Sikh Studies is a field of academia focused on the study of

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

. It is sometimes referred to as Sikhology with its academics called Sikhologists. It remains an understudied yet growing field of scholarly work.

Focus

The field focuses on "the Sikh community, its history, and religious culture, Sikhism."

Language of literature produced

The majority of serious academic literature produced remains in European languages, such as English, French, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, but there are many works being produced in Indic languages, such as in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, and especially Punjabi.

History

The field is seen as beginning around the mid-20th century, during the time of the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two domains:

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Literature in European languages regarding

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

and Sikhism has existed since the 18th century but the institutional environment did not exist at that period to further these inquiries and attempts into a proper field of study. With worldwide interest in the Sikhs growing in the aftermath of the partition, increased Sikh migration around the world, plights of ethnic and religious minorities being recognized, the institutional apparatus needed to birth the field of Sikh studies began to form and take shape. Initially, the field focused on historical and philological textual study but later-on delved into philosophy and ethics. The early works were authored with the aim to "assert the uniqueness of Sikhs as a separate world religion". However, recent works produced have ventured into exploring anthropology, sociology, and political sciences of the Sikhs. Whilst the field looks at the Sikhs as being a production of the cultural framework and tapestry of the Indian subcontinent and its civilization, scholars in the field admit that the Sikhs oftentimes "confounds categorical schema at every turn". Recently, a newfound direction of the field is toward "incorporation of critical modes of thinking, theory, philosophy, and antiphilosophy which uses central Sikh texts, culture, and history to engage and actualize Sikh thinking to force an encounter with its hegemonic other." The

University of Toronto Mississauga The University of Toronto Mississauga (abbreviated as U of T Mississauga or UTM) is the second-largest division of the University of Toronto and one of its three campuses, located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967, the campus ...

(UTM) established a Sikh Studies endowed chair in 2024 to improve research in the field. It is the only one of its kind in Canada.

Controversies

Pashaura Singh Kunwar Pashaura Singh (1821 – 11 September 1845), also spelt Peshawara Singh, sometimes styled as ''Shahzada'', was the younger son of Ranjit Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Rani Daya Kaur. Maharaja Ranjit Singh named Pashaura as he had re ...

's scholarly work has faced push-back and criticism from some traditionalist and conservative sections of the Sikh community. A few Sikh groups have put pressure on universities to stifle academic criticism of popular Sikh literature and theories of Sikh history. In the early 1990s,

, an academic of the Macleodian school, was campaigned against for challenging the authenticity of

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

. Singh was pressured to withdraw sections of his thesis.Sikh bodies object Punjabi University's call to controversial Sikh scholar at International Conference
The Times of India (22 November 2019) The Akal Takht issued a statement that Pashaura Singh was afforded due opportunity by the Akal Rakhta and other Sikh scholars on his comparative method (borrowed from Trumpp) and his hypothesis of the draft theory was rejected as forcibly injecting undated texts dated much beyond the timeline of the Adi Granth. Another academic also praised by MacLeod, Harjot Oberoi, was also campaigned against for his removal by parties which denounced his methodology towards the study of Sikhism. According to the Indologist Mark Juergensmeyer, the largest group of scholars dedicated to Sikh Studies are based in and near Punjab, but these scholars project themselves as proud Sikhs and predominantly focus on showing distinctiveness of their faith rather than examine the connections and similarities of Sikhism to other religious traditions based on comparative studies of texts and manuscripts. Sikh writers criticize methodologies to "coldly dissect" their personal faith and Sikh history by "methods of social science" and by critical comparative textual or literary analysis. This, critiques Juergensmeyer, has set the stage for an "unhappy confrontation" between the academic scholars versus those motivated in defending the dignity of their faith, including publications by Sikh institutions that are hostile to W. H. McLeod and other scholars who are based outside India, and as Juergensmeyer states, some conservative Sikh scholars have made important contributions to the scholarship of Sikhism by discovering old Sikh manuscripts and publishing their analysis.

Schools of thought

There are five identified schools of

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

within the field of Sikh studies: * Traditional School, this school is labelled as "rhetorical" and "ideological" and is based primarily upon the envisionment of the religion by the late 19th century

Singh Sabha movement The Singh Sabhā Movement, also known as the Singh Sabhā Lehar, was a Sikh movement that began in Punjab in the 1870s in reaction to the proselytising activities of Christians, Hindu reform movements (Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj) and Muslims ( Ali ...

reformers, using a "retrospective lens". * Colonial School, this school was founded by the British colonial-era officials, administrators, and scholars, such as

Max Arthur Macauliffe Max Arthur MacAuliffe (11 September 1838 − 15 March 1913), originally known as Michael McAuliffe, was a senior British administrator, prolific scholar and author. MacAuliffe is renowned for his partial translation of Sikh scripture Guru Grant ...

