What Makes a Man?: Exploring Masculinity in Sikhi

SikhRI connects people with the teachings of Sikhi and strengthens the bonds of the Sikh community around the world by offering courses and seminars in a variety of mediums.

Manvinder Kaur Gill is a researcher and social worker whose work is centred on culture, colonialism, and health. She holds a BSc. and a BA (hons.) from the University of Winnipeg. Her MA thesis in religious studies from McMaster University explored the relationship between alcohol and Sikhi. She has held research fellowships at Delhi University and the University of Victoria. She recently completed her Master of Social Work at the University of Toronto where she held a SSHRC scholarship and research assistantship on a project titled “Border(ing) Practices: Systemic Racism, Immigration, and Child Welfare.” Manvinder has clinical experience working with children and families, 2SLGBTQ+ people, and immigrant and refugee communities.

She is the co-founder of Asra: The Punjabi Alcohol Resource (asranow.ca), a youth-led grassroots initiative bringing her research into practice through knowledge translation and peer support for Punjabi-speaking communities. She currently works in Punjab, India as a research associate for MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab on a project centered on improving opioid addiction prevention protocols in Punjabi high schools in collaboration with the Government of Punjab and UC Berkeley.

Santbir Singh is a Research Associate with SikhRI. He is currently doing his Ph.D. in Sociology at York University. His graduate research focuses on Sikh activism and the inherent relationship between Sikhi and anarchism explored through historical and contemporary study of Sikh governance models, especially the Sarbat Khalsa.

Santbir Singh has served as an educator and activist in the Sikh community for over two decades. He continues to cultivate a deeper relationship with Sabad Guru while focusing on Sikh inspirations for social activism, feminism, and decolonization through a multifaceted critical analysis using different schools of thought and tradition.

Santbir Singh is a facilitator at Sidak and an alumnus of Sidak 2012. He lives on Wendat, Anishinabek, Haudenosaunee, Mississauga, Hiawatha, Alderville & Métis Territory on Williams Treaties land (colonially known as Toronto), Canada, with his wonderful wife, incredible children, and wild dog.