The Sikh Bulletin

The Sikh Bulletin &`gx 535 February 2004
while remaining tolerant of the different beat of the distant
drummer that their neighbor chooses to walk to on his or her
religious path. It is in this latter condition that India and
Turkey seem to be critically deficient.
This principle exactly is the bedrock of Sikh belief: to
believe and practice one’s faith by understanding its
fundamentals but never to enforce it on others. History tells
us that Aurungzeb, the 17th-century Muslim ruler of India,
declared Islamization of the country as his national policy
goal. Hindus were converted by force. At that time, the Sikh
Guru, Tegh Bahadur, at the entreaty of Hindus, chose to
accept martyrdom to insure that Hindus could practice their
own faith as they deemed fit. He did so not because he did
not value the fundamentals of his own Sikh belief, which was
not Hinduism. His sacrifice was a testament to the
fundamentals of his own Sikh faith - tolerance of the
different views of others and helping them chart their own
destiny, as they saw fit.
The approach of all Sikh Gurus, from Guru Nanak to
Guru Gobind Singh, was similar. They taught a message that
did not diminish or demean others. They considered no one
person or his religion to be the enemy. They fought battles,
yet were equally willing to welcome the opponent as a friend.
The lives of Guru Hargobind and Guru Gobind Singh are a
testament to this. History tells us that in the many battles that
the Gurus fought, some of their allies were Hindu; others
were Muslim. At times some enemies were Hindu, while
others were Muslim. Through all this the Gurus never forced
their beliefs on any people, subjugated others or conquered
any territory. For almost half a century until the arrival of the
British in the mid 19th century, Sikhs dominated north India;
the ruler, Ranjit Singh, ruled justly with an emphasis on
tolerance to ensure that the fundamentals of all faiths were
respected.
Here I must offer an apologia of sorts. What I have
recounted is Sikh history. In the past two decades or so,
whether in response to the political realities in India where
the Sikhs are under siege or as fallout from fundamentalists
and fanatics from around the world, Sikhism, too, has
produced its share of talibanized Sikhs who are intolerantly
fanatical. Assuredly, there is no way to justify or garner
support for such self-righteousness and hubris in Sikh
tradition, history or doctrine.
Fundamentals of one’s belief are important to a sense
of self; intolerance and fanaticism are inimical to it. This is
the crux of a civilized and cultured existence. I. J Singh, NY
[From his book ‘Being And Becoming A Sikh’, available from the Author
ijs1@nyu.edu ED.]
*****
PRESS NOTE BY WSC ORGANIZERS
Jan. 02, 2004.
The under mentioned persons connected with the ‘World
Sikh Convention’, analysed the news item published in the
papers of December 25, 2003, according to which Editor of
the Spokesman Joginder Singh has been summoned by Bhai
Joginder Singh Vedanti to appear at the Akal Takhat,
considered it in the context of the resolutions of the
Convention and concluded as follows:
1.1 Several years earlier our representatives had
politely asked Bhai Joginder Singh Vedanti to
clarify to the Sikh panth the religious or ethical
basis on which he was declaring himself and others
as “maha Granthis, Five Singh Sahiban, Jathedars
or High Priests”. He has not bothered to explain his
position to the Sikh people.
1.2 The panth accepted Sikh Rehat Maryada provides
for selection of Five Beloved ones by the
concerned Sikh congregation. The above
mentioned ‘maha Granthis, Jathedars’ were never
so selected by the congregation. They must explain
to the congregation how without going through the
process of selection, they usurp the powers of the
Five Beloved Ones and why do they terrorise
Guru’s Sikhs by the exercise of such powers
1.3 They need to clarify how they are entitled to
summon a Sikh to appear before them in the
absence of his voluntary desire to seek forgiveness
for dereliction of religious duty
1.4 Clearly Editor Joginder Singh has committed no
breach of Rehat Maryada and neither has he
presented himself before the congregation to seek
forgiveness. In these circumstances no pseudo
Jathedar is entitled according to the principles of
Sikhi to summon him to appear at the Akal Takhat.
1.5 It is certain that no Sikh of the Guru is obliged to
obey such an order which is void ab initio.
2.1 After deep consideration, all of us, particularly in
the context of Akali Dal’s Moga Conference
(1996), believe that Mr. Parkash Singh Badal’s
position is that of a henchman of Hindutva forces.
He now is a firm adherent of Hindutva’s ultimate
aim of liquidating the Sikh panth and is a handle in
the axe of Hindutva.
2.2 In recent times Mr. Badal has usurped the sole
right to appoint and dismiss what his group calls a
‘Jathedar’ of the Akal Takhat. Inspired by some
destructive thought he has appointed Bhai Joginder
Singh Vedanti to that office and has retained him
even after attaining the retiring age of 60 years.
2.3 For the above mentioned reasons Bhai Vedanti is
only a henchman of one who himself is but a
henchman of an enemy organisation. According to
principles derived from Guru’s word, Guru’s
instructions and the dictates of Sikh history and
tradition, it is nothing but betrayal of Sikhi to
obey Vedanti’s orders.
3.1 To advertise the collection of indecent tales and
meaningless mythological stories as ‘Dasam
Granth’ and to attribute its authorship to the Tenth
King in entirety is to throw mud on the Guru’s
clean and holy garment. The ultimate aim of
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