Remembrance – The Sikh Story

[Southall Youth]

I'd rather die for Britian than Hindu India.The British preserved our martial heritage and recognised Sikhs as a seperate religion as well as a Nation.The good thing that came out of the collapse of Ranjit Singh's Kingdom was that Sikhi was reinvigorated and the Hindu influcences which had crept in and were tearing us apart were thrown out.We complain the Queen has the Ko Hi Noor,well according to Kushwant Singh Ranjit Singh wanted to hand it to some Mandir after his death,so lets not go on about the British are evil this that.Ok they were bad but while we were fighting for EUROPES freedom.We also fought for South Asia's Freedom from British rule and were had already passed death sentences on people like Micheal O Dywer.Had the British not helped the Sikhs assert their seperate identity who knows what we would be today, the British even started taking pics as they knew sooner or later Sikhs would be wiped out and British intelligence were also watching the Sikhs and made several well known quotes and reports on this issue.

All in all what im saying is we were RIGHT to FIGHT alongside them and we are PROUD of it only due to this FACT we can hold our heads high today and be proud we are Sikhs

PROUD TO BE BRITISH

PROUD TO BE SIKH

[dalsingh101]

That just appeared to be a long British army recruitment advertisement rather than an objective documentary to me. I think the only person who approached the matter in a balanced way was Jeevan Deol.

However people try and play it down, nothing can hide the fact that Sikhs lost their sovereignty and independence directly after the Anglo-Sikh wars. The East India Company (the English) provoked Panjab and then attacked it with an eye on its riches.

Afterwards they did much to destroy the true Khalsa independent spirit and subverted it in a manner that fitted their colonial interests, not in any long term Sikh interest.

The worse bit (to my mind) is that when they were rushing to leave, they did it in such a way that it led to possibly even more Sikh deaths than than in the worlds wars put together. That wasn't a very nice way to part company after all of the sacrifices Sikhs made. I also notice that they only seem to openly acknowledge these sacrifices when they are in trouble and trying to cosy up to Sikhs, again for their own agenda. I grew in the UK and NEVER in all my history lessons did they mention Sikh contributions. The way they went on was like it was all white people fighting. Jeevan Deol explained some of the reasons for this post war 'narrative' very well in my opinion.

Coming back to today.

It's no surprise that the British are on a recruitment drive for the army given that they have had their butts handed to them in Iraq and things in Afghanistan aren't exactly going too well for them.

I know many of us have different attitudes towards this subject and that is cool, but personally, I would find it hard to really respect any Sikh making out they were religious or politically conscious who then blindly goes on to fight neo-imperialistic and morally questionable wars for others. Plus there is the whole matter of the widely recognised and significant cuts scheduled to be made in the UK defense budget to factor in.

I just hope apnay don't become instruments participating in oppressing other races, even if in their own minds they have the best of intentions. Our people seem to get manipulated like that.

[Pehlvan]

for anyone who missed it, you can watch it online or download from BBC IPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vys5t/Remembrance_The_Sikh_Story/

[Harjeet]

Did you guys know, that the federal reserve funded both sides of WWII? Why would they do that? That means they gave money to the Aliies, and to the Nazi's/axis. Look it up for yourselves. World war 1 was set up to make the league of nations, then in WWII they set up the united nations. They are trying to get the world together. To make a 1 world government, so they can make us slaves. The EU makes about 60%+ of the U.K's laws. Who we don't even vote. In the same way these world unions are aiming to dictate us without us even having a say. So they stage wars, by controlling both sides of the opposition, therefore they can't lose in getting the outcome they want. So when we think we have beaten the "evil dictators" actually the evil dictators are still there behind the scenes.

[whyhellothere]

I agree, the same financiers of the nazi regimes weapons and resources run America, the UK and most of the world today. It's the people who have and control the money that really run countries (and finance presidents etc., they've almost completely taken over and their plans have nearly fully come into fruition, they also leave their signs everywhere, they're hard to miss!). People need to open their eyes.

