India-Canada Visa Issues Hit Panjabis
The international implications of the Nijjar case, the escalation of violence against Sikhs in Canada and India, and Pope Francis’ address to UAE Sikhs on the linkage between faith and service.
India-Canada Visa Issues Disproportionately Impact Panjabis
On 25 Oct, India resumed its visa services in Canada, catering to several crucial visa categories of travelers - Entry, Business, Medical, and Conference. The High Commission of India in Ottawa conducted a thorough assessment of the security situation, considered recent Canadian measures, and decided that visa services for specific categories will recommence on 26 Oct. Canada welcomed India’s step. Owing to India pressing Canada to relocate its diplomatic staff, Canada has said it will only be able to process less than 50% of the visa applications filed by Indians by 2023-end. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) can now only process 20,000 of the 38,000 pending Indian visa applications by December due to limited on-the-ground resources in India. The remaining five IRCC staff in India are now prioritizing essential tasks, including urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment, and overseeing key partners such as visa application centers, panel physicians, and immigration medical exam clinics. This limitation will result in slower overall processing times, delayed responses to inquiries, and extended wait times for visa and passport returns. IRCC is hopeful that Indian visa application processing will return to normal by early 2024, but this seems impossible. The most affected will be from Panjab. Meanwhile, Indian media is running stories with no proof that ‘visas are being extended just to support the Khalistan cause so that the momentum can gain maximum strength.’
Protesting Teacher Blames Education Minister in Suicide Note
In the early morning on 21 Oct, 35-year-old protester Balwinder Kaur from village Gambirpur, district Ropar, reportedly jumped into the Sirhind canal. Kaur was a member of the 1158 Assistant Professors and Librarians Front who had been protesting near the residence of Panjab Education Minister Harjot Bains since 14 Aug. In her suicide note, Kaur expressly held Bains responsible. After close to 20 years in which no recruitment took place, in October 2021 the then Congress government started a recruitment process for professors and librarians. In December 2021, 607 of them were given appointment letters. While 124 of them joined their duties, the remaining 483 – who had resigned from their jobs at mostly government schools and private or aided colleges – were not allowed to join owing to a large number of petitions against the recruitment drive. Last year, the Panjab and Haryana High Court quashed the recruitment. The state government has challenged the court decision. Upon Kaur’s suicide, when opposition demanded a solution to the issue, the AAP government called them an ‘entire vulture kingdom’ who were ‘shamelessly propagating false narratives.’ The police First Information Report mentions Kaur’s husband but not the minister – named in the suicide report – as responsible for the suicide. Ironically, on the same day as the suicide, the AAP government came out with a Panjab Influencer Empowerment Policy, 2023, aimed at recruiting social media influencers to ‘to narrate rich stories of Panjab's culture, heritage, and governance initiatives to audiences across India.’ The policy promises huge cash incentives.
Crop Diversification Fails but Millet is a Silver Lining
The Panjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), in a status report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) said the state has struggled and failed to meet its crop diversification targets for three straight years. Against targets of producing 3.57 million tonnes (MT) of diversified crops in 2021-22 and 4.57 MT in 2022-23, Panjab produced none. Going by the past record, the state government is expecting no change in 2023-24. Crop diversification is a crucial component of crop residue management to bring down stubble burning issues. The real incentive for crop diversification is Minimum Support Price and assured procurement of farm produce. Until that is provided, Panjab will be stuck in the wheat-paddy cycle. Only cotton crops ensure competitive financial returns to farmers, but last year the pink bollworm disease affected the crop. The irony is that devastation due to pink bollworm in the 1990s was the reason Panjab farmers moved to BT Cotton, but the disease is still affecting them. However, there is a silver lining, though perhaps not big enough to make it in official statistics. The Indian government declared 2023 the Year of Millet. In Panjab, in the early 1950s, over 11,000 hectares were under millet cultivation, as opposed to approximately 1,000 hectares now. The farmers who are resurrecting millet farming, experimenting with all nine varieties of millet, are reporting financial success. The reason being many of them have their own processing plants, a critical link to raising prices in the market. These farmers are retracing their steps to a pre-Green Revolution Panjab.
