Sikh Studies is a field of academia focused on the study of Sikhism.[1] It is sometimes referred to as Sikhology with its academics called Sikhologists.[2][3][4][5] It remains an understudied yet growing field of scholarly work.[1]
The majority of serious academic literature produced remains in European languages, such as English, French, and German, but there are many works being produced in Indic languages, such as in Hindi, Urdu, and especially Punjabi.[1]
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 and India.[1] Literature in European languages regarding Sikhs 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.[1] 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.[1]
Initially, the field focused on historical and philological textual study but later-on delved into philosophy and ethics.[1] The early works were authored with the aim to "assert the uniqueness of Sikhs as a separate world religion".[1] However, recent works produced have ventured into exploring anthropology, sociology, and political sciences of the Sikhs.[1] 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".[1]
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."[1]
Pashaura Singh's scholarly work has faced push-back and criticism from some traditionalist and conservative sections of the Sikh community.[6]
A few Sikh groups have put pressure on universities to stifle academic criticism of popular Sikh literature and theories of Sikh history.[7] In the early 1990s, Pashaura Singh, an academic of the Macleodian school, was campaigned against for challenging the authenticity of Guru Granth Sahib. Singh was pressured to withdraw sections of his thesis.[8][9][10] 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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13] 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.[13] 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,[13] 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.[13]
There are five identified schools of historiography within the field of Sikh studies:[14]
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 reformers, using a "retrospective lens".[14]
Colonial School, this school was founded by the British colonial-era officials, administrators, and scholars, such as Max Arthur Macauliffe, 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.[14]
Sanatanist School, this school views Sikhism as under the umbrella of Hinduism at-large and an expression of Hinduism.[14] They did not agree with the views of both the Traditional School and Colonial School.[14] Many unorthodox, heterodox, and heretical Sikh sects (sampradya), whom continue a lineage of living Gurus, were and are followers of this school of thought.[14]
Positivist School, formed in the 1960s, it was pioneered by W. H. McLeod.[15][14] 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.[14]
Modernist School, formed recently, it uses methodologies sourced from feminism, post-colonialism, subaltern, post-structuralism.[14] They assert that prevailing narratives commonly accepted as truths of the religion must be critically questioned and analyzed.[14] They focus on the intersectionality of gender and marginalized socio-religious groups within Sikhism.[14]
These schools may disagree on facts but also on interpretation of said facts.[14] Differences between the various schools of thought have increased since 1984, a tumultuous year for the Sikhs.[14]
Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory, began in 2005, 19 volumes published as of 2023[18][19]
Sikh Research Journal (SRJ), published by The Sikh Foundation International, with eight volumes published as of 2023[20][21]
Nishaan Nagaara, published since 1999 by the Chardi Kala Foundation[22]
Journal of Sikh & Punjab Studies, originating in the United Kingdom under the title 'International Journal of Punjab Studies', published since 1994.[23] Currently operates under the purview of Gurinder Singh Mann.[23] 29 volumes published as of 2023[23]
^Pashaura Singh; Norman Gerald Barrier (1996). The transmission of Sikh heritage in the diaspora. Manohar Publishers. pp. 281–282. ISBN978-8-17304-1556.
^ abcdefghijklmSingh, Gurharpal; Shani, Giorgio (2022). Sikh Nationalism: From a Dominant Minority to an Ethno-Religious Diaspora. New Approaches to Asian History (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 31–32. ISBN9781009213448.
^Abstracts of Sikh Studies. Vol. 7. Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh. 2005. p. 92.
