Urban history from below: (De)turbanisation, Thai-Isan-Sikh settlements, and their role in the development of a diverse city in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand

The Sikh community is among the many diasporic populations that has been highly successful migrating all across the globe. Existing literature on the global Sikh diaspora has emphasised their historical migration patterns, particularly within the former Western colonial territories. Within the Thai academic sphere, most scholarly work has focused on the Sikh diaspora and its history through a Bangkok-centric lens. This article argues that the Thai-Isan-Sikh diasporic community must be more recognised as it constitutes part of the broader South Asian diasporas that have migrated to Thailand. Employing an ‘urban history from below framework’ and grounding the analysis in qualitative methods, this article records the oral histories of the Thai-Isan-Sikh diasporic community in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand. This community has contributed significantly to the province’s urban development and cultural diversity. Accordingly, this study offers an urban history from below analysis that contributes to global Sikh diaspora studies by moving beyond the commonly examined ex-Western-colonial-centric and Bangkok-centric contexts and narratives.