A critique of Religion and the Specter of the West: Sikhism, India, Postcoloniality, and the Politics of Translation by Douglas Tennant

RS 398 – Directed Reading Course – book critique.  .

Douglas Tennant BSc, BA, CMMIII, 

Instructor:  Dr. Doris Jakobsh

March 14, 2018

Religion and the Specter of the West: Sikhism, India, Postcoloniality, and the Politics of Translation, by Arvind-Pal Singh. Mandair. Columbia University Press: New York, 2009. 516 pages. Critiqued by Douglas Tennant.

A critique of Religion and the Specter of the West: Sikhism, India, Postcoloniality, and the Politics of Translation.

Introduction

            Sikhism, Sikh ontotheology, postcolonial theory, and other theoretical, politico-philosophical attachments concomitant to the ‘translation’ of Sikh scripture, are the foundational focal points analysed against the significant haunting influence of European colonialism in this study by Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair. Mandair is an associate professor of Asian languages and cultures and professor of Sikh Studies at the University of Michigan. He left the chemicals industry and the scientific study of superconductors to pursue a career pathway of studies in the humanities and explore the history of religion in general and the philosophical hermeneutics of Sikh scripture in particular. In this study, Mandair relies upon an exceptional array of theories, including, but not limited to, continental philosophy of religion (religious/secular, West/non-West perspectives), and postcolonial theory, and a broadly based history of religions to explore the culminating theme of ‘what if religio remained untranslatable’ (429) or more succinctly, can South Asian religions (e.g. Sikhism) become and be sustained as a universal (world religion) and assume membership, in the future, in what Mandair calls an evolving ‘global fiduciary’. In another sense, Mandair applies theoretical material from an amazing array of philosophers and scholars including, but certainly not limited to, G.W.F. Hegel, J. Derrida, M. Heidegger, I. Kant, R.T. McCutcheon, S. Žižek, Bhai Vir Singh, Max Macaullife and W.H. McLeod to explore the philosophical and ontotheological connectedness of global cultures and knowledge formations in general and more specifically “how the effects of [the aforementioned various Eurocentric] theor[ies] can be altered [or utilised] when performed in sites of (de)colonization, one of which is religion” (xv) in comparison to the shadow of western colonialism.

Mandair’s study, as an academic exercise, is philosophically profound from this undergraduate reviewer’s perspective. Except for excerpts that are presented in a familiar historiographical textbook format, much of the profoundness and applicability of the theoretical content of the study is unfortunately ‘lost’ to this reviewer. From the preface, through the extended introduction, the main body of the study, and the endnotes, Mandair relies heavily upon deep and incessant use of philosophical arguments/theories to explore such themes as the development of religion and nationalism (Hinduism/Sikhism) within north India from the mid- eighteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries; the effects of European (British and German) colonialism and subsequent post-colonial circumstances on the development and re-development of reforms promulgated by the native elites concerning religion/theology/ontology; the exploration of the non-dual One versus the One of monotheism (especially the use of ontotheology and the classification of determinate religions within civilisation); and the colonial reconfiguring of language and religio-politics.

Mandair is notably adept at splaying open the colonial/historiographical aspects of the development of Sikhism (theology/language) in the chapter entitled “Sikhism and the Politics of Religion Making”. Amongst this chapter’s treasure trove of Sikhi, Mandair provides a thorough environmental scanning of the north Indian reform societies of the late eighteenth, glimpses into native elites Sikh theology (including a commentary from Bhai Vir Singh), Sikh identity, ethics and  the evolution of Sikhism as a ‘world religion’. His presentation on the background and negative impact (as expressed by Sikhs) of Ernest Trumpp’s translation of the Sikh scriptures, (Adi Granth), and the academic historiographic efforts of M. Macauliffe was elucidating. In extremely stark contrast to his straightforward writing about Sikhi and Hinduism, the historiography of sacred sound and the duality of oral/writing concept,  Mandair presents a not insignificantly voluminous and densely packed section about continental philosophy of religion (with sprinkles of Deism and the Enlightenment) through the lens of Hegel, Edward Said, and Schelling. Moreover, he intersperses this pithy material with scholarly flavours from K. Marx, I. Kant, and many others in this section and throughout his work. Mandair also expends considerable effort to explore the ‘decolonizing of post secular theory’ and its impact and influence on South Asian religions, such as Sikhism. Presenting Sikhism as a universal or particular in itself, he asserts that Sikhs have the social licence to “feel confident again about asserting ancient and very practical notions of freedom and action based on the nondual One…” (430) and under which they are beginning to take their place as constitutive heterogeneric members of the “future global society” (ibid).

