Simmering Sikhs
The Economic Times of India in its ‘Special Pages’ section last week carried an extended article titled Simmering Discontent: Sikhs in Punjab are fighting many wars.
The article sought to understand the ‘current and cross-currents’ of Punjabi society.
At the forefront were:
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The rise of the Dera-complex – the article cites that over 10 Deras in Punjab currently have over 100,000 followers, the largest being Dera Sacha Sauda, but the actual number of smaller Deras is almost infinite, only limited by the number of actual villages in Punjab
-
The burning issue of caste
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Rising unemployment and the stagnation of the Green Revolution economy
-
Drug Addiction
While the journalist, Praveen Thampi is most interested in asserting his political point:
“Punjab has burning issues to address. But the only people interested in revival of the Khalistan movement are the journalists coming down from Delhi.”
Although quoting another journalist about this issue, Thampi falls into the same trap. Instead of finding solutions and proposals for these burning problems, Thampi wants to waive the ‘Khalistan’ boogeyman to sensationalize his news.
So using some of the information, Thampi uncovers I humbly submit some of my thoughts on these four problems and invite other readers to comment, disagree, and suggest their own.
The rise of the Dera Complex, by all analysis, seems tied to the failing of the SGPC establishment and widespread casteism that infects the Sikh polity. While hardly a secret, everyone that understands Punjab’s politics knows that central is the delinking of the SGPC to the state political apparatus, the Akali Dal. The Akali Dal often uses and abuses these religious charity funds for its own purposes that doesn’t not include the original purposes of the donations. Sikhs need to begin thinking of ways to assert the SGPC’s prominence and independence.
The burning issue of caste may actually warrant in my opinion more attention than the problem of the rise of the Dera Complex as so long as this problem continues, the revolutionary message of Guru Nanak rings hollow on the ears of the oppressed. At the Gurdwara, I once heard a speaker say “From the Qaum of Bhai Lalo, we have turned into the Qaum of Malik Bhago.” Few words could have been so apt. For those Khalsa organizations, they should be making sincere efforts to begin dialogue with heroic individuals such as Bant Singh. This was the reason for the success of the Singh Sabha Movement. This is why they succeeded, while other puritanical movements failed to bring along the masses. However, no more lipservice. The responsibility falls on each individual Sikh’s own responsibility to end this plague. Hiding behind notions of ‘celebrating my family’ that somehow translates to a ‘caste-family’ are antithetical to Sikh beliefs. Sikhs will have to answer that question – what is more important – to celebrate their ‘caste’ or actually live up to the ideals of our Gurus. I hope the Sikh youth lead this effort in breaking down these barriers. I was dismayed by the comments by Jathedar Vedanti:
Well, relaxing in his hostel room, with his private secretary keenly moderating his master’s voice, preacher Vedanti has this much to say:
“The caste problem is deep-rooted and people are not able to rise above their prejudices. It is here that we have to make a difference. The schedule caste/dalits also have an inferiority complex, which they should overcome.”
Such comments to me seem as a complete abdication of responsibility. If THIS is NOT the issue that he can tackle, but can only resort to others overcoming an ‘inferiority complex,’ then the Sikh masses should rethink his ability to fulfill the responsibility of his position.
Rising unemployment has been a known problem in Punjab. Rabbi Shergill in his Jugni, stated “Jugni jaa vadi punjab, jithey padhe likhe bekaar” (Jugni goes to the Punjab, where the educated are unemployed.” Thampi quotes statistics from the Finance Minister of Punjab, saying that as of December 31, 2005, the number of unemployed youth in the state is 463,229 where 358,672 have at least a bachelor’s degree (for some reason, I believe these are VASTLY under-reported numbers). The NRP (non-resident Punjabis) may be able to facilitate massive opportunities in the private sector, if the economic willpower is there. Having spoken to some entrepreneurs, they often claim of Punjab’s poor political bureaucracy that is much more interested in it’s bribes, than any progress in the state.
While I enjoyed the promotion of Nanak Kheti, I do believe that this is an interim solution. The economies of the world have moved towards industrialization and service-based economies. I believe that somehow Punjab must find a niche in this world-system. Some may argue that Punjab need not follow the path of other nations and this may be a worthwhile discussion, but at present to me it seems that Punjab must find it’s niche in the world-system or continue with its declining station in world economies. Agriculture may be the basis of the catapult, but I am not convinced that it can remain the primary basis of the economy.
Drug addiction is a huge problem that is on wide-display for any who have traveled Punjab’s rural areas. I was shocked that the World Drug Report, released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2007, listed Punjab as the world’s Number 1 transit point for opium. The end of the misogynist Taliban regime had worldwide consequences, few greater than what happened to Punjab. The rural youth are addicted to their bhukhe and dode. Tackling the distribution (which is often tied to political channels) as well as treatment for the devastated families and communities should be the focus of Sikh organizations.
Too often I hear Sikhs lament about the lack of a ‘third choice’ outside of the normal Akali/Congress politics. However, too few are willing to BECOME that ‘third choice.’ Instead they look for messiahs and saviors to be released from jails, but are unwilling to actually become part of the change they seek. I do hope that these groups make inroads to sincerely address the concerns of heroes like Bant Singh and others to begin addressing these issues. If any Sikhs or Sikh groups genuinely take on these four issues, they will be surprised to see themselves become the ‘third choice.’
Again, these are my humbly submissions and thoughts on these four problems and I invite other readers to comment, disagree, and suggest their own.
122 Responses to “Simmering Sikhs”
I REPEAT
Can one be a Sikh and something else? or can we only be Sikhs. What is the merit of culture? Does it have a place in Sikhi?
If one is unable to answer this question – then the discussion about embracing or not embracing jatt / khatris / dog pooh collectors is futile.
Ps. Waheguru embraces rapists and perverts as well – should I open the door to my house for them too?
"Sikh Girls should understand it is only Sikh man who is brave and will respect her"
Forgive me but I have met a few – who DON'T understand what respect is! They don't even appreciate women's basic rights to dignity! respect taa(n) door di gal hoyee!
I could NAME three so called practicing Sikhs – but I shan't slander or dirty their names. I'm sure they must have done a lot to promote 'Sikhi'!
Times have changed dear Brijender.
[Deleted, keep your misogynistic stupidity to yourself – Admin].
Read some "India today" article on this issue and also visit some "Social net work clubs in metro " ads in daily news paper.
Your closing eyes wil not change matter on earth.
It may get u a passport to " SIKH heaven"
So take it easy and let people be what they want to be and as for superiortiy Waheguru created us all equal and loves all his children muslms ,hindus sikhs, chrisitans etc.
Please be loving and forgiving
"The Indian girl is today sleeping around with Tom ,dick and harry and is least bothered about things llike virginity etc which sound to them antedeluvian"
This is a gross generalisation – not ALL Indian women of today 'sleep around'. To some of us our viginity is extremely valuable (and completely intact) before marriage! Then we marry a 'gursikh' who reminds us that at the end of the day – he's just a bloke – with the same stupid animalistic desires that all other men have and then you think 'what the f***'?. But to some of us Harinder 'ji' our dignitiy is important! If you want the viewpoint of a woman born into a Sikh family then – sexuality is a very private and personal issue. It's not one that is flaunted to or shared with millions. What goes on in our homes with our partners or selves remains there – we don't intend to share it with the general public or with countless numbers of men!
