Jan-March 2006 - Institute of Sikh Studies

54ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : JAN-MARCH 2006 / 537-38 NScentury and the new Millennium have put fourth new challenges beforeeach nation and each socio-religious group. The Sikhs, too, mustdeliberate on these modern challenges and synchronise their aspirationsand collective reflexes to meet these challenges.This topic came for a critical debate in the recently held two-dayInternational Sikh Conclave held at the Institute of Sikh Studies,Chandigarh on November 12-13,2005. A resolution was passed forthe urgent need and establishment of an International SikhConfederation of all the Sikh institutions spread all over the world aswell as eminent, enlightened Sikhs. An effort was made to identifysome of the major challenges needing immediate redressal and thepossible strategies to address those problems and empowering the Sikhs.The inaugural address prepared and read out by a modern Sikh savantDr Kharak Singh identified some of these major challenges as thoseof apostasy among the Sikh youth, schisms such as the medievalmonastic revival based on personality cult of derawad, drug addiction,poor quality of both infrastructure as well as instructional content ofSikh educational institutions especially in the rural areas. Corruptionin the management of the Sikh shrines and electoral politics, reemergenceof Brahminical rituals in Sikh way of life need Panthicattention. Estrangement and alienation of the Sikh youth from its richvibrant Sikh legacy and heritage and their degeneration, especially therural youth, due to lack of role models in the elder generation as wellas their own imagination and aspirations to dream for higher goals andtheir consequent fall into petty undignified jobs in foreign lands throughthe exploitative network of unscrupulous travel agents and drug mafiashave to be looked into. Re-emergence of caste system, dowry, femalefoeticide, senseless ostentation in social functions even at the cost ofeconomic deprivation through borrowings and incurring heavy debtshave further impoverished the Sikhs economically, morally andreligiously. There is a total collapse of value system based on theteachings of the revered Sikh Gurus and the Gurbani. Ritualisticsuperstructure in the form of marbled structures of Sikh gurdwaras,crowd pulling, over publicised processions and lavish langars and seriesof repetitive scriptural readings rather than effective preaching andpropagating of Sikh philosophy and way of life based on deepunderstanding, research and spirit of devotion have completely erodedthe quality of Sikh institutions responsible for the propagation of Sikh