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2007: Top 5 Sikh
countdown
Jodha Singh
Not being able to resist the urge of the ‘countdown’ spirit which
often takes over between Yuletide and the New Year (although not the
Nanakshahi Sikh calendar) and gives us an occasion and some time for
thoughts and reflections, here is a list of this year’s top 5 events
that will influence 2008 and beyond.
 Oscar
Wilde said the best way of dealing with a temptation is to yield to
it. At least on this occasion, I would go with the Irishman. I just
couln’t resist the urge of the ‘countdown’ spirit which often takes
over between Yuletide and the New Year (although not the Nanakshahi
Sikh calendar) and gives us an occasion and some time for thoughts
and reflections. Here is my list of this year’s top 5 events that
will influence 2008 and beyond.
5. Khalsa Kids – The Sikh diaspora is coming of age and creating
new tools for the community. It has been over ten years since the
suicide of 13 year old Vijay Singh in the
UK after being repeatedly bullied in school. Unfortunately the
bullying of young Sikh boys tends to be the rule and not the
exception. The Sikh Coalition released a harrowing report that
showed 77.5% of Sikh boys surveyed in Queens reported being teased
or harassed on account of their Sikh identity. However, the
community is beginning to respond and it reveals a coming of age
here in the US Sikh population.
A Sikh teacher, SriNam Singh Khalsa, recently published Break the
Bullying: Intervention Techniques and Activities to Create a
Respectful School Community. This book provides strategies to
enable school teachers and administrators in helping not only the
victims of bullies, but also the bullies themselves. Another book,
written by a Sikh high school student, Harkirat Singh Hansra, helps
to give non-Sikhs, especially students, a basic understanding on
Sikhi. Titled Liberty at Stake – Sikhs: The Most Visible Yet
Understood Minority in America provides a Sikh teenager’s
perspective of the world around him. Finally, perhaps the most
innovative project was the Sikh Coalition’s launch of its Khalsa
Kids website (link –
http://www.khalsakids.org ). Fun, interactive, and
professional the Sikh Coalition must be commended for creating a real
tool that will serve Sikh communities throughout the world.
That the Sikh community has a multi-faceted approach and is using
its resources is a great success of 2007 that will set the bar for
2008 and beyond.
4. Bhindranwale’s picture in the
Sikh Museum – Although this controversy broke out during the last
month of the year, its notability makes it worthy of inclusion.
Demands for the installation of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s picture
in the Sikh Museum at Darbar Sahib had been raised for some time.
Finally the SGPC acquiesced to the views of the Sikh community. No
sooner was the portrait installed than the Sangh Parivar and its
allies were threatening action. The Shiv Sena even offered a reward
of for anyone that would tear down the portrait. Many Sikhs were
puzzled as the portraits of other Shaheeds of 1984 had been in the
Sikh
Museum for decades. Bhindranwale’s posters and cassettes have been
widely available and distributed for years. Bhindranwale
merchandise is a top-seller throughout
Punjab
and is extremely popular at rural melas and events. The Immortal
Shaheedi albums and songs by Tigerstyle are only now beginning to
reach the
Punjab countryside and are popular amongst the youth. Although
seemingly completely senile, there may be truth to Khushwant Singh’s
comment that the “Bhindranwale’s ghost still stalks the Punjab
countryside disturbing the sleep of the Punjabi Hindu and the
conscience of the Punjabi Sikh.” Despite the empty threats of the
Sangh Parivar, the SGPC has stood firm with the Sikh community. The
most critical point is that a community decides its own heroes and
that no other community should be able to interfere with its
decision. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the views and deeds
of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, it is undoubted that he was
one of the most influential Sikhs of the 20th century and
continues to be in the 21st. He deserves a place in the
Sikh Museum now and forever.
3. Ishmeet and the ‘Sikh Turn’ – It
 may seem odd that we would
include the winner of an Indian talent show in our top 3, but the
issue is far bigger than Ishmeet. The pagri is the flag of
the Punjabi Sikhs. Although many worry that it is disappearing in
Punjab, its place in the psyche of Punjabi Sikh remains strong.
Whether Ravinder Grewal’s Pagh or Pammi Bhai’s Pagg many Sikhs are
rallying behind the importance of the turban. The Amritsar-based
Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, the vanguard organization in taking on this
issue, has successfully organized a Mr. Singh International Beauty
competition, created turban tying videos, and even ‘smart turban’
software. Although many Sikh youths have for the time being removed
their turbans, their sense of a religio-ethnic identity still
remains strong. Maybe the temptations of modernity and especially
the desires of the opposite sex are strong and many feel that at
this point in their life they would rather pursue women and cannot
live up to the great ideals of their Gurus. This should not be read
as a rejection of those ideals but a realization of where they are
and their priorities at this time. (Though this may be the case of
those that remove their pagri on their own account and not in those
families and children where they never had it as many in the
diaspora) The way the Punjabi Sikh youth rallied behind Ishmeet
Singh’s turban to win him the title of ‘Star Voice of India’ shows,
however, that the pagri flag does create unifying marker.