If you are to compare to my comment above re: Sikh Men – I was referring solely to people that I know and not to the general Sikh male population!
Your comment about women wasn't very loving and forgiving now was it?!
Jatts are a race.
The Jatt race started in the area around the caspian sea. Jatts can be found in Greece! There are Greek Jatts – that punjabi jatts share traits and characteristics with.
If we can have mexican sikhs, gore sikhs, peruvian sikhs, african american sikhs we can have jatt sikhs.
Broaden your scope to see beyond caste lines.
It seems like a waste of time to argue about such things. Live and let live. Who died and left you in charge to judge and criticize?
Unite under our similarities. Unite under sikhi and tackle problems that need solving. Start a movement and make a change – small or big.
Sitting at your computer arguing about jatts/khatri/ramgarhia is not going to solve anything.
who is that comment aimed at?
not all of us are talking about castes! Some of us have already said castes are a waste of time!
Who cares whether Jatt are a caste or a race? I'm Indian / punjabi and god knows what up the ancestorial line by race – but I care two tuppence! What I want to be is a Sikh. The two things are separate.
"Who died and left you in charge to judge and criticize?"
And who died and left you to 'rectify the world'? We all have equal rights to speak our minds!
SSA
Harinder !! you have made a nice comment, that India women is sleeping with….Also JM i know sitting in front of your computer is not going to solve anything. This thinking is making us all sick. computer is way to share our views an iam not saying who wil start a movement…Brither u me and all other can make a difference if we change our thinking.
Harinder!! it is easy to say to read india today..I know what is happenign in Metros. it means you have also tasted them. I have written those comments so that tomorrow your sister / daughter would not be sleeping with Tom /Dick…
i want all of us to take step and atleast strta from our home, neighbours and town and city.. then we can make some difference. i am not making any comments so that you can not live ina a peace. God bless you to live in peace or it's your life to live with those girls. i have my eyes open it's you to open your eyes and if we are talking about indian girls .. your sis/mom is also indian so beware of using those words, and it's not only for girls it's for mens also. secondly no body made us incharge of giving suggestion to anybody if you want to live your life, live as you want but this is a medium where we are sharing our thoughts, a good thought can make a difference.
And there is a comment from somebody who has not mentioned name…yes there are few mens who don't give respect to women's.. that's why i stressed we need to start from home to make changes.
Please forgive me if i hurt anybody..
Brijinder
Sat Sri AKal
Well, Friends… In reality we all can share some episodes where we say that castism exist. Jats, Ramgariye, khatri,bhape, sikhs from Jammu and kasmir, Afganistan and so on… what is all this. this is just we are dividing sikhism into may caste. we all are sikhs.
instead of focusing on castism let us face the truth.. Hindus are making us a comic character. Making fun of sikhs whether he/she is jat/bhape. Look at our sisters they don’t want to marry a khalsa or sikh with a beard and turban. this is a real issue we have to come together and tell our leaders to bring the glory of Khalsa. Leaders in USA, UK, India should unite and should warn bollywood, tv channels and other media not to make fun of sikhs. we all can see in TV channels and in serials the family of sikhs but no turban no beard and depicting our sisters that they want to marry clean shaven boy.
Sikh Girls should understand it is only Sikh man who is brave and will respect her. TEll any coward hindu or muslim to stand in front of sikh boy and you can find the difference of Lion and donkey.
Please forgive me if i said something worng.
Brijinder
Yes the internet is just a place for us to share thoughts. a person has to GIVE the respect first through their ACTIONS because at the end of the day words don't mean a thing.
It's so easy to say the word respect but if ones actions go against the words – there is no point in the words leaving ones mouth / or in this instance – keyboard.
goodbye
“Sikh Girls should understand it is only Sikh man who is brave and will respect her”
Forgive me but I have met a few – who DON’T understand what respect is! They don’t even appreciate women’s basic rights to dignity! respect taa(n) door di gal hoyee!
I could NAME three so called practicing Sikhs – but I shan’t slander or dirty their names. I’m sure they must have done a lot to promote ‘Sikhi’!
Times have changed dear Brijender.
[Deleted, keep your misogynistic stupidity to yourself – Admin].
Read some “India today” article on this issue and also visit some “Social net work clubs in metro ” ads in daily news paper.
Your closing eyes wil not change matter on earth.
It may get u a passport to ” SIKH heaven”
So take it easy and let people be what they want to be and as for superiortiy Waheguru created us all equal and loves all his children muslms ,hindus sikhs, chrisitans etc.
Please be loving and forgiving
“The Indian girl is today sleeping around with Tom ,dick and harry and is least bothered about things llike virginity etc which sound to them antedeluvian”
This is a gross generalisation – not ALL Indian women of today ‘sleep around’. To some of us our viginity is extremely valuable (and completely intact) before marriage! Then we marry a ‘gursikh’ who reminds us that at the end of the day – he’s just a bloke – with the same stupid animalistic desires that all other men have and then you think ‘what the f***’?. But to some of us Harinder ‘ji’ our dignitiy is important! If you want the viewpoint of a woman born into a Sikh family then – sexuality is a very private and personal issue. It’s not one that is flaunted to or shared with millions. What goes on in our homes with our partners or selves remains there – we don’t intend to share it with the general public or with countless numbers of men!
If you are to compare to my comment above re: Sikh Men – I was referring solely to people that I know and not to the general Sikh male population!
Your comment about women wasn’t very loving and forgiving now was it?!
Jatts are a race.
The Jatt race started in the area around the caspian sea. Jatts can be found in Greece! There are Greek Jatts – that punjabi jatts share traits and characteristics with.
If we can have mexican sikhs, gore sikhs, peruvian sikhs, african american sikhs we can have jatt sikhs.
Broaden your scope to see beyond caste lines.
It seems like a waste of time to argue about such things. Live and let live. Who died and left you in charge to judge and criticize?
Unite under our similarities. Unite under sikhi and tackle problems that need solving. Start a movement and make a change – small or big.
Sitting at your computer arguing about jatts/khatri/ramgarhia is not going to solve anything.
Sikhism means oneness
hi Brothers
Lets not devide the sikhism with castesm as this is a
ritual of Hindu religion, Our Guru gave one name to us Singh
and KAUR i have seen so many Sikhs are not following the path
of guru due to Ignorance , Even if Jatt or anybody else All Sikhs are equal
and lets not devide Sikhism like THese Hinduism is devided into castesm
Lets Avoid This and become Sikh of the Great Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji
and follow his path and show the world how great our guru and his
followers are:-
If you really wanna be a proud of "proud of to be a part of Sikhism
>> Proud to have a great guru
>>Proud to be a Sikh
We Are just Sikhs Nothing else !!!!!!
as said bu Guru ji
"KHALSA MERO ROOP HAI KHAAS KHALSA MEIN HI KAROON NIVAS"
I was also living in the psyche that i am jatt so i am the best,i am the warrior, I should be one step ahead from other, i should do nitname and should go through all of the bani and follow guidelines of SRI guru granth sahib , beleave me i was living in this psyche that comes out of my fanaticism that i am best just because i am JATT But the truth is This I am best just because i am SIKH THATS IT NOTHING ELSE AND ALL THOSE WHO THINK THEIR FATHER IS SRI GURU GOBIND SINGH MATA SAHIB JI AS THEIR MOTHER ARE ONE STEP AHEAD FROM OTHERS ,,,,"SIKHISM IS A WAY OF LIVING NOTHING ELSE AND ANYBODY WHO FOLLOWS THE MORAL VALUES OF THE SIKHISM WILL BECOME ONE STEP AHEAD FROM THE ORDINARY MAN"
I urge you and all of my sikh dear brothers lets stop this nonsence and all dear jatts and others please start thinking that you are sikhs thats why you are the best. AND ANYBODY WHO WILL FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES OF SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB JI WILL BECOME OUTSTANDING.
