Arts, cultural heritage and practices of solidarity: British Sikh response to the Indian farmers’ protest (2020-2021)

This talk explores the artistic contributions to the Indian farmers protest of 2020-2021 within the British Sikh diaspora, looking specifically at the relationship between arts, activism and politics of identity in the diasporic context . While the protest—one of the largest mobilisations in the history of independent India—drew participation from farmers across several states, Sikh farmers from Punjab and Haryana played a prominent role in movement, sparking a strong response from Sikhs abroad. In the UK, several Sikh groups organised and/or participated in rallies, fundraising initiatives, and creative interventions (for example online music events) in support of Indian farmers. Many artists also contributed to the cause by creating original art pieces, often referencing key Sikh values as well as landmark moments of oppression and resistance in the (post)colonial history of India, and Punjab in particular, which are core elements of narratives of collective memory and identity in the community.

Looking at a selection of artworks created by British Sikh artists, and drawing upon interviews conducted with artists and activists in the UK, I explore the entanglement between mnemonic repertoires, intangible cultural heritage, creativity, and the protest and their impact on the British Sikh diasporic imagination. Following Rushdie’s suggestion that “redescribing the world is the necessary step towards changing it” (1992), I propose that these artistic practices intervene in affective relationships to an (imagined) homeland while also opening up new spaces and practices of imagination, solidarity and collective agency. This research is funded by a 2023-2024 British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant.

Dr Clelia Clini is a Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Media and Culture at London Metropolitan University, where she is the founder and co-chair of the South Asian Studies Research Group. She is also Visiting Fellow in Postcolonial Memory in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough University. She is currently working on the project Arts for Solidarity: A First Mapping of Sikh Creative Response to the Indian Farmers’ Protest in the UK, funded by a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant, looking at the role of arts in the promotion transnational solidarity. She has edited collections and published journal articles and book chapters in the field of South Asian diasporic literature and cinema; Indian popular cinema; cultural memories of the 1947 Partition of British India in the UK; forced displacement, creativity and wellbeing. Clelia is in the Editorial Board of South Asian Diaspora (Taylor and Francis); EASAS-HASP (European Association for South Asian Studies and Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing) publication series and Empirical Museum Experiences, Studies in Cultural Heritage Impact.