So Many Questions
Sometimes (or may be it more often), you read an article that just doesn’t seem to make any sense. My google newsfeeder caught on such article titled: Sikh youth moving away from teachings of Sikhism. The author of the article Harleen Kaur seems to be at all places at once, reporting stories on Chandigarh, Malaysia, Leicester, and New York all on the same day. It does raise eyebrows into the type of reportage it can claim.
The story reports:
The young Sikhs seem to be moving away from the teachings of Sikhism largely due to lack of knowledge and faith in their culture and religion.
Hardly anything surprising there. Sikhs have been saying that for years.
The article is trying to promote the Sikh Naujawan Sabha’s Vaisakhi-fest, but some of the analysis seems off, even bordering on the absurd:
However, the younger generation of Sikhs seems to be ashamed of their Sikh identity most probably under the influence of social ills, Bollywood films and peer pressure. So, they are dropping Singh and Kaur from their names to become a part of today’s hip-hop culture.
“These days, about 80% of the youths don’t wear turbans. Some even start adopting Christian names and even drop the Singh or Kaur from their names thinking that they will be more hip and more acceptable to the community at large,” Singh added.
Are people really not using Singh and Kaur due to ‘hip-hop’ culture? Does that then make rappers like Mandeep Sethi not Sikh or not ‘hip-hop’? If people no longer have Singh and Kaur in their names, is that not more a reflection of their parents? Does Bollywood really affect us that much? If you have a ‘Christian’ name, again this is Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country, does that make you more ‘hip’? Oh when articles leave you with more questions than answers.
6 Responses to “So Many Questions”
Honestly this is what many young Sikhs go through (particularly the boys, and in some cases girls). I once knew a Sikh kid he was so desperate to blend in with the crowd that he cut his hair, his parents were upset;he replied to them and said that is wearing a turban a blessing or a curse. The Sikh Kid (Anonymous Singh) wanted to be like everyone else but his parents never try to see things from his point of view. He lived in neighborhood in which his family were the only Sikhs. Today that same Sikh kid is living his life and he is happily married. I know this Sikh kid personally because we were the only Sikh kids in our high school and college. Today I look at myself and wonder if I had done the same thing this kid had done probably I would be enjoying my life as well.
Honestly this is what many young Sikhs go through (particularly the boys, and in some cases girls). I once knew a Sikh kid he was so desperate to blend in with the crowd that he cut his hair, his parents were upset;he replied to them and said that is wearing a turban a blessing or a curse. The Sikh Kid (Anonymous Singh) wanted to be like everyone else but his parents never try to see things from his point of view. He lived in neighborhood in which his family were the only Sikhs. Today that same Sikh kid is living his life and he is happily married. I know this Sikh kid personally because we were the only Sikh kids in our high school and college. Today I look at myself and wonder if I had done the same thing this kid had done probably I would be enjoying my life as well.
I get surprised sometimes from the comments of people saying enjoyment in life. What is enjoyment in life? Where is the limit of enjoyment? To me if enjoy one thing, I urge for another and then another. There is no limit. But if I make myself satisfied at lower limit itself, it brings peace to my mind. Living in Australia and being a turbaned sikh, I have never felt that I should have cut my hair and merged other community. I have my own identity. I cut hair once in my college just for once but when I saw myself I never liked it. I found myself better with turban and changed again. I think at the end it is your personal choice to cut your hair but it shouldn't be done with a feeling of guilt that you are not same as others. Many other white or black people from around the world keep long hair. Some keep locks but it is their personal choice, they are happy with it. I think no parent should force the turban to their children. Parents should just tell the importance, respect and fame of turban to their kids. They should give their children such values that the kids should themselves say, they want to wear turban. If a kid still wants to go away from it, it is his badluck.
I get surprised sometimes from the comments of people saying enjoyment in life. What is enjoyment in life? Where is the limit of enjoyment? To me if enjoy one thing, I urge for another and then another. There is no limit. But if I make myself satisfied at lower limit itself, it brings peace to my mind. Living in Australia and being a turbaned sikh, I have never felt that I should have cut my hair and merged other community. I have my own identity. I cut hair once in my college just for once but when I saw myself I never liked it. I found myself better with turban and changed again. I think at the end it is your personal choice to cut your hair but it shouldn’t be done with a feeling of guilt that you are not same as others. Many other white or black people from around the world keep long hair. Some keep locks but it is their personal choice, they are happy with it. I think no parent should force the turban to their children. Parents should just tell the importance, respect and fame of turban to their kids. They should give their children such values that the kids should themselves say, they want to wear turban. If a kid still wants to go away from it, it is his badluck.
this is absurd. the kids have been brainwashed so badly, and whoever wrote the article blaming hip hop culture is in obvious need of a hip-hop history lesson. The author has given into a capitalist white dominated perception of the hip-hop culture while the youth feed into the assimilation being fed through media and behind the scenes forces in society directly tied to systemic oppression of minorities worldwide. Education and Knowledge will save us from cultural death. Our ability as people able to readily access information and spread it should also remind us that we have a responsibility…
this is absurd. the kids have been brainwashed so badly, and whoever wrote the article blaming hip hop culture is in obvious need of a hip-hop history lesson. The author has given into a capitalist white dominated perception of the hip-hop culture while the youth feed into the assimilation being fed through media and behind the scenes forces in society directly tied to systemic oppression of minorities worldwide. Education and Knowledge will save us from cultural death. Our ability as people able to readily access information and spread it should also remind us that we have a responsibility…