"GHAREYEE SHABAD SACHEE TAKSAL"
EIHNEYAA BENTEYAA KARDA SAREYAAN NU JI SAARE KHARE HOOVOO TE EIS SOOCH NU KHATAM KAR DEYOO
"AGEYAA BHAYEE AKAL KE TABHEE CHALAIYOO PANTH AA SAB SIKHAN KO HUKM
HAI GURU MANEYOO GRANTH"
WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH
Guru Fateh !!
who is that comment aimed at?
not all of us are talking about castes! Some of us have already said castes are a waste of time!
Who cares whether Jatt are a caste or a race? I’m Indian / punjabi and god knows what up the ancestorial line by race – but I care two tuppence! What I want to be is a Sikh. The two things are separate.
“Who died and left you in charge to judge and criticize?”
And who died and left you to ‘rectify the world’? We all have equal rights to speak our minds!
SSA
Harinder !! you have made a nice comment, that India women is sleeping with….Also JM i know sitting in front of your computer is not going to solve anything. This thinking is making us all sick. computer is way to share our views an iam not saying who wil start a movement…Brither u me and all other can make a difference if we change our thinking.
Harinder!! it is easy to say to read india today..I know what is happenign in Metros. it means you have also tasted them. I have written those comments so that tomorrow your sister / daughter would not be sleeping with Tom /Dick…
i want all of us to take step and atleast strta from our home, neighbours and town and city.. then we can make some difference. i am not making any comments so that you can not live ina a peace. God bless you to live in peace or it’s your life to live with those girls. i have my eyes open it’s you to open your eyes and if we are talking about indian girls .. your sis/mom is also indian so beware of using those words, and it’s not only for girls it’s for mens also. secondly no body made us incharge of giving suggestion to anybody if you want to live your life, live as you want but this is a medium where we are sharing our thoughts, a good thought can make a difference.
And there is a comment from somebody who has not mentioned name…yes there are few mens who don’t give respect to women’s.. that’s why i stressed we need to start from home to make changes.
Please forgive me if i hurt anybody..
Brijinder
Yes the internet is just a place for us to share thoughts. a person has to GIVE the respect first through their ACTIONS because at the end of the day words don’t mean a thing.
It’s so easy to say the word respect but if ones actions go against the words – there is no point in the words leaving ones mouth / or in this instance – keyboard.
goodbye
Sikhism means oneness
hi Brothers
Lets not devide the sikhism with castesm as this is a
ritual of Hindu religion, Our Guru gave one name to us Singh
and KAUR i have seen so many Sikhs are not following the path
of guru due to Ignorance , Even if Jatt or anybody else All Sikhs are equal
and lets not devide Sikhism like THese Hinduism is devided into castesm
Lets Avoid This and become Sikh of the Great Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji
and follow his path and show the world how great our guru and his
followers are:-
If you really wanna be a proud of “proud of to be a part of Sikhism
>> Proud to have a great guru
>>Proud to be a Sikh
We Are just Sikhs Nothing else !!!!!!
as said bu Guru ji
“KHALSA MERO ROOP HAI KHAAS KHALSA MEIN HI KAROON NIVAS”
I was also living in the psyche that i am jatt so i am the best,i am the warrior, I should be one step ahead from other, i should do nitname and should go through all of the bani and follow guidelines of SRI guru granth sahib , beleave me i was living in this psyche that comes out of my fanaticism that i am best just because i am JATT But the truth is This I am best just because i am SIKH THATS IT NOTHING ELSE AND ALL THOSE WHO THINK THEIR FATHER IS SRI GURU GOBIND SINGH MATA SAHIB JI AS THEIR MOTHER ARE ONE STEP AHEAD FROM OTHERS ,,,,”SIKHISM IS A WAY OF LIVING NOTHING ELSE AND ANYBODY WHO FOLLOWS THE MORAL VALUES OF THE SIKHISM WILL BECOME ONE STEP AHEAD FROM THE ORDINARY MAN”
I urge you and all of my sikh dear brothers lets stop this nonsence and all dear jatts and others please start thinking that you are sikhs thats why you are the best. AND ANYBODY WHO WILL FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES OF SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB JI WILL BECOME OUTSTANDING.
“GHAREYEE SHABAD SACHEE TAKSAL”
EIHNEYAA BENTEYAA KARDA SAREYAAN NU JI SAARE KHARE HOOVOO TE EIS SOOCH NU KHATAM KAR DEYOO
“AGEYAA BHAYEE AKAL KE TABHEE CHALAIYOO PANTH AA SAB SIKHAN KO HUKM
HAI GURU MANEYOO GRANTH”
WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH
Guru Fateh !!
Mewa Singh you asked a very good point regarding solutions and apologies I did not include any in my earlier comment
To the following 4 issues of:
1) caste (driving a nail between Jatts and Dalits in India)
2) drug abuse crippling the youth
3) rising unemployment
4) dera phenomenon
We can also add:
5) alcohol consumption (highest out of all indian states)
6) female infantcide (highest out of all indian states)
First off let’s throw out all the stupid ideas that some Sikhs get, who think that everything will be okay if they get an independent country. So anyone shouting Khalisatn…don’t! It’s a stupid idea because its anti-Gurmat, sectionist, will cause potentially millions of deaths, will cause millions of pounds of loss to the Sikh community outside of Punjab and will remove access to some of the many important Gurdwaras and outside of Punjab. The largest community that died for India were Sikhs so we want access to ALL of India not just a tiny portion of it.
Now I’m going to take each of the points in turn, discuss the main points around these topics, possible solutions and possible outcomes if no remedial action is taken
ISSUE 1: CASTE
Sikhs in today’s world come from many different backgrounds, races, cultures and castes. To be a Sikh you don’t have to give up culture, your ancestry, your family traditions etc. When sikhi first started the Sikhs of Guru Nanak were either Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim…i.e. they held on to their own spiritual and cultural traditions but they used the message and teachings of the Guru in their lives to feel oneness with God.
