STUDY OF THE SIKH COMMUNITY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This thesis is an exploratory study of Sikh identity and group boundaries in Singapore. It has limited itself to the interactive relationship between cultural definitions of Sikh identity and group boundaries, on the one hand, and patterns of social organisation on the other. It also adresses the Sikh experience in terms of some of the effects of local educational, language and cultural policies. Sikh identity is highly problematic and context bound. Sikh group boundaries are seen as all encompassing only in relation to non Sikhs. Within the community, caste boundaries are dominant. The primacy of caste boundaries condition all aspects of local Sikh social organisation. The recruitment and membership patterns of the Bluebelt sect are almost exclusively contained within Arora Sikh caste. The subsequent patterns of opposition and compromise illustrate the tenacity of caste relations. Likewise, regionalism has also been contained within the Jat caste. Thus, while Bluebeltism concern Arora Sikhs, regionalism is an intra Jat Sikh problem. Neither Bluebelt sectarianism nor Jat regionalism are recognised as critical issues for the Sikh community as a whole. There is constant vacillation in the expression of Sikh identity in Singapore. Sikhs appear and present themselves as part of an undifferentiated Sikh community to the general public. However, within the community, caste identities are the most relevent. Such shifts are made possible by the persistence of caste categories and the social and cultural resources for a generic Sikh identity. These vacillations are also dependent on the contemporary Singaporean ethnic classification system.