Courses
Sikhi and the Political: An Introduction to Sikh Political Thought
A plain-English introduction to the idea that Sikhi is not a withdrawn, otherworldly religion but a tradition that joins the spiritual and the worldly. Drawing on Sirdar Kapur Singh's writings, the course explains how Sikh thought holds spiritual freedom and a just social order together, why this matters for…
Sikh Economic Ethics: Dasvandh, Langar, and Justice in the Marketplace
This course argues that ਦਸਵੰਧ and ਲੰਗਰ are not merely devotional customs but the operational core of a complete economic philosophy — one that predates and transcends both socialism and capitalism. Drawing on Gurbani, the Sikh institutional tradition, and comparative political economy, students examine how the integrated triad of ਕਿਰਤ ਕਰਨੀ, ਵੰਡ ਛਕੋ, and ਨਾਮ ਜਪੋ produces a system in which honest labour is sanctified, surplus is voluntarily redistributed, and the dignity of the poor is structurally protected. Across twelve lessons we trace the theology of tithing, the working mechanics of the communal kitchen, Gurbani's critique of ਲੋਭ and hoarding, and the vision of ਹਲੇਮੀ ਰਾਜ as a polity of justice. We compare Gurmat economics rigorously against socialism, capitalism, and libertarianism, showing where each converges and diverges, and we ask what a contemporary Gurmat economic vision — grounded in ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ — might offer a world of widening inequality and ecological strain…
Gurbani and Political Ideologies: Socialism, Nationalism, and the Halemi Raj Vision
This upper-division seminar examines how ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ relates to the major political ideologies that organize the modern world — socialism, communism, liberalism, progressivism, conservatism, nationalism, oligarchy, and nativism. Its governing thesis is that Gurmat does not align with any earthly political party; it transcends and critiques them all. The Gurus' vision of ਹਲੇਮੀ ਰਾਜ — the realm of humility — is neither capitalist nor socialist, neither nationalist nor globalist. Each ideology carries a fragment of truth that Gurmat affirms and a fatal flaw that Gurmat rejects. Through close reading of ਜਪੁਜੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ਆਨੰਦ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ਸੁਖਮਨੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ, and the Sikh political tradition of ਮਿਸਲਾਂ and Khalsa Raj, students learn to evaluate political programs against the standard of ਨਿਆਉ (justice), ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ (welfare of all), and the ਸੰਤ-ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ideal. The course is deliberately non-partisan: it equips Sikhs to be principled participants in any polity without surrendering Gurmat to the categories of left or right. We end by sketching a Gurmat political ethics adequate to the twenty-first century…
Sikhs and the Modern State: Citizenship, Rights, and the Panth in a Secular Age
This course is a calm, balanced survey of how Sikhs live as citizens of modern states. We look at the questions that come up when a faith born in a very different age meets constitutions, courts, parliaments, and the idea of a religion-neutral government. What does citizenship ask of a Sikh, and what may a Sikh…
Sikh Political Ethics: Power, Service, and Accountability
A capstone course on the ethics of power seen through Gurmat. Having finished the other politics courses, you already know the Sikh story and its institutions. Here we ask the harder, more practical question: what makes the use of power right or wrong? In plain English but with graduate-level care, we treat…
