Is Caste only a Hindu Problem? (Part 3)
Read Is Caste Only a Hindu Problem? PART 1
Read PART 2 of Is Caste only a Hindu Problem?
Dr. O. P. Sudrania
In this monogram, I would venture to dwell on this caste malaise prevalent in the Sikhs, both in India as well as abroad. It is noteworthy that the origin of the Sikhism started with their Gurus from Nanak Saheb to the tenth Guru Gobind Singhji aka Gobind Rai.
Prof. Baldev Singh ‘Panthi’ has expressed it fairly well in his long researched essay in these words, “The issue of caste in Sikhism is quite complex, always inviting a diversity of impassioned opinions. One thing we can be certain about is that Guru Gobind Singh had abolished all caste inequality with the inception of Khalsa on 13 April, 1699 and with the institution of Khanday-Ki-Pahul or the Baptism of Sword. Faithful Sikhs do not practice caste discrimination but this is not to say that all Sikhs necessarily act in accordance to their faith. Consequently, the caste does exist in Sikhism, though in a diluted form than found in the rest of Indian society.
But at the outset one thing can be confidently stated which is that there is no clearly defined caste hierarchy in Sikh society, leave alone a vertically ordered one. Any layperson or author giving a clearly ordered Sikh caste hierarchy is himself mistaken or is purposefully misleading others.”
This statement is self contradicted by Baldev Singh himself in his same article. We shall refer to it later. As regards misleading is concerned, it is the same concern that has prompted me.
It is prudent to highlight the beginnings of Sikhs which is very relevant to this subject of much maligned curse of caste. There is an obvious overlap in the description but the astute readers will persevere to see the semblance in it with our topic of “Caste in Sikhism” dealt with later on.
Guru Nanakji (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539) was the founder of the lineage or religion of Sikhism; was born in Hindu Khatri family of Bedi clan and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. He preached equality of all humans including the women and irrespective of any societal discrimination.
When in the Middle East, the West and the rest of Asia – slavery, varna/class and race discrimination was rife and respect between the different classes and caste was at low ebb, Guru Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. More at: http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak
The tenth Guru was Gobind Singhji aka Gobind Rai who ultimately laid the foundation of “Khalsa Panth (the Granth and the Panth)” and had also declared that the Holy Book called “Guru Granth Sahib” will be their final Guru and guide from now on, i.e. after his departure; there will be no more human Guru. This is their ‘Panth’ i.e. the ‘path’ to follow.
The meaning of Khalsa translates to “Sovereign/Free”. Another interpretation is that of being ‘Pure’. The meaning of Khalsa translates to “Sovereign/Free”. Another interpretation is that of being ‘Pure’. A Sikh who has been initiated into the Khalsa is titled Singh (males) and Kaur (females) and commonly referred to as Amritdhari.
Sikhs believe that no matter what race, sex, or religion one is, all are equal in God’s eyes. Men and women are equal and share the same rights, and women can lead in prayers.
The traditions and philosophy of Sikhi were established by ten specific gurus from 1469 to 1708. Each guru added to and reinforced the message taught by the previous, resulting in the creation of the Sikh religion.
It is noteworthy that Guru Nanak was born in the era when the most cruel and barbaric Mughal invader Baaber aka Baabur was repeatedly inflicting his tyrannical atrocities to expand his empire in Indian subcontinent from present day Uzbekistan. Baabur also had a great passion to kill people, cut heads of people and create pillars out of cut head. He claimed to have created several such pillars in his autobiography. More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babur
Sikhism and beginnings of Caste curse:
During those days in Asia as well as in Europe the local kings and rulers used to fight among themselves for most of the times on one or the other pretexts. This was also the case in the life time of the evolution of so called Sikhism in just less than a century and a half of the lives of their ten Gurus.
Prof. Baldev Singh ‘Panthi’ has written a long document elaborating extensively on the castes in Sikh society. Here are some extracts from his essay.
“…the Sixth Guru and his successors found that most of the Rajputs of their time were only interested in petty fights and intrigues and had all but abdicated their responsibilities as Kshatriyas. While they toadied up to the Mughal rulers to protect their petty fiefs, they not only did not defend the rank and file of the Hindu society but were often themselves engaged in the oppression of lower caste Hindus.
Having failed to get the desired response from Rajput rulers after prolonged diplomacy and persuasion, the tenth Guru finally decided to institute a new Order in which each initiated Sikh could play the role of all the four castes. As a Shudra, a Sikh is to believe in the dignity of labour. As a Vaishya, Sikh is meant to engage in commerce with honesty and work for the prosperity of the society. As Kshatriya, the Sikh is meant to carry weapons and not shy away from a just fight. And finally, as a Brahman the same Sikh – who has simultaneously all varnas in his being – is to recite Sri Guru Granth Sahib and also play priestly role whenever needed.
