Document Type

Theses, Masters

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Disciplines

Social sciences

Publication Details

Successfully submitted for the award of Masters of Philosophy (M.Phil) to the Technological University Dublin, October, 2013

Abstract

This dissertation examines the formation of the Sikh community in Ireland by providing a brief historical account of the migration of Sikhs to Ireland, as well as by offering a discussion of the key challenges faced in Ireland by Sikh migrants along with their responses to these particular socio-cultural and political contexts in attempting to forge a ‘community’ in Ireland. The research draws extensively upon an oral history and photography project entitled A Sikh Face in Ireland that was commissioned by, and carried out through, the Forum on Migration and Communications (FOMACS) between 2007-2010. The interviews I conducted during this project as research assistant to Dr Glenn Jordan, who created the photographic exhibit, form a substantial methodological component towards the analysis and insights developed throughout this dissertation. In addition to the interviews, the discussions here are grounded in lo ng-term and sustained participant observation in the Dublin gurdwara over the last three years, which constitutes the major field site for this research. This dissertation offers a particularly located and ground-level perspective on the many issues around migration, multi- culturalism, and questions of diversity that have been central to Irish public life over the last two decades, informed by the life experiences of a community that has suffered widespread racial abuse for sporting external signifiers like beards and turbans identified with Muslims in an increasingly Islamophobic European, indeed Irish context. Through this research I hope to present the Sikh communities’ experiences and perspectives of migration as insights that might productively influence the depth and range of sensibilities towards migration and migrants in Ireland and outside, both among the general public as well as at policy level. The dissertation also offers Sikh community a documented account of their presence in Ireland and their contribution to Irish society by highlighting the proactive role that migrant-led community organisations (such as ISC) can play in civic engagement, intercultural dialogue, and towards establishing migrant support networks.The dissertation consists of four chapters: Chapter One outlines the methodological approach to the research and locates the main theoretical concerns within relevant literature; Chapter Two offers an outline of the history of Sikh migration to Ireland; Chapter Three is a discussion of t he key challenges faced by Sikh migrants in Ireland; and Chapter Four is a analysis of the strategies employed by the community in coping with and adapting to life in a foreign land. The focus of the thesis is the formations of the Sikh community. It does not directly address broader questions, such as racialization of non-white bodies, though these issues do figure in the analyses. While the dissertation includes several photographs that were taken during the research for A Sikh Face in Ireland along with archival photographs from family albums shared by the research participants, these are used in an illustrative capacity to vivify issues under discussion.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/D7CD0R

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