Abstract
A folk devil has the ability to elicit a community’s fear over crime. Notorious late gangster, Bindy Johal, occupies this position as his legacy stirs the social anxieties over gang violence by some in the Punjabi-Sikh community in Western Canada. A competing narrative of Johal’s legacy has emerged, which frames him in a more sympathetic light, and as an individual who overcame systemic racial barriers that subordinated the masculinity of South Asian men in British Columbia. Based on interviews with 34 authorities in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, and drawing attention to his status as both a folk devil and hero, the discussion reveals two dueling narratives framing his legacy. The overall effect of these contradictory narratives is the overshadowing of racism, class oppression and a regional history within Sikh extremist movements that illustrate why gang involvement may appeal to some disenfranchised boys and men in the Indo-Canadian community.
Highlights
A folk devil has the ability to elicit a community’s fear over crime
The arguments made in this analysis are derived from in-depth, in-person, and over-the-telephone interviews conducted with 34 individuals from August 2016 to January 2017, with some professional expertise on the phenomenon of Punjabi gang involvement across several municipalities in Lower
Johal is perceived as some contemporary folk devil, and his legacy remains harmful for its ability to seduce a new generation of Punjabi boys into gangs
Summary
A folk devil has the ability to elicit a community’s fear over crime. Notorious late gangster, Bindy Johal, occupies this position as his legacy stirs the social anxieties over gang violence by some in the Punjabi-Sikh community in Western Canada. A competing narrative of Johal’s legacy has emerged, which frames him in a more sympathetic light, and as an individual who overcame systemic racial barriers that subordinated the masculinity of South Asian men in British Columbia. Based on interviews with 34 authorities in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, and drawing attention to his status as both a folk devil and hero, the discussion reveals two dueling narratives framing his legacy. “When we sit down and think about race relations in this country and our community, shit we look at people like fucking Bindy and say: “hey. When you look at South Asian young men today, this guy becomes fucking icon. He becomes a fucking God in the imagination of the emasculated South Asian male. We can fucking do this”” —(Diljit (former gang member), interview, 15 August 2016)
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