[SikhRoots]

For those outside the United Kingdom, you can watch it online by going to SikhRoots.com website.

http://www.sikhroots.com/component/content/article/8-featured/1651-remembrance--the-sikh-story

[West London Singh]

I can sometimes understand ignorant Hindus questioing why the Sikhs fought in the British Army, but I'm shocked at how so many Sikhs here are asking the same question. Does the question really need asking ? It was an army which valued Sikhs and Sikhism. An army in which the khalsa identity was not only respected but insisted upon. An army in which a Sikh soldier even dared to put a pair of scissors to his beard on head and trim was instantly dismissed. If you at the old photos of the Sikh regiments in China and Iraq for example, an army in which the SGGS ji was given upmost respect and at the forefront of every battle. An army to which we owe our very existence here in places like the UK and the west coast of Canada.

After my grandfather finished his service with the British Army in Fiji in the 1940's he came here to the UK. Once here he, like all the other Sikhs, was offered a job at one of two factories owned by former generals in the British Army who had a great fondness of Sikhs because of the army links ; the paper factory in Gravesend and Wolf's rubber factory in Southall. Today....these are the UK's 2 biggest Sikh communities. It's important to remember why and how that came about.

As for the people that mention Jallianwala Bagh : Remember how, the British, without delay, set up a military court to punish the army general that ordered the massacre and the British parliament and people immediately expressed their horror and shame at the action. Compare that with the plight of Sikhs in India. Up to 10,000 get massacred in one night, and the families of the victims are still, after 26 years, going from pillar to post trying to get a single person into court for it.

So...to conclude....there is a saying 'those who don't know where they are coming from can't possibly know where they are going'. I fear there are many here treading blindly and don't know where they are going. If everything else is still going over your heads then go back to basics and remember how and why the close relationship between the Sikhs and the British Army came about anyway : The Indian Mutiny. In the Indian Mutiny, the two groups most hated by the Sikhs : the Purbias and the Mughals, joined together to get rid of the British and restore the Mughal crown in Delhi. I pity the Sikh here that needs explaining why the Sikhs joined forces with the British army with gusto to crush this mutiny. That, was the start of a great friendship. They were great friends of the Sikhs and even greater friends of Sikhism.

[lsingh]

I can sometimes understand ignorant Hindus questioing why the Sikhs fought in the British Army, but I'm shocked at how so many Sikhs here are asking the same question. Does the question really need asking ? It was an army which valued Sikhs and Sikhism. An army in which the khalsa identity was not only respected but insisted upon. An army in which a Sikh soldier even dared to put a pair of scissors to his beard on head and trim was instantly dismissed. If you at the old photos of the Sikh regiments in China and Iraq for example, an army in which the SGGS ji was given upmost respect and at the forefront of every battle. An army to which we owe our very existence here in places like the UK and the west coast of Canada.

After my grandfather finished his service with the British Army in Fiji in the 1940's he came here to the UK. Once here he, like all the other Sikhs, was offered a job at one of two factories owned by former generals in the British Army who had a great fondness of Sikhs because of the army links ; the paper factory in Gravesend and Wolf's rubber factory in Southall. Today....these are the UK's 2 biggest Sikh communities. It's important to remember why and how that came about.

As for the people that mention Jallianwala Bagh : Remember how, the British, without delay, set up a military court to punish the army general that ordered the massacre and the British parliament and people immediately expressed their horror and shame at the action. Compare that with the plight of Sikhs in India. Up to 10,000 get massacred in one night, and the families of the victims are still, after 26 years, going from pillar to post trying to get a single person into court for it.

So...to conclude....there is a saying 'those who don't know where they are coming from can't possibly know where they are going'. I fear there are many here treading blindly and don't know where they are going. If everything else is still going over your heads then go back to basics and remember how and why the close relationship between the Sikhs and the British Army came about anyway : The Indian Mutiny. In the Indian Mutiny, the two groups most hated by the Sikhs : the Purbias and the Mughals, joined together to get rid of the British and restore the Mughal crown in Delhi. I pity the Sikh here that needs explaining why the Sikhs joined forces with the British army with gusto to crush this mutiny. That, was the start of a great friendship. They were great friends of the Sikhs and even greater friends of Sikhism.

The Indian army destroyed the Akal Takht with Tanks and burnt the Sikh reference library and organised the masscre of Sikhs in Delhi and other places. The question is should the same logic be applied that some have mentioned that Sikhs should today withdraw from any Indian govt service?

[Hoshiarpuria]

The Indian army destroyed the Akal Takht with Tanks and burnt the Sikh reference library and organised the masscre of Sikhs in Delhi and other places. The question is should the same logic be applied that some have mentioned that Sikhs should today withdraw from any Indian govt service?

