Ranjeet01

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BeV5KXdIcAAw182.jpg Every week I watch "The Big Questions" on the BBC and I always see this Singh in the background. Wherever in the country they go he's there! Who is he? He never says anything, is he an extra? Is he there to make the audience more diverse? Is a producer, who is he?

https://youtu.be/DiA0P9iELAA

A lot of them are now going to Adelaide for this very reason.

The phenomena amongst the Millenial Punjabi(generation born late 80's and 90s) demographic is to do their ILETS (English equivalency test) in order to apply for student visas. This is the main reason why Australia has become very popular in recent years. The English level requirements are lower than the UK and apparently they get PR after 2 years. And what is that they do in Australia? They drive cabs. I had one relative who had a good job as a police officer asking these probing questions. I suggested to him that he had a profession, maybe he should see if his profession has a demand in these countries and maybe he should look for a skills based visa, where he would get PR before he steps foot into his country of choice. He then denied he was looking to move abroad. When I spoke to another relative about him, he told me that it is in fact the police officer wanted to move abroad.

Interesting you mentioned about the washrooms. My father always mentioned how white people lack personal hygiene, but when you go to Punjab and indeed across India, it's worse. I remember going into using a public washroom in Delhi (had to pay 10 rupees for the privilege ), I had to close my nose. At least as male you can stand up and pee, it must be worse for women. You appreciate having constipation.

Another thing I have noticed is that when more recently emigrated Sikhs go to Punjab for holidays they can be the most arrogant people you can meet and they will lord it over the people in Punjab. They start feeling superior and act quite aloof. It is quite interesting to observe the behavioural dynamics. As a "prahna bar wala", you have nothing to prove and you treat everyone the same and mix and mingle with everyone. For a local Punjabi, it is quite refreshing for them as it can change their perception but on the flip side you got to keep a degree of reservation since you do not want to feel you are taken advantage. You get asked the weirdest questions such as "how much do you earn", "how much does milk cost?" They skirt around asking indirect questions about emigrating. You ask them if they want go pardesi and they say no.

One of the positives that I have noticed is that there is a segment of men who had cut their hair during the 1990's and early 2000's who have grown their kesh back. I have also noticed that the consumption of alcohol is not as prevalent as it was before. You would see some guys get completely off their face, but it seems less so (this is just my observation) this time. It seems that some people have gone through a complete cycle.

You have articulated it better than I ever could. It seems that Punjabi society has jumped from Stage 1 to Stage 4 without going through to Stage 2 and 3. The UK have moved from Agricultural to Industrial to Service. Without Industrial, you don't get the Infrastructural stuff such good electricity network, decent roads/transportation/communication links,proper sewage system etc. It's what is lacking currently amongst other things.

I've not been on the forum for a while but that's because I have been to Punjab. I go every couple of years mainly because someone is getting married. One of the things you always hear people say is "It's getting more advanced you know, it's more advanced than England". That always made be chuckle. Yes there has been great changes made in Punjab. For the past twenty years odd years that I have been going, I have seen people switch from big flair trousers and punjabi suits to wearing jeans. Motorbikes to cars, squat latrines to sit down flush toilets. You cannot go around anywhere without yet another "palace" built. Everyone has the latest phone, the latest trendy hair-do , designer clothes and with all the latest advertising boards promoting "Study in Australia" or whatever student visa that is available for any particular country in the Anglospere. What has dawned on me that Punjab has advanced but it has advanced in consumerism and materialism. I see better standard of cars with Audis, Mercs and BMWs driven, the weddings have got more extravagant. But the infrastructure (as with most of India) is rubbish, the roads are rubbish (even though they have been recently built, there is no effort to maintain them). What is the point of buying flashy cars when the roads are not up to scratch. I have seen palaces of weddings I have attended lose their lustre after a couple of years. It's amazing how something that has been built a couple of years ago look like it was built over 50 years ago with lack of maintenance. Materially Punjab has never had it so good but the Punjabis/Sikhs still want to get out. What it is that they think they are going get in pardesi land that they can't get at home. When people where moving out of Punjab to Canada during the 1980s, it was understandable. But the emigration out of Punjab has escalated exponentially since the millenium and it is not like the 1980s. It seems that Punjab with all it's troubles in the 1980s was more of a content place, it is now not so much. I married in Punjab and I have seen great changes in my wife's family. As a fourth generation Sikh with most of family abroad it was quite refreshing to see my in-laws (who never ventured out of the subcontinent ) who lived together with cousins/uncles in multiple generational households, very close-knit. But over the years, I am seeing the same kind of patterns emerging with less closeness, more individuality and they are now emigrating in their droves. It is quite sad to see. It seems all the new emigration out of Punjab is pointing towards Australia.Sorry Canada, you are no longer the country of preference. What is really funny when you converse with recently emigrated Punjabis is if their children speak Punjabi, it's the same old conversations you hear when you were kids thirty odd years ago. History seems to repeat itself time and time again. These are just my opinions, you may agree or disagree if you wish.

https://youtu.be/XrwZORNA-k0

Sikhni777 I understand the gurbani quotes with relation to love and sex. However, lust can manifest in other things as well that is not to do with sex such as lust for power.

If every Sikh became celibate there will be no Sikhs left.

Great rebuttal. The only mistake he has made is that he called Sunny a journalist. Sunny is a blogger who thinks he's a journalist.

Bit difficult in places like Melbourne where the Sikhs for the most part very recent arrivals and it takes time to develop a community. Also makes it difficult if you venture out of an established area.

You're not the first UK Sikh to find Canada boring.

Jagsaw Please correct me if I'm wrong and I hope I am not being too personal here: Since you have lived in Canada, why did you decide to leave Canada to come back to live in the UK. You gave the example of Ujjal Dosanjh having better opportunities in Canada than the UK. The question is whether Ujjal Dosanjh is a one-off or whether this a more common feature for people who move to Canada from the UK?

So what do you propose? Are you going to emigrate or are you going to stay?

Talking in terms of large numbers

Sikhs have been living in the UK in large numbers for over half a century with fourth generation Sikhs at school age. If after all this time, you haven't figured whether the UK is a racist country or not, then I wonder what your alternatives are.

Truth has this habit of coming out.

Any non-UK Sikh who has the intelligence to think for themselves would know his game. He regurgitates the same old stuff and brings nothing to the table. His currency is attention and the best way to shut him up is to not give him any attention. The more the public knows about the grooming cases, the less the mainstream media can ignore this and the more they will give the likes of Hundal the elbow.

You've fallen off the wagon. Look at why you have fallen off the wagon, correct those mistakes. Don't blame Sikhi for this, take accountability for your action. Sikhi gives you the clarity to see the action you have taken and then gives you a solution. It gives you the bir rass and the chardikala to overcome this obstacle. If you hanging around your cousins is causing you taking up drinking again. Simple avoid your cousins. Pick up yourself up, dust yourself off and get yourself back on the wagon. This time you will be better than the last time.

Does everything about Punjabi have to come from Persian and Arabic. Is our language just a mongrel language? Has the Punjabi language influenced any other language?

It will be a lot harder for them, there is more scrutiny on them as a community.

Lack of self-critique and introspection could be more due to cultural factors.