Another Sikh Wedding Act?
Too often in the diaspora, Sikhs are discouraged from becoming involved with the politics of their homeland. While on certain occasions I have been critical of special ‘entitlements‘ and malicious effects the diaspora has had on the Punjabi homeland, sometimes our
political workings can bring about great effects.
In an earlier post, I had mentioned what I believed to be the Top 5 Sikh Successes of 2007. At #2 I mentioned the Pakistani Sikh Anand Marriage Act. This certainly has been a long demand from the community. In fact it was due to the nullification of the Anand Marriage Act of 1909 and the lumping of Sikhs as “Hindus” in the Indian Constitution that Sikh representatives refused to ratify the constitution.
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale often reminded Sikhs that if they believe they have an independent status within the Indian state, look no further than their marriage certificate that is signed under the ‘Hindu Marriage Act’ and compare that to the separate status of the Muslim and Christian communities. The efforts of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the American Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee led to the announcement last year that Pakistan will recognize and enact legislation recognizing the Anand Marriage Act.
It seems that this political pressure may mark dividends for Sikhs in Punjab. This week, the Indian Law and Justice Minister HR Bhardwaj stated that the government of India is planning to bring in a special marriage act for the Sikhs.
He said the Government has taken note of demands in this regard from various Sikh organisations and “there should not be a problem” in introducing such an act.
“We will bring it soon,” he said replying to supplementaries.
Reality? An empty promise? We’ll find out soon….
2 Responses to “Another Sikh Wedding Act?”
By oopsIforgotmyname on Mar 17, 2008 at 2:27 am | Quote
“Too often in the diasporic Sikhs are discouraged from becoming involved with the politics of their homeland”
why?
I know you speak of the negativity that the diaspora take back to the ‘homeland’ but will we ever be accepted as belonging to that homeland? (this isn’t a criticism of your comment - I’m too tired to be cheeky this morning - it’s a genuine question)
Interesting post. I’d never even thought about the certification of births deaths and marriages in India.
By Tirza on Oct 22, 2008 at 4:24 pm | Quote
You write very well.