Sikhism = unity in diversity as the Harmander Sahib as four entrances which open to the four corners of the world. However, the point about caste is NOT that we can’t be different and even keep our surnames, the point is that we shouldn’t shi*t on each other and discriminate against one another. Examples of discrimination include:
• parents not allowing inter-caste marriage (probably the biggest one)
• some Sikhs not allowing low caste members into their sangat and Gurdwaras (I didn’t believe this could ever happen until a bibi who had gone back to her village had told me that this was happening in a little village in Punjab)
SOLUTIONS:
• encourage inter-caste marriage for your children and siblings
• Support inter-caste marriage especially when you know a couple are having difficulties because their parents are giving them grief (if they are from different background) …do your bit and support them…quote from the guru granth sahib…see Indian culture leaflet on ProjectNaad website
• If you are single then consider marrying into a Sikh family of a different cultural / ethnic / caste background. Or consider meeting someone who is interested in spirituality and giving them the gift of sikhi and marrying them
• Get into management committees and as a Khalsa act as a change driver for society and do not allow people to bar or discriminate against Sikhs or non-Sikhs in a Gurdwara
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
The ProjectNaad team met up with the chief editor of Dalit Voice and we raised the challenges that our Dalit Sikh brothers were facing by higher caste Sikhs in India. Before independence Sikhs that the opportunity of welcoming 25% of the Indian population into Sikhs Dharma i.e. the whole of the Dalit population and the Sikh community buckled and blocked the conversion (due to power politics). So we were asking if such an opportunity could arise again….obviously not but infact we were going in reverse as VT Rajshekar said that IF Dalits don’t get their equality then they will just leave Sikhs and that is what is happening at the moment but still in small numbers….they are moving to Buddhism and Christianity. Dalits by the way form a LARGE % of the Sikh population of Punjab and if they go it would be a big loss to the Dharma
Next issue…..
ISSUE 2: DRUGS
SOLUTIONS:
• Education from a young age about its affects on the body and what your fate will be if you take them…this needs state sponsorship ideally but even volunteers could go round to Gurdwaras and Temples and show the horrors of drug addiction. Key is to make it graphic and tell people about their condition if they went down this route. We need grass roots people to do this education seva and mix it with Sikh Parchar…
• For the people who are already smacked on drugs and nearing the road of death there is a solution for them too. Yogi Bhajan for the last 10-15 years had been asking the Punjab Government to allow him to setup 3HO Superhealth Programme in Punjab to help the youth on drug to break the habit. But the government denied him. The programme was designed by Western Sikhs and was implemented e.g. in Russia by the then president President Mikhail Gorbachev. The programme was recently trialled in Punjab but it should in my opinion be rolled out in higher numbers…also as you have to use Sikh mantras in the rehabilitation the people will most likely become Gursikh after their therapy!
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
• We will end up effectively killing an entire generation of Sikh youth.
ISSUE 3: RISING UNEMPLOYMENT
• No economy can survive solely on agriculture alone. So the economy of Punjab needs to introduce new methods of wealth creation that will feed down from the lowest rungs of society all the way to the top. This would be the best wealth creation initiative as it would bring the whole of Punjab up in wealth. So how can Punjab diversify its wealth? Well I think its very simple actually. Firstly wealth is added by “doing work” on raw materials and so instead of just exporting fruits and vegetables, it can build the factories which create the raw ingredients into sauces, biscuits, ready made rotis, ready made foods, cereals, teas etc….Indian is fast becoming an industrialised nation and they too will be craving the time saving luxury food items. Note the government will not do this … this wealth will be created by savvy businessmen most likely NRI’s…who want to MAKE MONEY for themselves but at the same time will benefit the local economies and that is perfectly fine because that is the nature of business and corporate entities.
• IT IT IT….yes Punjab has an educated workforce and people skilled in Information technology such as JAVA, web development, HTML, XHTML, Phthon and all the other technologies that are driving our information age. WE hope in a couple of years with babas grace setup a software house in Punjab but we could make it bigger and create a Punjabi Silicon Valley and attract FDI into Punjab
• Punjabi people have a good command of the English language and so Call centres in Punjab could be another option as well as some of the other things that get outsourced to India such as ERP etc. Again Punjab can do with getting in on the action and again it will be private investors and business people who create these businesses NOT the state.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
• People who are unemployed will try to escape either through intoxicants or they will try to illegally get out of the country…and we have had soo many youth who have got stuck in random countries and suffered untold hardship. But I believe everything is in Punjab that we need to create Masses of wealth, including an educated workforce, land and food.
ISSUE 4: DERA PHENOMENON
• Ahh yes…this I reckon must the most upside down issue of them all. As I mentioned earlier I think that the DERA phenomenon is one of the BIGGEST blessings to Punjab! Why would I say this? Because the DERA Babas have created the perfect spiritual-economic-cultural models which continually and sustainabally grow and provide everything that people need including FREE health care which is unheard of in India, spiritual education, a loving community, an opportunity to experience spiritual awakening and in some cases jobs. For example the Dera Sacha Sauda accepts NO donations and they use their businesses to fund a school, hospital, many spiritual centres in Punjab etc. I say wow that’s a successful organisation and I want to copy that SAME model and use it to also spread the Gurus Light in India.
• The Deras are virtually the ONLY places where common folk can go and actually learn about Sikhi. People may go to a gurdwara but there is not a direct teaching experience that you get from a Sant figure in a Dera. So as Deras have kept people connected mainly with the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib they have saved those people from the dirty and nasty Christain missionaries who have always lusted after a piece of the Sikh population. There are now Indian Sardar Christians who openly preach the gospel of Jesus and convert many thousands. In one village the whole population almost converted!
• Deras have kept youth AWAY from drugs, alcohol and other nasties that the common people have got involved with
• I say thumbs up to Deras and the seva they do for the Punjabi community. And if you want to do Parchar of Sikhi in Punjab you need to CREATE micro-businesses and teach Sikhi at the same time and build self sufficient communities.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
• Deras provide a lifeline for people in terms of meeting their spiritual, economic, dietary and social needs. You don’t want to do anything to them except use their models to build more Sikh centric Deras.
ISSUE 5: ALCOHOL
• Teach people about Sikh and living a spiritual lifestyle. Men need to learn how coming home drunk and beating your wife is not a cool thing and how it keeps you poor.
• Possible introduction of Sikh Kundalini Yoga centres could be a good thing to get people active and peoples juices flowing while at the same time doing Naam Jaap. Also having non-Indian Sikh role models doing seva is a biog puller for SIkhi…no doubt our non-Indian sikh brothers and sisters will have an important role to play in future Punajb and its spiritual-financial-social-cultural fabric.
ISSUE 5: FEMALE INFANTICDE
• The Sikh population will automatically feel this as there are physically not enough women to marry the men…a painful lesson indeed. If we don’t sort this one out we are seriously screwed…lets pray for our not-so-smart Punjab folk.
I think that’s enough solutions from me…gotta take some action now
ProjectNaad
http://www.ProjectNaad.com
put quite simply let me state this. Everyone keeps writing…caste system…jatts are no caste there is no caste that divides whos better than the other, the only problem is a majority population and that is something the community must tackle. As for dalits and such its not that we all think they are dirty people, their beliefs have changed to include ravidass as a guru and their customs in Punjab seem to become borderline hindu, yes this is a problem we must tackle but at the same time is the biggest reason other people i.e Jatts dont marry dalits and so forth, it is cultural differences and their slightly skewed religious differences. It was stated above that we all come from different backgrounds, but we are all Sikhs so why cant we unite under that, I myself know that im a Jatt but i dont run around bragging about it, nor do i deny someone from eating with me or by me due to what their background may be, this whole issue is blown out of proportion. All of you sit here and talk about marrying other people…its more family pressure than anything your parents want you to marry someone whos family will fit in better with their background and quite honestly we all know in a Punjab marriage you are marrying the family not just the girl. Yes its wrong to have dalit / jatt gurudwara differences, and its wrong to exclude people we can fix that but being Punjabi Jatt that is our heritage and our culture…you cant take that away remember this that our Guru's didnt want us to suddenly stop being cultured and become hardliners, Punjabi music and culture is in my blood alongside Sikhism….where does it say that i give up being Punjabi and just become Sikh? we have to preserve our culture and religion both are intertwined, please whoever makes comments about you can ONLY be Sikh keep your hardline thoughts to yourself we can all be good Sikhs and still preserve our punjabi boli and sabyachar.
