ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the phenomenon of Indian immigration to Spain, along with how Spain has emerged as a new and rapidly growing migrant destination for people from the north Indian state of Punjab. It focuses particularly on the special case of the formerly untouchable Punjabi community known as the Ravidasias, describes their evolution as a community in Barcelona, and explains the factors that led them to establish their own gurdwara and increasingly distance themselves from the main Sikh tradition. After introducing the Ravidasias, the chapter presents the results anthropological fieldwork in Barcelona on Ravidasia experiences of casteism in Catalonia from an emic point of view, and analyzes why Ravidasias maintain that casteism is more acute in Spain. The chapter analyzes the dramatic consequences that the tragic 'Vienna incident' has had on the Ravidasia congregation sangat in Barcelona and the important psychological splits and changes in religious and caste identity that it has produced.
