Harinder Singh

Senior Fellow, Research & Policy

Harinder Singh is the Senior Fellow at the Sikh Research Institute. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University, an MS in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas, and an MPhil from Punjab University in the linguistics of the Guru Granth Sahib. 

He co-founded the Sikh Research Institute and the Panjab Digital Library, envisioned the Kaur and Singh Academy, and organized the Free Akal Takht campaign.

He appears on radio and television programs and speaks at universities, parliaments, museums, conferences, and civic institutions. He has authored several books and numerous articles integrating the political and the spiritual. He consults on curriculums, exhibitions, and films and is featured in many documentaries on the Sikhs, the Panjab, and South Asian matters.

His current focus is on developing critical thinking for Sikh institutions via the State of the Panth report series and developing open-source decoding of Guru Granth Sahib in contemporary Panjabi and English for a global audience.

He has served on the National Conference on Community and Justice boards, The Fellowship of Activists to Embrace Humanity, The Nanakshahi Trust, among others. He looks for culturally-specific things to experience and a light roast pour-over coffee to sip during travels, reads and binge-watches to stay in touch with what the world is up to, and listens to sabads, poetry, Hir, jazz, and political rap.

Harinder Singh resides with his family in the United States.

Videos

Tuesday
,
1
June
2021

Session 2: Connecting Through Sabad

Session 2 - Connecting Through Sabad: Diveesh Singh, Jasleen Kaur, Kiran Kaur, and Satprit Kaur share transcreating techniques with the participants to strengthen their connection with Guru through Sabad.

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Tuesday
,
1
June
2021

1984: Ghallughara and I

Harinder Singh dives into the events of June and November 1984, the myths and realities of the attacks, their importance in a Sikh context, and a vision for the future that is rooted in progress and justice.

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Wednesday
,
26
May
2021

Harinder Singh speaks at The Sikh Forum Memorial Tribute

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Pushpindar Singh Chopra, Kamaljit Singh Ahluwalia and Jarnail Singh.

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Saturday
,
8
May
2021

Sikhs, Statecraft & Civil Society

This conversation touches upon lessons and guidance to the Sikh community on how to pursue advocacy, long-term strategies, and building coalitions via both positive and not-so-positive case studies from the Afghan-Sikh crisis to the Farmers movement.

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Wednesday
,
14
April
2021

Khalsa Inauguration, Indian Subcontinent & Freedom Solidarity

Watch the entire conversation on how the Khalsa inauguration on Vaisakhi day in 1699 infused the Sikhs and gave them a structure of ideas and institutions that continue to shape their lives both individually and collectively.

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Wednesday
,
31
March
2021

Sultan-ul-Duniya Wal-Akhirat: The Sovereign of the World and the Hereafter

Harinder Singh speaks about the Sikh historical narratives that live in the psyche of the Guru Khalsa Panth, the flag-bearers of the Sikh collective.

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Podcasts

Tuesday
,
9
June
2020

A Black Lives Matter Conversation — The Sikh Cast | SikhRI

The Sikh Cast is taking a close look at the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). The United States is in a moment of turmoil following the death of Minnesota resident George Floyd, leading to an outpouring of protests across the country. Manpreet Singh holds a spirited conversation with special guests Corey Winchester, Harinder Singh, SikhRI’s Senior Fellow on Research and Policy and, Asha Marie Kaur SikhRI’s Researcher on what the BLM movement means in education, policy and much more. Corey Winchester is a public educator in Evanston, Illinois with an MEd in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies. You can watch his TED talk on education and identity here: https://bit.ly/2MLToE8

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Friday
,
12
June
2020

Black Lives Matter & Sikhi: Harinder Singh – The Sikh Cast | SikhRI

The Sikh Cast Host has a one on one dialogue with Harinder Singh on how the Guru would deal with the Black Lives Matter Movement. They ask how can Sikhs around the world go beyond the protest and how do we explore it from the Sikhi lens.

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Tuesday
,
30
June
2020

Raj Karega Khalsa: The Khalsa & The Rule (ft. Harinder Singh) - The Sikh Cast | SikhRI

This episode of The Sikh Cast is from a live webinar recorded on June 29th, 2020. It features Senior Fellow Harinder Singh and The Sikh Cast host Manpreet Jassal, together they discuss the controversial sikh motto "Raj Karega Khalsa." They get into its usage from the 1700's to a modern context, discussing the how and the what of its meaning.

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Friday
,
21
August
2020

The Sikhs and The Panjab

73 years ago, two nation-states were carved by the British mapmaking: Hindustan and Pakistan. The historical Sikh Homeland in The Panjab was divided by the Radcliffe line. In now truncated Indian Panjab, a proportion of the Sikhs led many campaigns to fight for economic, political, state, human, and religious rights. What’s next to secure the Sikh aspirations and the Panjab’s autonomy?

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,

The Sikhs and The Panjab

73 years ago, two nation-states were carved by the British mapmaking: Hindustan and Pakistan. The historical Sikh Homeland in The Panjab was divided by the Radcliffe line. In now truncated Indian Panjab, a proportion of the Sikhs led many campaigns to fight for economic, political, state, human, and religious rights. What’s next to secure the Sikh aspirations and the Panjab’s autonomy?

watch now ⟶
,

Miri-Piri: The Political and Spiritual Paradigm

The principle of Miri-Piri is often encapsulated with the two crossed swords in today's Sikh consciousness, one representing the political spirit of the Sikhs and the other representing the spiritual.

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Articles

Tuesday
,
17
January
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 02: Yoga Disrupted

In the second composition of the “Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10” (popularly Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10) series, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib emphasizes union with the 1.

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Tuesday
,
10
January
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 01: Renunciation Redefined

In the first composition of the “Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10” (popularly Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10) series, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib redefines everything yogic. Yoga is reframed as the original idea of union or the connection with the 1.

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Thursday
,
5
January
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10

Multiple sources of knowledge, visits to historical places, and personal experiences to date fuel the deeper meanings of Sabad Hajare (popularly Shabad Hazare) attributed to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.

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Monday
,
12
September
2022

From Pothi to Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Arjan Sahib gifted the eventual Guru Granth Sahib to humanity. Why did the Guru envision it? How did the Guru compile it? What did the Guru curate?

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Sunday
,
31
July
2022

At Fifty, The Foot Falters

Personal reflections on wrestling with being ‘in the world’ but ‘not of the world’ while the why, what, and how ‘of the world’ keeps creeping in. 

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Tuesday
,
8
March
2022

Beadbi: Locating Irreverence amongst the Sikhs

In recent news and current events, “beadbi” has come to the forefront as a topic of discussion. But do we as Sikhs collectively understand what beadbi is, how it has been dealt with historically,...

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Presenting at Upcoming Events

Sun
,
Jan 12

Guru Nanak's Medicine for Life

Deakin University, Building LC

Join Harinder Singh as he discusses Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Medicine For Life.

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