VANCOUVER: In their quest to be objective Sikh intellectuals holding chairs in western Universities and Western scholars heavily influenced by missionary Hugh McLeod are distorting facts and fabricating data in reconstructing Sikh history.
It is against this backdrop that the Canadian Sikh Study and Teaching Society an organization committed to promoting Sikh faith and advancing Sikh culture und studies held conference on Sikh culture and philosophy at the University of British Columbia (UBC) The conference sponsored by Sikh Societies of B.C. brought together some distinguished Sikh intellectuals such as Dr. Gurbakhsh S. gill professor Akal University New Mexico Dr. Surinder S. Sodhi professor School of Education Dalhousie University Halifax Dr Surjit Singh professor State University of Buffalo Now York and Dr.Balwant $.Dhillon Department of Guru Nanak Studies Guns Nanak Dev University Amritsar
M.P. Herb: Dhaliwal and MLAs Bernie Simpson and Val Anderson Wert also present and brought greetings from the federal and provincial governments
The scholars pointed out that some of the points of Contention are that Guru Nanak was the founder of the Sikh religion in the organization and not in the religious sense; Guru Nanak never went abroad Guru Arjun corrected the bani written by Guru Nanaks the Khalsa was not given the five Ks by Guru Gobind Singh on Vaisakhi Day in 1699 Guru Granth Sahib became the Sikh Gun because Guru Gobind Singh had no children; and Guru Arjan was murdered und not martyred in 1604 This kind of research has been very handful and damaging to Sikhism and has the potential to plant seeds of doubt about the Sikh identity for future generations they charged
Dr. Sodhi called this “anti-Sikh literature by disturbed and pathological individuals who have violated all norms of civility when it comes to Sikh research.”
Dr Surjit Singh said that its an absolute blasphemy to accuse the Gurus of editing manuscripts and recused Dr H.S. Oberoi professor of Sikh history and Punjabi Studies UBC who was invited to the conference but did not attend of systematically destroying the Sikh identity in his book” Construction of Religious Boundaries.” However he warned that any downfall of Sikhism will Come from the Sikhs own inaction rather than from anti-Sikh literature
We need to create paralle) literature for inform the next generation of the true nature of the Sikh faith he said. Dr. Sukhminder Singh professor at Santa Clara University California said than modem methodology snot the way to understand Sikh history and “real Knowledge does not simply know but being.”
Dr-Sodhi lashed out at the UBCs Department of Asian Studies and especially at Dr.Oberoi who did not attend the conference two debate the Men is his research
I smell covert racism which some from the arrogance and ignominies’ of these academies who feel indifferent to the enormous psychological time pact such vile research can have on believers and bow it can destroy their faith. “Those days are gone when they could hide in their ivory towers and. do anything. We’re not going to them hide behind academic freedom especially since match of the funds come from the Sikh community and the government to set up these chairs” he said Dr-Sodhi said than Horb Dhaliwal Bemis Simpson will take the society’s complaints to their respective parties and added” The Canadian Sikh Stud y and Teaching Society is arranging a meeting with (B.C. Environment Minister) Mee Sihota and the Minister of education to address the concerns that the UBC Sikh chairisusing payer money to do antiSikh research We “re also looking into possible of human rights. We will use alleviate means of fighting this indignity brought on us by these myopic and narcissistic scholars”
The conference unanimously passed resolutions opposing the UBC Sikh chair Lawyer Iqbal Sara said that if the community raised some $700000 to establish a Sikh chair “I AM sure that we can wise a few more thousands 19 challenge its contract legally.” .
Article extracted from this publication >> May 20, 1994
