Sikhs in Continental Europe
(From Norway to Greece and Russia to Portugal)

Reviewed by: Dr. Hardev Singh Virk,
Professor of Eminence, SGGS World University,
Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab (India).

Author: Swarn Singh Kahlon, Chandigarh
Publisher: Manohar Publisher, New Delhi
Year of Publication: 2020; Pages 365; Price. Rs. 1795/- (Hard Bound)

Swarn Singh Kahlon is an avid traveller with a mission to explore Sikh diaspora all over the globe. His first book: "Sikhs in Latin America" was published in 2012; Second one "Sikhs in Asia Pacific: Travels among the Sikh Diaspora from Yangon to Kobe" in 2016, and this is the third in the Series. The book under review is divided into 21 chapters followed by 10 appendices. It explores Sikh diaspora in 17 countries of Continental Europe in as many chapters. The author has followed the same style of writing as adopted in his other two volumes, i.e. tracing the history of Sikh migration followed by case histories recorded in each Chapter. The author shows maturity after writing two books and his story telling has improved a lot in this volume. I am happy to note that his better-half, Livleen Kahlon, has assisted him in recording interviews of Sikh migrants.

The author begins the text with a brilliant Introduction which reads like a Ph.D. thesis on Sikh migration throughout the globe. He gives chronology of Sikh migration from Guru period uptill present times. He has tabulated data retrieved from authentic sources and projected the figure of 20 Lakhs (2 million) for Sikh migration globally. The author has tried to project the basis of Sikh migration from both historic and economic perspectives.

All seventeen countries of Continental Europe have been covered in an alphabetical order. Chapter 1 relates the story of Sikh migration to Austria, a small country in the centre of Europe with a population of 8.5 million, which is less than the population of any Indian big city. Sikh migration started during sixties of last century using Austria as a transit point. It increased during 1990s. Presently, there are 10,000 Sikhs in Austria with 50% living in Vienna region.