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Swot Analysis Of Sikhs And Punjabi Sikhs

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I do not aim to offend anyone with the SWOT Analysis the objective is to be constructive as I feel the Sikh Community need to consider the following. Open attachment to see SWOT Analysis.

SWOT Analysis of Punjabi (Sikh) community –

I do not aim to offend anyone with the SWOT Analysis the objective is to be constructive as I feel the Sikh Community need to consider the following…

Strengths:

·
The good the Sikh Faith symbolizes as the following illustrates this:

, the founder of the faith, summed up the basis of Sikh lifestyle in three requirements:
,
and
, which means
meditate on the holy name,
, work diligently and honestly and share ones fruits.

Every Sikh is required to aspire to sainthood by his devotion to God and service to mankind.

Sikhs are not required to renounce the world, and aspire to be the best but not be obsessed by the act, wanting the best but not craving to accumulate.
(service) is an integral part of Sikh worship
. This is very easily observed in the
(temple). Visitors of any religious or socio-economic background are welcomed.
(free food for all) is always served.

· During the Islamic invasion of India,
prominent Sikh Gurus were martyred
by the ruling Muslims
for religious freedom of other religions.

·
The religion is open minded and tolerant of other religions
as this is highlighted by taking passages from people of other faiths: Bhagat
Bhagat
.

·
Most Sikhs
come from the
Punjab region of India
, although significant communities exist around the world -
Large diaspora
of Punjabi / Sikhs across the globe.

·
Sikhs are significantly represented; they are key figures in India as well as around the world despite only being a small percentage of the population e.g.

Politics: PM Manmohan Singh, former President of India
, United States, the first
elected to the
was

Scientists e.g. Professor Piara Singh Gill and Dr Narinder Singh Kapany

Writers: Khushwant Singh,
, famous

Business: Vikram Chatwal, Tom Singh, Malvinder Mohan Singh

Musicians: Gurdas Maan, Satwinder Singh, Jagjit Singh

Athletes e.g. Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Jeev Milkha Singh

Actors: Akshay Kumar (Bollywood), Parminder Nagra (ER)

The above are just a small example of the many figures.

·
Over 50% of the Indian Military are Sikh
; the current highest ranking General
of India is
.

·
Sikhs fought in both
, such as, fighting in disproportionately large numbers,
approximately 10 fold, in both
and
for the
in the liberation of
and displaying exceptional gallantry and heroism. This resulted in them winning one of the highest
number of
for
,
and gallantry.

· The state of
Punjab
is known as the
breadbasket of India
as the state makes a
significant contribution to India.

·
Punjabi culture is one of self-dependence, self-reliance and hard work, which have made Punjabis statistically on average the wealthiest in
.
These character traits come from Punjab's difficult history, particularly due to the number of outside invasions. The heroism of the ancient residents of Punjab was highlighted during
's invasion. Traditional historic Punjabi culture is renowned for its tolerance, progressive and logical approach to life. Punjabis customarily value and show great respect for their traditions and history. The state is the location of one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, the
,
's first civilization.

·
is the main religion of Indian Punjab and is practiced by about 60% of the population.
Hinduism forms the prevalent minority religion, there is a small Muslim minority left (most of the Muslim population migrated to the Pakistani side after Partition).
The holiest of
shrines, the
, is in the city of
, which is considered to be the holiest city in
.

Weaknesses:

·
Other sects, followings e.g.
Radha Soami
,
Dera Sacha Sauda
in Sikhism being created and flourishing due to people lacking knowledge and confidence of Sikhism.

· The
Sikh community comprises many diverse sets of peoples
. These include different
, tribal and socio-economic groups e.g.
,
, Bhatra, Brahmin, Arora, Dalit etc origins.
People try to make an issue of the cultural differences however it is nothing to do with the Sikh religion but people wrongly bring the issue in to the religion.

·
The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947, when the
split the former
province of
between
and
.
Himachal Pradesh was created as a
from several princely states and
District. In 1956, PEPSU was merged into Punjab state, and several northern districts of Punjab in the
were added to
.

· During the
, the
brought increased economic prosperity for the Sikh community in Punjab. However, a growing
between the
led Indian government and the main political part of the Sikhs, the
, began to widen during the 1970s
. The hostility and bitterness arose from what was widely seen by the Sikhs as increasing alienation, centarlization and discriminatory attitudes towards Punjab by the Government of India.
This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to unanimously pass the
which among other things called for granting maximum autonomy for the Punjab and other states and limiting the role and powers of the Central Government however the resolution was rejected.

· Some Sikhs demanded an independent state of Khalistan.
along with his supporters sought shelter inside the Akal Takht. Fearing an attack on the Golden Temple,
, with help from
heavily fortified the Temple.
The Indian army finally assaulted the temple on the Harimandir Sahib
to flush out armed militants in June, 1984.
However, the operation was poorly planned and coordinated, resulted in heavy military and civilian casualties.
As a result, the situation in Punjab deteriorated further and there was a rise in militancy. By the early 1990s, after many years of violence across Punjab, the militant's struggle for Khalistan lost much of the sympathy, given after the assault on the sacred
, it had previously had from some Punjabi Sikhs and what little armed resistance remained was eliminated and forced underground.

·
In the 1980s, there were political and religious conflicts in India with the ruling Congress party, which instigated ethnic struggles between Sikhs, Hindus and various Sikh sects for political gains.
Many Sikhs hold the Congress accountable for the 1984 killings of Sikhs in Delhi after the assassination of
by a Sikh group.

