To Sikh or Not to Sikh: In Defense of the Sikh Shawl

This essay challenges the long-held claim that European, particularly French, design influenced the Kashmir shawl during the early 19th century. Instead, it argues that the transformation in shawl motifs, marked by architectural, geometric, and Khalsa-inspired imagery, originated within the Sikh cultural and political milieu of Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Drawing on French archival records, rare kani shawls, and regional history, the study affirms the Kashmir shawl’s indigenous evolution and rejects the notion of European artistic precedence.