The Sikh Identity

[Mehtab Singh]

This article is not written to insult any community in particular, and so I have used the term "communal factions" and not a particular ethnic term. There are good and bad people in every community and all I have done are point out the mischief some "communal factions" engage in. A number of times we've had certain individuals start the age old debate "Sikhs are Hindus". No matter how much you try to convince them even by using quotes from Gurbani, they fail to understand. Now I myself fail to understand why these people have to start such a debate. I shall try to bring out some reasons I feel are the main cause behind this. Anyone is free to point out any mistakes I may make.

Firstly, we need to take a look at some recent history. In 1947, Sikhs had the option of either joining India, or Pakistan, or having a country of their own. Since the Sikh leader Master Tara Singh was very naive, and stronger on rhetoric than on being practical, he fell prey to Nehru's words of assurance that Sikhs would fare better if they joined India. And so that's what happened – Sikhs did choose to join India.

In the past decade or so, a new zeal has developed among the Sangh parivaar to somehow make India a Hindu rashtra. Since the Muslims were given Pakistan, they probably don't have much choice left. Other communities like Christians are in very small numbers and so pose no threat to the communal factions in India. The ones who can be a headache for them tomorrow are obviously the Sikhs as they were promised a secular country in 1947 and so any idea of a country based on one particular religion will never be accepted by them. The first thing they will demand will be that Punjab be handed over to the Sikhs as a country distinct and different from this supposed Hindu rashtra. That's another scenario the communal factions can never allow to happen. They cannot let go of defense forces like the Sikh regiment, Sikh Light Infantry and Punjab regiment. They cannot part with 40% of India wheat. So at any cost Punjab needs to remain with India. The only way to do this is to pacify the Sikhs so that they don't pose any risk and happily agree to be part of the Hindu rashtra.

There are 2 ways to terminate your foe. One is "annihilation" which means finishing him off by force. This is what the Mughals did and killed scores and scores of Sikhs. The other is "assimilation", which is when you make your foe join your ranks, and you use his power and resources for your own benefits. That's what the present day communal factions in India are doing to the Sikhs, and this is where the "Sikhs are Hindus" concept has to be introduced. Recently I heard a discourse according to which there are 12,700 villages in Punjab, and 13,000 Sikh saints dwell in them. The striking point is that all these saints sprang up only after 1984. Thus one starts questioning their existence before 1984 and the sudden resurfacing only after the Sikhs went through a holocaust.

The "Sikhs are Hindus" concept is thus a vital tool in convincing the Sikhs that they are a part of the Hindu rashtra. Not that Sikhs have anything against Hindus, but trying to manipulate an entire community's history and scriptures just to tamper with their ideology and personality for selfish personal motives is severely disgusting. A number of attempts have been made to portray the Sikh Gurus as Hindus, to misinterpret Gurbani in a way that it also declares the equivalency of Sikhs and Hindus, and to further belittle the Sikh religion by branding it as an offshoot of Hinduism.

Several upon several references and quotes from Gurbani and a number of other textual and historical sources that clearly outline Sikhism's unique, distinct and different identity are not even bothered to be studied by these communal factions. They even reject some valuable historic events such as Guru Tegh Bahadur Jee sacrificing His life for saving Hinduism and label it as incorrect information. These people forget the fact that Sikhism came at a time when historians had already started penning down history, whereas their own faith had its scriptures only after the original orator was not around anymore. The inclusion of verses by Hindu and Muslim saints in SREE GURU GRANTH SAHIB JEE is seen as a compilation of "items" copied from other faiths and incorporated into Sikhism, whereas the truth that SREE GURU GRANTH SAHIB JEE is indeed the only "scripture" that crosses boundaries of religion is sadly overlooked.

India was a slave under the British for some 200 years, a slave under Muslims for some 500 years, and slave to others such as Greeks, Persians and Afghans too. It has been a slave under foreign invaders for at least a millennium. The Sikhs who fought the oppressive Mughal and British governments are made to believe that they are supposed to live as subservient to those who were slaves for 1000 years. How hilarious is that! Those who deny the fact that it was Guru Gobind Singh Jee who saved Hindustan from complete cultural and religious annihilation need to familiarize themselves with a couplet by Baba Bulle Shah: "na kahu ab ki, na kahu tab ki, agar na hotay Guru Gobind Singh, to sunnat hoti sab ki", which is translated as "I don't talk about the present or the future, but if it wasn't for Guru Gobind Singh, all would be circumsized" which implies that all of India would have converted to Islam. These were words by a Sufi Muslim saint and yet the communal factions refuse to accept it.

Other reasons as to why such campaigns are started to confuse Sikhs about their identity remains partly obvious and partly yet to be investigated. Perhaps those who try to confuse the Sikhs are themselves confused about their own respective religions. Perhaps they find Sikhism, Sikh history and the immense knowledge in Sikhi too intimidating, and so to hide their fragile self-esteem they make fun of Sikhs in order to make a Sikh feel ashamed of his/her identity. After all its human nature to bring down anyone heading higher than you, to pull back anyone getting ahead of you, and so such individuals would do anything to mess up a Sikh's mind and try their best to break off a Sikh with Sikhi, and eventually break him/her off from Gurujee.

