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NEWS & VIEWS125so overwhelming. And I am absolutely delighted that the IOSS andother bodies have joined hands and embarked on this new initiative.As I indicated in our conversation, you have my complete support.With best wishesYours sincerelyMota Singh~~~COMMENTS ON PROFESSOR DHARAM SINGH’S KEYNOTE SPEECHDear Editor,Kudos to Dr. Sarjeet Singh Sidhu for his article: Being PoliticallyCorrect. The author is indeed endowed with Bibek Budhi (discriminatingintellect/critical thinking) and the deep understanding <strong>of</strong> Nanakianphilosophy (Gurmat). Dr Sidhu has dealt in a superb manner theexplosive issue <strong>of</strong> “political correctness” and the misinterpretation <strong>of</strong>Kabir’s hymns and other erroneous statements made by Pr<strong>of</strong>essorDharam Singh <strong>of</strong> the Department <strong>of</strong> Encyclopedia <strong>of</strong> <strong>Sikh</strong>ism, PunjabiUniversity in Patiala. Pr<strong>of</strong> Dharam Singh had earlier taken the libertyto reinterpret Gurbani to suite his “Keynote Speech: The <strong>Sikh</strong> Spiritand the Global Society.” However, I want to echo and reinforce whatDr Sidhu has said so eloquently for the following reasons :First, W H McLeod and his supporters insist that onlyacademicians are qualified to critique academic work. On the otherhand, learned <strong>Sikh</strong>s are <strong>of</strong> the view that anyone who has properunderstanding <strong>of</strong> Guru Granth Sahib (GGS), <strong>Sikh</strong> history and traditionsis qualified to comment on academic work. As a matter <strong>of</strong> fact,academic scholars in the field <strong>of</strong> <strong>Sikh</strong> studies rarely criticize each other’swork—-their own self-imposed version <strong>of</strong> “political correctness.” Forexample, Dharam Singh’s article was published more than a year agoand not a single academician has raised a voice to correct the errors.Why? Had Dr. Sidhu’s eye not caught the mistakes in Dharam Singh’sarticles, it might have remained unnoticed, unchallenged, and quitepossibly become a source <strong>of</strong> reference for others in their writings. Letus examine Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Dharam Singh’s following statements:1. “<strong>Sikh</strong>ism not only acknowledges and appreciates other faiths,it accepts their equal validity as well.”There is absolutely no reference in Guru Granth Sahib that
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