The collection of seventeen essays, two critical introductions, and a keynote speech, resulted from an International Conference on ‘Sikh identity: Continuity and Change’ held at the University of Michigan in 1996. The contributions are in four sections which include introductions and keynote speech: symbols of identity and Sikh tradition; recent Sikh history and issues of identity; and politics, social issues and contemporary Sikh identity. The scholarship covers a wide range of important issues pertaining to the complex process of ‘coming to be’, a class notion of identity. Emphasized are the connections between formal, conscious and organized processes of institutional development/identity markers and the informal, unconscious and spiritual ways in which people come to know themselves. These in turn fashion responses to how others understand and accept identity. The papers address ‘Who is a Sikh?’ and provide insights from disciplines such as history, sociology, anthropology, political science and religion. Doctrine, code of conduct, historical interpretation, authority, and creative response to changing circumstances are issues that do not lend themselves to easy solutions. Yet an open exchange of ideas and alternatives hopefully should reduce tension and lead to a resolution of differences acceptable to Sikhs as a whole. This volume makes a positive contribution toward that process.
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