Memorial For Sikh Soldiers Set To Be Unveiled In Staffordshire

[JagsawSingh]

i always wonder what woulda happened if we defeated the british empire... would most of india be under khalistan? Would we be more close to our faith. British have changed our whole religion...

We were never going to look south. Its worth remembering that Malwa wasn't part of Sikh Punjab at that time but as the Khalsa Kingdom used it as a protecorate the psyche of the Sikhs of Punjab was to always and constantly look to central Asia for expansion etc.

As for the British, the other side of the argument is that they did in many ways save our faith when you think how much emphasis they placed on being amritdhari and never trimming the hair. They had a very strict policy that any Sikh that ever trimmed his hair would be instantly dismissed. When you compare that to the current Hindu Indias Army Bulletin Batt Chaat 37 which states that "amritdhari Sikhs, with complete uncut hair, are the enemies of the nation and must be hunted down" its difficult to see Britain as the bad guy. There's lots to think about but as Sikhs we've got to remember groups that were considered not good enough for the army will naturally have bad things to say about hence the racist rants from the bhatra or two in the message above you.

[Ranjeet01]

i always wonder what woulda happened if we defeated the british empire... would most of india be under khalistan? Would we be more close to our faith. British have changed our whole religion...

I think we should not focus on the "what if's" and accept the "what is". Even though it is good to look at the past, we should not dwell too much on it.

Read history, learn from it and move forward.

[dallysingh101]

We were never going to look south. Its worth remembering that Malwa wasn't part of Sikh Punjab at that time but as the Khalsa Kingdom used it as a protecorate the psyche of the Sikhs of Punjab was to always and constantly look to central Asia for expansion etc.

As for the British, the other side of the argument is that they did in many ways save our faith when you think how much emphasis they placed on being amritdhari and never trimming the hair. They had a very strict policy that any Sikh that ever trimmed his hair would be instantly dismissed. When you compare that to the current Hindu Indias Army Bulletin Batt Chaat 37 which states that "amritdhari Sikhs, with complete uncut hair, are the enemies of the nation and must be hunted down" its difficult to see Britain as the bad guy. There's lots to think about but as Sikhs we've got to remember groups that were considered not good enough for the army will naturally have bad things to say about hence the racist rants from the bhatra or two in the message above you.

Let's be honest, they found a bunch of easily manipulable country-bumpkin pendus in the villages of Panjab and used them for their own ends, subverting the Sikh faith along the way. Turning it from being loyal to your Guru to being loyal to some foreign king/queen and some foreign agenda.

Only a fool or straight pendu can't see through that one. Given your shameless sycophancy and defense, I'd even posit that the simpleton mindset might even be genetic? Check you out, completely incapable of any critical review of your own people's history. Completely psychologically subservient to a people that plainly only have their own interests at heart - even if they can dress it up to fool simple folk like you and your clan.

With people like you around Sikhs will always end up being someones subverted tool.

[jkvlondon]

When they showed the original concept of the bronze he looked strong fierce a warrior ...if the picture I've seen is the final article - then they changed his face to look anxious and weak - a worrier another slight?

[dallysingh101]

When they showed the original concept of the bronze he looked strong fierce a warrior ...if the picture I've seen is the final article - then they changed his face to look anxious and weak - a worrier another slight?

It wouldn't surprise me, they play all kinds of psychological games with us. People like Jagsaw are the product of this.

Another example was when some British military battalion recently commissioned an expert military battle artist to create a painting commemorating their participation in the Anglo-Sikh wars. By the time the artist completed his research he was inspired by Akalis and represented them (in his art) in the fierce/capable light that his research had pointed at. When he showed his work to the people who commissioned the painting, they refused to pay for it because it made the Singhs look strong, implying what they wanted was some image of Singhs being easily defeated. Thankfully the artist (a South African) eventually found a Sikh buyer for his work. His name was Jason Askew, here is the painting:

[MisterrSingh]

Another monument for drunk white youths to vandalise and daub with "Paki" after a Friday night of hard drinking.

[jkvlondon]

Another monument for drunk white youths to vandalise and daub with "Paki" after a Friday night of hard drinking.

I think its in the woods , bit of a trek for drunken louts in town

[MisterrSingh]

I think its in the woods , bit of a trek for drunken louts in town

That's OK. I still wouldn't put it past them.

[jkvlondon]

an illustration of how the statue changed from fundraising to end product:

http://www.itv.com/news/central/2014-12-16/countdown-to-new-memorial-for-ww1-indian-heroes/

[dallysingh101]

You know, when you think about it, growing up in England, the primary image of Sikh males presented by the mainstream is always the loyal Sikh sepoy. The other one that gets bandied about is the violent, misogynistic, irrational murderer at partition.

I think all the iconography presented by Brits are actually clever attempts to manipulate Sikh minds and set the precedent of Sikhness, which is subservient to their authority. That explains why goray got upset at the painting I posted because it gives an alternative narrative to this, Sikh independence and military self confidence.

I believe we have to be especially careful to explain this selective presentation of Sikhness to young Sikhs, because growing up with such imagery can have a profound effect on one's self-perception.

The other thing I realised is that goray must have very quickly clocked the way Sikhs use art to convey and transmit their history and identity across generations and subverted this for their own agenda.