SINGH
SABHA OF NEW YORK Inc.
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| Your Suggestions are invited via FEEDBACKSikhs
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| This annotated bibliography list, a subset derived from the
Adherents.com Religion in Literature database, is intended as a resource
for literary research. It lists mainstream science fiction novels
or short stories which contain references to Sikhs. It is not
necessarily a comprehensive list of such literature, but all Hugo- and
Nebula-winning novels have been indexed, as have many other major
works.
This is a very short list. Sikhism is one of the world's largest religions: Of the 12 "classical" world religions, Sikhism is the fifth largest -- smaller only than Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Islam. There are more Sikhs than Jews in the world, yet Jews abound in science fiction, while Sikhs are almost entirely unheard of. One of the main reasons why Sikhism is so infrequently referred to in science fiction is that it is a relatively new religion compared to longer-established Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Older religious groups are almost always more likely than newer ones to be mentioned in science fiction and historical fantasy. Another reason why Sikhs are rarely referred to in science fiction is that they are comparatively geographically isolated. Most Sikhs live in India, while most science fiction is written in the West. Jews have long lived predominantly in Western countries. But Sikhs continue to live predominantly in an Asian country which produces little English-language science fiction. It is true that Canada and the United Kingdom now have impressively large Sikh populations, but Canadian and British s.f. writers have written less frequently about contemporary religious groups (other than Christianity) than their American counterparts. Finally, there are no known English language science fiction writers who are Sikhs. Religious groups which are frequently mentioned in science fiction are often those which have many members as writers (e.g., Catholics, Jews, Latter-day Saints.)
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"I'm
a Sikh!" Singh's voice was almost... "My grandparents were
killed solely because they were Sikhs. As a consequence of this I have
never ceased to work for the establishment of a Sikh homeland in the
Punjab. My political activities put me at odds with the policies of the
U.S. government, and the FBI's been all over my... for years, and I
couldn't get a clearance." - from Days of Atonement by Walter Jon Williams |
Current number of novels, movies and stories on this page: 17.
| Author | Title | Approx. year |
Sample Quote and/or Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson | "The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound" in Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space. (Isaac Asimov, ed.) USA: Bluejay Books (1984) | 2400 | Pg. 85:
"Bring me the big map of Toka, Rajat Singh," said Alex.Pg. 86: "Well... the Hokas are unique. Only in the last few years have we really begun to probe their psychology. They're highly intelligent... and fantastically literal-minded. They have difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction, and since fiction is so much more colorful, they don't usually bother. Oh, my servant back at the office doesn't consciously believe he's a mysterious East Indian; but his subconscious has gone overboard for the role..." |
| John Brunner | Stand on Zanzibar. Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1968) | 2010 | Pg. 401:
When a burly turbaned Sikh [reporter] got in his way he hit him with the side of his hand and stepped over his falling body.In the Yatakang region of China, pg. 280: He was the only Caucasian in sight. Almost everyone else was of Asian extraction: local-born, or Chinese, or Burmese. There were some Sikhs at Post One... |
| Orson Scott Card & Kathryn H. Kidd | Lovelock. New York: Tor (1994) | 2075 | Aboard the "Ark", a massive colony ship en route to
colonize a nearby star system. Pg. 50:
Those groups [aboard the colony ship] with too few practitioners to maintain villages of their own--Baha'i, for instance, and Sikh, animist, atheist, Mormon, Mithraist, Druse, native American tribal religions, Jehovah's Witnesses--were either thrown together in a couple of catch-all villages or were 'adopted' as minorities within fairly compatible or tolerant villages of other faiths.[Referring to the reason for separating the colony ship into villages by faith group.] Pg. 51: A man might be a brilliant scientist, but he was still a Hindu, and there was no hope of him living peacefully with a Sikh... |
| Kim Stanley Robinson | Green Mars. New York: Bantam (1994) | 2110 | Pg. 327:
India has been interested, and went through the program with Sikhs in the Punjab... |
| Kim Stanley Robinson | Blue Mars. New York: Bantam Books (1996) | 2130 | Pg. 284:
Often the emigrants [to Mars] were members of ethnic or religious minorities who were dissatified with their lack of autonomy in their home countries, and so were happy to leave. In India the elevator cars of the cable that touched down at Suvadiva Atooll, south of the Maldives, were constantly at capacity, full of emigrants all day every day, a stream of Sikhs and Kashmiris and Muslims and also Hindus, ascending into space and moving to Mars. |
| Carl Sagan | Contact. New York: Simon & Schuster (1985) | 1999 | Pg. 271:
Organizations publicly claiming responsibility included the Earth-Firsters, the Red Army Faction, the Islamic Jihad..., the Sikh Separatists, Shining Path... |
| Robert J. Sawyer | The Terminal Experiment. New York: HarperCollins (1995) | 2011 | Pg. 12 (year 1995, in Canada):
Next to Peter, the perfusionist, a Sikh wearing a large green cap over his turban, scanned a series of readouts...Pg. 104 (year 2011, in Canada): ...Joginder Singh, his PR person, was adamant that this was the right approach... |
| Robert J. Sawyer | Calculating God New York: Tor (2000) | 1999 | In the first chapter an alien lands at a museum in Canada. A
Sikh works there as a security guard and talks to the alien briefly.
