By Kulwinder Singh, Sacramento, CA
Over Thanksgiving break, November 2426, 1994, Sikh students from across California gathered at the University of California at Berkeley (commonly known as ‘Cal’ at the invitation of the Cal Sikh Students Association. In particular, Amandeep Kaur Matharu, Jaideep Singh Alag, Vandana Kaur Bhatia, Amikjit Singh Reen, Amnit Kaur Ragi and Gurman Singh Bal deserve recognition and praise for their efforts in organizing and coordinating this event.
This conference was dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the India in November 1984. Almost 100 Sikh students, ages 13 to 30, attended the two day event. On the first day, participants heard from panels of speakers followed by question and answer sessions, Later that. evening, they got to know each other over pizza, bowling and pool/ Billiards. The next day, students Met in groups to discuss the subjects raised by the speakers and report their findings back to the general assembly.
On the first day of the conference, eminent speakers made presentations on the topics of: Why Should a Sikh Care about Politics, ‘Sikh Identity in White America, Sikhs in India 19471984, The truth Behind Operation Bluestar, The Delhi Sikh Massacre of 1984 and its Place in History, an Update on Recent Developments in Delhi, Human Richs Violations in India, Sikh Representation and Race, and Sikhs in the US Complexity had Politics. Two physicians provided firsthand information about the Indian army, Punjab police and the abuse of human rights in northern India. Two members of International human rights groups confirmed that Sikhs in India were the target of abuse that violated International law.
On the second day of the conference, students were separated into California Sikh Students Hold Thanksgiving Conference in Berkeley by Kulwinder Singh, Sacramento, CA
Over Thanksgiving break, November 2426, 1994, Sikh students from across California gathered at the University of California at Berkeley (commonly known as ‘Cal’ at the invitation of the Cal Sikh Students Association. In particular, Amandeep Kaur Matharu, Jaideep Singh Alag, Vandana Kaur Bhatia, Amikjit Singh Reen, Amnit Kaur Ragi and Gurman Singh Bal deserve recognition and praise for their efforts in organizing and coordinating this event.
This conference was dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the India in November 1984. Almost 100 Sikh students, ages 13 to 30, attended the two day event. On the first day, participants heard from panels of speakers followed by question and answer sessions, later that evening, they got to know each other over pizza, bowling and pool/ Billiards. The next day, students Met in groups to discuss the subjects raised by the speakers and report their findings back to the general assembly.
On the first day of the confer end, eminent speakers made presentations on the topics of: Why Should a Sikh Care about Politics, ‘Sikh Identity in White America, Sikhs in India 19471984, The truth Behind Operation Bluestar, The Delhi Sikh Massacre of 1984 and its Place in History, an Update on Recent Developments in Delhi, Human Rights Violations in India, Sikh Representation and Race, and Sikhs in the US Complexity had Politics. Two physicians provided firsthand information about the Indian army, Punjab police and the abuse of human rights in northern India. Two members of International human rights groups confirmed that Sikhs in India were the target of abuse that violated International law. On the second day of the conference, students were separated into California Sikh Students Hold Thanksgiving Conference in Berkeley
By Kulwinder Singh, Sacramento, CA
Over Thanksgiving break, November 2426, 1994, Sikh students from across California gathered at the University of California at Berkeley (commonly known as ‘Cal’ at the invitation of the Cal Sikh Students Association. In particular, Amandeep Kaur Matharu, Jaideep Singh Alag, Vandana Kaur Bhatia, Amikjit Singh Reen, Amnit Kaur Ragi and Gurman Singh Bal deserve recognition and praise for their efforts in organizing and coordinating this event.
This conference was dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the India in November 1984. Almost 100 Sikh students, ages 13 to 30, attended the two day event. On the first day, participants heard from panels of speakers followed by question and answer sessions, Later that. evening, they got to know each other over pizza, bowling and pool/ Billiards. The next day, students Met in groups to discuss the subjects raised by the speakers and report their findings back to the general assembly.
On the first day of the conference, eminent speakers made presentations on the topics of: Why Should a Sikh Care about Politics, ‘Sikh Identity in White America, Sikhs in India 19471984, The truth Behind Operation Bluestar, The Delhi Sikh Massacre of 1984 and its Place in History, an Update on Recent Developments in Delhi, Human rights Violations in India, Sikh Representation and Race, and Sikhs in the US Complexity had Politics. Two physicians provided firsthand information about the Indian army, Punjab police and the abuse of human rights in northern India. Two members of International human rights groups confirmed that Sikhs in India were the target of abuse that violated International law. On the second day of the conference, students were separated into ‘groups to discuss the issue raised) ‘on the first day. Specific questions for the group discussion were as follows: Sikh Identity:
How do you identify yourself, i.e. nationality, ethnicity, religion, citizenship’? What do you consider Punjabi culture’? Do you eat Punjabi food, speak/read/write Punjabi, wear Punjabi clothes and listen to Bhangra music’? Is the Punjabi language important to you and how are you trying to learn it’?
‘Who is a Sikh’? Is being a Sikh different from being a Punjabi’? Are there conflicts between Sikhism and being Punjabi (ie? Punjabi society considers alcohol acceptable whereas Sikhism prohibits it)’?
