May happiness and blessings of the Guru be with all as we enter the New Year.
On 5 January, the global Sikh community celebrates the Parkaash(birth) of the Tenth Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh ji.
"The ethos of the Sikh faith was enunciated by Guru Nanak, strengthened and augmented by his eight successors and finally brought to a self surviving maturity by Guru Gobind Singh." (quote from a paper by late scholar/poet, S Jaswinder Singh Chadha.)
Guru Gobind Singh ji completed Guru Nanak Sahib's mission of establishing Sikhi as the global Khalsa Panth, the egalitarian Order of the Khalsa.
Today, Sikh identity, ideology and institutions continue to face challenges in India and in the Sikh diaspora. For British Sikhs, as for other UK communities, year 2018 will be remembered as the year of the Brexit negotiations, and the countdown for the UK to leave the European Union (the Brexit) was approaching its end. In the US, minority communities including the Sikhs, have been apprehensive following Donald Trump's victory to become the President due to his extreme right wing views. Other countries can follow this trend to the extreme right to cause problems for the minorities by challenging the very ethos of multi-culturalism.
Terrorism in the name of misguided "Islam" which has been spreading since 9/11, has posed challenges for Sikh identity in the West. Yet, as a recent Sikh Network survey has shown, Sikhs continue to remain invisible to the government of the UK and other Western countries because they are not counted and monitored reliably as "Sikhs" under the current system. For example, many crimes against Sikhs are recorded as crimes under "Islamophobia".
There is a new awakening to push Sikh identity at global level. There is a global Sikh reaction to being lost in figures as "Indians" or "Asians" or misidentified as "Muslim" or even mis-profiled as "terrorists".
The challenges to main stream Sikh ideology and the independence of central Sikh institutions have been only too obvious for more than a century when Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha was compelled to write "Hum Hindu Nahi". There are Snatan dharmi Sikhs who are now openly preaching Brahmanic thought.
Internal controversy about the Dasam Granth must be avoided by fully accepting the Guruship of Jugo Jug Attal Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib in accordance with the Command of Guru Gobind Singh ji. Dasam Granth should be researched and celebrated as an invaluable source of literary heritage but not placed at par with Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Otherwise, today, Sikhs are better engaged with governments in the diaspora countries. We look to Year 2025 as the year of Chardhi Kalaa of the global Khalsa Panth.
Let us "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."(Albert Einstein)
May the Khalsa be imbued with humility and high wisdom. (Sikh Ardaas)
Have a promising and fulfilling New Year.
Further reading -
under Publications
Parkaash = illumination. Birth of a saintly person who becomes a source of spiritual enlightenment.
Gurpurb (or Gurpurab) is a religious festival commemorating a Guru.
For Sikh word concepts refer to the glossary
"Unique was the deed of Tegh Bahadur"
(Guru Gobind Singh, Bachittar Natak.)
The anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur's shaheedi is observed on 24 November each year. Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75 C.E.), the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, gave his life for the religious freedom of all. He saved the sub-continent of India from religious bigotry and thus, according to Bhai Gurdas II, "Stabilised the world."
That message of Bhai Gurdas II is particularly relevant today in the context a destructive wars around the world in the name of religion. Today, the world can learn from the shaheedi of Guru Tegh Bahadur who opposed the religious bigotry of Emperor Aurungzeb.
To quote from a study, "The martyrdom was a momentous and unique event in the history of human evolution towards a just society in which everyone has the right to practice own religion, subject only to the mutual respect between diverse religious paths. Never, in the annals of human history has a religious head of one belief system given his life for the religious freedom of another religion. In desperation and unable to invoke their numerous gods and goddesses, one leading Pandit made it known that in a dream he had been told by Lord Siva to go to Nanak IX, Guru Tegh Bahdur for protection."
(Guru Tegh Bahdur: The True Story by S. Gurmukh Singh OBE, published by The Sikh Missionary Society UK)The debt which humanity and India owes to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji has yet to be fully acknowledged.
For further reading:
Year 2021 marked the 400th Parkash Year of Nanak IX, Guru Tegh Bahadur. To commemorate the life, mission and martyrdom of Guru Ji, the Society's acclaimed publication Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675): The True Story has been revised and updated with Guru Ji's Gurbani by Society sewadar, S. Gurmukh Singh OBE. The Digital Edition has been made available to diaspora Sikh organisations for publication.
The Sikh Missionary Society (U.K.) is a charity. Our registered charity number is 262404. We are regulated by the Charity Commission to whom we are required to submit our annual report and financial statements, up-to-date information about our trustees and other administrative information.
Our annual reports are available to view-
We are pleased to inform the Sangat that the work on the construction of the new hall is now complete.