SGPC Restores Bunga, Frowns on Film
Recently, the Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) completed the restoration of the Ramgarhia Bunga, a 250-year-old “fortress-like dwelling”near the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple). The building suffered damage over the years – including a 1903 earthquake and the 1984 Indian Army attack. It was previously restored using modern interventions which historians and archaeologists criticized. This time, the SGPC used Nanakshahi bricks set in lime-and-mud mortar to ensure the restoration replicated the original construction methods. The use of these traditional materials is believed to make the building stronger and more resistant to cracks compared to modern bricks and cement. Such preservation is a good example for organizations involved in preserving and restoring old structures, but there is no clarity on which of those structures come under the Indian government, the Panjab government, and the SGPC. There were 73 bungas until the 1947 Partition; almost all have been destroyed. Meanwhile, on the one hand, the three-month deadline on satellite rights for broadcast of Sabad singing from Darbar Sahib worldwide lapsed. The approval procedure by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is yet to be completed. On the other hand, makers of a new animated film Dastaan-e-Sirhind on the Sahibzadas (Sovereign's sons) of the tenth Sikh Guru caught the attention of the SGPC. Sikhi is against idolatry and visual representations. In a digital age, with the pervasiveness of the image, the SGPC and scholars need to decide on the complete framework of representation of Gurus, their families, their associates, and Sikh history in general. The issue is not limited to this movie alone. With AI playing a major role in knowledge creation and discourses, the need for such a framework is urgent.
Only Keshdhari Sikhs to have Voting Rights in Haryana Gurdwara Polls
The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) will be going to polls soon. The state called for creation of fresh voters’ lists by 15 Nov based on self-declaration by Sikhs. On 26 Oct, the president of the ad hoc HSGMC, Bhupinder Singh Assandh, said that only Keshdhari (unshorn hair) and Sabat Surat (complete appearance) Sikhs, who have faith in Guru Granth Sahib and are followers of all 10 Sikh Gurus, will have voting rights. The decision was taken following reports that deredars (sect-followers) are also applying for voting rights. Asandh said, ‘The total Sikh population is around 18 lakh but the number of voters is only two lakh. The number of the voters should be around 10 lakh.’ One reason for the low registration is the Keshdhari vs Sehajdhari vs Patit tangle. In Panjabi language encyclopedia Mahankosh, revered Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha defined the term Sehajdhari as a ‘natural follower’ of the tenets of Sikhi who maintains unshorn hair but is not an initiated Sikh. This definition was not considered in the 1944 amendments to Gurdwara Act, 1925. In 1958, the Sehajdharis meant shorn hair who got voting rights but lost them again in 2003. Those with shorn hair have now become Patit (implying heretics, not apostates), ineligible to vote. The issue has affected the SGPC elections too. If the Gurdwara committees truly wish to be representative of the Sikhs, they must solve this tangle. Changing definitions are in conflict with those documented in the Sikh Rehat Maryada (code of conduct).
Elderly Sikh Man Dies in New York After Being Repeatedly Punched
On 19 Oct around 12 p.m, Jasmer Singh and Gilbert Augustin’s cars collided on the Van Wyck Expressway near Hillside Avenue in Kew Gardens. Both cars had dents and scratches. As Singh pulled out his phone, prosecutors say witnesses heard Augustin say, ‘no police, no police.’ 30-year-old Augustin hit 60-year-old Singh on his head and repeatedly punched him. Singh was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens in critical condition where he died of a brain injury the next day. Augustin was arrested on 20 Oct and charged with manslaughter and assault. Jasmer Singh's son Multani stated, ‘The guy was addressing my father with his costumes, with his turbans. There was no reason for someone to go in that intensity. My father was targeted and it is a possible hate crime.’ New York Mayor Eric Adams, wrote on X, ‘Jasmer Singh loved this city and deserved so much more,’ further telling the Sikh community, ‘We reject this hatred that took this innocent life and we will protect you.’ The hate crime charges were filed. On 17 Oct, an unidentified person assaulted a 19-year-old Sikh in New York for wearing a turban on a shuttle bus. On 17 Oct, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its annual report of hate crimes statistics for 2022. The data shows a 7% increase from 2021 to 2022. Anti-Sikh hate crimes were recorded as the highest number ever at 198. Sikhs remain the second-most targeted group in the United States for religiously motivated hate crimes.
