editorial articles reviews news & views - Institute of Sikh Studies

THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG
95
says that in fact bana means only hair covered with turban and not the
5 ks. Some of the statements or judgments made by the learned editor
are also worth noting. He says that “to such a person that in fact is the
only definition of a Sikh” What is the definition of a Sikh He is silent
about it. And the word “only” prompts me to ask; are there more than
one definitions of a Sikh He has avoided finding an answer to these
questions, as a logical answer will for sure contradict his thesis. The
learned editor further avers that bana gives license to religious and
political leaders of Sikhs to be corrupt. No doubt majority of Sikh
leaders (and scholars as well, why to pick leaders only) are corrupt,
but to say that bana (which according to him means 5 ks) gives them a
license to be corrupt, is stooping even below the level of yellow
journalism. There are heaps of corrupt people who call themselves
Sikhs but do not adorn 5 ks. There are heaps of non-Sikh political and
religious leaders who are corrupt form head to toe. Who or what
gives them the license Or would he classify them as unlicensed corrupt
people Every corrupt person tries to conceal himself. But that does
not mean that cover he hides under is a cause of his/her corruption.
It is even more disappointing when this thesis comes from the editor
of a journal discussing serious philosophical issues. In fact the 5 ks
gives the world a license and a right to question a person who adorns
them as to why he does not follow the tenets of Sikhism. This right
has been exercised in the pages of Sikh Bulletin on hundreds of times.
Using this license, many people have criticized Mr Badal for performing
rituals like havan.
The learned editor now turns his microscope on to the words
patit or apostate. Once again his logic is weird. He finds that an
apostate means a person who has forsaken his religion. However, he
is upset that for Sikhs a person is apostate if he cuts his hair. Obviously,
in his opinion, for Sikhs, cutting of hair should not amount to forsaking
of religion. He does not bother to justify his stand with any logic, and
closes the thread by saying that character has been reduced to
insignificance. In what way are keeping of hair and character related
Are they mutually exclusive or inclusive Or are these two separate
things altogether He conveniently shifts his focus in order to avoid
finding an answer to these questions. This technique is often used by
many kathakars in our gurdwaras. Instead of discussing a subject in