forgetting: A session co-organized by the Smithsonian Summer Seminar on Sikh Mysticism support for the development of Sikh studies within Hofstra University, thus Memory and Trauma in Recent Sikh and Institute Heritage Fund and the Bindra fostering knowledge about the religious tradition of Sikhism to be shared by Punjabi Experience Chair in Sikh Studies This is an inaugural seven-day Residential Summer Hofstra students and members of the wider community on Long Island. Seminar in Sikh Religious Philosophy. This summer seminar presents a unique opportunity to experience Remembering and Forgetting: Memory and Trauma in On the second day of the Remembering and the academic study of Sikh religious philosophy Since the inauguration of the Chair, several new and innovative courses in Sikh Recent Sikh and Punjabi Experience is an international Forgetting conference, there will be a special session within a practice environment. This course carries studies, and more broadly in South Asian religions, have become available to conference that will examine the importance of mem- comprising three lectures on aspects of Sikh her- three transferable undergraduate credits. It examines the student community at Hofstra. These include: ory and trauma in recent Sikh and Punjabi experi- itage and its representation. These lectures are co- the nature, roles and meanings of mysticism in Sikh ence. Focusing on the three main events that under- sponsored by the Sikh Heritage Fund of the thought and its relationship to Sikh existence in con- • Warrior Saints (Religion 155): An introduction to the Sikh religion. pin the psychological disembodiment of the Sikh and Smithsonian Museum. Paul Taylor of the temporary global culture. Expressions of Sikh mysti- Punjabi self – partition (1984), insurgency and Smithsonian Institute will open this session by talk- cism as found in the Sikh scripture are presented in • Sikh Mysticism (Religion 157): The religious philosophy of Sikhism based on migration (post-1984) – this conference will specifi- ing about the Sikh heritage project at the comparative context. Students are encouraged to the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. cally address the central role that trauma and victim- Smithsonian and focusing on issues of identity, rep- explore the often-misunderstood boundaries ization play in the politics of memory. resentation and community co-curatorship in an between the political and the mystical, and to learn • Indian Religions (Religion 120): An excellent overview of the cultural and reli- evolving exhibition and preservation project. how this contributes to modern Sikh consciousness. gious heritage of India with a particular emphasis on devotional religions. Dr. Arvind-pal S. Mandair, Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies Speakers at this conference are leading scholars in Gurpreet Maini from New Delhi will then speak Outside of India this is the only academic course in the field of South Asian studies: about the treasures and travails of the House of Sikhism that focuses on the meaning and application •Jerry Barrier, University of Missouri Bagrian. The final speaker in this session will be of religious experience. The course will benefit any- •Paul Brass, University of Washington Mohan Singh, former director of cultural affairs, one who wishes to develop an advanced under- About The Bindras •Inderpal Grewal, University of California-Irvine archives and museums in Punjab, who will discuss standing of leading theological and philosophical •Ian Talbot, Coventry University the coins of the Sikh Raj. themes in Sikhism. •Darshan Tatla, University of Birmingham The Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Endowed Chair in Sikh Studies