What types of prejudice and problems have you been confronted with as a member of a minority group in the U.S.”? How do you view Sikhs in relation to other South Asians both here and in India’? Should a Sikh celebrate Christmas, Diwali, Rakhni, etc.”? How have your parents taught you about your heritage’? Do you plan to pass on your Sikh Punjabi identity to your children’?
‘What problems have you observed within the Sikh community? Local Gurdwara? During elections? Do you associate with other Sikh youth? Are the youth in your area an active part of the community?
How can divisions in our community be overcome? Khalistan: ‘Why should we be concerned about recent events in Punjab? What is Khalistan—<define it, and its political and economic structure.
What is a nation? Are Sikhs a nation’? Do Sikhs have a place in India’? \Do Sikhs in Punjab need autonomy/self-government in order to thrive? Human Rights — what are the violations being committed in India and how can Sikhs in other parts of the world act to stop such violations? What can the U.S. and other Western countries do? How can we help our fellow Sikhs in Punjab’? EINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS: NOTE! The findings and conclusions below are mine. They are my views and are based on discussions I had with other students who attended this conference at Cal. Sikh Identity: I believe we are all Sikh Americans and should identify ourselves as such. We owe no allegiance to India and confuse ‘Americans when we identify ourselves simply as Indians or Punjabis without any explanation of how Sikhs differ from Hindus and Moslems. (Be sure to tell them that not all Punjabis are Sikhs and not all Sikhs are Punjabis.) Since many of us were born in the United States and are proudly maintaining our Sikh heritage while also adapting to the Western culture in which we were raised, we need to recognize American aspects of our identity. (Note I used the word “adapt” and not “adopt”, which implies discarding one’s values and replacing them with new or different ones.) Since all of us live in America and most plan to stay, we need to deal with and become apart of the larger American community. Unfortunately, some Sikhs are ignorant of our proud heritage and will essentially be lost in the proverbial American melting pot. However, from my interaction with other participants at this conference, I believe that Sikhs can fit in American society while maintaining our special Sikh and Punjabi heritage and culture just as other minorities have (i.e. Jews, Armenians, Mormons, and other Asian groups). Regarding whether Sikhs should celebrate. Christmas, ‘Diwali; Rakhni, etc., a parent shared how he dealt with the issue of non-Sikh holidays. He taught his children that the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji are celebrated in the Sikh religion by taking out holiday decorations and lights in November (for Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday) and removing them in January (after Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s birthday). A Malaysian Sikh student shared how in his country, they celebrate the Chinese New Year with Chinese friends, Christmas with Christian friends, and Moslem holidays with Moslem friends, Since Malaysia recognizes Baisakhi as a Sikh holiday, he noted that his non Sikh friends celebrated Baisakhi with the Malaysian Sikh community. Therefore, Sikhs in America should share in the holidays (and holiday spirit) celebrated by Americans, as well ‘as our Sikh holidays. Sikhs are united in the face of oppression from the outside world; however, we frequently divide ourselves into categories such as orthodox, modern, sajhdhari, “good Sikh” or “bad Sikh”, etc. Since these labels are really arbitrary, they should not be used to exclude people and cut off discussion about important issues facing the community. For example, some people are ignoring the problem of domestic violence by declaring that true Sikhs do not beat their wives. This declaration does nothing to address the documented violence against Sikh women in America. Closing one’s eyes does not make a problem go away. Instead, we should acknowledge that there are problems within our community and assemble resources and support groups to help our fellow Sikhs.
In my group, I described how young Sikhs rarely seem to be going to Gurdwara. Some explained to me that they don’t understand what is being said and are not invited to participate in activities ‘because the adults are ‘more interested in who gets elected to the Gurdwara committee. Since they do not feel welcome at Gurdwara, they find other things, i.e. football and basketball, to do on Sunday mornings. A major problem for most of us is Punjabi Language skills. Few young Sikhs can read and understand the Guru Granth Sahib, We desperately need a translation or study guide written in American English, in order to share our great Guru with American friends and the rest of the English-speaking world. The Jews started yeshivas to teach Hebrew to their children. As Sikh populations grow, we may in the future have Khalsa schools where Gurmukhi and kirtan will be taught to children. But what about the current generation who want to learn but have no place to go? With good English translations and study guides to Sikh scriptures, they can learn on their own. Khalistan and the political independence of Punjab could be a {great thing if it happened. Several participants made arguments for a Sikh state that would be modeled on the nations of Switzerland and Israel. If Sikhs had the chance to rule (again), there would not be pervasive human rights violations occurring in Punjab and throughout India as they are now. But not all Sikhs see it that way. It was pointed out that Punjab would be the battleground for inevitable conflict between Pakistan and India. In any event, not all Sikhs would want to live in a country separate from India. They have a vested interest in India. Sikhs own property and have businesses throughout India and would not move into Khalistan and start over.
‘Some of the Sikh youth who attended this conference at Cal will be attending the IGS celebration of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s birthday on December 25th in Southern California. The general consensus was that we need to educate and inform Americans about who the Sikh ‘are and what we represent, Plans for another conference are being developed. Thank you, Cal Sikh Students Association, for holding this event and bringing us together! If you have any comments about this report on the conference, please contact:
Kulwinder Singh, 2915 34th Street #4, Sacramento, CA 95817, telephone (916) 4566826.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 9, 1994