[quote comment="1202"]Caste mentaility and yes Jatt pride are a massive problem amongts Punjabi Sikhs. Even the ones abroad will leave SIkh but not leave their caste…
I think we need to just focus on the youth…there is nothing we can really do about the older generation as they are stuck in their ways.
The Deras are not a problem at all. They infact are the sole providers of spiritual fulfilment for the people as the SGPC is doing jack all. If the Deras weren't there then there is a possibility that Christian missionaires would be all over Punjab..
Blesings
P[/quote]
it would have been great if people start following chritianity or any other religion in true spirits than going to deras which are pushing superstitions into the minds of people and similarly gurudwaras also failing to fulfill spiritual hunger of people as professional granthi's,ragi's,sevadars are killing true spirit of sikhi everyday what to say of casteism which has become part of sikh society although every sikh denouce it but still it persists bcoz we are sikhs by appearance not by heart.
JSD…the point about caste is that Sikhs in india are using it to discriminate against one another. You dont have to give up culture, music and all the cool things about what makes you and your community unique. Unity in Diversity is what Sikhi is about. You personally may not descriminate and as a Sikh you also have a duty to help members of your community put their head on the right way too…we all have a job to do to make our collective panth shine again.
It would be good if there were more Intercaste – Interracial marriages between sikhs of different backgrounds but obviously the families do need to get on to some degree.
All these points I think were covered in my earlier post anyway.
Mewa Singh you asked a very good point regarding solutions and apologies I did not include any in my earlier comment
To the following 4 issues of:
1) caste (driving a nail between Jatts and Dalits in India)
2) drug abuse crippling the youth
3) rising unemployment
4) dera phenomenon
We can also add:
5) alcohol consumption (highest out of all indian states)
6) female infantcide (highest out of all indian states)
First off let’s throw out all the stupid ideas that some Sikhs get, who think that everything will be okay if they get an independent country. So anyone shouting Khalisatn…don’t! It’s a stupid idea because its anti-Gurmat, sectionist, will cause potentially millions of deaths, will cause millions of pounds of loss to the Sikh community outside of Punjab and will remove access to some of the many important Gurdwaras and outside of Punjab. The largest community that died for India were Sikhs so we want access to ALL of India not just a tiny portion of it.
Now I’m going to take each of the points in turn, discuss the main points around these topics, possible solutions and possible outcomes if no remedial action is taken
ISSUE 1: CASTE
Sikhs in today’s world come from many different backgrounds, races, cultures and castes. To be a Sikh you don’t have to give up culture, your ancestry, your family traditions etc. When sikhi first started the Sikhs of Guru Nanak were either Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim…i.e. they held on to their own spiritual and cultural traditions but they used the message and teachings of the Guru in their lives to feel oneness with God.
Sikhism = unity in diversity as the Harmander Sahib as four entrances which open to the four corners of the world. However, the point about caste is NOT that we can’t be different and even keep our surnames, the point is that we shouldn’t shi*t on each other and discriminate against one another. Examples of discrimination include:
• parents not allowing inter-caste marriage (probably the biggest one)
• some Sikhs not allowing low caste members into their sangat and Gurdwaras (I didn’t believe this could ever happen until a bibi who had gone back to her village had told me that this was happening in a little village in Punjab)
SOLUTIONS:
• encourage inter-caste marriage for your children and siblings
• Support inter-caste marriage especially when you know a couple are having difficulties because their parents are giving them grief (if they are from different background) …do your bit and support them…quote from the guru granth sahib…see Indian culture leaflet on ProjectNaad website
• If you are single then consider marrying into a Sikh family of a different cultural / ethnic / caste background. Or consider meeting someone who is interested in spirituality and giving them the gift of sikhi and marrying them
• Get into management committees and as a Khalsa act as a change driver for society and do not allow people to bar or discriminate against Sikhs or non-Sikhs in a Gurdwara
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
The ProjectNaad team met up with the chief editor of Dalit Voice and we raised the challenges that our Dalit Sikh brothers were facing by higher caste Sikhs in India. Before independence Sikhs that the opportunity of welcoming 25% of the Indian population into Sikhs Dharma i.e. the whole of the Dalit population and the Sikh community buckled and blocked the conversion (due to power politics). So we were asking if such an opportunity could arise again….obviously not but infact we were going in reverse as VT Rajshekar said that IF Dalits don’t get their equality then they will just leave Sikhs and that is what is happening at the moment but still in small numbers….they are moving to Buddhism and Christianity. Dalits by the way form a LARGE % of the Sikh population of Punjab and if they go it would be a big loss to the Dharma
Next issue…..
ISSUE 2: DRUGS
SOLUTIONS:
• Education from a young age about its affects on the body and what your fate will be if you take them…this needs state sponsorship ideally but even volunteers could go round to Gurdwaras and Temples and show the horrors of drug addiction. Key is to make it graphic and tell people about their condition if they went down this route. We need grass roots people to do this education seva and mix it with Sikh Parchar…
• For the people who are already smacked on drugs and nearing the road of death there is a solution for them too. Yogi Bhajan for the last 10-15 years had been asking the Punjab Government to allow him to setup 3HO Superhealth Programme in Punjab to help the youth on drug to break the habit. But the government denied him. The programme was designed by Western Sikhs and was implemented e.g. in Russia by the then president President Mikhail Gorbachev. The programme was recently trialled in Punjab but it should in my opinion be rolled out in higher numbers…also as you have to use Sikh mantras in the rehabilitation the people will most likely become Gursikh after their therapy!
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
• We will end up effectively killing an entire generation of Sikh youth.
ISSUE 3: RISING UNEMPLOYMENT
• No economy can survive solely on agriculture alone. So the economy of Punjab needs to introduce new methods of wealth creation that will feed down from the lowest rungs of society all the way to the top. This would be the best wealth creation initiative as it would bring the whole of Punjab up in wealth. So how can Punjab diversify its wealth? Well I think its very simple actually. Firstly wealth is added by “doing work” on raw materials and so instead of just exporting fruits and vegetables, it can build the factories which create the raw ingredients into sauces, biscuits, ready made rotis, ready made foods, cereals, teas etc….Indian is fast becoming an industrialised nation and they too will be craving the time saving luxury food items. Note the government will not do this … this wealth will be created by savvy businessmen most likely NRI’s…who want to MAKE MONEY for themselves but at the same time will benefit the local economies and that is perfectly fine because that is the nature of business and corporate entities.
