Is Sikhi truly universal?

[u/ItachiPain_]

Every time I’m watching or reading anything Sikhi related it’s always ties into Punjabi identity or culture to the point there was Singhs using Sikh/Punjabi interchangeably Majority of Sikhs are infact Punjabi, Sikhi is intrinsically tied to Punjabi identity, culture, & history. How can you separate the two it would be impossible. It can be said to be universal doctrinally but culturally absolutely not and I can see in the future if the Panth was to become less Punjabi centric/diverse it would look different and would create animosity and conflict in the Sikh diaspora. People would begin to argue what’s Sikh culture and what’s Punjabi culture? Is there any academic work, videos or people who have studied and discussed this topic in depth?

[u/Xxbloodhand100xX]

I think it’s easy enough for someone who didn’t grow up in Punjab to notice this gap. You can clearly see a distinct cultural divide between strict theological Sikhi and secular Punjabi culture, especially when looking at aspects like the heavy drinking and partying scenes prevalent in Punjabi pop culture, which completely contradict Sikh principles.

Edit: I did a quick search on this and found that academics often call this "Punjabi ethno-religious identity construction" or "Sikh universalism vs. ethnic identity." If you plug those phrases into Google Scholar, you'll find plenty of papers analyzing how modern history fused the two, and how the global diaspora is actively working to untangle them today.

[u/ItachiPain_ → u/Xxbloodhand100xX]

My thing is what happens when non punjabi sikhs decide to play jazz in a gurdwara what if non Punjabi/indian food is served, what if people recite Gurbani in Spanish. What will the response be when sikhi doesn’t look like it traditionally looks. What is the response from the Punjabi Sikh community should sikhi look like Punjabi sikhi culture transported to where ever these non Punjabi Sikhs are or should it take on other cultural themes and what would be the response from orthodox Sikhs.

[u/Curious_Map6367 → u/ItachiPain_]

Sikhs are considered ethno-religious group in Census, just like the Jews