Withdrawing from government jobs is not an option, there are no other jobs in Punjab. The Indian government does not encourage industry in Punjab and the Badal destruction team does not care, they just want to fill their own pockets.

Also dont forget there were many Sikh military personnel who helped the freedom fighters from repairing/maintaining their weapons to training them.

Support the real living heroes of the Panth ! The Dharmi Faujis.

[dalsingh101]

I can sometimes understand ignorant Hindus questioing why the Sikhs fought in the British Army, but I'm shocked at how so many Sikhs here are asking the same question. Does the question really need asking ?

Yes it does. When we stop asking such questions we risk ending up being people's muppets. There are deep questions and lessons to learn from the experience with the Brits. They way you have oversimplified and idealised it prevents one from doing that.

It was an army which valued Sikhs and Sikhism. An army in which the khalsa identity was not only respected but insisted upon. An army in which a Sikh soldier even dared to put a pair of scissors to his beard on head and trim was instantly dismissed. If you at the old photos of the Sikh regiments in China and Iraq for example, an army in which the SGGS ji was given upmost respect and at the forefront of every battle. An army to which we owe our very existence here in places like the UK and the west coast of Canada.

Again, that is a very idealised way of looking at it. The reason they pushed the Khalsa identity was because they believed it was the source of the strength and discipline of Sikhs they had just fought with. They wanted to harness that for their own imperial agenda. Not because they loved Sikhi. If they did they could've tried converting. How many Brits openly converted to Sikhi in all the period they were in contact with Singhs (post annexation) - yes, none. That should tell you something, especially as many Americans are converting as we speak.

As for the people that mention Jallianwala Bagh : Remember how, the British, without delay, set up a military court to punish the army general that ordered the massacre and the British parliament and people immediately expressed their horror and shame at the action. Compare that with the plight of Sikhs in India. Up to 10,000 get massacred in one night, and the families of the victims are still, after 26 years, going from pillar to post trying to get a single person into court for it.

The aim isn't to compare the two regimes, or choose between the lesser evil of two overlords. The fact is that being under Hindustan is a direct result of losing our sovereignty because of the British intervention in the region. Without them on the scene the Sikh kingdom would have likely expanded even further than it did. In any case, evidently people who were closely related to the Jalliawala bagh massacre didn't feel justice had been done hence the actions of Udham Singh and his widely accepted status as a shaheed by all or most Sikhs.

Plus lets not ignore the fact that there were many apnay vehemently against being ruled by the British, even in the west coast of the US and Canada - have you not heard of the Ghadar party, Sarabha etc? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghadar_Party

These people were in Canada and the US not due to any Brit favours. so again you've simplified history too much.

So...to conclude....there is a saying 'those who don't know where they are coming from can't possibly know where they are going'. I fear there are many here treading blindly and don't know where they are going. If everything else is still going over your heads then go back to basics and remember how and why the close relationship between the Sikhs and the British Army came about anyway : The Indian Mutiny. In the Indian Mutiny, the two groups most hated by the Sikhs : the Purbias and the Mughals, joined together to get rid of the British and restore the Mughal crown in Delhi. I pity the Sikh here that needs explaining why the Sikhs joined forces with the British army with gusto to crush this mutiny. That, was the start of a great friendship. They were great friends of the Sikhs and even greater friends of Sikhism.

No one is faulting the Sikhs in the mutiny. What does need to be pondered over is whether it is really wise for Sikhs to continue identifying with the 'colonial experience' in modern times or stretch their imaginations towards a more global, independent frame of mind/identity. You evidently feel that the British imperial period was some peak in Sikh experience, some of us feel it was yet another form of subjugation albeit less grotesque than other attempts we have experienced before and since as a quom. Many Sikhs and Panjabis sacrificed themselves against this subjugation starting with the Anglo-Sikh wars going all the way to Bhagat and Udham Singh. So you need to maybe reevaluate your grasp of history during this period?

For me the ideal or model period wasn't being ruled by x or y, but the 1700s, when Sikhs were truly independent and carving their own destinies without accepting any overlords. It's plain fact that the British attack on Panjab brought about the demise of the freedom puratan Singhs established in this period. If you want to look back nostalgically, I suggest looking at that period? Respectfully I say, you need to be real careful you don't end up in sycophantic territory with certain views you hold.