ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Sikh presence and the Sikh tradition in Africa, primarily focusing on East Africa across four eras: British imperialism and colonialism in East Africa, decolonization and anticolonial resistance, postcolonial nation-building and Indian racial exclusion, and neoliberal-era East Africa. It highlights the ways in which the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora in Africa has been marginalized within studies of the Sikh diaspora, the East African Asian/Indian diaspora in Africa, and emerging fields of study such as Global South, Indian Ocean, and Afro-Asian studies. It offers interventions into Sikh studies that center Sikh engagements with Africa and Africans, focusing on Sikh political and religious and ethical practice across secular and nonsecular domains.
