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.
Idol worship is practiced in many traditions around the world. In Sikhi, however, the Divine is infinite and cannot be confined to any shape or form.
In the Sikh tradition, the Amrit Ceremony is the initiation into the Khalsa, a path of full declaration to the Divine and service to humanity.
A Gurduara is a Sikh place of both worship and learning, originally called Dharamsal, serving as a sanctuary rooted in principles of equality and care.
The vision was far more about action. Guru Nanak saw that while many kings, sovereigns, and emperors spoke of equality, respect and dignity, their policies didn’t reflect those principles.
Join Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur as they reflect on the life and legacy of Jaswant Singh Khalra, popular narratives around him, and the lesser-known facts about his work.
In Sikhi, free will exists within a larger Divine framework. Imagine a picture frame: you choose what to place inside but cannot change the frame itself. You don’t get to change cosmic laws or physical laws.
There is a deeply profound sentiment tied to martyrdom in Sikhi as well as in many other faiths groups. Throughout the ages, we have seen challenging circumstances of oppression that have chosen to desecrate the bodies of those who address it.
In this conversation, we discuss the Sikh context of what Guru is, “Gurgaddi” as the enthronement to the status of the Guru in Sikh tradition, and how the eternal co-Guruship came about by the Command of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib to Granth-Panth.
Listen as Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur explore Miri-Piri from a Gurmat (Guru’s Way) perspective, as inferred from Bani (wisdom), Tavarikh (history), and Rahit (lifestyle). Event moderated by Manvinder Kaur.
Join Harinder Singh and Manpreet Singh as they discuss 1984 and explore its parallels with human rights movements today.
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.
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.
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.
I remember when Guru Nanak became real to me. I discovered the genius of child Nanak in and around Nanakana Sahib.
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,...
As the world becomes more interconnected, we understand how some have an abundance of monetary wealth, and others do not, and the more we understand the various needs unaddressed in our backyards and abroad.
What is the Guru’s grandeur? Why was the Guru martyred? How did the two contemporary texts document the Guru’s narrative?
Miri comes from Perso-Arabic “Amir” or “Emir” and signals political power. Piri comes from the Perso-Arabic “Pir” and signals spiritual power. Miri-Piri encapsulates the Political-Spiritual doctrine in Sikhi, rooted in both the worldly and the timeless...
Experience an afternoon of inspiring stories, meaningful conversation, and a collective vision for a brighter future. Together, let’s build a lasting impact.