Why People Don't Respect Sikhs Anymore Like In Past?

[apne]

I was talking with a few oldies couple of days ago. They were having a discussion about Sikhi. Two of them were whose fathers were Sikhs from Hindu family but themselves they were cleanshaven. They were disscussing about hair and i was asking them why they cut their hair etc. They said because they were not very good sikhs and were deviated. They were basically disscussing about old age problems and after death things. They told me stories from past and how sikhs were respected in Public life and not just in books and stories unlike nowdays. I have heard how in olden days people while travelling in a Bus during dark would make sure that there was a Sikh in the bus and only then they took the bus. They felt secure in the presence of a Sikh. They said people in past from all walks of life had deep respect for Sikhs and Sikh was synoynom of Saint, brave, good hearted, honest etc. and had a national hero type image. But , they said , things have changed now. Sikhs are not looked upon as in the past. They said Sikhs are now corrupt and have chor type reputation. They said there are Sikhs who are good and honest, but they are as scarce as people of other communities. If you spend time among various surroundings, you do realise that people don't see Sikhs as they saw them in the past.

They said earlier Sikhs were seen as an image of their Guru but not now. Now they are only a religious group like that of hindus and muslims etc. And equally bad and deeply involved in superstitions, fake rituals, running after fame materials etc. They said many things in Sikhi go against society nowdays and now sikhs are as self serving and opportunistic as any other people. Sikhs now don't have any special status as much as they think. They said Sikhs can now only boast from the past deeds of their ancestors and not from present which is same for every group and community. Earlier Sikhs were able to lead all kinds of people, hindus, muslims, agnostics etc. but now they cannot properly lead their own community and many Sikhs are unable to instill goddness in their own childeren. Sikhs are not role models for society nowdays and their national character has degenerated. According to them Sikhi is loosing that special charm which seperated it from others.

They had a long discussion and it was interesting to hear them. They disscussed many other things and it really changed my perception about who i am and i should be.

[Harmeet_Singh]

Sikhs would be offered seats on buses, when giving evidence in courts the judge would completely except the evidence from a sardar without an oath.

[Matheen]

Nobody wants to do any kamaiyee these days, but everyone wants to look the part. So we have people who look like Sikhs but don't do what Guru Ji asks. This creates the bad image you speak of.

[manvir s]

very fair point but its actually not easy to live up to our ancestors. mainly i think because of the society in which we live. its not just Sikhs. Goodness in the world is on the verge of extinction.

[jasleen k]

very fair point but its actually not easy to live up to our ancestors. mainly i think because of the society in which we live. its not just Sikhs. Goodness in the world is on the verge of extinction.

i disagree, i see goodness all around me (ok, not much in this forum, but still.... ) maybe i'm a "glass half full" person. when i visited india, alone, i found that sikhs were incredibly helpful and kind and honest whenever i needed help. in delhi, mumbai, amritsar, almost anywhere really.

when i was in delhi and i wanted to go to gurdwara sis ganj sahib, i found a sikh rikshaw driver who not only drove me there, but walked around with me, reading the signs for me, telling me sakhis... and then he refused payment for the ride!

when i was on a train to amritsar, a sikh lady sitting next to me saw that i didn't have a hotel, she called her brother who owned a hotel, he picked me up personally and drove me there from the train station.

when i was in amritsar, a sikh lady gave me a kara (my first!) after we met at darbar sahib at amrit vela.

when i was taking a bus from chandigarh to patiala, the man sitting behind me tried to feel my leg... the sikh conductor literally threw him out of the moving bus.

when i was in patiala, i wanted to go to fatehghar sahib and then back to chd... the door man at my hotel (totally staffed by amritdharis) found me a driver who was so pious... he would do ardas before he turned on the car, every time. he drove me to fatehghar sahib, showed me around, drove me to chd, all for 500INR.

when i wanted to go to anandpur sahib, i asked the sikh bus driver if he went to anandpur, he said "NAHI! anandpur SAHIB". then smiled and let me on the bus.

in anandpur sahib, i met a sikh family who was visiting from the US after many years. they invited me to eat langar with them and they also showed me around and told me sakhis...

in mumbai, my hotel security guard told me to "only ride in sardarji taxis". in GTB Nagur, i got completely lost and when i asked directions from a Sikh gentleman, he walked a mile out of his way to get me to the train station.

even before i went to india, i had read in tour books that if you need assistance, ask a Sikh! :D

i think the negative image and stereotypes we see today are about 90% from the indian media, which is extremely biased against Sikhs.