… Fighting for both one’s life and faith was the greatest need in era of Gurus. Therefore, the Kshatriya part of Sikh’s identity got more highlighted in Sikh society but it does not mean that the Shudra, Vaishya and Brahmin aspects of his personality were to be devalued. Dignity of labour is the cornerstone of Sikh faith and maryada (prestige or honour). Each Sikh is to take pride in doing service or seva.”
It is this very assertion by Baldev Singh that is self contradictory to his earlier boastings above as regards the caste issue. At the same time it also proves my contention that Sikhs were forced to bifurcate out from their Hindu community to protect them from the atrocities by invading Islamic plunderers and nomadic barbarians. It is certainly disappointing to see that the same class of people who once acted as protectors of Hindus have become disaffected and turned their back against the parent society.
All of the Sikh Gurus were born in Khatri caste. Guru Nanak’s father Mehta Kalu was also a shopkeeper and he tried his best to make his son follow his caste profession of shopkeeping.
Baldev Singh further extends his apologia, “The reasons for such petty arguments about each others’ relative social status are unfortunate and are to be seen in the backdrop of colonial era, when the trading castes like Khatri and Baniya were perceived to be usurers and exploiters of the misery of indebted farmers from these landowning and agricultural castes. British policies also played some role in fostering already existing schisms among the Indian castes.
For some reason British army recruiters considered all of these mercantile castes unfit for military service. Khatri Sikhs were sometimes recruited when they happened to have taken up farming and sometimes because of their knowledge of Pashto, which came in handy to British to deal with the unruly Pathans… While Bhatias mostly did not even find a mention in recruitment manuals of Royal Indian Army, the Aroras were contemptuously dismissed with comments… by the likes of Barstow : “The Arora, whether Sikh or Hindu, is generally unsuited for military service, and men of this class should never be enlisted except under special circumstances.””
Professors Niranjhan Singh and Baldev Singh ‘Panthi’ have both done extensive research on this sensitive issue of castes in Sikhs as well as they also mention its ramifications in other religious communities e.g. Muslims and Christians. However the work done by Baldev Singh appears more extensive Vis a Vis Niranjhan Singh. Both have given their detailed accounts in their separate works independently. Both of them have first segregated the various major castes in Sikhs; then enlisted the various subcastes in alphabetical order.
It counts in thousands and is mind boggling.
It is bewildering that in Sikhism, which is now claimed to be a religion, in such a short span of time of mere three centuries, the caste in Sikhs is far more deep rooted than Hindus. Baldev Singh has tried to extend various excuses, apologias and causes for this caste practice in Sikhs; hideously incriminating the British Raj politics also. It certainly was a major factor indeed.
Baldev Singh and Niranjhan Singh have painstakingly tried to enumerate the groups and subgroups in Sikhs, which will be briefly elaborated on herewith.
Various castes and subcastes in Sikhs:
Basically Sikh castes have been grouped under nine major heads altogether with thousands of further subgroups. Anyone interested in detailed bifurcation is requested to ctrl+click on the hyperlinked names which directs to their respective webs with extensive names of various castes and subcastes. As originally enunciated by Guru Nanakji, it should have been a casteless society. By the time of Guru Gobind Singhji, only in a span of one hundred and forty years, it became imperative for the last Guru Gobind Singhji to accept and perpetuate the four Varna systems as enunciated in ancient Hindu tradition which got corrupted over the time.
Baldev Singh mentions of a debate on castes in Sikhs and states, “There has been a vibrant debate within the Sikh Panth on the issue of the caste since late 19th century. Generally, this debate has been shaped by two broad lines of argument.” (1) Castes Exist But All Castes Are Equal. (2) Caste Should Not Exist At All.
Who would disagree on it?
This is clearly a helpless cry towards an indirect debilitating apologia while accepting the caste malaise and suggesting remedies simultaneously. But the remedies have been tried by the Hindus also over centuries, if not millennia; nay there have been painstaking hard societal battles fought by many Hindu socio-political and religious reformist leaders with sincere intention to eradicate it without any fruitful results.
The causes have been both intrinsic as well as extrinsic from the vested interests of the few powerful institutions or individuals or groups whose benefits were/are linked in its perpetual maintenance. The interests may have been either direct fiscally linked or predatory conversions indirectly or for continuing the clandestine rule by divide et impera.
Thus the very existence of caste and its multipronged bewildering subdivisions in small Sikh and Jewish communities could be a very good module to study, first the existence of castes; next to evolve the effective means to eradicate it.
Caste and subcaste groups in Sikhs:
I have been able to access two leading Sikh scholars on this issue; I shall try to briefly touch on their descriptions separately. Both are going to overlap each other slightly.
Professor Niranjhan Singh: Anyone wishing to peruse details of his descriptions is requested to peruse the hyperlinked name. He states the various castes under the following heads.
