SIKHI AND SUSTAINABILITY: SIKH APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY

Abstract

This article investigates the growing Sikh environmental movement. Utilizing the categories of recovery, reformation and replacement suggested by Bauman et al., it looks at the rationale behind religiously motivated environmental action, with a particular emphasis on Sikh organizations working in the Punjab. Sikh environmental advocates frequently draw on scriptural sources as well as particular elements of religious history in arguing that Sikhism can be understood as an inherently ecological tradition. The Sikh tradition of seva, service to the community, is a prime motivator for ecological activism and is the basis for many of the most successful efforts.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Juniata College for funding travel to India during my Spring 2014 sabbatical to conduct some of the research for this article and to Travis J. Smith for serving as my Research Assistant on that trip. Additionally, I am grateful to D.S. Jaspal of the Museum of Trees, Dr Inderjit Kaur and Rajbir Singh of Pingalwara, Baba Sewa Singh of Nishan-e-Sikhi and Baba Kulwant Singh of Ajnala for meeting with us, and to Tarundeep Singh of EcoAmritsar for his invaluable help throughout.

Notes

1 This is similar to Roger Gottlieb's suggestion that ecotheology may draw on ‘neglected parts of tradition, reinterpretation of the familiar, the adaptation of the old to the unprecedented demands of the present, or radical innovation’ (Gottlieb 2006, 21).

2 Although the Ardas is not by Guru Nanak, he is being credited with the idea here.

3 It should be noted here that there are a number of NGOs working on ecological issues in the Punjab that have Sikh staffing or leadership, but are not explicitly religious in nature. These include Defenders of the Environment and Ecology of Punjab (DEEP), Kheti Virasat and Savi Dharti. These agencies work for sustainable agriculture and reforestation.

4 This identification is not without controversy, but in 2011, both the SGPC and the Akal Takht asserted that the Kali Bein was the site of these events (Singh, IP (TNN) 2011).