The Sikh Diaspora: The search for statehood. By Darshan Singh Tatla. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999. 327 pp. $22.00 pb.

This book on the relationship between Sikhs in Britain, Canada and the USA and the Punjab, India is a significant contribution to Diaspora studies, itself an increasingly popular field of research. It is published in the "Global Diaspora" series. Tatla gives us a great deal of information on Sikh migration, including material on early racist responses in host countries. He also traces Sikh fortunes in the Punjab, from the time of the ten Gurus, through Ranjit Singh’s independent state (1799 — 1849) to the storming of the Golden Temple by Indian troops in 1984. Only after 1984, says Tatla, did Sikhs seek political asylum overseas. Most migrants left the Punjab voluntarily. Thus, the Sikh dispersion does not fulfil standard criteria of a Diaspora.

The desire for an independent state is bound up with the economic condition of Sikhs in the Punjab, with their fear of assimilation by the Hindu majority and with the experience of Sikhs living overseas. Tatla writes, "neither equal citizens nor having enough power to express their cultural ambitions, the aspiring community leaders have looked back on their ‘land of origins’ for prestige and honor" (p 210). In other words, acquisition of a homeland will enhance their status overseas. Often, to gain recognition as a distinct group, Sikhs have argued for ethnic and not only religious status. For example, in Britain, only the former qualifies for representation on regional government Racial Equality Councils. Otherwise, they are classed as Indians. Sikhs have also had to campaign for the right to wear the turban and kirpan (dagger). A Sikh state is not a pre-requisite of the Sikh religion. Punjab was not given to the Sikhs. However, there is a strong emotional and devotional bond between the Punjab, with its holy sites, and Sikhs. Also, Sikhs have always fought to preserve the identity of their Khalsa, so much so that the word might easily be translated as "nation" (it is usually rendered "brotherhood"). A central concern of Tatla’s book is the problem of split loyalties; in supporting the cause of Khalistan, Diaspora Sikhs depart from the foreign policy of their host countries, which want to retain trade and diplomatic relations with India. In fact, the three countries have not expressed much sympathy for Sikh aspirations, often depicting Sikhs as a "troublesome minority" (p 189) yet India perceives them as being soft on Sikh militancy (p 159). As a result, significant trade contracts have been cancelled. My one criticism of the book is that I would like to have heard some personal voices of Sikhs on their relationship with host nations and the Punjab. Tatla refers to Sikhs MP’s in the host countries (p 160; p 178), and to the general prosperity of Diaspora Sikhs, yet claims that "citizenship … has not eased their integration into the host society’s social and political structure" (p 62). Something seems to be missing here.

Clinton Bennett

Baylor University.

Waco, TX.