Mandair’s study is a most difficult, often tedious read. It is rife with pockets of clarity, such as the topics of the first translation by Ernest Trumpp of the Adi Granth or the efforts of the Singh Sabha/native elites as they dealt with the tendrils of influence by European colonialism. These pockets are then juxtaposed against the most opaque and circuitous articulations concerning Hegelian theory of religion this reader has ever experienced.  Mandair’s study is certainly comprehensive at just over 500 pages, however, in relation to the academic experience and appreciation of an average undergraduate religious studies student, the gist of most of his philosophical/humanities arguments (especially on the translation and re-translation of Sikhi), and commentaries on other theories (the decolonization of post secular theory) or academic concepts and themes (such as the intermixing of geo-politics and/or monism versus monotheism) are difficult to unpack. Again, in contrast, his detailed exposé of the impact, indeed the specter, of the colonial idiom on the efforts/work of the native elites of South Asia (north India in particular) and the concomitant ontotheological analysis of the development/re-development of the Sikh (world) religion is stellar.

Mandair is adept at presenting information about any particular topic; however, from my perspective, he proceeds to then shroud what he is attempting to convey through the extreme utilisation of ‘high falutin’ theoretically based verbiage with associated superfluous adjectives. Vast swaths of his work are practically inaccessible due to the fantastical language utilised. His constant use of voluminously convoluted sentence structures severely detracted this reader from being successful in apprehending the intent of many of his posits. This is especially notable in Mandair’s effort to re-examine “Hegel’s texts on India and Indian religion from the perspective of his Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion” (110). Notwithstanding the negative aspects noted above, Mandair is extremely proficient in organising his work. The content within each chapter is clearly laid out and covered off. He is wonderfully methodical in setting out a postulation/question and then meticulously addressing them using excellent literary devices. Unfortunately, again, it is the depth, and to a certain extent, the breadth of his arguments and justifications that significantly detract the reader (at least this one) from sometimes even realising that he has completed making his point.

While I expected to learn much about Sikhism in this study, I was pleasantly unprepared for the depth and breadth of the Sikhi presented by Mandair. I expected the standard fare analysis of the historical development of Sikhism and, based upon the title, perhaps a unique assessment of the ‘dark’ influence that European colonialism had on the Punjab/north India in general and Sikhs in particular. Mandair also presented a comprehensive review of the imbrication of Sikhism and Hinduism, especially in comparison of the impacts and influence of colonialism on these two faiths traditions and the subsequent reactionary ontotheological efforts of native elites. Notwithstanding my expectations, I was not prepared for the intensely theoretical and detailed analysis that Mandair has assembled in this book. His extremely thorough analysis and arguments regarding the dark imposition of Eurocentric ideologies (religious, political, and otherwise) on the indigenous populations in north India shook me into a more active awareness of this situation. This was due to the recurring theme of the native elites being both self-compelled and not so subtly coerced to translate or re-develop their religions to conform to Western ideals rooted in Christendom. Of course, I was aware of the ‘influence’ of colonialism on north India faith traditions having just reviewed H. Oberoi’s work, The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition, but Mandair provided a more comprehensive and detailed historiographical and political examination of this topic.

Recently I expanded my awareness and knowledge of Sikhism by reviewing (i) Kamala Nayar’s findings of her study of the adaptation to life in Canada of the Sikh community of Vancouver in her book The Sikh Diaspora in Vancouver: Three Generations Amid Tradition, Modernity, and Multiculturalism and (ii) Harjot Oberoi’s analysis regarding the construction and evolution of Sikhism from its early form to its twentieth century structure. This study by Mandair is much more expansive and reconnoitres with a greater depth of exploration into the historiographical and ontotheological development of Sikhism, all the while providing insight into the present day and future status of Sikhism, in an evolving religio-political post secular era within the pantheon of world religions.

In addition to the comprehensive and much valued glossary of Indic terms, and the forty seven pages of endnotes, it would be advantageous to just about any reader that Mandair provide an equally valuable concomitant lexis of key terms about social science theories, philosophy, linguistics, the humanities, and religio.

A positive literary construct that Mandair utilises frequently and somewhat effectively throughout his work entails immediately re-stating and parsing quotes or pronouncements by others to enable the reader to better understand how Mandair was desiring to use the ‘thought’  in his study. Mandair is adept at using the above technique to question, often mid-chapter, to work and re-work material in order to tease out seemingly insignificant points for discussion and analysis. An example of this is found in Mandair’s analysis of the academic historian W.H. McLeod. According to McLeod, his approach to studying Sikhs was strictly from an historical perspective, eschewing theological attachments.  Mandair adeptly demonstrates that McLeod did, not so subtly, incorporate Sikh theology into his historical work on Sikhs (246 - 252).

