Grappling with History
Sikh Politicians and the Past
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2855160 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robin Jeffrey (La Trobe University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 59 |
| Publication date | 1987-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Pacific Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2758830 |
| OpenAlex | W2326393335 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
T HROUGHOUT 1984 AND 1985, I worked regularly with the literature relating to Punjab politics over the last ten years. I was continually astonished at the way in which Sikh politicians found it especially necessary to invoke the past-and to portray past events in a way that did not correspond to any documentary evidence I had seen. Though I well knew that public figures elsewhere in India and the world use the past for present political purposes, Sikh politicians seemed to have special problems. For them, the constant pressure to invoke history seemed manifestly greater than that acting on politicians in most other polities. Moreover, the necessity to tailor the past to justify actions in the present was not a problem for Sikh politicians alone but for all who dealt with them. Only-it seemed to me-by understanding the dilemma that interaction with their history imposed on Sikh public figures could anyone, government or individual, negotiate fruitfully with Sikhs on matters connected with Punjab politics. This essay attempts to identify the problem, explain its origins, and suggest implications for contemporary politics
Dilemma · Epistemology · Government (linguistics) · Negotiation · Political economy · Political history · Political science · Politics · Sociology · History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora
| Citations per year | 0.24 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2001 - 2021 (21) |
| Highly cited | No |