Fiji Sikhs in Police Force Allowed to Wear Turban
In a bid to promote diversity, Fiji’s police force approved changes to their uniform. Navjeath Singh Sohata became the first Sikh police officer to don a turban with the official Fiji Police crown. Recognizing that respect for diversity and inclusivity are integral to the success of policing efforts, Acting Commissioner of Police Juki Fong Chew approved the wearing of a turban with the official Fiji Police crown. Police Constable Sohata, 20, is a member of Batch 66 undergoing the Basic Recruits Course Training in Nasova. Sahota joins over a century-long tradition of Sikhs serving in the police force. In 1900, the British brought Sikh policemen to Fiji from Hong Kong and Shanghai. While Fiji had a period of indentured labor system 1879-1916, according to records kept by the Lautoka Gurudwara, Sikhs arrived in Fiji as free immigrants in 1904. More Sikhs came in 1905 when the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand began a regular service from Calcutta to Fiji. The Sikhs mostly established themselves as farmers, policemen, and teachers. In The History of the Fiji Police Force, Stanley Brown writes that the first Sikh constables were locally recruited from the 1910s. The Samabula Gurdwara, near Suva, built in 1922, is the oldest Fijian Gurdwara. The first school built by Sikhs in Fiji to expressly teach Panjabi in the Gurmukhi script was the Khalsa High School in Ba district in 1958. According to the 2007 census, 2,577 individuals listed their religion as Sikh.
All-Women Committees are Fighting Drug Addiction in Panjab
All-women anti-drug committees are stepping up to address the menace that has gripped many villages in Panjab. In a striking display of unity and determination, these women formed committees to counter the drug problem that often plagues their communities. Their efforts not only combat addiction but also address the potential involvement of women in the drug trade. They also have support from Farmer Unions. In the first week of September, Dullewala village in District Bathinda became a pioneer in this movement when an 11-member all-woman anti-drug awareness committee was formed. Shinder Pal Kaur, an accredited social health activist, assumed leadership. The village previously established a men’s Anti-Drug Awareness Committee, which initiated thikri pehras – vigilance squads at entry points to the village. However, the involvement of suspected individuals, traveling with women to evade suspicion, led to the need for a women’s committee. Bahadur Singh, the leader of the men’s committee at Dullewala village, noted a significant change, stating that suspected drug suppliers no longer bring substances directly into the village, thanks to the women’s active involvement. In an earlier instance of women solidarity, just before the Farmers Protest in 2020-21, in June 2020 some of the poorest women in Panjab – whose loans ranged from $200 to $500 – had joined in a statewide movement against high handedness of the loan recovery agents of microfinance companies. In Panjab, this movement went on for months in parallel to the Farmers’ Protest. Finally, under pressure of the agitation many district magistrates announced a ban of forced collection of installments. In the early 1990s a similar movement against addiction was led by the women in Andhra Pradesh which successfully tackled Arrack addiction.
Role of Sikhs in Saving Kashmir Ignored
On 26 Oct, Jammu & Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) celebrated Accession Day at a grand scale by organizing a number of events. They celebrated Maqbool Sherwani as the hero who in 1947 saved Kashmir from an attack by Pakistan-backed Kabaili tribesmen. This is due acknowledgement but it buries another history – of ordinary citizens of Baramulla, including to a large extent Sikhs. Just outside Baramulla in north Kashmir, there is a 1 Sikh Regiment Memorial which commemorates the date when Indian Army landed in Srinagar to repel the attack by Kabaili tribesmen. The date is 27 Oct 1947. This is documented history. What remains undocumented is that the Kabaili reached the outskirts of Baramulla town by 22 Oct. The distance from Baramulla to Srinagar is 50 km. What prevented the advancing tribesmen from reaching Srinagar for five days? The Kabaili slogan was Pandit ka Zar, Musalman ka Ghar, Sardar ka Sar implying ‘High-Caste Hindu’s Money, Muslim’s Homes, Sikh’s Head.’ Thousands from all three communities died in this attack but since Sikh lives were targeted, they fought back. The Sikhs dispatched their family and elders through village routes and took on the tribesmen with rudimentary weapons. An estimated 10,000 Sikhs died in these battles in villages Singhapora, Chandoosa, Satarna, and Ichahama. It is Sikhs who, to a great extent, kept Kashmir with India. This adds to the complexity of Sikh-Panjab issues in relationship with India and Pakistan post 1947 partition. A reminder: in the early 19th Century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Kingdom of Panjab won Kashmir from the Afghans. That is how the region became part of the subcontinent. While the Sikh story of the Kabaili tribesmen attack has been available in Panjabi, at least two Sikh writers are now working on these stories In English. They would be a worthy addition to the Kashmir canon.
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