Sir

I am writing t comment upon an article published in the Globe & Mail issue of Jan.22,1994 by Dr John Spellman in connection with the case Which is said to have boon filed against Commissioner Inkster of R.C.M.P. for allegedly amending the regulations for allow the wearing of turbans by Sikh officers of R.C.M.P.

The first point for consideration would appear to be that if there is actually a Court Case in being John Spellman is very likely in contempt of  Court in publicly commenting on it father than giving evidence before the Court if so subpoenaed. By making public comment he is creating a bias without submitting himself to cross examination on substance to that extent he has allowed his views to be devalued.

 Next in this one whole page article John Spellman makes the grand opening Some Sikhs contend their religion requires them to wear the turban The evidence doesnt support that. He has however not given any clear proof that the wearing of turbans by the initiated Sikhs is not a matter of Sikh religious practice which has been carried on throughout the World for a continuous period of some three Centuries. The Sikh religion is based on a firm and uncompromising belief in one God and in the opening words of the Guru Granth Sahib Guru Nanak (the founder) describes the God Whom he himself worships and whom he exhorts his disciples to worship. John Spellman is well aware of Sikh religious principles and practices: and he also knows that Guru Granth Sahib in its 1430 pages is not a list of dos and do not prescribed to regulate the daily secular life of the Sikhs.

 The paragraph Compared to one Gos is full of innuendoes designed to belittle the independence of the Sikh religion. He conveniently forgets that in retrospect Judaism took   some of its principles from Zoroastnanism Christianity took a whole lot from Judaism; Islam took from both and yet they are all a separate yet independent systems of worship worthy of everyone’s respect. Hinduism Buddhism and Jainism are indigenous Indian religions. The constitution of India lumps these into an all-embracing term Hindu. That does not away the fact that these are three separate systems of worship A Japanese Tibetan of Cambodian practicing Buddhist will not call himself a Hindu so whether the political documentation of India classifies him as a Hind or something else is no evidence to deny the independent existence of that religion In the same way Guru Nanaks religion has more similarities with Judaism Christianity and Islam than with the indigenous religions immediately surrounding its geographical growth. The Sikh religion has all the necessary attributes that any great and independent religion needs to have. The fact that it is only 525 years old and is less populous than the World’s most populous faiths docs not take away from the independence of being a separate religion.

 Guru Nanak categorically says; There is One God He is not born and He does not die He is the Father and we all are His children. Recognize all Homo sapiens as one race. Therefore the Sikh religion is not circumscribed to one race culture ethnicity color creed sex or geographical location. Persons from any part of the Globe can if they so wish become Sikhs. All the nine successors of Guru Nanak upheld and propagated his philosophy and theology. For 239 years the Sikhs had a Continuous and unbroken line of living Gurus to guide them. In the course of their short history of 925 years a number of very significant social and political changes in their lives took place. Equality of human beings banning of the accursed custom of Sati allowing widow marriage; establishing Langar or free kitchens at their Gurdwaras; dignity of labor and sharing with the needy  have become the regular habits of the Sikhs. The Guru Granth Sahib guides the Sikhs towards a moral living and for the ultimate escape from the cycle of births and deaths. The detailed practice of moral virtues has come about from studying the tenets of the religion and from the traditions that have been recognized and encouraged by the Gurus.

 About the keeping of uncut hair and wearing the turban John Spellman quotes from the 5th Guru (Guru Arjan) but he tries to lessen the value of the quotation by saying: (a) that it was addressed to Muslims; and (b) that the other quotations were by Hindu or Muslim saints who lived before any of the Sikh Gurus was born. What John Spellman conveniently forgets is that there have been incorporated in the Adi Granth Sahib not only the hymns of the Sikh Gurus (written contemporaneously) but of the 15 saints some of whom were Hindu others Muslim and yet others untouchables The test for the inclusion of the hymns of the Non Gurus was that all these were in consonance with the philosophy and theology of Guru Nanak. The 5th Guru compiled this holy book and the 10th Guru brought it up to date and once day before his demise caused it to be anointed as the Guru. When erecting the sanctum sanctorum Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar the 5th Guru opened its doors to four directions North South East and West; symbolically to declare the holy place open to all human beings.

