Kanika Singh, The Story of a Sikh Museum: Heritage, Politics and Popular Culture

New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2025, pp. 226.

Authors

Keywords:

Archives, Sikh identity, Visual representation

Abstract

The Story of a Sikh Museum: Heritage, Politics and Popular Culture examines the Bhai Mati Das Museum in Delhi as a “devotional archive” that shapes Sikh collective memory. The author situates the museum at the intersection of art history, religious practice, and museum studies, showing how visual culture, patronage, and exhibition practices construct Sikh historical narratives. Drawing on fieldwork, interviews, and visual analysis, the book demonstrates how realist paintings, institutional sponsorship, and selective historiography generate identity, devotion, and political meaning. It highlights museums as dynamic and contested spaces where faith, heritage, and modern politics intersect in contemporary India.

Author Biographies

Anusree Dey, School of Liberal Studies, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi

Anusree Dey is a graduate student with a keen interest in gender studies and political theory. Her work engages with questions of power, ideology, and the politics underlying political systems, examining how gender and politics intersect in shaping social realities.

Keerthana Girish, School of Liberal Studies, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi

Keerthana Girish is a graduate student of history. She believes history must move beyond victor-centric narratives to include marginalised cultures and silenced voices, and through research and writing aims to challenge traditional boundaries and contribute to a more inclusive, nuanced understanding of the past.

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Published

06-01-2026

How to Cite

Dey, Anusree, and Keerthana Girish. 2026. “Kanika Singh, The Story of a Sikh Museum: Heritage, Politics and Popular Culture: New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2025, Pp. 226”. Reading the Archive 1 (2, December):1-3. https://readingarchive.janastu.org/ria/article/view/95.

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2, December (2025): Winter Issue

Section

BOOK REVIEWS

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Copyright (c) 2025 Anusree Dey, Keerthana Girish

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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