Caste & Race

Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI), a leading organization dedicated to promoting Sikh education and values, has published its tenth research report in the State of the Panth series titled Caste & Race. This report delves into the complexities of caste and race within a Sikh worldview, exploring their intertwined developments and the varied responses from dominant and marginalized groups.

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Caste and race have been linked together since the inception of the word “caste.” In the 17th century, Portuguese colonials coined the term “caste” — deriving from “casta,” which means “race, lineage, or breed” — to refer to the system of social codification witnessed during their exploration of South Asia.

Historically and currently, social prescriptions and categorizations deriving from caste and race have been used to wield power over groups of people deemed as the “other.” Though the caste system stems from ancient Hindu scripture, codified in the Manusmriti, or Laws of Manu, caste-based discrimination has taken on plural and varied forms in social and cultural practices across space and time.

How did the Sikh Gurus address injustices stemming from caste and race?
How does IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One) transcend and subvert this notion of the “other”?