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Author: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023151980X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 537
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Book Description
Arguing that intellectual movements, such as deconstruction, postsecular theory, and political theology, have different implications for cultures and societies that live with the debilitating effects of past imperialisms, Arvind Mandair unsettles the politics of knowledge construction in which the category of "religion" continues to be central. Through a case study of Sikhism, he launches an extended critique of religion as a cultural universal. At the same time, he presents a portrait of how certain aspects of Sikh tradition were reinvented as "religion" during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. India's imperial elite subtly recast Sikh tradition as a sui generis religion, which robbed its teachings of their political force. In turn, Sikhs began to define themselves as a "nation" and a "world religion" that was separate from, but parallel to, the rise of the Indian state and global Hinduism. Rather than investigate these processes in isolation from Europe, Mandair shifts the focus closer to the political history of ideas, thereby recovering part of Europe's repressed colonial memory. Mandair rethinks the intersection of religion and the secular in discourses such as history of religions, postcolonial theory, and recent continental philosophy. Though seemingly unconnected, these discourses are shown to be linked to a philosophy of "generalized translation" that emerged as a key conceptual matrix in the colonial encounter between India and the West. In this riveting study, Mandair demonstrates how this philosophy of translation continues to influence the repetitions of religion and identity politics in the lives of South Asians, and the way the academy, state, and media have analyzed such phenomena.
Author: Arvind-Pal S. Mandair
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023151980X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 537
Get Book Here
Book Description
Arguing that intellectual movements, such as deconstruction, postsecular theory, and political theology, have different implications for cultures and societies that live with the debilitating effects of past imperialisms, Arvind Mandair unsettles the politics of knowledge construction in which the category of "religion" continues to be central. Through a case study of Sikhism, he launches an extended critique of religion as a cultural universal. At the same time, he presents a portrait of how certain aspects of Sikh tradition were reinvented as "religion" during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. India's imperial elite subtly recast Sikh tradition as a sui generis religion, which robbed its teachings of their political force. In turn, Sikhs began to define themselves as a "nation" and a "world religion" that was separate from, but parallel to, the rise of the Indian state and global Hinduism. Rather than investigate these processes in isolation from Europe, Mandair shifts the focus closer to the political history of ideas, thereby recovering part of Europe's repressed colonial memory. Mandair rethinks the intersection of religion and the secular in discourses such as history of religions, postcolonial theory, and recent continental philosophy. Though seemingly unconnected, these discourses are shown to be linked to a philosophy of "generalized translation" that emerged as a key conceptual matrix in the colonial encounter between India and the West. In this riveting study, Mandair demonstrates how this philosophy of translation continues to influence the repetitions of religion and identity politics in the lives of South Asians, and the way the academy, state, and media have analyzed such phenomena.
Author: W. H. McLeod
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231068154
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 178
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Book Description
The Sikhs, a colorful and controversial people about whom little is generally known, have been the subject of much hypothetical speculation. Their non-conformist behavior, except to their own traditions, and their fierce independence, even to demanding autonomy, have recently attracted world-wide attention. Hew McLeod, internationally known scholar of Sikh studies, provides a just and accurate description in his introduction to this religious community from northern India now numbering about sixteen million people, exploring their history, doctrine, and literature. The Sikhs begins by giving an overview of the people's history, then covers the origins of the Sikh tradition, dwelling on controversies surrounding the life and doctrine of the first Master, Guru Nanak (1469-1539). The book surveys the subsequent life of the community with emphasis on the founding of the Khalsa, the order that gives to Sikhs the insignia by which they are best known. The remaining sections concern Sikh doctrine, the problem of who should be regarded as a Sikh, and a survey of Sikh literature. Finally, the book considers the present life of the community--its dispersion around the world to Asia, Australasia, North America, Africa, and Europe, and its involvement in the current trials of the Punjab. Sikh culture is believed to have been settled and unchanging from the time of the Gurus onwards.The Sikhs, a major new work by a leading authority, reveals that this is a very misleading view. McLeod treats a variety of questions sympathetically and in so doing he establishes a new understanding for students of religion and for all those interested in current events in India.
