THE SWORD AND THE TURBAN:ARMED FORCE IN SIKH THOUGHT

摘要

To understand Sikh attitudes towards the use of armed force, two quite different Sikh sacred texts are carefully examined in this article: the Adi Granth, the most hallowed scripture of the Sikhs, and the Dasam Granth, the controversial scripture of the last human guru. But scriptural analysis is not sufficient since historical developments within the community have exerted a major influence on Sikh thought. Especially relevant episodes are highlighted: the fight against Mughal rule, the emergence of the Khalsa, the martyrdom of prominent Sikhs, the Sikh reform process, the background role ofJatt culture, and the rise and decline of the Khalistan movement, including the events surrounding the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by Indian forces in 1984. Ironically, though Sikhism is often associated with the use of force, there is little academic literature on this aspect of religion. This paper seeks to fill a lacuna by examining the sources of Sikh thought on the use of armed force.