Under the guise of research and in order to muddle the turban issue John Spellman has introduced the case of Dr.P.Singhs thesis for his 1992 Ph.D. from Toronto. That thesis does not remotely concern the topic upon which John Spellman has engaged himself to berate Commissioner Inkster Suffice it to say that the 5th Guru had all the relevant literary and religious material in his possession when he embarked upon the colossal task of compiling the holy book. As the direct successor to Guru Nanak he had been invested with full authority to compile the Adi Granth Sahib and to propagate Guru Nanak’s teachings as Nanak himself. Lesser mortals like Dr .P. Singh or John Spellman fortunately do not have that authority. Therefore for them to bay at the moon is nonsensical. His other effort to bring in the case of Dr.Harjot S. Oberoi of the University of British Columbia into the matter of the turban is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Canada. The 10th Guru felt that in the course of over two Centuries of guidance by living Gurus the Sikhs had attained sufficient maturity to understand morality and their social and public responsibilities Therefore in 1699 he established the practice of Amrit which was the ceremony of initiation into the Khalsa Panth. This is a voluntary action open to anyone who with full faith and dedication would henceforth abide by a Code of Conduct. The wearing of the 5 Ks is one of those A belief in One God whose definition is given in the Guru Granth Sahib; and in refraining from committing immoral acts etc being some of the others. John Spellman’s efforts to bang the practice of wearing turban as being the activities of a racial character are fallacious. The basic tents of the Sikh religion are Universal and encompass the whole humanity. Just because the first applicants to the R.C.M.P. were of Indian (Punjabi) origin does not mean that white practicing Singhs of North America would be any the readier to discard their turbans or the 5 Ks. His reference to nun’s habit and Priests frocks etc. are equally mischievous. The uniforms which these functionaries wear go with their attachment to their particular church appointments. If they lose their affiliations they are no longer entitled to wear this apparel. Not so with the initiated Sikhs if they lose any of their Ks they become apostates. The turban goes with the 5 Ks. No one not even John Spellman can point to one single initiated Sikh who does not wear a turban whether the Turks first started to wear turbans or the Carpatheans is totally irrelevant. Guru Gobind Singh has said that his initiated Sikh will first comb his hair and then neatly do his turban. That tradition has existed since 1699 and no amount of higgledy piggeldy misquotations by John Spellman will alter this fact.

It is wrong to bring the British Raj into this matter of the turban Before the British treacherously annexed the Sikh territories in 1849 the Sikh sovereign Kingdom of the Punjab had existed from 1799 to 1849 Therefore for half a Century the Sikhs were a free people. They invariably wore the turban and kept the 5 Ks. The Sikh Wars are eloquent testimonies to their valour. They did not have to wear their turbans to please the British after the latter had broken the treaties which were signed by their predecessors in all good faith.

 The Sikhs do not need a clearance or a certificate from the likes of John Spellman for them to wear their turbans If they are amongst those who have been initiated into the Khalsa and who keep the 5 Ks they are not only entitled to but bound by the traditions of the Sikh religion to wear their turbans. There are Sikh judges Queens Counsel Barristers and Solicitors who very ably perform their professional and judicial duties wearing turbans. There are others who similarly reached the highest ranks in the Army Navy and Air force Busmen or police officer wearing of turbans docs not hinders the performance of their jobs. There are Doctors surgeons Dentists engineers Architects and others who have not besmirched the sanctity of their turbans. When John Spellman talks about two-thirds of the Sikhs in Canada being mute he does not say whether he means mute of malice or mute by affliction! It would appear that by remarking: Despite their claims to support human rights the record of Sikhs in Canada in the area of academic freedom of expression and freedom of religion has been alarming and disheartening he is Jetting his innate racial and color prejudice to quietly leak out. The over whelming majority of Sikhs are law abiding people. It is understandable ii prejudices grow out of ignorance but John Spellman is not an ignorant man. He is Esther simply ignoring the reality of the contribution of the Sikhs to Canada’s social political and economic prosperity or he insists on treating the whole community as stereotypes. It appears that under the guise of academic freedom he wants freedom of speech and freedom of expression to be denied to the Sikhs. That means Heads win tails you lose! Commissioner Norman In ksters stand on the matter of the wearing of the turban by initiated Sikh officers of the R.C.M.P. is absolutely just and moral. i have no doubt that all right thinking people will applaud his action and give full support even at the cost of displeasing John Spellman. Jasvinder Paul Singh Beaconsfield Que Montreal.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 28, 1994