·
Punjab
's economy was acutely affected in the 80s and early 90s.

·
Massacres such as 1984 and Sikhs are still paying the price!
Whereas other factions of Indian society get away with events more lightly e.g. a supposed Tamil killed Rajiv Gandi and Muslim Extremists etc are still carrying out regular attacks however they are not being punished like Sikhs.

·
Younger population want to go abroad
e.g. UK, USA, Canada, Dubai, Greece, Italy etc.

·
Negative western influence
e.g. from living abroad and being influenced by what is been seen in the Media.

·
Bollywood and bhangra videos promoting the wrong message and Sikhs are potential victims.

·
Bhaiyas and Gujjars moving in on Punjab, contributing to a lot of the labour possessing a hard working mentality whereas locals are becoming less motivated and focused to work.

·
Government policies not supporting Punjab as there are no specific laws to benefit Punjab
e.g. restriction of opening places selling alcohol and banning religious conversions, these policies are in place in other states e.g. Gujarat and Rajasthan however not in the Punjab.

·
Christian Missions, Churches and Convents
scattered throughout (in each area).

·
Extravagant Marriage Ceremonies
– We need to remember why we do things such as having a Sikh marriage should mean doing the basics.

·
Taking on the negatives of Societies
e.g. wrong customs smoking / drinking, abandoning strong heritage etc.

·
Any negativity associated with Sikhs is to do with the people and not the religion that needs to be stressed!

Opportunities:

·
Our strong proud and honest heritage, roots and background.

·
Investment and progression in developments for the community.

· The Sikh community has comparatively
greater economic prosperity
than other communities in India.

·
Need to stress to society that you can find God only from the heart not from force.

·
Our background compared to the history of Christian and Muslim tyranny committed in India and around the world.

·
Regular events, projects and efforts for a strong positive movement representing Love and Unity in Sikhism.

·
Networking between the Sikh Communities in different places and fields to benefit society.
·
Making Sikhism more accessible to the Community
via e.g. literature, media, clubs, societies etc.

·
Punjab has the best infrastructure in all of
and as result it is becoming enormously attractive
to foreign companies looking for bases and manufacturing zones for their Indian operations. The Indian National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has ranked Punjab's infrastructure as the best in India. Its road, rail, air and transport system is rated best in the country with ranking of 210 points
compared to the national average of 100 in NCAER's infrastructure index. It has highest per capita generation of electricity in
, which is 2.5 times the national average. All major Punjabi cities hugely benefit from this and having one of lowest tariff's in India, including all of Punjab's villages, which have been electrified and connected to the Punjabi electrical power grid since 1974.

Threats:

·
Anti-Sikh organizations
tactics (Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh / Rashtriya Sikh Sangat
(RSS), Hizbul-Tahrir (Hut)).

·
Identity Crises as the community is being misguided and misinformed.

·
Lacking community spirit and unity as Sikhs are moving out of the 'ghettos' to the suburbs where there is less interaction between the community.

·
Infavourable policies against minorities e.g.
Turban bans, Checking Sikhs turbans at airports etc.

·
Religions such as Hinduism and Islam wrongly implying Sikhism is not a separate faith.

·
Alcohol shops
increasing at a crazy rate and
Drugs
being sold freely in most areas leading to
Alcoholics and Drug Addicts.

·
Violence in and against the Sikh Community
stabbings at Vasakhi melas in Birmingham, attacks by Muslim youths on Sikh boys and girls, Canadian, US and UK gangs.

·
Conversion policies
by Muslims in the UK and abroad, Christians in the UK, Canada and India (Ignite The Nations, Inc)
.

·
Due to the
Sikhs wear, people in Western countries have sometimes confused Sikhs with
men or
.
This has affected Sikhs in times of conflict with elements of the Middle East. For example, during the Iranian hostage crisis when the government of Iran held Americans hostages in its own country, some people in Western countries misunderstood the Sikh turban as a turban worn by some Middle Eastern men; they did not understand it is also worn in
. After the
, some people associated Sikhs with terrorists or members of the
. A few days after the attack,
, a Sikh man, was gunned down by a person who thought that the victim had ties to
. CNN suggests that there has been an increase in hate-crimes against Sikh men in the United States and the UK.

·
Sections of the West being misinformed and ignorant
e.g. Affiliate Sikhs to Extreme Muslims e.g. Talibans and Arabs damaged American installations. In a fit of anger, the Americans vandalized and tortured Sikhs, mistaking them as Arabs and Talibans for their Turbans and Beards. This unnecessary harassment is a sort of a challenge for the Sikhs which provides them an opportunity to apprise the world as who they are. Alag Shabad Yug Trust has left no stone unturned in providing sufficient information in a small book titled 'Mistaken Identity of the Sikhs'.

·
The idea of Khalistan,
focus needs to be on other issues relating to the Sikh community as well as too much time is being spent on the issue.

·
Development of other religious shrines which are duplicating Sikh shrines
e.g. Durga Mandir (Amritsar) and Lakshmi Narayani Temple (Tamil Nadu).

I'm sure there are more points, which need to be mentioned and considered as this was just done in a short space of time. The community's feedback would be appreciated. References are from certain media and online encyclopedias e.g. wikipedia etc.

SWOT_Analysis_of_Sikhs_and_Punjabi_Sikhs.doc

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