Introduction

It is almost amazing how the Sikh Punjabi villagers decided to migrate to a continent farthest from Punjab and about which very little was known. The number of immigrants is small and many are totally assimilated with marriages to local spouses. In the last two to three decades Sikhs have built gurdwaras in several countries which is helping re-energize their linkage with Punjab and Sikhism. The preferred target countries were Argentina, a relatively prosperous country in early twentieth century. Choice of other two countries was also understandable – Panama because of the Canal construction and Mexico because of its land border with USA providing an opportunity to cross over. The first migration was in late nineteenth century but majority migration was during the first three decades of the twentieth century. The Bolivian experiment in 1980s of setting up large scale farming conglomerate, though well-conceived, could not succeed. The setting up of so-called Khalistan headquarters in Ecuador in 1985 was more a myth than a reality.

Background – A study of Sikh global village

In his spare time, the author wanted to contribute to the field of Punjabi-Sikh diaspora. He wanted to do something out of the routine which, could be more original and contribute to the hitherto not-so-well known. A study of Sikhs in Northern America, the UK, South East Asia (SEA), and Australasia was ruled out as a lot has been written about the Sikh presence in these areas. Furthermore, it was thought that focus on ‘success’ stories alone would not be a true and total representation of Sikhs settled overseas. So in order to complete the map of Sikh migration from Punjab and to fill in the gaps in diaspora knowledge, the following geographical areas were prioritized:

1. Latin America

2. Pacific Islands

3. Continental Western Europe

It was decided to make a start with Latin America. This was to honour the ‘Farther the Better’ spirit of early migrants and accordingly Argentina was the first country to be visited.

Importance and significance of this study

This study breaks fresh ground in completing the Punjabi Sikh diaspora map. While the focus of most scholastic work is to study the countries where the Punjabi Sikhs have migrated in significant numbers, there is limited or no interest in countries where the Punjabi Sikhs are present in relatively small numbers.