The success of Rohanpreet Singh of
Patiala
in the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs 2007 competition may mobilize the
same Sikh support throughout Punjab and the world.
As discussed previously, the ‘Sikh turn’ is occurring. The
psychological tragedy of the post-1993 Sikh community is beginning
to wane and we may be witnessing the dawn of a new era. It may not
be in the Khalsa symbolic form that many hope, but a religio-ethnic
movement is occurring. The youth are not disinterested and
disconnected; they are engaged and can be mobilized. The pull of
the pagri is not dead in
Punjab
either as we see many Bihari migrants joining the Qaum’s ranks.
This is a good sign. A new generation will soon have its own
version of ‘pagri sambhal jatta.’
2. Pakistani Sikh Anand Marriage Act – That many Sikh organizations
clamoring to take credit for this legislation shows that there is an
understanding of its success and implications. The passage of the
original Anand Marriage Act in 1909 was seen as a success of the
Singh Sabha Movement and its relationship with the British Raj. The
Act was seen as recognition of the Sikh community’s long-standing
independent status. Now in legislative and judiciary workings they
would be on the same footing as that of Muslims and Hindus. It was
with the transfer of power and creation of
India
and Pakistan that this Act was said to fall within the Hindu
Marriage Act of 1955. As the Sikh constitutional representatives
saw that the progress of recognition was being rolled back, they
refused to sign the Indian constitution. The recent efforts of the
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and American Gurdwara
Parbhandak Committee bore fruition this November during the 539th
birth anniversary of Sikh founder – Guru Nanak, when Pakistan’s
Federal Law Minister, Sayed Afzel, announced at Nankana Sahib that
Pakistan will recognize and enact legislation recognizing the Anand
Marriage Act. For the globalized Sikh communities this success will
spark increased debate in India and beyond. Despite the continuing
disappointment of the Sikh communities’ position in France,
success in this matter in
Pakistan
gives new hope and new legislative impetus for the Sikh community in
2008 and beyond.
1. Dera Sacha Sauda Incident – No other issue galvanized the Sikh
community this year than the Dera Sacha Sauda incident. The Indian
press and those with little understanding of the community falsely
labeled this as some sort of form of ‘fundamentalism’ at issue.
Such a misreading displays little understanding of the dynamics of
the Sikh community. The issue had long been simmering with a number
of different Dera Babas and their proliferation throughout the
state. Previous confrontations with Bhaniarawala, Ashutosh, and the
Nirankaris have created a long continuous history of such
confrontations. Conflicts arise and become violent only with
those deras that try to appropriate the symbolism and heritage of
the distinct Sikh Qaum as their own. The chief of Bhaniarawala not
only sponsored a book that he wished to call a ‘granth,’ at events
he purposely placed it higher than the Sikhs’ revered Guru Granth
Sahib and still later had birs of the Guru Granth Sahib burned.
Ashutosh began claiming himself as the living embodiment of the Guru
Granth Sahib and thus the Khalsa Panth and Guru Granth are no longer
needed. Dera Sacha Sauda’s chief not only attempted to
 make himself
equal by donning the iconography of Guru Gobind Singh, but attempted
to imitate one of the most critical events – the founding of the Khalsa – as his own. Although one hopes that such ridiculous
attempts would not be made by these cheats and violence would not be
employed as countermeasures, the community will stand up for its
honor against invasions and disrespect by others that try to
appropriate its lineage, history, and symbolic icons.
The Dera Sacha Sauda incident saw waves of Sikh youth rallying
behind the cause. Motorcycle morchas (processions) were seen
throughout the state. These groups were not only Amritdhari or
Keshadhari Sikhs, but involved many others that have a connection to
their Guru. It was due to the youth pressure that the Sikh clergy
had to take positions that it did not want to take. Sikhs should
not look towards the old establishment (Akali Dal, SGPC, Jathedars,
etc) for leadership, but the Sikh youth must itself be ready to
lead. The mobilization of Sikh masses in defense of the Sikh
religion shows that the spirit of the community is alive and
engaged. This is an example of the ‘Sikh turn’ mentioned earlier.
With the rise of the Dera Sacha Sauda incident to prominence, much
ink has been spilled in trying to understand the phenomenon. We
hope that members of the Sikh community recommit themselves to
fighting casteism and other hierarchies that have led members of our
community to find refuge in the lairs of liars. Understanding the
phenomenon and making changes in one’s own life is the key to our
salvation as a community.
While I wish I could include more social issues, such as
sex-selective abortion, the rise of drug abuse, violence against
women, casteism, these are systemic problems where progress usually
is not made in data points on a ‘top 5’ list. However, these
systemic issues are some of the key issues that I hope the Sikh
community resolves to combat and recommit to alleviate by following
the examples of our beloved Gurus.
2 January 2008
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