Dear Editor:
I happened to go through the book “Internal and External Threats to Sikhism” by Dr. SS. Dharam. I am inclined to offer the following comments. I hope these would be taken in the spirit they have been made that is welfare of the Sikh Nation
Although I very much agree with he basics of his book I strongly feel that Dr. Dharam in his over-enthusiasm to identify the “Internal Threats to unwittingly further divided and sub-divided the already widely disintegrated and fractured panth into Kesadhari Sehajdhari Amritdhari Patit Tankhaya and so on; whereas the need of the hour is to solder the withering elements. I wish to bring home one point very clearly and bluntly that if the management or leadership reigns were to be restricted to only those Sikhs who follow Rehit-Maryada in letter and spirit nearly 50% of the Gurdwaras in America Canada U.K. and also those in India will have to be shut down. In this respect the author has inadvertently done dis-service to the cause of his nation at this particularly precarious juncture. It is unwise to make rules so strict as to make them difficult to adhere to. The orthodox religionists as is always the case everywhere in the world are but a microscopic though respectable minority amongst the Sikhs. It is the so called common and not so rigid Sikhs who have always been and would ever remain in majority; and it is their countless sacrifices made in Punjab Delhi and elsewhere in the country before during and after the Operation Blue Star which will be rewarded if “Khalistan” dream ever came true But it will: God forbid be a tragic misfortune if they are ever made to believe that there would be no rightful place for them in “Khalistan” if and when it comes into being. Truth may be bitter but it is not always wise to be too outspoken to buy you unnecessary enemies; rather one must strive to turn foe into friends your sweet but truthful attitude.
I do not mean to suggest at all that there is no need for religious teaching/preaching or that we should not be proud of being “Puran” Sikhs Nay far from it. But we must refrain from slighting those who are not-so-puran in their form yet have abiding faith in Gurbani and have love for Sikhism and all that it stands for whatever reason and most frequently those who wish to be recognized as such — so that they should not be forced to withdraw from Sikhism out of sheer reaction and we may lose a sizeable number in the bargain. Let us bear in mind that “Politics” today is a game of numbers; and nobody should deliberately or otherwise act unwisely. Of course we must try our best to encourage them to be Puran Sikhs but not dismember them by calling them names. After all are we not trying to be ritualistic by insisting on rigid ethos and thus restricting Sikhism to a narrow close concept rather developing it into a truly world religion embracing the entire mankind. Let it be remembered that one set of rituals is as good or bad as the other.
It is a mis-statement that Sikhs uprooted the Mughal Empire and rolled it out of India. Of course Sikhs gave them many bitter fights and won several battles despite their very small numbers. But it was the British who ultimately brought the down-fall of the Mughals. The Sikhs were instruments in helping the British establish their hold rather quickly.
That there is an overall bankruptcy of good leadership in the country is no discovery. And acute shortage of selfless shrewd diplomats amongst Sikhs who can steer the nation out of the muddle is a recognized misfortune. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala was a selfless saint who had a burning love for the well-being of the Panth who could clearly visualize that it was heading towards disaster at the hands of both mischievous rulers at the center and unscrupulous stooges in the state. But he refused to play a shrewd diplomat and preferred laying down his life to shake the Sikh nation out of its slumber as the hold of the corrupt and selfish leaders in the nation had become so strong that they would not accept any able and genuinely honest worker in their fold. Unscrupulous elements at the center and state are quick to co-operate to make sure that sincere and selfless workers if any are eliminated forthwith with whatever means possible; and thus no God fearing honest person would deem it worthwhile to come forward merely to become the proverbial sacrifial lamb.
The pre-requisite qualifications of the Sikh leaders as aspired for in the book page 164-166 are amusing. Nobody can dare to deny that these are the ideal qualifications of an ideal leader which we all should try to seek and achieve. But I dare say that than Guru Gobind Singh himself will have to reincarnate in his original form to fulfill such qualifications and characteristics put together in one. A high-power “Selection Board” will have to be appointed to adjudge the candidates if there are any for such leadership who I am sure will meet dismal naught and the Sikh nation will be left as “Leaderless” as it is virtually today We cannot live in an idealistic imagination but should think of more practical means to work out a tangible solution under the given circumstances and learn to make the best of the bad bargain. Narendra Singh.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 18, 1986
