On Sikhs, 1984, and Environmental Justice at Jakara

Last week, I wrote a wrap-up about the 10th Annual Jakara Movement Conference.  Sikh Knowledge, a previously featured artist, wrote his thoughts on his blog.

However, an especially important post was written by Pashaura Singh Dhillon.  For those that are regular langa(r)-eaders, then you need no introduction.  In a post during last year’s presidential election, I introduced a Fresno Punjabi landmark – one of our many great poets.

At last week’s Jakara Movement Conference, Pashaura Singh delivered a powerful poem at the farewell banquet.  On his own blog, he introduces the piece, written with a contemporary problem using a traditional Mirza meter.  I quote at length:

I was invited to share a poem I wrote at the closing banquet of Jakara Movement. Jakara began in 2000 with a mission to call the next generation of Sikhs from all places, backgrounds and points of view to reflect on their past and prepare for the future. In 2009, they came together as the next generation of Sikhs to continue the process of empowering, engaging , and educating the Sikh community.

Kanwar Anit Singh Saini (Sikh Knowledge) and Kanwar Singh (Humble the Poet), two Canadian rappers and participants of 2009’s Jakara said it best. “1984 is all around us. It is happening in Rwanda. It is happening in Palestine. We should try to find connections with people who are also victims because then the minority becomes the majority.”

But I was not there to repeat what had already been reported or was going to be reported on this subject. As a poet I wanted to invite them to a different plane, whereby they not only take the message of what happened to the Sikhs 25 years ago but also what is happening all around the world today and how it relates to us all. A big picture where these compounded atrocities and excesses not only of humans on humans that are happening everyday but also collectively of humans on this planet Earth, which threatens its very survival. The victim of human’s inhumanity the Earth pleads with the princess of the Skies whose domain the fugitive from Earth is now so impatient to intrude. Without further adieu, here is “Umber Di Shehzadi De Naa: To the Princess of the Skies”