Academic’s suggestions about roots of religion brought criticism from fundamentalists
VANCOUVER: Harjot Oberoi, a controversial Sikh scholar, has given up his position as appointee to the chair of Sikh studies at the University of British Columbia after two years of fending off attacks from the Sikh religious community in Canada, India and elsewhere. The Punjabi born academic, who has held the UBC position since 1987, will move into the faculty of arts after a one year leave of absence. Meanwhile, the program of Sikh studies will be reorganized. Dr. Oberoi had been harshly criticized by Sikh scholars for his book on Sikh history, The Construction of Religious Boundaries (Oxford University Press), in which he suggested that the Sikh religion has its roots in Hinduism and Islam. Sikh religious leaders maintain the religion is based on divine revelation and completely separate from Hinduism.
A chair of Sikh studies was established at UBC in 1987, with $350,000 from the federal government’s multiculturalism program and $350,000 from the Sikh community. Dr. Oberoi, who was raised in India, was North America’s first and only academic devoted solely to Sikh studies when he was appointed in 1987. His retreat from the UBC parallels the retreat of another self-proclaimed scholar from the University of Toronto, which had to discontinue its Sikh studies program a few years ago.
Pashaura Singh now at the University of Michigan, was given the punishment of curbing floors at the Holy Temple in Amritsar, India, and shining shoes at a temple in the United States in penance for statements he made in his University of Toronto thesis. His book has been well received within academic circles but those who contributed to the financing of the UBC academic appointment were shocked, they hired a lawyer and lobbied politicians in an effort to have Dr, Oberoi removed from the post. Vancouver lawyer Iqbal Sara, who was retained by the Sikh community and Sikh organizations, said last week, the community felt that Dr. Oberon’s work was in violation of the conditions under which the Sikh chair was established. “It was not being done according to tradition,” he said, adding that the community also felt that Dr. Oberoi was not really qualified for the post. Shirley Neuman, dean of arts at UBC, said last week, the university is pleased that Dr. Oberoi will still be at UBC. “We really value Dr. Oberon’s scholarship,” she added.
The University has appointed Sadhu S. Binning, a writer who has published books of poetry, plays and fiction, to teach the two Punjabi language courses formerly taught by Dr. Oberoi. Mr, Binning previously worked as a teaching assistant to Dr. Oberoi. Mr, Binning said in an interview the dispute over Dr. Oberon’s scholarship has harmed the development of Sikh studies at the university. “The Punjabi language program could have been developed further. There’s a demand for more Courses. But because of the controversy, nothing has happened and that’s a sad situation,” he said.
Members of the Sikh community insisted that, in order for the university to receive its financial Support, some subjects should not be considered appropriate for research, said Milton Israel, who was director at the center for South Asian studies at U of T at that time. “That price was too high to take, from outside the university, and we decided not to do it anymore,” Professor Israel said.
Pashaura Singh, who was at the center of the controversy at University of Toronto, came to Canada from India in 1980 to work as a Sikh priest at Guru Nanak Center in Calgary. Mr. Singh enrolled in au of T doctoral program in 1987 and was the first Sikh in Canada earns a PhD in Sikh studies he graduated in 1991. He was hired to teach at the University of Michigan in 1992, beating out about 20 other candidates. A few months after his appointment, hostile reviews and denunciatory letters began to appear in Sikh community papers around the world. Mr. Singh subsequently discovered that hundreds of copies of his thesis at the U of T had been made and circulated to Sikh communities. Meanwhile, his alma mater, the Out, received phone calls threatening Mr. Singh’s safety if he did not retract statements in his thesis. Mr. Singh said he was provided with a police guard for several months. The campaign escalated in the following months. He was formally barred from entering any Sikh temple and he was summoned to appear in Amritsar before the Akal Takhat, the highest court within Sikh religion. He went in June of 1994. Two versions emerged of his audience before the Akal Takhat. The official report, released to the Sikh community, was that Mr. Singh recanted. Mr. Singh said he advised them he would consider changes before his thesis was published. But his decision would be based on academic considerations, not religious edicts. He has not yet published his thesis. Nevertheless, he agreed to spend two days washing the marble corridors in the Holy Temple in Amritsar and listening to devotional singing. Once he returned to Ann Arbor, Mich., he spent five Sundays shining the shoes of devotees at the local Sikh temple.
“As a devout Sikh, I thought it was an honor to serve. Others confused it, and saw it as a ment,” said Mr. Singh. Despite his penance, the university is now holding a competition to fill his post. Mr. Singh said he was initially appointed for five years and has decided to reapply for his job. But with $1.2million in endowment funds at State, some fear the U.S. university will go for someone who has the support of the — benefactors in the Sikh community.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 24, 1996