Author: Eleanor M. Nesbitt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198745575
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 177
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Book Description
An accessible introduction to the world's fifth largest religion, this work presents Sikhism's meanings and myths, and its practices, rituals, and festivals, also addressing ongoing social issues such as the relationship with the Indian state, the diaspora, and caste.
Author: Louis E. Fenech
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442236019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 447
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Book Description
Sikhism traces its beginnings to Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 and died in 1538 or 1539. With the life of Guru Nanak the account of the Sikh faith begins, all Sikhs acknowledging him as their founder. Sikhism has long been a little-understood religion and until recently they resided almost exclusively in northwest India. Today the total number of Sikhs is approximately twenty million worldwide. About a million live outside India, constituting a significant minority in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Many of them are highly visible, particularly the men, who wear beards and turbans, and they naturally attract attention in their new countries of domicile. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Sikhism covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on key persons, organizations, the principles, precepts and practices of the religion as well as the history, culture and social arrangements. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Sikhism.
Author: Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sikhism
Languages : en
Pages : 176
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Book Description
Author: Gurinder Singh Mann
Publisher: Pearson
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 132
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Book Description
This text presents an overview of Sikh history and religiosity by firmly placing it against the backdrop of other religious traditions of the world. It includes a basic introduction to the faith, its history, beliefs, practices and modern developments.
Author: Pashaura Singh
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191004111
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 673
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Book Description
The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies innovatively combines the ways in which scholars from fields as diverse as philosophy, psychology, religious studies, literary studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics have integrated the study of Sikhism within a wide range of critical and postcolonial perspectives on the nature of religion, violence, gender, ethno-nationalism, and revisionist historiography. A number of essays within this collection also provide a more practical dimension, written by artists and practitioners of the tradition. The handbook is divided into eight thematic sections that explore different 'expressions' of Sikhism. Historical, literary, ideological, institutional, and artistic expressions are considered in turn, followed by discussion of Sikhs in the Diaspora, and of caste and gender in the Panth. Each section begins with an essay by a prominent scholar in the field, providing an overview of the topic. Further essays provide detail and further treat the fluid, multivocal nature of both the Sikh past and the present. The handbook concludes with a section considering future directions in Sikh Studies.
Author: Hari Ram Gupta
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Punjab (India)
Languages : en
Pages : 596
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Book Description
Author: Doris Jakobsh
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824860349
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 162
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Book Description
This volume offers a comprehensive overview of Sikhism, which originated in India's Punjab region five hundred years ago. As the numbers of Sikhs settling outside of India continues to grow, it is necessary to examine this religion both in its Indian context and as an increasingly global tradition. While acknowledging the centrality of history and text in understanding the main tenets of Sikhism, Doris Jakobsh highlights the religion's origins and development as a living spiritual tradition in communities around the world. She pays careful attention to particular events, movements, and individuals that have contributed to important changes within the tradition and challenges stereotypical notions of Sikh homogeneity and stasis, addressing the plurality of identities within the Sikh tradition, both historically and within the contemporary milieu. Extensive attention is paid to the role of women as well as the dominant social and kinship structures undergirding Punjabi Sikh society, many of which have been widely transplanted through Sikh migration. The migration patterns are themselves examined, with particular focus on Sikh communities in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Finally, the volume concludes with a brief exploration of Sikhs and the Internet and the future of Sikhism.
Author: Gurharpal Singh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 100921344X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 279
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Book Description
This important volume provides a clear, concise and comprehensive guide to the history of Sikh nationalism from the late nineteenth century to the present. Drawing on A. D. Smith's ethno-symbolic approach, Gurharpal Singh and Giorgio Shani use a new integrated methodology to understanding the historical and sociological development of modern Sikh nationalism. By emphasising the importance of studying Sikh nationalism from the perspective of the nation-building projects of India and Pakistan, the recent literature on religious nationalism and the need to integrate the study of the diaspora with the Sikhs in South Asia, they provide a fresh approach to a complex subject. Singh and Shani evaluate the current condition of Sikh nationalism in a globalised world and consider the lessons the Sikh case offers for the comparative study of ethnicity, nations and nationalism.
