ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the production of Sikh life-worlds in Canada. The chapter offers a first-order intersectional model. This model proposes five spheres – (1) liberalism, (2) “Canadian” nativism, (3) transnationalism and minoritarian connections, (4) Panjabiyat, and (5) Sikh subjectivities – which function in relation to one another to produce new Sikh frames of reference. The argument proceeds along historical lines, identifying four broadly construed milieus of Sikh formations in Canada. Within each of these settings, key spheres of influence and their relations are considered. This chapter underscores the idea that neither “Sikh” nor “Canada” are natural categories, that Sikh life-worlds in Canada are bound to a series of historical maneuverings and contingencies, and that both Sikhs and Canada continue to engage in a process of mutual co-production.
