ABSTRACT
Overseas Sikh communities have a complex web of exchanges with the Punjab in an ongoing process of mutual dependence. Sikhs have sought to reproduce many of their social norms, culture and religious values in their new homes and social networks in various cities of Britain and North America. This process has been facilitated by a strong attachment to the Punjab, cheaper travel, and the increasing availability of media and communication channels, resulting in many kinds of contacts and flows of information to and from the Punjab. The net result is a collective identity that, despite the local and national influences of each country, has strong Sikh and Punjabi elements embedded in it. The Sikh diaspora' s interrelationship with the Punjab can be conveniently understood in terms of economic, social, religious and political linkages. There is an urgent need for further research on much scattered material about the linkages of the early Sikh migrants. However, the emphasis here is on contemporary developments within the diaspora' s multifarious connections with the Punjab (Barrier 1989).