Due to the Covid-19 restrictions it was quite a difficult task but with the blessings of Guru ji, all the work has now been satisfactorily completed. Some changes were made to the original plan and also due to some extra work the final costs increased. Hence we appeal for donations, please consider to help support this effort -
Current Affairs advisories from Sardar Gurmukh Singh OBE, Chair of the Sikh Missionary Society Advisory Board -
Further Reading
UK General Election Sikh Manifestos: In addition to British Sikh issues, the Manifestos provide compact information about Sikh Identity, Kakaars, Anglo-Sikh history and heritage
Sikhs worldwide remember the 1984 pogrom in which, according to official figures, at least 3,000 Sikhs were killed by organized mobs in Delhi in the first 3 days of November 1984. Thousands of Sikhs were also killed in other cities of India. While the terror of the human slaughter within such a short time was horrifying, the contrived completeness of the failure of the Indian administrative system was inexcusable.
Pogroms, genocides and human tragedies, should unite all right thinking, fair-minded people above communal and religio-ethnic divides so that lessons are learnt, and history does not repeat itself. The politics of forgetfulness must not be allowed to suppress the traditional Sikhi spirit of remembrance expressed in the daily Ardaas (supplication).
In an ever shrinking world, no one can remain immune from large scale selective massacre of one community and prolonged delay in the delivery of justice. We remember those who lost their lives in the Sikh genocide of November 1984 and their families who continue to be denied justice to this day.
Further Reading
The British Sikh Inquiry (BSI) project aims to record evidence which shows institutional bias against the Sikhs because they are “different”. Thus, “Institutional racism” was defined by Sir William Macpherson in the UK’s Lawrence report (1999) as:
“The collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour that amount to discrimination through prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness, and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.”
Institutional racism in the government and agencies, politics, local and national assemblies, the judiciary, the media, the health and educational systems and other public and private sector bodies is directed against a people like the Sikhs because they are seen to be “different”. They are different not just because of their visible identity in case of Amritdhari (initiated) Sikhs and Sikhs who keep turbans and beards but also due to their association with a way of life based on creed, culture and historical tradition as a distinct people.
There have been numerous recorded cases since the arrival of Sikhs in the UK from about mid-1950's, which show that Sikhs have been victims of institutional discrimination because of their qaumi (theo-national) way of life, values, behaviour and characteristics. Varying degrees of religious observance may be one characteristic.
Otherwise, “The Sikhs are a role model community and provide an exceptionally interesting example of successful integration whilst maintaining a very visible and distinctive religious identity.” (The Sikh Manifesto 2015-2020).
Findings of the prolonged Daniel Morgan murder investigation into Scotland Yard remind UK Sikhs of their own negative experience in dealing with public servants and ministers. The most recent example is the highly questionable "consultation" process used by the Office for National Statistics to decide if the Sikhs should be allocated own ethnic (Qaumi) tick box in Census 2021.
The British Sikh Inquiry (BSI) section at the Sikh Missionary Society UK aims to collate and preserve as part of British Sikh history, cases, news reports, briefings and investigative articles relating to institutional racism against British Sikhs as a distinct community in the British plural society.
Project co-ordinator:
Gurmukh Singh OBE: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk
(First contact by e-mail only).
Please visit the new section of the website -
Achieving this Guidance on the wearing of Sikh Articles of Faith in the workplace and public spaces by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an important step forward in recognition of the Sikh religious identity in the UK. The Sikh Missionary Society UK was represented by Gurmukh Singh (UK) in the drafting of the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidelines.
You should read this guidance if you require:
Further Reading
Sections 11 and 12 of the Employment Act 1989 as amended by Section 6 of the Deregulation Act 2015 exempts turban-wearing Sikhs from any legal requirement to wear head protection at a workplace.
and
Panjabi
To Produce and distribute books on the Sikh Faith in English and Panjabi, and other languages to enlighten the younger generation of Sikhs as well as non-Sikhs.
To Advise and support young students in schools, colleges and universities on Sikh issues and Sikh traditions. If you belong to an educational institution and would like more information on Sikhism please contact the Resource Centre.
To Arrange Classes, Lectures, Seminars, Conferences, Gurmat camps and the celebration of Holy Sikh Events.
To award prizes to children on the basis of their achievement and interest in the field of Sikh Faith and Panjabi Language.
To make available all Sikh Artefacts, Posters, Literature, Music, Educational Video's, DVD's and Multimedia CD-ROMs
The Sikh Missionary Society U.K seeks financial and other help from Sikh Sangats and Gurdwaras to meet the objectives of the Society. The Society also acts as a Sikh Resource Centre and has over 1000 life and ordinary members from all over the U.K and abroad.
Catalogue of books and artefacts available at the Sikh Missionary Society UK
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