The University of Oxford has appointed Dr. Jaskiran Kaur Bhogal to the newly established Guru Nanak Stipendiary Research Fellowship at Wolfson College, effective February 2025. This fellowship aims to advance research on the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, and is part of a broader initiative to enhance the study of Sikh heritage and culture within academic circles.
Dr. Bhogal holds a BSc in Economics and both an MSc and PhD in Anthropology from the London School of Economics. Her research focuses on how Sikhs in Britain navigate their spiritual and cultural identities, particularly through practices related to childbirth, child-rearing, and homemaking. By examining these aspects, she aims to explore the preservation of intangible heritage rooted in Punjab’s historical and spiritual context.
The establishment of this fellowship was made possible through significant fundraising efforts led by the Punjabi Sikh community in the UK, notably with contributions from the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall. The fellowship represents a pivotal step towards addressing the academic gap in Sikh studies at Oxford, which has historically focused on other major world religions.
This initiative is expected to foster greater understanding and appreciation of Sikh philosophy and its contemporary relevance, while also strengthening ties between Oxford University and the Indian diaspora.
