OBJECTIVE

It was felt necessary to complete the Sikh migration map. Out of the three broad geographical areas mentioned earlier where limited knowledge of Sikh Diaspora exists, the author decided to focus on Latin America. Latin America can be defined in several ways but the author has confined himself to mainland South and Central American countries which are Spanish or Portuguese speaking. The Caribbean and other Islands which are sometimes included under Latin America have not been considered except for Cuba, This is a vast geographical area to cover. It has been claimed that Sikhs are present everywhere and this study is to provide some authenticity to that claim so far as Latin American countries are concerned. This is a small step in giving Punjabis a feel of the geographical extent of their Diaspora The choice was to focus on one or two countries or to extend the study to of a number of countries even though it meant merely scratching the surface. Since no existing study was available, the latter option was felt more appropriate so as to create an interest amongst scholars for encouraging future in-depth studies which are country specific or detailed examination of a topic or subject across countries. If this paper can whet the appetite for further study or create public curiosity at large, the author would feel that the effort has been worthwhile. The author has been receiving several responses to his website especially from younger generation who want to pursue such a study.

METHODOLOGY AND CHALLENGES

1. Punjabi-Sikh-Singh

Initial plan was to have a broader canvas of studying the Punjabis. An issue regarding the Pakistani Punjabi cropped up as it was felt that their exclusion would be somewhat unfair. I have come across studies of Tamil and Bengali Diasporas, wherein Sri Lanka or Bangladeshi migrants are included in the study. It was therefore decided to confine the study to Sikhs which made the subject more focused. In any case, it so transpires that a vast majority of early immigrants in these countries except perhaps Panama (which has large Gujarati and Sindhi community) were Sikhs. Amongst Punjabi migrants, Sikhs formed a major chunk. Defining a Sikh is not easy because there are various definitions by scholars, SGPC and Government bodies. The issue of defining a Sikh can become an emotional issue. It was decided to include all persons of Sikh parentage at any level and those who had some affinity with Sikhism and Sikhs, now or in the past. It was decided not to get too much concerned with the number count as the idea is to introduce to the readers the historical and other aspects of the migrant stories. It is interesting that in several instances, Singh's whose one parent or grandparent was a Sikh, had no clue as to why they were Singh as they had only a vague knowledge of their connection to Punjab and India.