Some of my particular expectations that were surpassed by Mandair include the three following themes of (i) translation, (ii) the eminence of Sikh theology, and (iii) sacred sound. An intriguing nugget of interest in Mandair’s study was his elucidation on the background and subsequent ontotheological and political ‘to-ing and fro-ing’ related to the first English translation of the Adi Granth by Trumpp and his treatise, Sketch of the Religion of the Sikhs, and the subsequent rebuttal(s) by Macauliffe (185-204). This affair is a singular instance of many of the major influences that European colonialism had on Sikhism. Mandair is methodical in his analysis and presentation of how Sikhs rejected Trumpp’s treatise and how Macauliffe’s efforts were viewed as a “corrective to Trumpp’s potentially damaging work” (198).

  The review by Mandair of the ‘wars of [Sikh] scholarship’ in his study, include a reflection on the efforts and advocacy of W. H. McLeod to “ensure the transmission of knowledge about Sikhism into the [Western] university and its representation from there to the outside world” (243). Indeed, Mandair affirms his desire to “resituate [McLeod’s] work in relation to wider debates in the theoretical study of religions and in relation to the question of ideology in the humanities and social sciences” (249).

An entire chapter is presented by Mandair on the ‘ideologies of sacred sound’. His analysis entails a detailed examination of the concept of sabda-guru (the Word as Guru, in the Sikh scriptures) in contrast to and within the context of Western influence (humanism and hermeneutics), the primacy of orality over writing, Sikh ontotheology, Vedic linguistic theory and history, and the practicality of Sikhism’s nam simaran as a politico-theological concept (378).

I recommend that those who have an inclination to study Hinduism should peruse this study to be exposed to Mandair’s insights into the ontotheological development of Hinduism/Hindi/Hindu from the Vedic era through to the modern age. Indeed, a religious studies post-doctoral student may desire to review Mandair’s study to hone their comprehension skills through a philosophical lens regarding the influence of Western ideologies on South Asian religions. Additionally, for those interested in the conflation of religion and politics (nationalism) in north India, Mandair provides a straightforward assessment of the events and outcomes related to the creation of Hindi and Urdu in the latter part of the nineteenth century and up through the turbulence and violence of partition and the ‘return of religion’ and Operation Blue Star (48).

            Throughout Mandair’s study, I acknowledge that I in fact did slumber. (The exact points in the book are identifiable by the slithering ink stains). Contrastingly, there were some passages of his study wherein after reading, and re-reading them several times, I experienced an autonomic exclamatory outburst as I literally could not comprehend what was being presented. I would take the opportunity during a conversation with the author to advise him to scale back considerably on his utilisation of uber academese. I would impress upon the author that if this book were to have been written at the undergraduate level, the comprehension and application of terms and, in turn, the arguments and conclusions would be more effective.

The author has assumed that the reader of the study would have comprehensive and authoritative academic knowledge of a wide spectrum of the humanities including, but not limited to, philosophy, political science, history of the Enlightenment, geo-politics of north India, linguistics, and the use of strong rhetorical devices. Without this assumed level of academic knowledge, a great deal of the author’s work is unintelligible. To this end, it is my opinion that it is not reasonable to assume that an undergraduate would have expert knowledge in all of these fields of study to be fully engaged in and follow Mandair’s arguments. One or two of the topics at a time would be manageable. However, when Mandair references, in one sentence, the comparative imaginary of the West/non-West, the debate that occurred between Hegel and Schelling regarding varying perspectives in art, history, theology and the relationship to Indology, the influence of South Asian religions and the theorization of religion through an encounter with Indology respecting what Western philosophers held in terms of a European self-consciousness as essentially Christian (127), there is a disconnect to being able to follow his arguments. I am not saying that Mandair’s arguments at times are flawed or incorrect, they are so convoluted and densely packed with terms, theories and ‘assumed to have knowledge’ that they are hard to follow.

            Mandair intended to and has met his mark of producing a remarkable philosophically oriented study of Sikhism. He has demonstrated the detailed evolution (construction) of Sikhism, and to an appreciable extent Hinduism, from the time of Guru Nanak through to our current era with its status as a world religion or universal. He explored and presented the morphological and cyclical changes that Sikhism was cajoled, nudged, and at times coerced into making under the haunting influence of colonialism, all the while it was also manipulating and creating change, or co-contaminating as Mandair puts it (435), on the West. The academic finesse of Mandair has definitively shown that the politics of ‘translation’, in the postcolonial sense, works both ways and co-contaminates both the colonized and the colonizer across the world stage.

Works Cited

Nayar, Kamala. The Sikh Diaspora in Vancouver: Three Generations Amid Tradition, Modernity, and Multiculturalism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004.

Oberoi, Harjot. The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994.