I was recently asked to write a piece about perhaps some contribution to young British Sikh experience. Particularly my experiences in the last year as a Faiths Act Fellow of The Tony Blair Faith Foundation. The competitive fellowship that bought together 34 young leaders of faith from around the world to spearhead multifaith social action. When I began the fellowship, I had grand dreams of the kind of things I would learn, and what I would be able to share at the end of such a unique opportunity. That is still the case, the numbers of skills and qualities I have developed and been exposed to this year are endless. However, the more I reflect on the year I realise the biggest and most profound change and experience came from deep within.
Through bringing people of different faith communities together on a common goal, the injustice of malaria. I was on a daily basis meeting new people, making new friends, and often being challenged to my very core. I was pushed beyond my comfort zone, meeting the ‘other’, those that are not like me. Not only are they not like me, but also they are challenging my ‘truth’, my entire basis of life. This ‘other’ who was not like me, not part of my life, looked different to me, held different things sacred, and believed life was about something else. On the one hand, what a dream living my faith and talking about being a Sikh through my work everyday, what a great feeling to wake up to. But, being challenged at every turn. Why did this experience, this ‘work’, transform me from deep within? Well, actually this ‘other’ person was rather like me, the Prophet Mohammed inspired this ‘other’ to love humanity, to bow in devotion to one God, to live a compassionate life, we shared a lot, conversations were fruitful, progression was inevitable. On a daily basis I met the light of god in so many, who wanted something different for our children. My mind was opened, my soul was transforming, and I was learning and this learning was reciprocal. This openness, allowed the other to ask me ‘why do you wear a turban?’ ‘Why do you grow your hair’, even ‘is it true you can’t take your Kara off until the last person of another faith is wiped off the planet’. Imagine, if we hadn’t cleared that one up.
Opening our minds and liberating ourselves of prejudice is possibly one of the biggest internal challenges I believe we face as humanity. This is particularly important for our community in my opinion. As children of fore fathers who actively stepped forward and spoke out against injustice, not only of their own faith traditions, but for this ‘other’. It isn’t something that is just a personal aspiration; I believe it is a duty of Sikh, a duty of the Khalsa. How does it begin, how can we stand up for another, when we feel we can’t yet stand up for ourselves with the huge injustices the Sikh community are facing particularly in the Punjab. If I care about the world, and want it to progress must I not take every opportunity to nurture it? This kind of commitment can only come out of love; it can only come out patience and care. To be able to think beyond our immediate circle and ourselves, to begin to embrace this universally as a way of life, not simply an action on a particular issue. It begins within with liberating ourselves of prejudice and misconceptions, and raising a generation that are purposeful, loving, and all encompassing, leading us to a society that is progressive.
Just this week two examples within our community highlighted this for me; the Sikhs have some of the most incredible organisations doing groundbreaking humanitarian work all over the world. Most notably, they do it in every corner through our universal system of langar. With such beautiful souls scattered in every city and town, why do we often feel so unheard, or such victims at the hands of so many? Now, if I could simply answer that I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here pondering it. However, one of my observations this week have led me straight back to my own journey of transformation. Two simple examples first, this week global leaders, NGO’s, faith inspired organisations and many people engaged in women’s rights work gathered for the London summit of family planning – some incredible commitments were made in stepping up our commitment to the worlds women. A young Sikh asked me why there had been no notable Sikh voices in the media around this landmark summit happening in London, considering the issues we have with female foeticide and infanticide. A second example, a Cherry Healy series I have followed on BBC3 has followed Cherry through ‘How to Get A Life’, and has been eye opening in broadening and opening her mind to the world. This week, it featured a Sikh and naturally we promoted for all to tune in. Never before had I seen it promoted for our community to watch, and to broadens it mind. I wondered why? Naturally, it is important, infact imperative that we build the foundations and progression of the global Sikh community – infact the is where all inspiration to come into the field of interfaith work came from for me. It came from seeing the powerlessness and victimhood thrust upon the victims of 1984. I believed we needed something different, platforms to be heard. Along the way, I never could have imagined it would transform my image what ‘humanity’ meant.
I am not going to start this paragraph with an answer to the problems we face as Sikhs as a minority community, and I certainly do not need to list the issues the global community face. However, instead a challenge to all that in order to be heard, to be part of a progressive society, and to embody Khalsa characteristics in the open global space that we inhabit then we must look outside ourselves. Look to our neighbour, transforms ourselves, our homes, our neighbourhoods and watch the ripples.My experiences this year show it works, the results spoke for themselves. I have learned that I can go anywhere and talk as me, the Sikh, but in an open-minded space where learning and sharing is reciprocal that’s where the magic has happened.
Why, because when the worst happens, it’s the only way we can pull together. Change starts with us.
First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
– Martin Neimoller
Imandeep Kaur is a 26-year Sikh from Solihull who has recently come to the end of the 2011 – 2012 Faiths Act fellowship with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Imandeep began the fellowship after completing her MSc. in International Development from the University of Birmingham. Imandeep’s research and fieldwork in the field of Religion, Gender and Development includes her MSc. research on the Sikh Widow of 1984 where she spent time in Tilak Vihar known as the ‘widow colony’. Imandeep is active and vocal on interfaith cohesion, social action, human rights and minority rights issues.
Twitter: @ImmyKaur
