New Approaches to Asian History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2021. 250 pp. (Maps, figures, tables.) US$89.99, cloth. ISBN 9781107136540.
Gurharpal Singh and Giorgio Shani’s book is a major contribution to the study of Sikh nationalism and the nationalism of so-called “small peoples”—that is, ethnic groups or “nations” without their own sovereign states. The book makes important area studies and theoretical/comparative contributions to the existing academic literature on the topic. The book’s easy-to-read analytic narrative makes it accessible to the general educated audience, as well as the more specialized academic community.
The book’s primary purpose is to decipher and explain the historical origins and evolution of Sikh nationalism. As the authors state, “[t]he central argument of this book is quite simple: we need to move beyond existing tropes, especially religion, that have defined Sikh subjectivities. An integrated approach to nationalism, identity and diaspora offers a more comprehensive understanding of Sikh aspirations for self-determination” (1). As such, the authors acknowledge the various ways to conceptualize the Sikhs: as a “religious community,” an evolving political “nation,” and/or a “minority group” in both India and the worldwide diaspora. Keeping the analytical task of explaining Sikh nationalism in the forefront, the authors appropriately focus on the second conceptualization—that of the Sikhs as an evolving stateless (or diasporic) “nation.” Of particular analytical importance is the authors’ methodological choice of avoiding a “critical theory” approach consisting of interpretative “deconstruction,” in favour of an “empirical/positivist” macro-historical approach attempting to explain the evolution of Sikh nationalism from the beginning of the community/nation to the present. In fact, the various chapters of the book, except for the introduction and chapter on the Sikh diaspora, are in chronological order.
In taking this empirical/positivist approach, the authors make an important theoretical/comparative contribution to the study of the nationalism of other “small peoples” of the world. In particular, the authors utilize Anthony Smith’s “ethno-symbolic” approach in structuring their analytic historical narrative (The Ethnic Origins of Nations, Blackwell Publishing, 1986). This approach accepts that the origins of nations and nationalism are modern, but that “the mainspring of nationalist ideology is located in pre-modern cultural attachments such as ethnies” (12). This ethnie consists of the cultural antecedents and milieu of a more crystallized “national” identity. Furthermore, the authors argue that the evolution of the nationalism of any “small peoples” cannot be understood without examining the wider political context and authority structures with which they interact and, in fact, came to form a more cohesive political “nation” from a mere ethnie. In the context of Sikh nationalism, this entails exploring the centrality of the Khalsa identity promulgated by the 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh in 1699, the symbolic universe surrounding this identity, and its relationship with various political authority structures in South Asia, particularly in the Punjab. These included the various Islamic invaders from the west, the Mughals, the British, and (in more recent times) the postcolonial Pakistani and Indian nation/state-building projects. The latter involves both the “secular” Indian nation/state-building of the Congress Party and the contemporary BJP-led Hindutva brand of Indian national identity. Thus, the book’s analytic historical narrative is structured by this “ethno-symbolic” approach in various degrees of cohesion and rigour from chapter to chapter. In some chapters, however, the straightforward recitation of political history relegates the primary analytical framework to the background.
A particularly important feature and strength of the book is how the authors avoid reifying Sikh identity and nationalism into an assumed, unproblematic, and homogenous phenomenon. Thus, within its various chapters, the book explicitly grapples with the existing literature on the Sikhs, including the competing narratives of a religious community, nation, and minority group. The internal complexity within the Sikh “community” or “nation” is also examined in significant detail. This includes internal cleavages involving different degrees of adherence to the Khalsa tradition, caste divisions, and sectarian differences. While acknowledging this internal complexity and heterogeneity, the authors do not lose sight of the primary analytical focus of their book—that is, Sikh nationalism. As a result, this internal diversity is appropriately acknowledged and its effects on evolving Sikh nationalism discussed, but the reality and existence of the phenomenon of Sikh nationalism is not lost in this discussion of diversity, as is often done by scholars who tend to simply “problematize” Sikh identity and nationalism, instead of rigorously explaining it. Different political interpretations of Sikh identity and nationalism in the contemporary period are also examined in the book. For example, the authors explore how Sikhs associated with the BJP Party view themselves as a depoliticized part of the larger Hindu community, those associated with the secular Congress Party see themselves as a distinct “religious community” within the wider Indian nationality, the moderate Akali Dal identify as an “ethnic group” or perhaps “nation” within the broader Indian Union but remain committed to India’s territorial integrity, and more radical/militant Sikhs associate the notion of Sikh “nationhood” with complete political sovereignty and outright “statehood.” The historical interplay of these competing strands of Sikh identity and “people-ness” in the postcolonial era is explored in chapters 5, 6, and 7. In chapter 8, which is particularly innovative, the authors incorporate the growing Sikh diaspora into their analysis, including the possibilities of a “deterritorialized” notion of Sikh nationhood.
In conclusion, the authors end with the assessment that critical theory “offers a critique rather than a fully developed perspective that can adequately explain the social and political dimensions of Sikh nationalism. It is now time to take the study of Sikh nationalism seriously” (218). This book attempts to do just that through an empirical/positivist macro-historical approach utilizing the “ethno-symbolic” framework contextualized in the nation/state-building projects of different ruling regimes in Punjab and South Asia. The product is a magisterial academic study of the historical evolution of Sikh nationalism, which deserves the attention of area studies experts and comparativists alike.
Jugdep Singh Chima
Hiram College, Hiram