Description
The paper attempts to critically examine the concepts like Sikh Sovereignty, Khalsa Panth, Sikh Governance and homogenous Sikh identity that are frequently employed in the discourse surrounding the independent state of Khalistan. In the midst of growing tensions between Indian state and the Khalistan sympathisers within the Punjabi Diaspora in Canada and United States, it is extremely important to not just investigate the contextual embeddedness of these concepts but also examine how people in the state of Punjab have historically related to these terms. This paper argues that the prevailing understanding of sovereignty remains deeply entrenched in territorial notions. Despite the radical opposition of Khalistan proponents to the Western order, their conceptualization of sovereignty does not significantly differ from the very framework they purport to challenge. To investigate the history of the Sikh movement, I employ the ethno-symbolic approach proposed by Anthony D. Smith and John Armstrong as a suitable framework. The adherence to pre-existing group characteristics among Sikhs lends credence to a de-territorialized notion of sovereignty that strives to strike a balance between temporal and spiritual concerns, offering a nuanced and multifaceted approach to sovereignty that reflects the diverse dimensions of Sikh identity and its aspirations for autonomy. The aim of the paper is not to delve into the causes that started unrest in Punjab but to provide historical understanding of terms that are repeatedly used in the discourse, thereby presenting an alternate perspective of the movement.
