Like many 1000’s of Sikhs across the world, I am saddened by the recent clashes between different Sikh groups in Italy and Germany. These follow a worrying pattern, where a Sikh preacher is accused of distorting Sikh traditions and is ordered to stop his preaching. This produces a reaction and before we know it, two camps emerge, each upping the anti and the result is not dialogue but physical threats and violence. There is nothing Sikhi like in this and it is the innocent on both sides that suffer.
The sentiments of ordinary, impressionable individuals are manipulated by much bigger fish that hide in the shadows.
Sikh teachings are very clear, opposition to anything should be proportionate. So, if you disagree with somebody you make your case in a reasoned and polite way. If you are physically attacked then you have the right to defend yourself. There is no justification for acting in any offensive manner and violence should always be an absolute last resort.
Sikh leaders are playing in the hands of Hindutva forces or they help those people to become Sikh leaders who can work for them, it maybe Badals, captain, Dhuma or other people we couldn’t recognize. We should have a think tank of sikh scholars who can guide Sikh panth in the light of Guru Granth Sahib ji.
Any sikh that physically attacks or verbally abuses another within a gurdwara can not be called a sikh and should be thrown out by paid sikh security guard sewadars. Named and shamed broadcast around the world so that we all see their evil face and cctv of their antics.
If the aggressor fools want to fight let them do it outside the premises, park or boxing ring but not in gurus house
Dr. Gurnam Singh observations are absolutely correct.If we want survive as one religion we have to push back against all these negative forces which historically have always been there but have picked up steam in recent years.We can begin our fight by uniting under our only Guru ” Guru Granth Sahib ji”. We need a conference of intellectuals of our religion to get together and put together a simple straightforward code which by the way already exists but has to be executed.This reform fight has to start from the sikhs living in diaspora as our so called sikh organisations SGPC. DGPC and what not have sold their soul and it would be foolish to expect anything good coming out of those people.Look how they sabotaged the conference which was supposed to be held in Germany last march to discuss controversial issues facing us.
Very well said & written. We are becoming intolerant towards discussion, because we lack the knowledge, reading ourselves Gurbani, history, lack of Gurmukhi language, etc. Unless we ourselves make effort to read more we ca not discuss. This is we picck up sword to fight, in our Girdwaras. Then there a lot of outside element , who want to destroy Sikhism. They are not active, within us in the garb of Sikhs, Amritdhari etc.
Human species are designed to produce leaders who are
Fanatics
Fascists
Rascists
Hyoer Nationalistic
Imperialistic
The forces which are violent in history are
1) Imperialism as in Jallianwala bagh
2) Fascism as in world war -2
3) Fanaticsm as in 1947 , 1984 and ISIS
4) Hyper Nationalistism as in 1947 and 1984
5) Fascism as in WW -2