If you raise a lion's cub with kittens and puppies, initially the cub may consider itself as part of them. But as the cub grows and realizes that it looks different, that its characteristics are different, it will no longer categorize itself as a cat or dog. The same is for the present Sikh generation in India. All you need to give a cub to make it realize its true self is a small sip of blood (the famous Hindi phrase "sher ke mooh khoon lag jana" comes to mind). Similarly, the day those Sikhs realize that they are unique, distinct and different, the day they get a taste of their history written in the blood of countless shaheeds, the day they drink the divine elixir of Gurbani, all attempts by any of such communal factions to further mislead the Sikhs will fail miserably.

To conclude, all I want to say is that Sikhs have gone through the worst possible ever in the few centuries of their history. Time and again repeated attempts have been made to finish or subjugate them in one way or another. Those who do so need to remember that this community of lions started by Guru Gobind Singh Jee does not owe any allegiance to anyone but their Guru, and since lions don't fear sheeps, it is pointless to even try. Guru Gobind Singh Jee said "Vaaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo Jee Kee Fateh". He didn't announce that His Sikhs were a sub-sect of a pre-existing community, He called them Khalsa! He didn't have them owe allegiance to gods/goddesses/prophets, He made them owe allegiance only and only to Vaaheguroo! Thus the Sikh greeting of "Vaaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo Jee Kee Fateh" is in itself a complete declaration of the distinct, unique and different identity of the Sikhs. Any attempt/effort made to modify/dissolve/tarnish it will only meet with stiff resistance and insulting defeat.

Thus all fellow Sikh brothers and sisters are requested to beware of such individuals who are out there not to question, discuss or learn, but only to mislead and confuse, and thereby destroy and dissolve the Sikh identity.

My sincere apologies if this write up offends any reader. Hurting anyone was not my intention at all, just wanted to share my thoughts and I do stand corrected on anything I may have said wrong.

Gurujee bless you

Vaaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo Jee Kee Fateh

Mehtab Singh (an ex-Hindu)

May 29, 2006

[Bhujang]

This article is not written to insult any community in particular, and so I have used the term "communal factions" and not a particular ethnic term. There are good and bad people in every community and all I have done are point out the mischief some "communal factions" engage in. A number of times we've had certain individuals start the age old debate "Sikhs are Hindus". No matter how much you try to convince them even by using quotes from Gurbani, they fail to understand. Now I myself fail to understand why these people have to start such a debate. I shall try to bring out some reasons I feel are the main cause behind this. Anyone is free to point out any mistakes I may make.

Firstly, we need to take a look at some recent history. In 1947, Sikhs had the option of either joining India, or Pakistan, or having a country of their own. Since the Sikh leader Master Tara Singh was very naive, and stronger on rhetoric than on being practical, he fell prey to Nehru's words of assurance that Sikhs would fare better if they joined India. And so that's what happened – Sikhs did choose to join India.

In the past decade or so, a new zeal has developed among the Sangh parivaar to somehow make India a Hindu rashtra. Since the Muslims were given Pakistan, they probably don't have much choice left. Other communities like Christians are in very small numbers and so pose no threat to the communal factions in India. The ones who can be a headache for them tomorrow are obviously the Sikhs as they were promised a secular country in 1947 and so any idea of a country based on one particular religion will never be accepted by them. The first thing they will demand will be that Punjab be handed over to the Sikhs as a country distinct and different from this supposed Hindu rashtra. That's another scenario the communal factions can never allow to happen. They cannot let go of defense forces like the Sikh regiment, Sikh Light Infantry and Punjab regiment. They cannot part with 40% of India wheat. So at any cost Punjab needs to remain with India. The only way to do this is to pacify the Sikhs so that they don't pose any risk and happily agree to be part of the Hindu rashtra.

There are 2 ways to terminate your foe. One is "annihilation" which means finishing him off by force. This is what the Mughals did and killed scores and scores of Sikhs. The other is "assimilation", which is when you make your foe join your ranks, and you use his power and resources for your own benefits. That's what the present day communal factions in India are doing to the Sikhs, and this is where the "Sikhs are Hindus" concept has to be introduced. Recently I heard a discourse according to which there are 12,700 villages in Punjab, and 13,000 Sikh saints dwell in them. The striking point is that all these saints sprang up only after 1984. Thus one starts questioning their existence before 1984 and the sudden resurfacing only after the Sikhs went through a holocaust.

