Representations of Identity: the Sikhs’ Struggle in Northern Italy

Italy is not a country associated with Indian migration at first, but in the past 40 years, there has been a recent and fast-growing Sikh migration that may well change the odds. They have been building a strong and new community in the northern provinces of Italy including Cremona, Mantua, Brescia, Bergamo and more. At this very moment, a new generation of Sikhs are starting to look for work opportunities in Italy or abroad. Some of them have been born in Italy, but the great majority of this new generation was born in India and raised from childhood in one of the rural areas in the north of Italy. These young adults may face a struggle defining their representation of identity probably more than the older generation. After some years living in a foreign country, or after having all of one’s childhood in a new land, one may adopt different customs or even develop an alternative way of life, which could represent another identity. In a land, rich with customs and traditions, recognizable behaviors and religious inclination towards Catholicism such as Italy, one may be faced with the reality of representing a different or more than one identity. Being Indian, Being Italian or Being Transnational might simply be a constant struggle in the life of those ‘Italian-Sikhs’. Italy is known for its authentic food, emotional language, religious tendency, and romantic culture, conversely also lately for its economic struggle along with Greece and Spain. But what happens when a group of migrant coming from a vibrant culture such as Indians with tasty food, colorful languages, fascinating religions and an exotic culture enters into this society. How can a Sikh cope with the orientalist perspective, the pride or the comparison with other religious groups when adopting an Indian representation of identity? Can a Sikh behave with an Italian representation of identity through adaptation, respect of the language and likeness of the food? Or is it simply a transnational representation of identity when one is faced with the difference with the ‘other’ and the acknowledgment that the best of both cultures is necessary to go on in Italy? This article is not meant to define ‘what’ is an Indian, an Italian or a transnational person. However, it aims at defining how one represents themselves by adopting one or many aspects associated with one representation or another in a brief overview of an interesting community that has slowly become an economic successful integration story in the Italian society.