To be a child of diaspora: The irreconcilable outsider in Sikh discourse

Abstract

ABSTRACT Scholarship, media, and activism engaging Sikhism construct a standardized Sikh who carries a specific configuration of language, ethnicity, historical memory, and physical appearance. Nijhawan calls this ‘the prevailing identity politics of hegemonic diasporas’ [2016. The Precarious Diasporas of Sikh and Ahmadiyya Generations: Violence, Memory, and Agency. New York: Palgave Macmillan, 2], noting how diasporic religious subjectivity becomes globally standardized as Sikhs advocate for inclusion in public and political spheres. Using the visual and sonic iconography of Sikh diaspora, I explore how this socio-historical construction of the proper Sikh also alienates difference within Sikhism, despite diaspora itself constantly generating heterodox bodies.