Ontological Securities and Existential Anxieties: A Case of ‘the Sikhs of Nankana Sahib’

Sikh religion has a strong association with Pakistan as it is the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism. Baba Guru Nanak was born in the area of Punjab province known as Nankana Sahib. The Nankana Sahib Gurdwara is one of the holiest places for Sikhism visited by thousands of Sikh pilgrims every year from all over the world. This ground-breaking empirical study uses an in-depth ethnographic qualitative approach to understand the relationship between the social history of Pakistan, hegemonic state ideology and its impact on identities of Pakistani Sikhs. The historical events which have unfolded in the sub-continent in the last two centuries have directly/indirectly affected the everyday lives of Sikhs in contemporary Pakistani society. Findings indicate that Pakistani Sikhs have a deep spiritual connection with the land of Nankana Sahib. Furthermore, the Sikh community of Nankana embody the identity of ‘The Sikhs of Nankana’. This ‘placed identity’ (Cantrill, 1998) has many layers shaped by the location, culture, and history (Hall, 1982) which is how Sikhs from Nankana Sahib produce everyday security in an Islamised Pakistan. Moreover, for Pakistani Sikhs the embodiment of the identity, ‘The Sikh of Nankana’ is an everyday practice to produce a sense of accomplishment and security in geographies of daily life. Finally, the absence of Sikhs from academic scholarship on religious minorities of Pakistan offers this paper with a unique vantage point to explain the evolution of Sikh Pakistani identity and their relationship with the sacred land of Nankana Sahib.