EDUCATION:
Educating is different to preaching or proselytising. The former (as far as I understand) is discouraged, but the latter in my opinion is a commendable act and one that is necessary nowadays in the current political climate. Although Sikhi is one of the world's major religions, I believe it is fair to say that the Average-Joe on the street knows little to nothing about our belief-system and what it promotes; namely, integrity, tolerance and temperance, to name but a few virtues that are encouraged in our faith. Unfortunately, increasingly racist and xenophobic attitudes have taken hold and turban-wearing Sikhs have often been mistaken for fundamentalist or extremist Muslims and subsequently attacked, especially in North-America following the atrocious events of September-eleventh and more so recently after a series of coordinated terrorist operations across Europe throughout the past year. Furthermore, a Sikh doctor Sarandev Bhambra was attacked by a machete-wielding neo-Nazi Zack Davies in a South-Wales Tesco's franchise. These types of unprovoked attacks and assaults - of which some have even amounted to murders or attempted-murders - on innocent Sikhs have made many of us feel sad and angry.
Attacks on Sikhs are especially outrageous considering our own history of resisting religious fanaticism and tyranny, notwithstanding the immense contributions Sikhs have made in Western countries, including the distinguished service of Sikh soldiers during both World-Wars. Indeed, Sikhs as an ethnoreligious denomination were designated as a "martial-race" by the British-Empire due to their fighting proficiency, and the accomplishments of Sikh soldiers are commemorated annually on the 12th of September in a celebration of the martial spirit that was initiated by the Sixth-Master, saccha-padshah Guru Har-Gobind Ji Maharaj. On that date in 1897, a Sikh battalion of the British-Indian Army consisting of a mere twenty-one soldiers engaged in a heroic, tenacious fight to the death, despite being vastly outnumbered by a Pashtun army. It is considered one of history's greatest last-stands, comparable to the Battle of Thermopylae where three-hundred Spartans famously clashed with the numerically-superior forces of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
We shouldn't adopt an overly proud, haughty or supremacist attitude because of this, but we should be grateful for our unique heritage. We should appreciate and understand our identity and what it means to be a Sikh - it is a truly special gift which our Gurus have bestowed upon us, and therefore we should not take it for granted. On the contrary, we should use it as inspiration to fight for our rights today, wherever our brothers or sisters - or anyone for that matter - is being marginalised or persecuted in the world.
I feel that many of the diaspora have adopted an unassuming, friendly, "get-on-with-it" diligent attitude. Sikhs are renowned for working hard and being an economic benefit to their countries as opposed to a burden. I believe that the Sikh community is one of the success-stories of integration, as we have demonstrated the advantages of multiculturalism without our own traditions becoming diluted or diminished in the process. However, unfortunately this means that sometimes we haven't been as outspoken and vociferous as we should be on matters affecting the Sikh community, nowadays - choosing instead to get on with life and focus on our professional careers. Again I stress this isn't entirely a bad thing but I do believe more political mobilisation is needed. We can take inspiration from the concerted campaigns for Palestine in the wake of the Israeli incursion into the Gaza-Strip. For instance, the noise that was generated by the widespread outcry made national and international headlines.
Nevertheless, attitudes seem to be changing recently, and I do feel that a 'reinvigorated' Sikh commmunity is on the rise. We are all very happy to see three Sikhs appointed as Cabinet-Ministers in the Canadian Government, including Harjit Singh Sajjan as Defence-Minister. Also I would like pay tribute to Jagraj Singh and the superlative work he is doing with his educational organisation Basics-of-Sikhi (UK), whose aim is to raise awareness about our religion and promote mutual understanding and respect as opposed to aggressively promulgating it. Jagraj Singh does a truly excellent job in explaining Sikh philosophy to outsiders as well as fellow Sikhs, and I for one have learnt a lot from his videos.
These sorts of initiatives are exactly what we need. We need to work together. Educating ourselves and educating others is important, so we can get the Sikh spirit of brotherhood and co-operation going again. Education is a powerful tool and one that we can use to change the world.
Waheguru Ji-Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji-Ki Fateh
Navi Singh
(An eighteen year-old student blogger and budding journalist)