The Precarious Diasporas of Sikh and Ahmadiyya Generations: Violence, Memory, and Agency PDF
Preview The Precarious Diasporas of Sikh and Ahmadiyya Generations: Violence, Memory, and Agency
MICHAEL NIJHAWAN THE PRECARIOUS DIASPORAS OF SIKH AND AHMADIYYA GENERATIONS VIOLENCE, MEMORY, AND AGENCY Religion and Global Migrations Series Editors Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh Oxford Department of International Development Oxford , U nited Kingdom Jennifer B. Saunders Stamford , Connecticut, U SA Susanna Snyder Rippon College Oxford , UK Aims of the Series As the fi rst series of its kind, Religion and Global Migrations will examine the phenomenon of religion and migration from multiple disciplinary per- spectives (e.g., historical, anthropological, sociological, ethical, and theo- logical), in various global locations (including the Americas, Europe, and Asia), and from a range of religious traditions. Monographs and edited volumes in the series explore the intersections of religion and migration from a variety of approaches, including studies of shifting religious prac- tices and ideas in sending and receiving communities, among migrants and also among those who interact with migrants in places of origin and destination; public responses to migration such as religiously informed debates, policies, and activism among migrants and nonmigrants alike; gender dynamics including shifts in gender roles and access to power in sending and receiving sites; identity in relation to religion and migration that include constructive, as well as descriptive, scholarship; empire, from the ancient Mediterranean through the height of European colonization to contemporary relationships between the developing and developed world, and the way it has profoundly affected the movement of people and development of religions; and other topics connecting to the theme of religion and global migrations. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14511 Michael N ijhawan The Precarious Diasporas of Sikh and Ahmadiyya Generations Violence, Memory, and Agency Michael Nijhawan Department of Sociology York University Toronto, ON, C anada Religion and Global Migrations ISBN 978-1-137-49959-2 ISBN 978-1-137-48854-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-48854-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948743 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration © BCS / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc. New York To Mayur A N T OTE ON RANSLATION AND T RANSLITERATION Interviews for this research have been conducted in English, German, and Punjabi. Whenever warranted, I have retained the original expressions in parenthesis and hope my translations are accurate enough to convey the meaning and tone of words used by my interlocutors. There is frequent reference to cultural and religious concepts that are unique to the South Asian context. These include terms from the Sikh scriptures ( gurbani ) and some references to Ahmadiyya religious sermons and tracts that are in Urdu. Instead of using a glossary, I provide the corresponding English expression whenever they fi rst appear. I have made selective use of foot- notes to expand further on some words to clarify their contextual uses and meanings. For the purpose of this book, I have refrained from using any diacritical markers in my transcriptions. I am aware that this simplifi cation misses out on nuances in nasalization and other specifi c linguistic features of especially Punjabi and Urdu words. I have made this concession to provide a more simplifi ed system at the expense of philological scrutiny. vii A CKNOWLEDGMENTS The research and writing of this book evolved over a ten-year period in which I was fortunate enough to make friends and have fostered long-term relationships with many of my interlocutors and collaborators in Frankfurt and Toronto. I would have utterly failed in this endeavor without their generosity: my research participants’ willingness to share their personal stories, the help of my research assistants who have worked tirelessly, the support of my friends who reached out and built bridges across terrains, oceans, times. Sharing their stories and insights, which are assembled in this book, is both a blessing and a burden. I am well aware that of all the words, feelings, and thoughts, only fragments can eventually resurface in these written pages. My labor has been to do justice to the truths of their stories. My fi rst lines of appreciation are to all of them who lent their voices to this project. They cannot be named in person here. I have used pseudonyms throughout the text to ensure their confi dentiality. Among my collaborators who contributed to the research process, I am indebted to Khuswhant Singh in Frankfurt for his continuing support and friendship. I thank Kamal Arora and Duygu Gül for their research assistantship, collaborative writing, and general support at all stages of the research in Toronto. Harjot Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Bernd Wagishauser, Dr. Aslam Daud, Hamid Chaudhury and family, Horst Schäfer, Dr. Günter Kruchen, Christian Borschberg, Hadayatullah Hübsch (1946–2011), Abid Mirza, Gurpreet Singh Deepak, Jasbir Kaur, Jaspreet Multani, Loveleen Kang, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Ali, Manfred Backhausen, Preet Virdi, Naseer Ahmad, Waqas Taimoor, and Salma Ahmed have all gener- ously offered their help in facilitating my research and deserve a special ix
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