By Daljit Singh Jawa, Topeka, KS

Since the day of Golden Temple attack, I am all for Khalistan. However, I want to share a nagging question with my other Sikh friends. The question is that, if by our sacrifices, by the natural turn of world events or by a stroke of luck, we are suddenly granted our independent homeland Khalistan today, then are we ready to govern it, and maintain its independence, and what kind of people will be governing it and living in it?

When faced by similar questions from the Sikhs not in favor of Khalistan, I myself used brush these questions off lightly. For example when somebody used to cite me the example of the bloody power struggle among the Sikhs immediately after Ranjit Singh’s death, I used to say well we are not going to make the same mistakes again.

However this brings me to ask myself on what basis we can assure ourselves that we will not make the same mistakes again? The present happenings certainly do not support this belief. The broad day light murder of Harminder Singh Sandhu the most outspoken advocate of Khalistan claimed by the four major militant Sikh organizations does not help that belief. His killing on the basis of a suspicion and not actual proof of his being an Indian government spy does not speak highly of his enemies. If this philosophy is allowed to prevail then anybody could be killed by anybody else on mere. Suspicions and whims, and this situation is no different than post Ranjit Singh Era.

Today in Punjab it is not just the leaders or their supporters who are killing each other. I hear many stories confirming that even common innocent people who have nothing to do with the struggle are being eliminated not for advancement of Khalistan movement, but actually to avenge old rivalries.

But why go far, let us look at our conduct here in America. We are talking of running a country, but numerous examples prove that we are not even ready to run our Gurdwaras in a civilized democratic and GurSikh way. It is not unusual to see Sikhs hurl abuses, manhandle and even take out kirpan at the flimsiest of excuses in front of the Guru Granth Sahib. All of us are familiar with many instances where intoxicated Sikhs have tried to control the Gurdwaras with free display of sticks and bullets rather than by orderly process of the ballet box. So if we cannot even run our Gurdwaras where usually there is not much to gain how can we say that we are ready to run an independent country, where so much is at stake.

1: therefore, now believe that although we should not let the Khalistan movement slow down, we should side by side prepare ourselves to run it in a civilized and democratic manner so that our untold sacrifices to achieve it may not end up in a rerun of Post Ranjit Singh Era. I therefore propose following immediate reforms:

  1. Gurdwara Reforms

Gurdwaras are our primary sources of religious, social and spiritual education. These are the cradles of our democracy. It is from gurdwaras, our kids have to learn basic Sikh values and management skills. If our kids see their parents calling names and manhandling each other, rather than resolving their disputes in a calm disciplined manner they will either stop coming to Gurdwaras or lose faith in Sikhism or will manage the Gurdwaras and their homes. or business in the same uncivilized way as their parents. So all the Gurdwaras should adopt the following policies.

1, Conduct all the Gurdwara Administrative business (like holding of elections) separately. from the Gurdwaras main function.

2, Conduct the administrative business strictly according to Robert’s Rule of Order (This book is available in the libraries and is the basis of conduct of business in most legislatures and big companies). This book shows how each person is allowed the opportunity to express his or her views and how to reach decisions on the basis of logic, argument and orderly fashion rather than by hurling abuses or fist fights.

  1. Set up conflict resolution committees in each Gurdwaras. The members in this committee should generally be those who are not actively involved in day to day administration and generally have a cool temperament. All conflicts and elections of new office bearers should be handled by these committees. .
  2. Set up a national conflict resolution committee with members taken from the local resolution committees. All conflicts not resolved by local committees or conflicts between different Gurdwaras are handled by the National Committee. All the participating Gurdwaras should pay an annual fee (say $100) to run the expenses of the National Committee members so that they can maintain their independence. Personal Reforms
  3. It is an irony that we ardently believe in and are even ready to shed our blood for the achievement of Khalistan, but we are not ready to become Khalsa. If taken at the root meaning then Khalistan means a land where Khalsa will live. People have differing definitions for the word Sikh, but I don’t think there is much room to differ on the definition of a Khalsa. So, if we really believe in the achievement of Khalistan we should all take Amrit, wear all Ski’s and strictly remain away from the four cardinal taboos i.e. cutting of hair, use of alcohol or intoxicants, adultery and halal meat, and observe other rules of prayer and daily living.
  4. If all of us cannot or actually do not want to become Amritdhari Sikhs then we should at least try to become Sabat Surat Sikhs, i.e. stop cutting our hair. Many people give the excuse that keeping hair brings problems in their jobs. To me this is not a valid excuse because even people who have their independent business or are now retired do not want to keep hair. So, basically many of us profess to be Sikhs, but in our minds we are convinced that this is something which our Guru has imposed on us unnecessarily without the realities of modern times and keeping hair has no real merit.
  5. Even if many Sikhs cannot convince themselves about the desirability of keeping hair they should not have any problem regarding the use of alcohol. Now all scientific community and the National statistics for cancer, brain damage and thousands of fatal accidents each year. Our Gumus forbade us from the use of these scourges more than three hundred years ago, which the modern society is recognizing now. I am sure a day will come when the society will also understand the logic, power and the intrinsic merit of uncut hair. But if not the hair, we should at least follow the Guru’s command and common sense regarding use of alcohol or other intoxicants. I will suggest that all the Gurdwaras should deliver regular lectures on the dangers of alcohol and persuade all Sikhs from keeping away from this habit. At the minimum no person should be allowed to become a member of any Gurdwara Committee if he or she does not abstain from alcohol or any other intoxicants. Further nobody should be allowed to enter a Gurdwara premises in intoxicated state,
  6. Lastly, we should all try to give our children best education and encourage them to take part in their school or neighborhood committees, so that they can learn the democratic and orderly fashion in which the Americans conduct their business.

I hope that the Sikh readers will find these suggestions worth consideration and think of many other reforms in personal and community affairs and make themselves and their children ready to run Khalistan in the most exemplary way. It is my analysis that the way independence and freedom is breaking out everywhere in the world so suddenly, any day Khalistan may also be a reality. But the question is, are we ready for it?

Daljit Singh Jawa Topeka, Kansas

Article extracted from this publication >> April 6, 1990