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Knights in Shining Armour
UPENDER SINGH
It was about 9.30 at night in Delhi, India. In the year 1996.
I was coming home from coaching classes in Patel Nagar. I boarded the DTC (Delhi Transport Corp.) bus at Laxmi Nagar. There were, maybe, a dozen people or so in the bus: a 20-something young woman, a 50-year old lady, an old 70-year old Sikh gentleman, 6 to 7 other middle aged men, and I.
I was a 17 years old then.
At the next stop, four drunks boarded the bus. These guys were rough, the kind you stay away from.
Soon, they started physically/sexually harassing the 20+ year old woman in the bus. One of them grabbed the girl from her waist. Everyone started looking down, pretending nothing was happening; they did not want to risk their lives.
My blood was boiling, but I did not have the courage to say anything either.
Then, I witnessed something that changed my life.
The 70-year old Sikh gentleman stood up and pulled one of the men away from the girl and kicked the other guy in the shin. This old man was short and not at all athletic but he sure had the courage of a lion.
To my surprise, the drunks lost all their boldness and quickly jumped off the bus.
After these guys left, everyone in the bus thanked this man.
I was amazed. I said “Baba ji, you have a lot of courage!”. He replied that the courage was Guru Gobind Singh's gift … nothing he could take credit for.
After reading about the recent gang-rape in Delhi, I thought of that old man/uncle ji. If this rapist had met a few of Guru Gobind Singh's Sikhs in their earlier escapades, they would never have dared to go this this time.
The first thing we need is the courage to stand up for the women in Delhi and India. More importantly, the courage to stand against evil with conviction, for those in distress.
These injustices won't stop with online petitions going around on Facebook and Twitter for capital punishment for the rapists. However the hooligans do disappear when we show the courage our Guru has demanded of us.
There never have been, there aren’t now, anyone but Sikhs in the country who have the capacity to show such courage in defending strangers in the face of great peril to themselves.
Yet, the self-destructive tendencies of India and Indians are now bent upon ensuring that they lose the benefit of this community which is unique in the land for displaying a civic sense of public responsibility, instead of emulating it. Alas!
January 3, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: R Singh (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), January 03, 2013, 11:22 AM.
I was told many years ago that until the distorting of norms in 1984 and its aftermath, any girl or woman, seeing any Sikh male with a turban in the vicinity, felt perfectly safe when boarding a bus in New Delhi ... or for that matter, in any public place in India!
2: Baljit Singh Pelia (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), January 03, 2013, 1:40 PM.
I vividly remember the presence of a Nihang or an Amritdhari Khalsa or Akali was enough of a deterrent to keep all troublemakers in line in a train or bus or at any other public place. Violating the modesty of any female in their presence was unheard of. The birries (cigarettes) would suddenly vanish and every one seemed to be at their best behavior upon their sight. The British rulers during their time allowed the Nihangs free travel on the trains and buses for this reason. The kleptocratic politicians of the Indian nation could never allow this wonderful concept of civility spread since these were the only people courageous enough to challenge their lawlessness and corruption. The 1984 attacks on the Akal Takht were orchestrated as an attempt to finish off the institution that imparted the doctrine of upholding such high moral and righteous values along with the courage to enforce them. The moral decay we witness today in India is a result of the path away from the one defined by the Gurus that the Indians have chosen. It is still not too late to turn around and head towards a higher destiny rather than the dark abyss of self destruction and anarchy. The people and specially the youth have a choice to make - for their future and life depends on it.
3: Harpreet Singh (Delhi, India), January 03, 2013, 1:56 PM.
Yes. There was such a news prominently displayed on the front page of a widely read Hindi newspaper, "Rashtriya Sahara" about ten years ago (exact date I do not remember) about open, day-time molesting of a girl/woman by criminals in a city in Rajasthan, perhaps Jaipur. Many people were watching the goings-on. An elder Sikh, about 70 or 80 years old, was passing by on a bicycle. Immediately on noticing the attack, the old Sikh man lifted the bicycle in his hands like am armour and started fighting the criminals. Saved the girl. All criminals ran away. Long live the Khalsa. Not only this, many Sikhs and gurdwaras offer generous aid/help/support to persons in need, no matter which region, religion, caste he/she may come from.
4: Paramjit Singh (Rudrapur, India), January 03, 2013, 2:48 PM.
Let us stop blaming 1984 for the change in us. 1984 is a temporary setback at best. The Guru's words and teachings haven't changed, then why have we? Let us all restore the glory of the teachings of the Gurus. Right is right and wrong is wrong, irrespective of who stands in our way.
5: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), January 03, 2013, 3:21 PM.
In the United Kingdom we have an awesome story featured on BBC Radio, when a female commuter told the listeners that when she commuted by train each day from London to her home town, she walks down each carriage of the train to spot a Sikh wearing a dastaar and if she found one she would sit in THAT carriage because she knew that "I would be 100% safe!"
6: Kanwarjeet Singh (USA), January 03, 2013, 4:45 PM.
In response to comment #4: Parminder Singh ji - I think you miss the point. 1984 did not change us as Sikhs nor did it change our thinking towards life - it did however change one very important thing in us, i.e., trust. We let ourselves be betrayed - we let our guard down, we were so busy protecting the nation that we forgot to padlock our own homes. 1984 taught us to be more vigilant, be more aware and be more educated about ourselves. At least that is what it did to many I know. I hope as a community we all learnt the same. As far as standing up against wrong - I think most Sikhs still have that moral conscience and courage and act on it (hence all our success globally).
7: Upender Singh (Michigan, USA), January 04, 2013, 11:19 AM.
Dear Kanwarjeet (#6), I wish I could agree with your statement: "Most Sikhs still have that moral conscience and courage and act on it." The moral decay we see in India has not left India's Sikhs untouched. The fact is India's Sikhs are not an island, most do get affected by the social fabric they live in, especially those who wander away from their roots; the Gurus' way of life. I witnessed this episode in 1996 and I did see expectations in the eye of the people sitting in that bus. It was like they were saying to that Baba ji, get up and protect her, do your job. Magic happens when we set high expectation for ourselves. Our outward identity sets that level of expectation both from others (especially in India) and from ourselves. The year 1984 was a big blow and of course there are lessons to be learned. I lived in one of the worst affected regions of the Delhi pogroms back then. As a 5 year old, finding out about the brutal killing the next day of our neighbor was devastating. But I try never to forget, the people who came to kill us were Hindus/Indians but so were the ones who risked their lives, gave refuge to us in their houses, hid us and saved us. Guru Gobind Singh pardoned Aurangzeb via his Zafarnama, in spite of all the atrocities; that is the real gurmat we need to strive for. In my view, Paramjit - your words, "Let us all restore the glory of the teachings of the Gurus. Right is right and wrong is wrong, irrespective of who stands in our way," reflects that wisdom.
8: Ari Singh (Rostov, Russia), January 04, 2013, 1:05 PM.
We Sikhs have focused on protecting other communities but have forgotten to secure our own homes. Hence, the tragedy of 1984 which has wounded us. Maybe it is time to start a dialogue on post-1984 or 'After 1984'.