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Nishkam: Service is the only motto
 At the
tender age of seven years and some months, the eighth Guru of the
Sikhs, Guru Harkrishan, treated patients when a small pox epidemic
struck Delhi. One of the ten Gurus died curing the ailing, yet
empathy and grace are qualities rarely associated with Sikhs. The
Sikh penchant for litigation over petty issues and stereotyping of
Sikhs in the Indian media as people with an extended funny bone and
blessed only with the fighting spirit has never made it possible for
the ordinary Indian to see this side of the Sikhs. Knowledge of the
work of Bhai Ghanaiya ji, Bhagat Puran Singh and Sardar Dilawari is
limited.
Nishkam has crossed the frontiers. The
consistent work of a die-hard dedicated team of volunteer leaders
has enabled them to continue their work since 1984. Set up as a
rehabilitation project for the victims of the anti-Sikh carnage of
1984, the Nishkam Sikh Welfare Council has broadened the scope of
its activities and is now empowering widows, orphans and the
underprivileged far and wide. The website
www.nishkam.org explains that “the emphasis of the Council in
the relief and rehabilitation effort was not on distribution of
ration or giving cash doles, but on making the people
self-supporting by providing vocational, medical and educational
assistance. Though initially due to availability of limited
resources and difficult circumstances, the assistance was mainly
provided to the affected families of November, 1984 happenings,
especially the orphans and widows, but with the passage of time and
slow and steady build up of resources, the assistance is being
provided without any distinction as per teachings of "Sri Guru
Granth Sahib".
 In association with the Karnataka Sikh Welfare society, Bangalore,
since 2001, Nishkam is working on a housing project for Sikligar
families, including a Tamil family residing in the hutments of a
colony in Bangalore. A similar project is under way in Udaipur in
Rajasthan for Sikligar families. Surveys for new houses have been
carried out in Hubli, Belgaum
and Mysore. Though not on the scale of Muhammad Yunus- the
Bangladeshi Nobel prize winner, this housing project is also a
unique micro-finance project.
Nishkam is one of the few accredited organisations which are
entitled to receive donations in cash and kind from not only
non-governmental organisations but also government bodies of US, UK,
Swiss and Sweden.
Women’s Empowerment at Nishkam did not
need a Chak de India. Tilak Vihar built to rehabilitate the
families of victims from Trilokpuri, Sultanpuri and Mongolpuri made
Nishkam a household name. In Tilak Vihar, where Nishkam is
situated, in the middle of the urban ghetto, the building has a
Stitching Training-cum-Production Centre, a typing and shorthand
centre, a computer centre and a library.
The Nishkam team is a behind-the-scenes
team. The Nishkam team does not want to be seen. It only wants to
be heard. Speaking about the organisation, Kulvinder Singh, the
chief sewadar, who always says that he is attempting to become a
sewadar, humbly submits that “we have a long way to go.” “We are
doing what we can, but more needs to be done. We need younger people
to join as volunteers.” A visit to the Nishkam office and you can
see that in there is a dire need for more volunteers. A walk into
the lanes of Tilak Vihar can jolt you. There is still enough
squalor amidst all the good work of Nishkam.
 Widows participate in an adult education
programme. Youngsters learn English and also benefit from the
medical-cum-diagnostics centre which provides much-needed medical
care to the young and old.
Another unique feature of Nishkam is its
Talent hunt and Scholarship scheme. Students from Delhi and Punjab
benefit from the programme run in association with the Sikh Human
Development Foundation and the Master Harbans Singh Memorial
scholarship programme.
Not many would know that there is a Guru
Nanak chair at the Madurai Kamaraj University in South India, which
has a Post graduate diploma course in Sikhism and comparative
religions. Nishkam offers scholarships to students undertaking the
programme at the university.
What would you do if you suddenly need
rupees three lakhs or more for medical or trauma cure for your
child? Nishkam can help. Nishkam has assisted a large number of
cases. Nishkam has gone beyond the call of duty and served
individuals in desperate need of urgent medical care.
Nishkam has also embarked on an education project for Punjab.
Presently it is engaged in preparing a status paper of education in
Punjab and then in consultation with scholars and education
activists.
 Ruing the lack of response from the
community, Harbhajan Singh Sahni, associated with Nishkam since its
inception say, “Perhaps as a community we have failed. We have done
some work but it is so far too insignificant in measure to what we
could have accomplished. But I am not blaming any one. Perhaps, the
fault lies with us.” Isn’t it ironic, he further says that while
we are appreciated, there are no volunteers? The same eleven member
committee continues. No new activists have joined. When will Sikh
organisations sit down and take stock of the situation? Holding the
bigger picture in mind, when we make a difference to one individual
or one family, the purpose of Nishkam is served.
Perhaps Nishkam is spreading itself
thin. It needs to focus again on Tilak Vihar. I say this out of
experience. Less than ten paces away from the Nishkam office I met
with the poorest of the poor, who went beyond Nishkam seeking solace
and succour. I also met two poor Sikh kids, living around the place
and wandering all around selling soap and home-cleaning chemicals.
Indeed, even with the Nishkam way, we still have a long way to go.
31
October, 2007
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