[Harjeet.Singh]

very fair point but its actually not easy to live up to our ancestors. mainly i think because of the society in which we live. its not just Sikhs. Goodness in the world is on the verge of extinction.

i disagree, i see goodness all around me (ok, not much in this forum, but still.... ) maybe i'm a "glass half full" person. when i visited india, alone, i found that sikhs were incredibly helpful and kind and honest whenever i needed help. in delhi, mumbai, amritsar, almost anywhere really.

when i was in delhi and i wanted to go to gurdwara sis ganj sahib, i found a sikh rikshaw driver who not only drove me there, but walked around with me, reading the signs for me, telling me sakhis... and then he refused payment for the ride!

when i was on a train to amritsar, a sikh lady sitting next to me saw that i didn't have a hotel, she called her brother who owned a hotel, he picked me up personally and drove me there from the train station.

when i was in amritsar, a sikh lady gave me a kara (my first!) after we met at darbar sahib at amrit vela.

when i was taking a bus from chandigarh to patiala, the man sitting behind me tried to feel my leg... the sikh conductor literally threw him out of the moving bus.

when i was in patiala, i wanted to go to fatehghar sahib and then back to chd... the door man at my hotel (totally staffed by amritdharis) found me a driver who was so pious... he would do ardas before he turned on the car, every time. he drove me to fatehghar sahib, showed me around, drove me to chd, all for 500INR.

when i wanted to go to anandpur sahib, i asked the sikh bus driver if he went to anandpur, he said "NAHI! anandpur SAHIB". then smiled and let me on the bus.

in anandpur sahib, i met a sikh family who was visiting from the US after many years. they invited me to eat langar with them and they also showed me around and told me sakhis...

in mumbai, my hotel security guard told me to "only ride in sardarji taxis". in GTB Nagur, i got completely lost and when i asked directions from a Sikh gentleman, he walked a mile out of his way to get me to the train station.

even before i went to india, i had read in tour books that if you need assistance, ask a Sikh! :D

i think the negative image and stereotypes we see today are about 90% from the indian media, which is extremely biased against Sikhs.

WoW thats amazing!

If people don't respect Sikhs anymore, then make them, i don't mean force them with violence, but just go out of your way to help someone, like holding a door open for someone. Then people themselves will soon realise.

[jasleen k]

If people don't respect Sikhs anymore, then make them, i don't mean force them with violence, but just go out of your way to help someone, like holding a door open for someone. Then people themselves will soon realise.

agreed 100%!

where i live, most people don't even know what sikhs are. so i do whatever i can to be visible, polite, and helpful. it opens a lot of dialog.

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

very fair point but its actually not easy to live up to our ancestors. mainly i think because of the society in which we live. its not just Sikhs. Goodness in the world is on the verge of extinction.

i disagree, i see goodness all around me (ok, not much in this forum, but still.... ) maybe i'm a "glass half full" person. when i visited india, alone, i found that sikhs were incredibly helpful and kind and honest whenever i needed help. in delhi, mumbai, amritsar, almost anywhere really.

when i was in delhi and i wanted to go to gurdwara sis ganj sahib, i found a sikh rikshaw driver who not only drove me there, but walked around with me, reading the signs for me, telling me sakhis... and then he refused payment for the ride!

when i was on a train to amritsar, a sikh lady sitting next to me saw that i didn't have a hotel, she called her brother who owned a hotel, he picked me up personally and drove me there from the train station.

when i was in amritsar, a sikh lady gave me a kara (my first!) after we met at darbar sahib at amrit vela.

when i was taking a bus from chandigarh to patiala, the man sitting behind me tried to feel my leg... the sikh conductor literally threw him out of the moving bus.

when i was in patiala, i wanted to go to fatehghar sahib and then back to chd... the door man at my hotel (totally staffed by amritdharis) found me a driver who was so pious... he would do ardas before he turned on the car, every time. he drove me to fatehghar sahib, showed me around, drove me to chd, all for 500INR.

when i wanted to go to anandpur sahib, i asked the sikh bus driver if he went to anandpur, he said "NAHI! anandpur SAHIB". then smiled and let me on the bus.

in anandpur sahib, i met a sikh family who was visiting from the US after many years. they invited me to eat langar with them and they also showed me around and told me sakhis...

in mumbai, my hotel security guard told me to "only ride in sardarji taxis". in GTB Nagur, i got completely lost and when i asked directions from a Sikh gentleman, he walked a mile out of his way to get me to the train station.

even before i went to india, i had read in tour books that if you need assistance, ask a Sikh! :D

i think the negative image and stereotypes we see today are about 90% from the indian media, which is extremely biased against Sikhs.

:Re:

[Nehmat]

We see things the way they suite our "lifestyle and selfishness"...

It's a matter of way that you look at things...that's all

For example:

For a meat eater, anyone who doesn't eat meat will seem like a boring and a tasteless person ...

For a Punjabi person who him/herself is not Amrit Dhaari, everyone who is Amrit Dhaari will seem like bunch of Paakhandis...

[Guest amar_jkp]

All these respects were for resisting against muslim rulers . Things change after partion when sikhs demanded for fulfilment of promises made before partion. When we were fighting muslims we were good and when we raised our voice against hindu discremation we become nasty character types. Typical upper caste hindu mentality.