(Un)mapping the Punjab Onto Singapore’s Gurdwaras : Diasporic Territorialities and Decolonial Spaces of Sikh Socialisation

Shee, Siew Ying; Woods, Orlando

Abstract

This paper explores an alternative territorial sensibility – ‘diasporic territoriality’ – that is rooted in the search for belonging outside of a putative ‘homeland’ amongst dis/placed communities. Drawing on ethnographic research with 26 members of Singapore’s Sikh diaspora, we examine the everyday spaces of diasporic belonging that simultaneously reproduce and resist colonial imaginings of Punjabi territory. Many first-generation diasporas continue to define themselves through regional affiliations inherited from colonial legacies, with Singapore’s gurdwaras serving as a spatial ‘fix’ for mapping territorial logics from the Punjab. However, these colonial imaginaries are increasingly contested and ‘unmapped’ by younger generations who seek to socialise in alternative spaces of belonging based on shared pieties and upbringing. By reimagining belonging beyond essentialist framings of home-diaspora connections, the idea of ‘diasporic territoriality’ contributes to decolonising prevailing understandings of territory and belonging. Doing so provides a provocative counterpoint to re-evaluate state-sponsored narratives of integration within the context of multiculturalism.

Citation

Shee, S. Y., & Woods, O. (online). (Un)mapping the Punjab Onto Singapore’s Gurdwaras : Diasporic Territorialities and Decolonial Spaces of Sikh Socialisation. Geopolitics, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2025.2451300

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 6, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jan 11, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jan 23, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Journal: Geopolitics
• Print ISSN: 1465-0045
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-3028
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-26
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2025.2451300
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3348148