India, April 7 -- What was the immediate driving force behind The Sikh Next Door?

Being a Sikh myself, I have always felt a gap between images defining the community and the people behind them. Dominant narratives and media constructions have created stereotypes which prevent a more detailed and nuanced understanding of the people around whom they revolve. The normative created through them prevents cognizance of the heterogeneity and the different social strands within the community. Having lived outside Punjab all my life, these discrepancies have seemed more stark.

I got an opportunity to make a concerted study around the community through a post-doctoral project. Exploring existing research on the community provided many answers but...