• IT IT IT….yes Punjab has an educated workforce and people skilled in Information technology such as JAVA, web development, HTML, XHTML, Phthon and all the other technologies that are driving our information age. WE hope in a couple of years with babas grace setup a software house in Punjab but we could make it bigger and create a Punjabi Silicon Valley and attract FDI into Punjab
• Punjabi people have a good command of the English language and so Call centres in Punjab could be another option as well as some of the other things that get outsourced to India such as ERP etc. Again Punjab can do with getting in on the action and again it will be private investors and business people who create these businesses NOT the state.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
• People who are unemployed will try to escape either through intoxicants or they will try to illegally get out of the country…and we have had soo many youth who have got stuck in random countries and suffered untold hardship. But I believe everything is in Punjab that we need to create Masses of wealth, including an educated workforce, land and food.
ISSUE 4: DERA PHENOMENON
• Ahh yes…this I reckon must the most upside down issue of them all. As I mentioned earlier I think that the DERA phenomenon is one of the BIGGEST blessings to Punjab! Why would I say this? Because the DERA Babas have created the perfect spiritual-economic-cultural models which continually and sustainabally grow and provide everything that people need including FREE health care which is unheard of in India, spiritual education, a loving community, an opportunity to experience spiritual awakening and in some cases jobs. For example the Dera Sacha Sauda accepts NO donations and they use their businesses to fund a school, hospital, many spiritual centres in Punjab etc. I say wow that’s a successful organisation and I want to copy that SAME model and use it to also spread the Gurus Light in India.
• The Deras are virtually the ONLY places where common folk can go and actually learn about Sikhi. People may go to a gurdwara but there is not a direct teaching experience that you get from a Sant figure in a Dera. So as Deras have kept people connected mainly with the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib they have saved those people from the dirty and nasty Christain missionaries who have always lusted after a piece of the Sikh population. There are now Indian Sardar Christians who openly preach the gospel of Jesus and convert many thousands. In one village the whole population almost converted!
• Deras have kept youth AWAY from drugs, alcohol and other nasties that the common people have got involved with
• I say thumbs up to Deras and the seva they do for the Punjabi community. And if you want to do Parchar of Sikhi in Punjab you need to CREATE micro-businesses and teach Sikhi at the same time and build self sufficient communities.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING?
• Deras provide a lifeline for people in terms of meeting their spiritual, economic, dietary and social needs. You don’t want to do anything to them except use their models to build more Sikh centric Deras.
ISSUE 5: ALCOHOL
• Teach people about Sikh and living a spiritual lifestyle. Men need to learn how coming home drunk and beating your wife is not a cool thing and how it keeps you poor.
• Possible introduction of Sikh Kundalini Yoga centres could be a good thing to get people active and peoples juices flowing while at the same time doing Naam Jaap. Also having non-Indian Sikh role models doing seva is a biog puller for SIkhi…no doubt our non-Indian sikh brothers and sisters will have an important role to play in future Punajb and its spiritual-financial-social-cultural fabric.
ISSUE 5: FEMALE INFANTICDE
• The Sikh population will automatically feel this as there are physically not enough women to marry the men…a painful lesson indeed. If we don’t sort this one out we are seriously screwed…lets pray for our not-so-smart Punjab folk.
I think that’s enough solutions from me…gotta take some action now
ProjectNaad
http://www.ProjectNaad.com
put quite simply let me state this. Everyone keeps writing…caste system…jatts are no caste there is no caste that divides whos better than the other, the only problem is a majority population and that is something the community must tackle. As for dalits and such its not that we all think they are dirty people, their beliefs have changed to include ravidass as a guru and their customs in Punjab seem to become borderline hindu, yes this is a problem we must tackle but at the same time is the biggest reason other people i.e Jatts dont marry dalits and so forth, it is cultural differences and their slightly skewed religious differences. It was stated above that we all come from different backgrounds, but we are all Sikhs so why cant we unite under that, I myself know that im a Jatt but i dont run around bragging about it, nor do i deny someone from eating with me or by me due to what their background may be, this whole issue is blown out of proportion. All of you sit here and talk about marrying other people…its more family pressure than anything your parents want you to marry someone whos family will fit in better with their background and quite honestly we all know in a Punjab marriage you are marrying the family not just the girl. Yes its wrong to have dalit / jatt gurudwara differences, and its wrong to exclude people we can fix that but being Punjabi Jatt that is our heritage and our culture…you cant take that away remember this that our Guru’s didnt want us to suddenly stop being cultured and become hardliners, Punjabi music and culture is in my blood alongside Sikhism….where does it say that i give up being Punjabi and just become Sikh? we have to preserve our culture and religion both are intertwined, please whoever makes comments about you can ONLY be Sikh keep your hardline thoughts to yourself we can all be good Sikhs and still preserve our punjabi boli and sabyachar.
[quote comment=”1202″]Caste mentaility and yes Jatt pride are a massive problem amongts Punjabi Sikhs. Even the ones abroad will leave SIkh but not leave their caste…
I think we need to just focus on the youth…there is nothing we can really do about the older generation as they are stuck in their ways.
The Deras are not a problem at all. They infact are the sole providers of spiritual fulfilment for the people as the SGPC is doing jack all. If the Deras weren’t there then there is a possibility that Christian missionaires would be all over Punjab..
Blesings
P[/quote]
it would have been great if people start following chritianity or any other religion in true spirits than going to deras which are pushing superstitions into the minds of people and similarly gurudwaras also failing to fulfill spiritual hunger of people as professional granthi’s,ragi’s,sevadars are killing true spirit of sikhi everyday what to say of casteism which has become part of sikh society although every sikh denouce it but still it persists bcoz we are sikhs by appearance not by heart.
JSD punjabi is punjabi culture is an integral part of Sikhi
i think many brothers are raising questions like this just
becoz of ignorance
"NANAK NAAM CHARDI KALA TERE BHANE SARBAT DA BHALA"
guru fateh!!
JSD…the point about caste is that Sikhs in india are using it to discriminate against one another. You dont have to give up culture, music and all the cool things about what makes you and your community unique. Unity in Diversity is what Sikhi is about. You personally may not descriminate and as a Sikh you also have a duty to help members of your community put their head on the right way too…we all have a job to do to make our collective panth shine again.
It would be good if there were more Intercaste – Interracial marriages between sikhs of different backgrounds but obviously the families do need to get on to some degree.
All these points I think were covered in my earlier post anyway.
With all these discussions and sharing of ideas, we all seem to be quite knowledgable. But we do not do anything in action. All these blogs, websites and news articles are just another type of entertainment to the mind. As mentioned in gurbani by mere reading spiritual texts one does not become spiritual. If gurbani's wisdom and Gurus lives cannot inspire us nor would these kind of discussions. Instead of wasting time on blogs, websites etc, why do not we open non-for-profit organisations to combat female foeticide, farmers suicide, drug addicition and so on and forth.
Most of these kind of discussions are not cleaning our minds but making them more filthy. Here again we entered the religion for the wrong reasons into discussion, why did not we (journalist to begin with) discuss the issue between landlord versus landless people of punjab?
And I am also just discussing and part of entertainment group only.
