Sikh Forms and Symbols

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Distinguished by their typical headgear- uncut beard, robust health and enterprising spirit, the Sikhs are a virile and colourful small community. Though mainly concentrated in Panjab after the Partition of India in 1947, they are found in almost all parts of the country, and in different parts of the world. They have done very well for themselves both at home and abroad and have proven to be an adventurous and hard working migrant group.

Their anxiety to maintain forms and symbols of their religious and cultural heritage in foreign lands has often resulted in serious debates and occasional conflicts with the host cultures. With the support of some friendly groups in the host countries, they have fought and won battles for preserving their symbols through peaceful and legal means.

The issue of preserving hair and other symbols became a matter of serious concern when a Sikh friend from the United States addressed a letter to the Sikh intelligentsia in India. They responded with their scholarly essays which along with some later articles on the subject have been published in this volume for the benefit of the Sikh diaspora. It is a matter of happiness that the history of Sikh immigrants to North America has taken a full circle-from being disallowed to land on the Canadian soil in 1914, a century later they have become partners in running the government with their forms and symbols intact.

Mohinder Singh is currently a Professor-Director of National Institute of Panjab Studies, Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi, earlier served as the Director, Guru Nanak Foundation; Member, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, Government of India; Professor of Eminence, Punjabi University, Patiala, and Visiting Professor of Sikhism, Centre for Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, United States.

In 1974, Dr. Singh was awarded a fellowship by the Indian Council of historical Research to carry on his research work on the Akali Movement in the United Kingdom, which later earned him his doctorate. Author of several standard works on Sikh history and religion, most of which were launched in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Dr. Singh sits on the Advisory Boards of several national and International organizations.