Dear Dr-Spellman
This open letter is in response to your recent article which appeared in Globe & Mail of January 22,1994 under the title A question of orthodoxy. You have in the past earned the Sikh immigrants gratitude by effectively explaining to the Canadian People some of the religious practices Of the Sikhs. The tone and comment of the present article questioning the need And the basis of Sikh practices and telling the Sikhs to be less provocative in their observance is so different from your previous work. Many of us wonder what has caused this change.
Any community that admits newcomers into its midst has the right to lay down preconditions. However the Canadian people have been extremely kind towards recent Sikh immigrants and those Canadian Sikhs who had earlier shed their visible symbols and recently chose to readapt them
The Sikh symbols and dress have been accepted in all secular occupations in India and several other counties In Canada however the dress rules for various occupations and for various Organizations were written without the Sikhs in mind. it is natural that now in view of the increased Sikh population in Canada these rules be revisited. The Canadian people will Tam confident continue to be gracious respect the wishes of their fellow Canadians who are Sikh and justifiably take pride in Canada’s multiculturalism.
The turban is referred to. as a symbol of honor in Sikh scriptures. The number of times it is so done is immaterial. The turban has been the mark of a Sardar in India for centuries. Sikhs have been described us Sardars not only by the local population in India but also by British historians. All the Gurus wore turbans and so did the rulers and the elite of those days. The turban has been an integral part of the Sikh garb for three countries if not longer. I do not know of any example in the entire history of Sikhs of an Amritdhari Sikh male keeping uncut hair and not wearing a turban over it. The Rehatnama clearly lay down that 2 Sikh shall tie his urban each Time implying that it should not be worn in the manner of a cap or hat. Taking off ones turban and laying it at the feet of another person his historically been a mark of submission. Sikhs have always stood for their own and every One else’s dignity. They do not take off their own turban nor do they ask anyone else to take off his A Sikh appearing in public without a turban would feel naked The turban has been used as a gift to honor people In personal relationships it has been the Practice for Sikh men to exchange gifts of turbans to affirm their love as brothers You state that to be classed as religious dress one must be involved in religious behavior or an essentially religious lifestyle.
An Amritdhari Sikhs whole life is essentially religious lifestyle In whatever occupation with every breath a Sikh is living his faith. The Sikh dress completely fits your description
You question in a mocking fashion whether Sikh identity is ethnic cultural political military religious racial or something else The Sikh faith is for all mankind and for all times. It transcends ethnicity language race and culture. The word Sikh denotes a faith and Sikh identity is religious identity. Some of us arc Canadians others Americans; some are Caucasian others South Asian; some are liberals others conservatives; etc but we are all Sikhs by faith and share this identity regardless of our occupation race or language just like people of other faiths The Sikh insistence that their faith is distinct and separate is based upon the Gurus word that the faith is divinely revealed and unique Nowhere does the Guru mention a blending of other faiths Hinduism and Islam or any other combination us his source. The one and only source is God those who claim otherwise have apparently not studied the faith carefully starting with the savage attack by the Indian army on Durbar Sahib and other Gurdwaras in June 1984 the Sikh community has endured enormous suffering.
It has been the victim of massacres mass beatings in dependable tenure in Indias interrogation centers rape of is women and brutalization of its young men on large scale Seventy thousand innocent young men are said to be in Indian prisons without even being charged with any offense Over 100,000 have reportedly been killed in fake encounters. Tens of thousands have fled India only to face monstrous difficulties in seeking asylum and settling down in unfamiliar surroundings with little support and often much hostility The Indian government’s activities have included harassment of Sikhs outside India. This has included torture of families and relatives in Punjab.
The primary purpose of extradition treaties apparently is to round up fleeing Sikhs for liquidation in India. We have seen Indian diplomats disrupt the Parliament of World’s Religions last August preventing a Sikh leader from completing his speech. They have put in massive efforts to misinform the world about the happenings in Punjab and Kashmir to control research at American Universities to lobby the United States Congress against consideration of human rights violations and to influence western scholarship.
Facing near genocide in India the Sikhs easily view any attack on what they hold dear and sacred to be part of some sinister design or conspiracy to hurt them further they need understanding not innuendoes and ridicule.
You mention that there are those who believe Sikhism would not have Survived if it had not been revived as a military force by the British This is the view of many Hindu writers who also erroneously insist that Sikh religion was created as a military wing of Hinduism to fight Mughal oppression and that this mission having been accomplished all Sikhs should revert to Hinduism They disregard the fact that most of Siri Guru Gobind Singhs ballles were not against the Mughal rulers but were defensive actions against the neighboring hill chiefs all Hindus.
They also incorrectly argue that the Sikh emphasis on religious identity is part of a British scheme to plant disunity among Indians They ignore the fact that the Sikhs were always in the forefront of the Indian freedom struggle and saw no contra diction in being Sikhs and Indian nationalists at the same time Pursuing this prejudiced line of thought the Indian government been actively engaged in undermining Sikh religious identity in the name of national integration You state that the struggle for severance of the Sikh homeland from India has nothing to do with freedom of religion and freedom to worship Indeed it has everything to do with these freedoms and is the sole basis for the struggle for survival that has been forced upon the Sikhs. The British also tried to obliterate the Sikh faith after their takeover of Punjab. The chief Sikh spokesman you refer to was their appointive and was part of this policy. This Government-appointed usurper was removed after & prolonged struggle in the early 1920s. Contrary to what has been often said the British were not very sympathetic towards the Sikhs and their religious Observances. You are perhaps aware that Sikhs were not allowed to carry or keep their kirpan till 1914.
It is unfortunate that some persons in the academic community have equated Sikh criticism of some of the research at some Universities with an attack on all scholarship. Specifically Criticism of Dr.P.Singhs work has been at two levels. Some scholars have questioned the authenticity of his source material and the lack of consistency between the evidence Cited and the conclusions arrived at. These are purely academic issues. The Other criticism is of his role as a Sikh. Many Sikhs consider some of his conclusions to be judgmental and derogatory to the Gurus He teats the Gurus word as subject to modification and not absolute divine revelation as indicated by the Gurus themselves and so accepted by Sikhs this is not an academic issue at all. The Sikhs are concerned that a person professing complete faith in the Gurus would make statements which they consider to be blasphemous. Hop diver Designs situation is a way comparable to Salman Rushdies. In Sikh faith there is no such thing as a fatwa. He has been visiting Sikh places of worship at will He has not been harassed anywhere and there is Little reason to believe at he will be in the future.
Most scholars are sensitive to Sikh concerns. Those who are not can exercised their right of free expression but they should expect the Sikhs to be grateful to them of to invite them to make blasphemous speeches at Sikh religious gatherings.
The attendance by invitation aspect of the Conferences in Toronto and Ann Arbor layer this month is not helpful in resolution of the problem. We need less rhetoric and name calling and more productive dialogue The list of speakers at the two conferences includes many I Consider to be long-time friends of the Sikhs You yourself have been one of the most prominent among them. It hurts to see these good people caught in despair und anger. Let us not mope and moan. Let us all get together and try to solve problems. not fo create them. Ranbir Singh Sandhu
Dublin OH
Article extracted from this publication >> February 11, 1994
