Displaying items by tag: Wisconsin

People of the Sikh faith were tragically in the news this summer. On Aug. 5, a gunman shot and killed six worshippers at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

But the Sikh community has continued to find itself under attack, evident from post-9/11 hate crimes, the shooting in Milwaukee, and, most recently, political opportunism in making ethnicity an election issue in the province of Quebec.

The same turban that has given Sikhs identity and pride all through their history is now exacting a high price. The turban pits Sikhs on the wrong side of the cultural police. No people, least of all Sikhs, deserve this bigoted treatment. A Sikh’s turban is a symbol of someone whose job is to protect.

Sikhs have comparatively done well in the United States and Canada. The farmers of Yuba City in California, the lumberjacks of Vancouver and the small entrepreneurs of Brampton are just a few examples of Sikhs’ success in the North America. The open-door policy of Canadian immigration in the 1970s in India was deliberately focused on the Sikhs (and Hindus) in the province of Punjab because of their reputation as hard-working people. Sikhs are part of the modern Canadian success story. So why do people have issues with their turbans?

As head gear, the turban is not unique to Sikhs. Wearing the turban is an old Indian tradition which later became part of the Sikhs’ religious symbols. For a Sikh, his turban and his unshaven beard, provide him with his identity as a member of a martial race. By acknowledging these symbols, their tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in the 17th century marked Sikhs so they cannot hide from life’s challenges and made them the protector of the people — of all people.

No community has sacrificed more and suffered more than Sikhs for their sacrifice and bravery in defending the honour of India. But the turban has been a source of pride and prejudice for Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike.

When Gandhi, the barrister, entered a court in South Africa with his turban on, the judge asked him to remove it, we suppose, as a respect for the court’s traditions. Gandhi thought about it and said he would rather leave the court than remove his turban, we suppose, as a respect for his culture and tradition. Ultimately the judge understood Gandhi’s position and relented.

In pre-independence India in the 1930s, a young Sikh freedom fighter, Bhagat Singh, was tried and hanged for his alleged crime of murdering an Englishman. His show of bravery on the gallows is Sikh folk lore. After he was arrested, his turban was removed and after the trial he was hanged with a naked head. People protested not only his hanging but also the insult of removing his turban. Some would say the man was hanged twice.

In 1984, many Sikhs were killed in New Delhi during the riot that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During the days and weeks that followed, many Sikhs removed their turban, cut their hair and shaved their beard to save themselves. For many Sikhs and Hindus alike, who tried to save them, the sight of a shaven or turban-less Sikh was a national shame no less than the killings themselves.

Few here in Canada would understand the pride of wearing a turban. For Sikhs and indeed for many Indians, especially the elders, regardless of their faith, being asked to remove their turban is like being asked to go naked in public. You cannot inflict a higher personal insult on a man than force him to remove his turban. The turban represents the mark of his personal, family and community pride. The turban is his crown.

But times have changed. Who would have thought that the head gear that gave Sikhs their honorific nickname “Sardarji” (meaning the leader) would make them victims of bigotry in the United States and Canada? Sikhs have no problem wearing turbans in any profession including the Army in India. But in Canada, they have had to fight for their right to wear turbans while serving in local police services, the RCMP, and the Canadian Army.

There is nothing wrong with wearing a turban. It looks beautiful. It gives you pride and protection, it gives to added height, it gives you colour, it makes you feel like a leader- and with a turban you will not to be lost in the crowd! A turban is everyman’s crown.

In this country, we talk about diversity and multiculturalism, yet as a nation we are failing to educate the public about it. Canada is a nation powered by immigrants; people have infused both power and colour into Canadian culture. Sikhs have done more than their part. If we want Canada to evolve into a mature and civil nation, we must learn to cherish and promote diversity in all walks of life. Diversity is the essence of life.

Rama Singh is a professor in the department of biology and Centre for Peace Studies, McMaster University and chairs the Gandhi Peace Festival in Hamilton.