A journey to Punjab, here and there, and Sikh identity in Birmingham

Identity, location and network are intertwined concepts that have always been difficult to define or observe in modern transnational study. How self-identification has become muddled in a world where individuals can shift their cultural, religious or geographical identity to their current location, is of interest. Sikhs, with modern conditions such as the reinforcement of the communicational network, are able to reinvent the concepts that influence their identity and behaviours in different localities. This paper presents how traveling to the homeland and back may engage a Sikh in new locational networks and play on one’s personal identification. In the meantime, those who are connected with Sikh values outside Punjab, the homeland, can feel various degrees of influence, either closer to their Sikh origin or to their British nationality, on their personal views of themselves, and this despite the growing network connections with Punjab in this modern age.