As a Jatt I take it as my duty to uphold the punjabi culture in the best way possible…but with my culture there and my background there nothing is more important to me than being a Sikh…without Sikhi I wouldn't be dancing to these songs about my pagh and so forth..Sikhi has shaped Punjabi culture and Punjabi culture has shaped Sikhi…i think a big problem is also all these false stereotypes of Punjabi not EVERYONE drinks, especially not ALL jatts. People in every background may drink and what not but Punjab is on DRUGS. Sardar or not, they are on drugs. I also beleive as a "jatt" I should adress the community because its true..jatts have abandoned the pagh and kes far more than any other group of Sikhs, there is nothing wrong with being proud of being whatever you are but I will agree its getting to Jatt's heads. I'd also like to add one more thing, people are sitting here complaining about how jatts vs. dalits and what not, my grandfather is in Punjab right now and he said the reason jatts are also mad at dalits is because many who may not even have the proper grades or scores for higher education are getting their seats reserved in large institutions…in a sense they have gained a huge amout of power in Punjab, to Jatts it seems unfair as they are aiming to get into school solely on credentials it seems like affirmative action to me…dalits being minorities, jatts being the white american. the word chummar or choora is banned in Punjab, it can even equate in jail time, i think the beleif of a Sikh caste system is blown up beyond proportion and we should focus on Turban tying schools, as NRP (non resident Punjabis) we should help in creating infrastructure in Punjab rather than making big kothis and gurudwaras with our names on them. We should help in stopping drug addiction, preaching sikhi, and making every so liberal sikh population back into somewhat a moderate Sikh population. Honestly in my opinion with 1984 and the following years…Punjab was wiped of one…a huge sikh population, and 2 it was wiped of its amrithdari sikhs leaving a very liberal and moderate sikh population- though not all that bad, it leaves a stereotype that being amritdhari is being a fanatic, and that is just wrong.
JSD punjabi is punjabi culture is an integral part of Sikhi
i think many brothers are raising questions like this just
becoz of ignorance
“NANAK NAAM CHARDI KALA TERE BHANE SARBAT DA BHALA”
guru fateh!!
Je Sikhan wich raj di gall na hundi ta
Sri harmandir sahib di khubsoorti duniyaa de samne naa aaundi
je sikhan wich Raaj di gall naa Hundi ta Maharaja Ranjit singh nu raaj karan de ki lorh see
Je Sikhan de wich Raaj di gall na hundi taan SRI AKAAL TAKHT DE
SIRJANA NAHI SE HOO SAKDE
As stated, points can be made without CAPS. It adds nothing to your point, except getting it deleted. Thanks….Admin
With all these discussions and sharing of ideas, we all seem to be quite knowledgable. But we do not do anything in action. All these blogs, websites and news articles are just another type of entertainment to the mind. As mentioned in gurbani by mere reading spiritual texts one does not become spiritual. If gurbani’s wisdom and Gurus lives cannot inspire us nor would these kind of discussions. Instead of wasting time on blogs, websites etc, why do not we open non-for-profit organisations to combat female foeticide, farmers suicide, drug addicition and so on and forth.
Most of these kind of discussions are not cleaning our minds but making them more filthy. Here again we entered the religion for the wrong reasons into discussion, why did not we (journalist to begin with) discuss the issue between landlord versus landless people of punjab?
And I am also just discussing and part of entertainment group only.
that has nothing to do with the topic, and can we all stop typing in caps it actually makes it harder to read.
i know this has nothing to do with this topic…….
If you know it, then don't post it. Thanks Admin Singh
Deg O Teg O Fateh o nusrat bedirang
Yaft Az Nanak Guru Gobind Singh
The kettle and the sword (Symbols of charity and power), victory and blessing have been obtained from Guru Nanak-Gobind Singh. God is one! Victory to the Presence!! This is the order of Sri Sachcha Sahib (The great master) to the entire Khalsa. The Guru will protect you. Call upon the Guru's name. Your lives will be fruitful!. You are the Khalsa of the great immortal God. On seeing this letter, repair to the presence, wearing five arms. Observe the rules of conduct laid down for the Khalsa. Do not use Bhang, tobocco, Poppy, wine, or any other intoxicant…Commit no theft or adultery. We have brought Satyug (the golden age) Love one another. This is my wish. He who lives according to the rules of Khalsa shall be saved by the Guru.
As a Jatt I take it as my duty to uphold the punjabi culture in the best way possible…but with my culture there and my background there nothing is more important to me than being a Sikh…without Sikhi I wouldn’t be dancing to these songs about my pagh and so forth..Sikhi has shaped Punjabi culture and Punjabi culture has shaped Sikhi…i think a big problem is also all these false stereotypes of Punjabi not EVERYONE drinks, especially not ALL jatts. People in every background may drink and what not but Punjab is on DRUGS. Sardar or not, they are on drugs. I also beleive as a “jatt” I should adress the community because its true..jatts have abandoned the pagh and kes far more than any other group of Sikhs, there is nothing wrong with being proud of being whatever you are but I will agree its getting to Jatt’s heads. I’d also like to add one more thing, people are sitting here complaining about how jatts vs. dalits and what not, my grandfather is in Punjab right now and he said the reason jatts are also mad at dalits is because many who may not even have the proper grades or scores for higher education are getting their seats reserved in large institutions…in a sense they have gained a huge amout of power in Punjab, to Jatts it seems unfair as they are aiming to get into school solely on credentials it seems like affirmative action to me…dalits being minorities, jatts being the white american. the word chummar or choora is banned in Punjab, it can even equate in jail time, i think the beleif of a Sikh caste system is blown up beyond proportion and we should focus on Turban tying schools, as NRP (non resident Punjabis) we should help in creating infrastructure in Punjab rather than making big kothis and gurudwaras with our names on them. We should help in stopping drug addiction, preaching sikhi, and making every so liberal sikh population back into somewhat a moderate Sikh population. Honestly in my opinion with 1984 and the following years…Punjab was wiped of one…a huge sikh population, and 2 it was wiped of its amrithdari sikhs leaving a very liberal and moderate sikh population- though not all that bad, it leaves a stereotype that being amritdhari is being a fanatic, and that is just wrong.
Je Sikhan wich raj di gall na hundi ta
Sri harmandir sahib di khubsoorti duniyaa de samne naa aaundi
je sikhan wich Raaj di gall naa Hundi ta Maharaja Ranjit singh nu raaj karan de ki lorh see
Je Sikhan de wich Raaj di gall na hundi taan SRI AKAAL TAKHT DE
SIRJANA NAHI SE HOO SAKDE
As stated, points can be made without CAPS. It adds nothing to your point, except getting it deleted. Thanks….Admin
sir with all due respect
Please accept my apology and i request you to remove all of my
comments.
[Apology accepted, just please try to remain on focus in the future. Regards! -Admin]
that has nothing to do with the topic, and can we all stop typing in caps it actually makes it harder to read.
It is unfortunate that the level of discussion amongst Sikhs still remains so low.
We cannot have a discussion of caste and its ramifications on the destruction of Punjab because people's personal egoes far exceeds the needs of the Qaum.
To those that rant against Jatts – take a look at your own caste prejudices and see how deep they run. Instead of pointing the fingers at others, maybe it is time to look in the mirror. How do personal attacks raise the level of conversation?
To those that rant about how Jatts are a race — scholarship since the 19th century has far moved beyond such asinine colonial anthropology. Scholars question the existence of anything even called 'scythian.' It is a shame that you look to your former masters (British) to understand yourself, when they were interested in CONSTRUCTING an identity for you that suited their imperial fodder needs.
