ABSTRACT
With its borders open to Western neighbours, Punjab has been subject to many influences from abroad. Starting in the tenth century, extensive contacts with the Turks, Afghans and Mughals changed its social geography. This chapter explores some dimensions of the diasporic involvement in Punjab and argues that Sikh society, through a transfer of technology and goods via the Sikh diaspora, has experienced a distinct phase of modernisation and that such interaction has led to a social learning process leading to specific modifications in Punjabi norms and values. It further argues that the Sikh diaspora has been a major factor in the modernisation of Sikh society. The chapter suggests that the interaction of the Punjabi diaspora with its homeland in the last five decades has also made it receptive to peculiar forms of globalisation trends. The Sikh diaspora has offered not only a transfer of goods but a means to escape from Punjab for a ‘better’ life abroad.
