ABSTRACT
This chapter explores struggles Sikhs face in seeking accommodation, autonomy, self-determination, and sovereignty in modern India, the UK, and North America. Sikh movements for agency, whether based in political parties, activist groups, or community organization, are circumscribed by the power structures within each state and broader vocabularies of modern government. I discuss how Sikhs working to gain recognition and acceptance of their subjectivities and physical markers within state structures are varyingly met with violence, suspicion, or conditional acceptance. This dynamic forces Sikhs to depoliticize their identities in exchange for security and with the hope of escaping violence.