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| Dan Simmons | The Rise of Endymion New York: Bantam (1997) | 3130 | Two of the main characters met while working on the planet
Amritsar, a planet peopled by Sikhs and Sufis, far away from the
Catholic-run center of galactic civilization. Amritsar is mentioned in
recollections only. Sikhs are mentioned just once.
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| Neal Stephenson | Cryptonomicon (1999) | ? |
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| Walter Jon Williams | Days of Atonement. New York: Tor (1991) | 2010 | This novel has a major Sikh character and extensive references
to Sihism. Only one example provided here. Pg. 129:
"Ah." Singh smiled again. "Too much of the work here is classified. I can't get a security clearance." |
| Author | Title | Approx. year |
Sample Quote and/or Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Moore | Bayonets in the Sun. New York: St. Martin's Press (1978; first pub. 1974) | 1848 | There are many other references to Sikhs throughout this
historical novel, which is about the Sikh war of 1848-49 in India.
Nearly every page mentions Sikhs, although usually in reference to Sikhs
as opponents in a war, not in reference to the religion. Example, pg.
34:
It was at about the time of the Spanish Armada--an event which made no impact on contemporary India--that the iron entered the soul of the Sikhs. Up to that time they had been a peaceful, devout Hindu sect following the teachings of devout gurus. But when the Muslim Emperor Jahangir tortured and executed their leader, his successor, Guru Hargobind, spurned the hereditary necklace symbol. In future, he announced, his sword belt would serve in its place. He proceeded to crreate a force resembling the Knights Templar and led them against the Mogul emperors until his death. |
| Author | Title | Approx. year |
Sample Quote and/or Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Barnes | Mother of Storms. New York: Tor (1994) | 2028 | Pg. 171:
And Admiral Singh on the Bush seems to think the carrier group can ride it out and still make it to Pearl. |
| Arthur C. Clarke | The Fountains of Paradise. New York: Ballantine (1980; 1st ed. 1978) | 2160 | Pg. 179:
And even if his number was not known, the standard search program could usually find it fairly quickly, given the approximate date of his birth... (There were, however, problems if the name was Smith, or Singh, or Mohammed.) |
| J. R. Dunn | "Long Knives" in Writers of the Future: Volume III (Algis Budrys, ed.). Los Angeles: Bridge Publications (1987) | 1937 | Pg. 164-165:
"Desertions. Somebody split from the Tokyo office yesterday." He looked them over, one by one. "I don't have to tell you that if anybody tried that here I'll track them down. You'll be sitting pu the line in a cell next to Singh, I guarantee it."...See also pg. 166 |
| Mary Doria Russell | The Sparrow. New York: Ballantine (1996) | 2060 | Father Singh is a Catholic clergyman, but, based on his name,
possibly has a Sikh family background. He is an important character in
the book. Example, pg. 44:
So the Society brough in Father Singh, an Indian craftsman known for his intricate braces and artificial limbs, who fabricated a pair of near-prostheses to strengthen and help control Sandoz's fingers. |
| William Gibson | Virtual Light. New York: Bantam (1993) | 2005 | In California. Pg. 234:
...said that the manager, Benny Singh, was going to be showing up and they couldn't stay in there anymore... |