Did A School In/Near Punjab Prevent A Sikh Student From Wearing Turban?

[Guest harminderkaur]

Yes, I totally agree. I only wanted to stress that the report also included the facts that the school in question apologized promptly and had a patka as uniform till class X and then a turban in XI and XII, but hindus-did-it sayers conveniently skip those details.

Your other point is also true. Most of the youth in the Punjab have shunned their hair. The usual practice now appears to be to first trim one's beard when it starts to grow, and then to cut the head hair as well as one reaches late teens. Most of this appears to be due to following of western fashion and to appear handsome to girls. And most of the Sikh girls refusing to marry guys with beard and turbans just make it even worse. I think it is safe to say that what Mughals could not do, the modern fashion has done to the Sikhs -- to make them remove their turbans and cut their kesh. Quite a sad state of affairs.

This is what I have to say to men/guys that think women are to be blamed for them cutting their hair:

For all the men out there that think they have to change their selves or accept women that don’t live up to their Sikhi, you don’t have to. It is better to stay single then to marry someone like that. Waheguru is testing you to see if your love for him his stronger or your desire to be married is stronger. If you are meant to be happily married to a wonderful Gursikh women, just say no until Waheguru sends her to you. Don’t disappoint Waheguru for a woman; that is a one way to ticket to hell that you purchased, the woman is not at fault. Don’t blame others or talk bad about others that just wipes out that persons sins and does you no good.

[santsevak]

This is what I have to say to men/guys that think women are to be blamed for them cutting their hair:

er ... you either didn't understand clearly what I wrote or you have misquoted me, I am assuming the former. Just to clarify, what I wrote meant that they are also a factor (and not that they are *the* factor). And it is a clear factor, mind you.

There are many others, major ones. Outside India, the major reason is that Sikhs' experience the need to assimilate with their peers. They also need to get jobs. There are many subtle and not so subtle forces here that lead the Sikhs to shun their hair and turban. This falls under racism I believe. Then there is another reason, that of feeling cool. If have spent enough time in India, you would have noticed that when a Sikh guy cuts his beard and does away with his turban and hair, he is called a cool guy by his friends .... "ਘੈੰਟ ਬਣ ਗਿਆਂ!". This is extremely common in villages with people owning agricultural land and working in fields. But no one is cool if he supports full beard and a turban!

[Guest harminderkaur]

its not just you, veer ji. Whenever this issue of cutting hair comes up women are mentioned as a big cause and honestly it hurts me. That is why I wrote what I did. As for peer pressure, let me tell you a few facts:

I recently started wearing a turban in america, in a part where every kid my age cuts their hair. Everyday at work I am asked if I hurt my head or got brain surgery.

And I have a disease that cases lots of hair on my face, so much so that my own father asks if I am growing a beard.

I don't remove my hair, even though I could use both points to blame others and do so. It really upsets me that guys use women as an excuse and make us feel bad for their mistakes. If you must blame anything, blame their karmas.

just keep women out of it is all I ask

[santsevak]

just keep women out of it is all I ask

Why? Besides, it is tantamount to being sexist.

I think you are going to the other extreme. First you wrote that women are being considered the main problem here. Now you are stating to keep them out of this altogether, implying that they should not be considered a factor. However, the reality is somewhere in between these two extremes. The fact is that there are Sikh girls/women who do clearly state that they don't want to be with a guy with a turban and a beard. And, just to be clear, my friends have experienced this not just in North America or Europe, but also in the Punjab. There is no better way to deal with a problem other than trying to understand it clearly first.

But, this is most likely going off topic. To continue the discussion, may I ask you to start a new thread please?

ਚਡ਼੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ।