Roundtable
Do The Right Thing
The Roundtable Open Forum # 50
EDITOR
The following is this week's topic for discussion.
DO THE RIGHT THING
It is trite to say that India and Indians are obsessed with Pakistan, and have a visceral desire for it to disappear from the map. It is a constant reminder to them of the division of India - in itself an artificial entity left behind by a fleeing British occupation army - a mere six decades or so ago, and the loss of a chunk of the sub-continent to Muslim demands.
This pathology is intertwined with the country's psychosis of antagonism against Islam itself - the negative mind-set against Pakistan and against Islam feed each other incessantly.
Being part of a landscape which is dominated by the influences of a 80% majority, Sikhs who originate from, or currently live in India have, through osmosis, adopted this neurosis. Seemingly oblivious of the fact that it is fuelled by the forces of hindutva - an extreme, right-wing, militant, fundamentalist Hindu ideology - it is not uncommon to see many Sikhs parroting the very same invective which emanates from their own oppressors.
True, throughout Sikh history, Sikhs have felt the full brunt of Islamic fundamentalism, particularly during the Mughal period.
But, egged on by vested Hindu interests that plague India today, we tend to make light of the fact that Guru Gobind Singh, for example, had to fight more battles against Hindu tyrants than Muslim ones.
We tend to overlook the fact that the martyrdom of Guru Arjan, though carried out under the watch and orders of a Mughal, Jehangir, was actually brought about by a petty Hindu bureaucrat. The martyrdom of the younger Sahibzaadey, sadly, evidences a similar pattern. These are but two examples. Sikh history is replete with them.
We tend to turn a blind eye to the fact that the Sikh Raj was brought to its knees, not by the British, but by the treachery of Hindu traitors - the Dogra brothers - who had been elevated from petty soldiers to ministers and generals solely by the largesse bestowed on them by the Sikh Emperor.
True, we suffered a body-blow at the hands of the Muslims during the Partition of Punjab, but we seem to have forgotten that it was facilitated by the Brahmins and their cohorts who controlled the Congress Party. And thereafter, in a Hindu-majority India, we were hung out to dry!
And what of all the body blows we have received at the hands of "Hindu" India since then ... the insulting clause in the Indian Constitution, Punjabi Suba, the creation of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, 1984 and its aftermath ... all the way to this day?
None of the above justifies a Sikh to turn anti-Hindu. It is not in our DNA ... it has no place within our values and principles, our way of life, our world-view.
Similarly, nothing justifies a Sikh to turn anti-Muslim. It is not in our DNA ... it has no place within our values and principles, our way of life, our world-view.
Remember: we do not despise the British even though, Lord knows, their crimes in Punjab and India were no less than those of the Mughals of yore or the Indian government of today. Why? Because ... it is not in our DNA ...
POINTS TO PONDER
Are we vigilant enough, when ensuring that we are not confused for Arabs or Muslims in a post-9/11 world, to ensure that we do not do it at the expense of Muslims?
Are we able to be objective enough and not be carried away in the irrational aspect of the racist and bigoted tide against current-day Islam? Are we able to discern right from wrong - that is, what measures are fair, and which ones are just not right and do not deserve our support?
Are we able to see through the Indian government propaganda vis-à-vis Kashmir?
Are we able to understand the true plight of the Palestinians today at the hands of the very same people who still nurture living memories of terrible wrongs done against them by others?
Have we Sikhs retained the ability to stay on track in terms of fulfilling our role in life as saint-soldiers, untrammeled by personal interests or vested influences?
Do we stop ourselves at each juncture and ask ourselves: Are we doing The Right Thing?
We invite your thoughts on these and similar questions that may arise from all of the above.
November 12, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), November 12, 2010, 6:45 PM.
T. Sher Singh ji: as usual, you have done a superb job summarizing all of the 600 odd pages of Dr. Sangat Singh' "The Sikhs in History" into one page. "Fareedaa buray daa bhalaa kar gusaa man na hadhaa-ay/ dayee rog na lag-eepalai sabh kichh paa-ay" [GGS: 1382.10) - 'Fareed, answer evil with goodness; do not fill your mind with anger/ Your body shall not suffer from any disease, and you shall obtain everything'. Treachery is not confined to any particular race or creed. Sikh History bears testimony and is replete with examples how such acts were dealt with by the Gurus and the Sikhs. This is the acknowledged hallmark of the Sikh character to do the right thing, and is evidenced by its more than five centuries of history.
2: Baljit Singh Pelia (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), November 14, 2010, 12:38 PM.
Arundhati Roy walks the walk, following the example set by Guru Tegh Bahadar in confronting the Delhi raj on atrocities being committed against the Kashmiri people.
3: N. Singh (Canada), November 15, 2010, 11:10 AM.
When I read the inane comments made by most Sikhs on this board, I think the right thing to do would be to walk away from them. Many Sikhs have built their persona;l version of their religion on the heads of weak and cowardly Hindus, and all that has resulted in is weak and cowardly Sikhs.
4: H. Singh (United States), November 15, 2010, 1:01 PM.
Generalizing an entire community as "weak" or "cowardly" is typical of the flaws in some people's thinking. We need to move beyond our "black and white" perception of the world. It is a much more complicated place than that.
5: Jaswant Kaur (London, United Kingdom), November 16, 2010, 10:00 AM.
I agree. Difficult though it is for all of us to separate our knee-jerk reactions from the "right thing", we must fall back on the teachings of our Gurus and try to always "do the right thing" ... at times, even at the expense of short-term gains.
6: Mohan Singh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada.), November 17, 2010, 8:55 AM.
After Guru Arjan, Baba Buddha ji gave two swords to Guru Hargobind, representing Miri and Piri. Guru Gobind Singh also said: "Jabbey baan lagyo tabhe rosh jaagyo." 'Rosh' here is 'veer russ' and not krodh. Then he created the Khalsa and bestowed the kirpan as one of the Five K's. Today, our rosh is limited to retaining our external symbols. Recently, the sangat scolded Giani Gurbachan Singh Thailand in the gurdwara of Hong Kong as he asked Sikhs to take care of their daughters, because in Hong Kong almost few months, you hear of a Sikh girl marrying a Muslim. Forgetting Nov. 1984 is equal to inviting another onslaught. In the diaspora, the so-called parbandhaks, chowdharies and their organizations collected millions of dollars for the victims of Nov. 1984, but nothing reached there. The victims suffered because they were Sikhs. The SGPC receives billions of rupees in donations, offerings and seva at Darbar Sahib, and they have no money for these victims? Are they doing The Right Thing?