, and attempted to write about Sikhs in a way that asserted their distinctiveness from the prevailing Hinduism. It was heavily influenced by the traditional Sikh narratives. * Sanatanist School, this school views Sikhism as under the umbrella of Hinduism at-large and an expression of Hinduism. They did not agree with the views of both the Traditional School and Colonial School. Many unorthodox, heterodox, and heretical Sikh sects ('' sampradya''), whom continue a lineage of living Gurus, were and are followers of this school of thought. * Positivist School, formed in the 1960s, it was pioneered by W. H. McLeod. This school challenges the views of the prior three schools and asserts that it relies upon "empirical research" and "critical appraisal" of the religion's community, scriptural, historical, and literary sources. * Modernist School, formed recently, it uses methodologies sourced from

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

post-colonialism Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and thei ...

, subaltern,

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...

. They assert that prevailing narratives commonly accepted as truths of the religion must be critically questioned and analyzed. They focus on the intersectionality of gender and marginalized socio-religious groups within Sikhism. These schools may disagree on facts but also on interpretation of said facts. Differences between the various schools of thought have increased since 1984, a tumultuous year for the Sikhs.

List of prominent Sikh studies scholars

Historical pioneers

Ernest Trumpp Ernest Trumpp (13 March 1828 – 5 April 1885) was a Christian missionary sponsored by the Ecclesiastical Mission Society. He was also German professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Munich and a philologist. With an intent to convert ...

Kahn Singh Nabha Kahn Singh Nabha (30 August 1861 – 24 November 1938) was a Punjabi Sikh scholar, writer, anthologist, lexicographer, and encyclopedist. His most influential work, Mahan Kosh, inspired generations of scholars after him. He also played a role i ...

Puran Singh Professor Puran Singh (; 17 February 1881 – 31 March 1931) was a Punjabi poet, scientist and mystic. Born in Abbottabad, now in Pakistan, in a Sikh family, he is one of the founders of modern Punjabi poetry. He passed his matriculation examin ...

* Teja Singh * Ganda Singh *

Hari Ram Gupta Hari Ram Gupta (5 February 1902 – 28 March 1992) was an Indian historian. The main focus of his work was the Sikh history of 18th century. During 1957 to 1963, he was head of Panjab University's History department. Following his retirement, h ...

* Vir Singh * Balbir Singh *

Karam Singh Subedar and Honorary Captain Karam Singh PVC, MM (15 September 1915 – 20 January 1993) was an Indian soldier and a recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest award for gallantry. Singh joined the army in 1941, and took ...

* Randhir Singh *

Sahib Singh Sahib Singh (16 February 1892 – 29 October 1977) was a Sikh academic who made a contribution to Sikh literature. He was a grammarian, author, scholar and theologian. He was born in a Hindu family to father Hiranand and was named Natthu Ram ...

Modern academics

* William Hewat McLeod *

Gurinder Singh Mann Gurinder Singh Mann is a Punjabi-American scholar and professor of Sikh studies, and the author of multiple books on Sikh religion and society. Mann taught religion at Columbia University from 1988 to 1999 and then held the Kundan Kaur Kapany Cha ...

* Harjeet Singh Grewal * Jagtar Singh Grewal * Jaswant Singh Neki * Harjot Oberoi * Harjinder Singh Dilgeer *

Gurbachan Singh Talib Sardar Gurbachan Singh; 7 April 1911 – 9 April 1986) was an Indian Sikh scholar, professor, and author, recognized for his contributions to Sikh studies, Punjabi literature, and English literature. His notable works include an English translati ...

Khushwant Singh Khushwant Singh FKC (born Khushal Singh, 2 February 1915 – 20 March 2014) was an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. His experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him to write '' Train to Pakistan'' in 1956 ( ...

Harbans Singh Harbans Singh (6 March 1921 – 30 May 1998) was an educationist, administrator, scholar and the editor-in-chief of the ''Encyclopaedia of Sikhism''. He was respected for his contributions to Sikh scholarship and Punjabi literary studies and ha ...

* Devinder Pal Singh * Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh * Jagbir Jhutti Johal * Jvala Singh

Institutions and organizations

* Sikh Research Institute (SRI) * Institute of Sikh Studies (IOSS; Chandigarh), founded in 1989

Periodicals

* ''Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory'', began in 2005, 19 volumes published as of 2023 * ''Sikh Research Journal'' (SRJ), published by The Sikh Foundation International, with eight volumes published as of 2023 * ''Nishaan Nagaara'', published since 1999 by the Chardi Kala Foundation * ''Journal of Sikh & Punjab Studies'', originating in the United Kingdom under the title 'International Journal of Punjab Studies', published since 1994. Currently operates under the purview of

. 29 volumes published as of 2023 * ''Panjab Journal of Sikh Studies'', published by the

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

. Eight volumes have been published as of 2021. * ''Journal of Sikh Studies'', published since 1972 by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. * ''Sikh Courier'' * ''Sikh Review'' * ''Abstracts of Sikh Studies'', published the Institute of Sikh Studies (IOSS; Chandigarh) since 2003 with 25 volumes published * '' Gurmat Parkash''

References

{{Sikhism