Beyond the Land of Five Rivers: Social Inequality and Class Consciousness in the Canadian Sikh Diaspora

Romanticized visions of Khalistan became emotively embedded in the hearts and minds of Sikh-Canadians following the execution of Operation Blue Star. Today, insurgents residing within the contested homeland continue to draw support from Sikh immigrants and their Canadian-born descendants. Perplexingly, while a sizable proportion of second and third-generation Sikh youth advocate for the creation of the theocratic state of Khalistan, many selectively disregard the righteous way of life envisioned by the founders of the Khalsa Panth. This paper presents a conceptual sociological analysis of the diasporic politics of identity and homeland. Although Marx, and other modern social theorists, had presumed that nationalism would eventually disappear, globalization has attributed new importance to the project of nation-building, and imagined political communities. Using the Sikh nationalist liberation movement as the point of departure, this paper demonstrates that ethno-racial markers of identity, and primordial religious mythologies, can be politically employed to distract members of oppressed groups from realizing the material conditions which perpetuate inequality in post-colonial capitalist states. Considering that ethnies are never universally homogenous groups, and that economic incentives exist for seizing state power, nationalist movements can only be understood by identifying the concrete class interests of their principal exponents. While the Punjab problem represents the empirical focus of this paper, the rich sociological insights on inter-communal conflict, identity, and belonging are generalizable beyond this immediate context

British Raj: The Legacy of Colonialism in India

Prior to the British colonization of India, racism and violence existed long before Britain\u27s intrusion during the 19th century. The author validates his claims in a fourth part process. First, definitions of race, ethnicity, and nationalism are all explained in relation to primordialism to explain racism that came as a result of the social caste system. Next, the Hindu religion is assessed through Durkheim and Marx to prove its oppressive nature. However, British colonizers incited racist and violent conduct through the rape of Indian women and control over their educational system. Through said acts, Indians fell victim to feelings of inferiority. However, they were unable to convert Indians to their Christian beliefs due to their strong devotions. The author then points to race-based violence in India between Muslims and Hindus, especially the underlying hierarchy apparent in the Hindu caste system. Violence is also cited between the Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims and is explained through the ideas of Frantz Fanon. Decolonization efforts were also met with extreme violence as a result of the Sikh separatist movement in the late 20th century