SikhArchive

The Philosophy of Death and Dying in Sikhi with Professor Balbinder Singh Bhogal

Hi, I’m Sukhraj Singh from SikhArchive and welcome to the 68th episode of our Podcast series of conversations with historians, authors, academics, researchers, and activists on topics related to their areas of expertise on Sikh or Panjabi history. In this episode, we are joined by Professor Balbinder Singh Bhogal, who is a professor in Religion and the holder of the Chair in Sikh Studies at Hofstra University. His research interests include decolonization, modernity, philosophy, yoga and Sikh studies, to name but a few. He has been on the podcast twice before; the first time to discuss Sikhi and Buddhism, the second to discuss Sikhi and Yoga and now, in this episode, we will be discussing Sikhi on Death and Dying. This episode was inspired and named after chapter 18 from the book, “The Sikh World”, which was published two years ago and edited by Professor Arvind Pal Singh and Professor Pashaura Singh. Professor Bhogal’s chapter “Death and Dying: within the Guru Granth Sahib” explores the philosophical and spiritual understanding of life and death as presented in the Guru Granth Sahib, emphasizing the interconnection between existence, impermanence, and the illusion of the ego. We discuss this chapter in detail and more.

Revolutionaries on Trial with Professor Aparna Vaidik

Hi, I’m Sukhraj Singh from SikhArchive and welcome to the 67th episode of our Podcast series of conversations with historians, authors, academics, researchers, and activists on topics related to their areas of expertise on Sikh or Panjabihistory.   In this episode, we are joined by Professor Aparna Vaidik, who is an Indian historian, author, and educator. Professor Vaidik is a scholar with significant public presence known for her extensive writings on history of the Andaman Islands, the Indian revolutionaries, histories of social and mythic violence, and histories of seditious conspiracies. In this interview, we talk about her latest book, titled "Revolutionaries on Trial: Sedition, Betrayal, and Martyrdom” which explores the history of the Lahore Conspiracy Case through the trail in the lower court. We discuss some of the interesting tales of what research went behind writing the book, what discoveries were made along the way, how the book has been structured and much more.

Farmers Protest in Panjab and the Role of Women with Sangeet Toor

Hi, I’m Sukhraj Singh from SikhArchive and welcome to the 66th episode of our Podcast series of conversations with historians, authors, academics, researchers, and activists on topics related to their areas of expertise on Sikh or Panjabi history.    In this episode, we are joined by Sangeet Toor, who by profession is a cybersecurity analyst based in Chandigarh but beyond this, she is an activist and journalist who documents the history of land rights and peasant struggles in Punjab. She has also been working closely on the ground with the most recent farmers protest in Punjab. Today we discuss how show she became an activist and what the farmers protest is about. Further, we talk about some of the historical movements that were the precursor of today’s farmers protest to explain how history is repeating itself. We close with a discussion on the role of women in today’s protest and the state of the justice system in India.

UAPA in Panjab with Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur

Hi, I’m Sukhraj Singh from SikhArchive and welcome to the 65th episode of our Podcast series of conversations with historians, authors, academics, researchers, and activists on topics related to their areas of expertise on Sikh or Panjabi history. In this episode, we are joined by Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, who is the proprietor of @PanjaabLawyers in Ludhiana and is also the Advocate for several Sikh Political Prisoners. He has recently released a list of those detained by Panjab Police online.  We discuss today his personal life, how he became a legal counsel for political prisoners, a brief history of the Indian penal code, UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) and how it’s applied in Panjab, an update on the case of Jagtar “Jaggi” Johal and more.

On Violence and The Sikhs with Professor Arvind Pal Singh Mandair

In this episode, we are joined by Professor Arvind Pal Singh Mandair, who is a prolific author, a philosopher by training, and a Professor of Sikh Studies at the University of Michigan. Arvind has recently released a book titled, “Violence and the Sikhs” which is published by Cambridge University Press as part a larger series that examines religion and violence. In this conversation, we discuss the motivation behind professor Mandair’s writings on the philosophy of violence in Sikhi, how it isunderstood as modern and premodern conceptions of violence, and finally inclosing, how we try to understand Sikhi and Violence with regards to recent events in relation to sikh resistance movements in Punjab and in the diaspora.