In short, I asked earlier can we raise the level of conversation. I appreciate those such as ProjectNaad and others that did so. Unfortunately many did not.
i know this has nothing to do with this topic…….
If you know it, then don’t post it. Thanks Admin Singh
Deg O Teg O Fateh o nusrat bedirang
Yaft Az Nanak Guru Gobind Singh
The kettle and the sword (Symbols of charity and power), victory and blessing have been obtained from Guru Nanak-Gobind Singh. God is one! Victory to the Presence!! This is the order of Sri Sachcha Sahib (The great master) to the entire Khalsa. The Guru will protect you. Call upon the Guru’s name. Your lives will be fruitful!. You are the Khalsa of the great immortal God. On seeing this letter, repair to the presence, wearing five arms. Observe the rules of conduct laid down for the Khalsa. Do not use Bhang, tobocco, Poppy, wine, or any other intoxicant…Commit no theft or adultery. We have brought Satyug (the golden age) Love one another. This is my wish. He who lives according to the rules of Khalsa shall be saved by the Guru.
sir with all due respect
Please accept my apology and i request you to remove all of my
comments.
[Apology accepted, just please try to remain on focus in the future. Regards! -Admin]
It is unfortunate that the level of discussion amongst Sikhs still remains so low.
We cannot have a discussion of caste and its ramifications on the destruction of Punjab because people’s personal egoes far exceeds the needs of the Qaum.
To those that rant against Jatts – take a look at your own caste prejudices and see how deep they run. Instead of pointing the fingers at others, maybe it is time to look in the mirror. How do personal attacks raise the level of conversation?
To those that rant about how Jatts are a race — scholarship since the 19th century has far moved beyond such asinine colonial anthropology. Scholars question the existence of anything even called ‘scythian.’ It is a shame that you look to your former masters (British) to understand yourself, when they were interested in CONSTRUCTING an identity for you that suited their imperial fodder needs.
In short, I asked earlier can we raise the level of conversation. I appreciate those such as ProjectNaad and others that did so. Unfortunately many did not.
[…] have mentioned Bant Singh before in a previous post, but yesterday while scouring through Youtube I came across a great video of him, his message, and […]
Guys
plzz stop blaming each other , I think real root of the problem is education and jatt are not only jatt they are jatt sikh and the irony lies in the fact that the state Punjab which feeds the whole of India , many people bend their moustache's and feel proud of it….I feel the same way but on the other hand when we hear about the rate of female foeticide is highest… I am a doctor and I feel ashamed when people ask me ….Are Sikhs and Jatts are all about drinking and open geeps and fancy suv's ???
Jatt sikh have been the real backbone of Gurudwara seva and Farming and Dairy industry in India but I guess they something much important while doing this was Education….I am not a Jatt sikh and am a Sikh …sum call me bhappa and sum khatri and sum call me sikh frm pakistan….so does it really matter ???? I have been educated in Usa and Europe for my med school and really appreciate how people have come together in those countries and have become united and living with full sikh faith Rehat and Maryada .
Its really hurting to see youth in Punjab flaunting shorn/trimmed beards and feeling modern about it and on the other hand kids brought up in western countries have taken Sikhi with rehat and Maryada.
So here I would really leave it up to you guys to think , should we fight amongst each other or get united to fight a bigger cause and get more education and awareness about our real self …. the Khalsa …. Khalsa mera roop hai khas , Khalse mein hi mein karun niwas!!
Really sorry if un intentionally someone feelings got hurt .
Guys
plzz stop blaming each other , I think real root of the problem is education and jatt are not only jatt they are jatt sikh and the irony lies in the fact that the state Punjab which feeds the whole of India , many people bend their moustache's and feel proud of it….I feel the same way but on the other hand when we hear about the rate of female foeticide is highest… I am a doctor and I feel ashamed when people ask me ….Are Sikhs and Jatts are all about drinking and open geeps and fancy suv's ???
Jatt sikh have been the real backbone of Gurudwara seva and Farming and Dairy industry in India but I guess they something much important while doing this was Education….I am not a Jatt sikh and am a Sikh …sum call me bhappa and sum khatri and sum call me sikh frm pakistan….so does it really matter ???? I have been educated in Usa and Europe for my med school and really appreciate how people have come together in those countries and have become united and living with full sikh faith Rehat and Maryada .
Its really hurting to see youth in Punjab flaunting shorn/trimmed beards and feeling modern about it and on the other hand kids brought up in western countries have taken Sikhi with rehat and Maryada.
So here I would really leave it up to you guys to think , should we fight amongst each other or get united to fight a bigger cause and get more education and awareness about our real self …. the Khalsa …. Khalsa mera roop hai khas , Khalse mein hi mein karun niwas!!
Really sorry if un intentionally someone feelings got hurt .
ten thousand years of castism has failed to be wiped out by Buddism, Islam and Sikhism…too deep rooted in Indian mind…
http://www.punjabimaa.com/Default.aspx?tabid=104
Most are pendoos
ten thousand years of castism has failed to be wiped out by Buddism, Islam and Sikhism…too deep rooted in Indian mind…
http://www.punjabimaa.com/Default.aspx?tabid=104
Most are pendoos
First of all…lets make every thing clear. Jatts have contribted nothing to sikhism. Sikh history is mazhabi sikh history, that has in recent times been stolen by jatts. All sikh shaheeds are mazhabi sikh not jatt. This is the first problem.
I am a sikh of khatri (background) although i donot believe in caste. I must say that i donot accept jatts as real sikhs, never will do either.
Jatts need to wake up and look at history…which has not been falsely written by jatts. Sice jatts highjacked the sikh faith it has demised, this would not have happend if Mazhabis were still in charge, just like Guru Gobind Singh wanted.
Jatts have tried to take the place of mazhabis and jave failed miserably. These are facts and every one has to accept them. Jatts are only in sikhism for personal benifits only. Most babas are jatts especialy DSS where the jatt dresses up like Guru Gobind Singh. Jatts are now a laughing stock of punjab and they dont realise it. Hindus are licking their lips at what they see in punjab now.
First of all…lets make every thing clear. Jatts have contribted nothing to sikhism. Sikh history is mazhabi sikh history, that has in recent times been stolen by jatts. All sikh shaheeds are mazhabi sikh not jatt. This is the first problem.
I am a sikh of khatri (background) although i donot believe in caste. I must say that i donot accept jatts as real sikhs, never will do either.
Jatts need to wake up and look at history…which has not been falsely written by jatts. Sice jatts highjacked the sikh faith it has demised, this would not have happend if Mazhabis were still in charge, just like Guru Gobind Singh wanted.
Jatts have tried to take the place of mazhabis and jave failed miserably. These are facts and every one has to accept them. Jatts are only in sikhism for personal benifits only. Most babas are jatts especialy DSS where the jatt dresses up like Guru Gobind Singh. Jatts are now a laughing stock of punjab and they dont realise it. Hindus are licking their lips at what they see in punjab now.
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SO NICE AND INTRASTING POST KEEP IT UP
so nice and intresting post keep it up
Nice work Admin thanks for share
Good work Admin nice post