This is a brief summary about Harjot Oberoi's book from the following reference.

Fighting for Faith and Nation, Dialogues with Sikh Militants, Cynthia Keppley Mahmood, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996 ISBN 0-8122-3361-1, Call number DS485.P88M25

Harjot Oberoi holds a chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He wrote a book "The Construction of Religious Boundaries" about Sikh indentity which was published in 1994. The theme of this book is the historical pluralism and the Sikh tradition and the amorphous boundaries betweem Sikhs and non-Sikhs until the early 1900s.

This book won a prestigious award from the American Academy of Religion. Response from North American Sikh community was swift. An entire volume of critical response call "The Invasion of Religious Boundaries" was published.

For those interested in demonstrating the separateness of the Sikh "nation", Oberoi's book is highly problematic. Sikh critics called his book "aggressive work mischievous propaganda" and attempts are under way to unseat Oberoi from his chaired position at U.B.C. This position is partially funded by the Sikh community. Angry calls by the most strident amount to attempts at censorship and verge on the personally threatening.