The "Sikhs are Hindus" concept is thus a vital tool in convincing the Sikhs that they are a part of the Hindu rashtra. Not that Sikhs have anything against Hindus, but trying to manipulate an entire community's history and scriptures just to tamper with their ideology and personality for selfish personal motives is severely disgusting. A number of attempts have been made to portray the Sikh Gurus as Hindus, to misinterpret Gurbani in a way that it also declares the equivalency of Sikhs and Hindus, and to further belittle the Sikh religion by branding it as an offshoot of Hinduism.

Several upon several references and quotes from Gurbani and a number of other textual and historical sources that clearly outline Sikhism's unique, distinct and different identity are not even bothered to be studied by these communal factions. They even reject some valuable historic events such as Guru Tegh Bahadur Jee sacrificing His life for saving Hinduism and label it as incorrect information. These people forget the fact that Sikhism came at a time when historians had already started penning down history, whereas their own faith had its scriptures only after the original orator was not around anymore. The inclusion of verses by Hindu and Muslim saints in SREE GURU GRANTH SAHIB JEE is seen as a compilation of "items" copied from other faiths and incorporated into Sikhism, whereas the truth that SREE GURU GRANTH SAHIB JEE is indeed the only "scripture" that crosses boundaries of religion is sadly overlooked.

India was a slave under the British for some 200 years, a slave under Muslims for some 500 years, and slave to others such as Greeks, Persians and Afghans too. It has been a slave under foreign invaders for at least a millennium. The Sikhs who fought the oppressive Mughal and British governments are made to believe that they are supposed to live as subservient to those who were slaves for 1000 years. How hilarious is that! Those who deny the fact that it was Guru Gobind Singh Jee who saved Hindustan from complete cultural and religious annihilation need to familiarize themselves with a couplet by Baba Bulle Shah: "na kahu ab ki, na kahu tab ki, agar na hotay Guru Gobind Singh, to sunnat hoti sab ki", which is translated as "I don't talk about the present or the future, but if it wasn't for Guru Gobind Singh, all would be circumsized" which implies that all of India would have converted to Islam. These were words by a Sufi Muslim saint and yet the communal factions refuse to accept it.

Other reasons as to why such campaigns are started to confuse Sikhs about their identity remains partly obvious and partly yet to be investigated. Perhaps those who try to confuse the Sikhs are themselves confused about their own respective religions. Perhaps they find Sikhism, Sikh history and the immense knowledge in Sikhi too intimidating, and so to hide their fragile self-esteem they make fun of Sikhs in order to make a Sikh feel ashamed of his/her identity. After all its human nature to bring down anyone heading higher than you, to pull back anyone getting ahead of you, and so such individuals would do anything to mess up a Sikh's mind and try their best to break off a Sikh with Sikhi, and eventually break him/her off from Gurujee.

If you raise a lion's cub with kittens and puppies, initially the cub may consider itself as part of them. But as the cub grows and realizes that it looks different, that its characteristics are different, it will no longer categorize itself as a cat or dog. The same is for the present Sikh generation in India. All you need to give a cub to make it realize its true self is a small sip of blood (the famous Hindi phrase "sher ke mooh khoon lag jana" comes to mind). Similarly, the day those Sikhs realize that they are unique, distinct and different, the day they get a taste of their history written in the blood of countless shaheeds, the day they drink the divine elixir of Gurbani, all attempts by any of such communal factions to further mislead the Sikhs will fail miserably.

To conclude, all I want to say is that Sikhs have gone through the worst possible ever in the few centuries of their history. Time and again repeated attempts have been made to finish or subjugate them in one way or another. Those who do so need to remember that this community of lions started by Guru Gobind Singh Jee does not owe any allegiance to anyone but their Guru, and since lions don't fear sheeps, it is pointless to even try. Guru Gobind Singh Jee said "Vaaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo Jee Kee Fateh". He didn't announce that His Sikhs were a sub-sect of a pre-existing community, He called them Khalsa! He didn't have them owe allegiance to gods/goddesses/prophets, He made them owe allegiance only and only to Vaaheguroo! Thus the Sikh greeting of "Vaaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo Jee Kee Fateh" is in itself a complete declaration of the distinct, unique and different identity of the Sikhs. Any attempt/effort made to modify/dissolve/tarnish it will only meet with stiff resistance and insulting defeat.

Thus all fellow Sikh brothers and sisters are requested to beware of such individuals who are out there not to question, discuss or learn, but only to mislead and confuse, and thereby destroy and dissolve the Sikh identity.

My sincere apologies if this write up offends any reader. Hurting anyone was not my intention at all, just wanted to share my thoughts and I do stand corrected on anything I may have said wrong.

Gurujee bless you

Vaaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo Jee Kee Fateh

Mehtab Singh (an ex-Hindu)

May 29, 2006

A well written article, truth. All the people who wanted to finish the Sikhs off, were defeated of their purpose, because they wanted to finish them physically. Now they are trying to finish Sikhs ideologically and having the looks like Sikhs. Most of the Jathedars, SGPC, DSGMC, Babas are the few examples of the pseudo-Sikhs.