The Political-Spiritual Being

SikhRI connects people with the teachings of Sikhi and strengthens the bonds of the Sikh community around the world by offering courses and seminars in a variety of mediums.

Harinder Singh serves as the Senior Fellow, Research & Policy, at the Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI). He is a widely respected educator and thinker who is deeply in love with 1Force, the Oneness that radiates in all. He co-founded the Sikh Research Institute and the Panjab Digital Library, organized the Free Akal Takht movement, and envisioned Kaur and Singh Academy.
Harinder has authored Emperor-Prophet: Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib: Its Language & Grammar, and Sikhi: Faith & Followers. As an editor, he has worked on Guru Gobind Singh Sahib & Sikhs in Bihar, The Khalsa Raj: Banda, Battles & Body-Politic, and translated Love Harp (Prit Vina).

Harinder Singh’s list of career achievements includes addressing the U.S. Congress, The White House, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, U.S. Dept. of Education, Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, The Smithsonian Institute, U.K. Parliament, and the U.K. Ministry of Defence Chaplaincy Program.

A prolific public speaker, Harinder has spoken at Berkeley, Cambridge, Carleton, Langara, LSE, Northwestern, Oxford, Princeton, SFU, UT-Austin, Williams, Whitman, Yale, as well as JNU, Guru Nanak Dev University, and Punjabi University. He has also presented at the World Affairs Council, Dayal Singh Forum for Research & Culture, The Theosophical Society, Mulnivasi Mahila Sangh, BAMCEF, Chandigarh Museum, Seva Food Bank, Leicestershire Sikh Alliance, as well as numerous Sikh forums and Gurdwaras worldwide. His presentations to the business world included companies such as Accenture, Deloitte, EY, and PwC.

Besides consulting a variety of organizations on curriculums, exhibitions, and films, Harinder regularly appears on radio and television programs globally. He has been featured on many documentaries on Sikh, Panjab, and South Asian matters. He served on the boards of the National Conference on Community and Justice, The Fellowship of Activists to Embrace Humanity, and The Nanakshahi Trust, among others.

Harinder Singh holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering, MS in Engineering Management, MPhil in Guru Granth Sahib, and a Diploma in Persian Language. He is Guru’s Sikh, Panjab’s lover, and Begampura’s Jedi. He currently resides in the United States with his wife and two children. His current focus is on availing the message of the Guru Granth Sahib to global populations and developing critical thinking in Sikh institutions.

Jasleen Kaur is a double UVA grad in Religious Studies, focusing on South Asian Religions through the lens of literature and poetry. She is currently working as a Researcher with SikhRI. She is passionate about projects that create comfortable spaces for community members of all ages and backgrounds to engage in dialogue and learn from one another. She also loves singing in her free time, whether on stage with her friends or alone in her kitchen. She hopes to eventually go back to school to pursue a Ph.D. in either religious ethnography or history, and fulfill her dream of teaching and learning from others.

Manvinder Kaur is the webinar coordinator with SikhRI. She holds a MA in religious studies from McMaster University where her research focused on the intersections of alcohol and Sikhi, particularly considering influences of colonialism, gender, and trauma.

She has held research fellowships at Delhi University and the University of Victoria. She is currently pursuing an MSW degree at the University of Toronto and is interested in understanding indigenous Panjabi and Sikh forms of healing for addictions treatment. Her work aims to reimagine colonial narratives and direct energy towards frameworks of love, justice, and gratitude.