Author ORCID Identifier
Degree Year
2020
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Religion
Advisor(s)
Emilia Bachrach
Committee Member(s)
Corey Ladd Barnes, Chair
Cynthia R. Chapman
Keywords
Punjab, Sikhism, Trauma, Identity, Operation Bluestar, The Delhi Riots, Film, Punjab 1984
Abstract
This capstone analyzes Punjabi Sikh identity to expand scholarly discourse on trauma and identity formation. After providing background on Sikh roots in Punjab, this piece relates Sikh trauma from 1984 to a contemporary collective identity. In June 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched Operation Bluestar; troops stormed the sacred Golden Temple to capture a perceived militant, Jarnail Bhindranwale. Because hundreds of civilians died in the crossfire, Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. In retaliation, Hindu nationalists slaughtered thousands of Sikhs in the Delhi Riots. The effects of violence against Sikhs in Operation Bluestar and the Delhi riots reflect both a continued marginalization of the Punjabi Sikh community and a unique emergent collective identity. Instead of further deviating from foundational Sikh tenets, Punjabi Sikhs have begun to reclaim autonomy in defining their identity in the public sphere by confronting their collective trauma through films such as Punjab 1984 (2014).
Repository Citation
Segall, Hayley Dawn, "1984 and Film: Trauma and the Evolution of the Punjabi Sikh Identity" (2020). Honors Papers. 708.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/708