1. Brahmin surnames: Under two alphabets B and R – 2castes
2. Kshatriya surnames: Under alphabets A, B, C, K, M, S – 21 castes
3. Jatt surnames: Under A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y, – 949 castes
4. Ramgharia surnames: Under B, C, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, S, V – 42 castes
5. Chimba, Darsi, Taank-Kshatryia and Halvyi surnames: Under B, D, G, J, N, T, V – 9 castes
6. Chamaar, Lohaar and Churrah surnames: Under B, D, G, K, R, S – 20 castes. This section also has one separate group with ‘M/L i. e. Moonlighters’ who are counted as higher class in this otherwise low caste group.
It totals to 1043 (One thousand and forty three) names of castes.
Niranjhan Singh thinks that Gobind Singhji abolished the castes in Sikh communities and it restarted from the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Missls (from the Persian word “misl” meaning “similar” or “alike” generally refers to the twelve sovereign states in the Sikh Confederacy). However his statement is at variance with the view held by Professor Baldev Singh ‘Panthi’.
Baldev Singh feels that the four castes/Varnas were started by Guru Gobind Singhji. He thinks that caste was banned by Guru Nanak Devji from the very inception. But for certain reasons beyond his control, Guru Gobind Singh himself created this system in Sikhs during his life time like the four Varnas in Hindus as explained earlier.
Professor Baldev Singh ‘Panthi’ states in the introductory section of his essay under the section of “Major Sikh Castes and Subcastes” e.g. Arora, Khatri, Ramgarhia, Jat, Saini, Kamboh, Mahton, Chhimba, Mohyal, Chamar, etc. Each caste has its sphere of influence and specialization (same as in Hindus – Author). The order of castes… has been randomly mentioned one before the other.
Commercial Castes: Arora, Khatri and Bhatia Sikhs
Aroras and Khatris
In the cities, Khatri and Arora dominate the sphere of business activities. Khatri and Aroras are essentially identical caste and are primarily a caste of traders, shopkeepers and accountants. Sometimes people belonging to these castes are called “Bhapa Sikhs”.
Bhatias
Another minor Sikh commercial caste is that of Bhatias. Bhatias claim origin from Bhati Rajputs who had taken to shopkeeping.
Zamindar and Agriculturist Castes
Following Sikh castes are essentially agricultural and landowning castes: Jat, Kamboh, Mahton and Saini. In the estimation of British, only these Sikh castes were temperamentally and physically suited for active military service and warfare like the hardy Scottish Highlanders back home who also made excellent soldiers. The glorious Sikh Regiment, the most decorated regiment of the Indian Army, consisted of these castes primarily, although Labanas and Kalals were also sometimes recruited.
Artisan Castes
Ramgarhia is also a prominent Sikh caste. According to McLeod, the present day Ramgarhias are a caste formed by merging of Nais (barbers), Raj (blacksmiths) and Tarkhans (carpenters). They are primarily expert carpenters and blacksmiths.
Brahman Sikhs
Brahman, the highest caste among Hindus, does not have the same rank in Punjab, especially among Sikhs. In rural areas most of them are ordinary farmers and generally not as prosperous as Jats, Mahtons and Sainis etc. They also used to work as cooks in villages… In urban area they also do shopkeeping.
Nomadic and Wandering Castes
Another caste within Sikhs worth mentioning is that of Saansis. It is not a Sikh caste with significant numbers but they have produced one of the greatest Sikh personalities, i.e. Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This is a caste of vagabonds and gypsies. They claim origin from Bhati Rajputs and were enlisted as a criminal tribe by the British.
Labana is another Sikh caste. They were considered to be akin to Banjaras or gypsies but a considerable number of them are also settled in agriculture. Labanas engaged in agriculture are also called Labana Jats.
Service Castes
Among the Dalit caste groups are prominent ones – Chamars and Chooras. Both communities are called Mazhabi Sikhs. The word Chamar is derived from Charmakar or leather tanner. They used to be expert shoe-makers. Some poor men and women of this caste also work as laborers in the farms…
Discrimination against them as stated before unfortunately still exists in Sikh society. For this reason, Mazhbi Sikh brethren are extended reservation as scheduled caste. Mazhbi Sikhs have in the past made sterling contribution to Sikhism both as mystics and soldiers. Bhagat Ravidas belonged to Chamar caste but is accorded highest respect in Sikhism with his poetry being included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In recent times Sardar Buta Singh is a well-known Mazhbi Sikh politician.
Baldev Singh makes a detailed dissection and the above extract does show the real menace on account of castes in the Sikh community. Here is a brief list the Castes he further dwelt upon in his next section in Sikh Caste Names.
1. Bhatia Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, G, J, K, R, S, W – 18 castes
2. Jat Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y – 995 castes. This group is largest of all, perhaps due to their agriculture profession.
3. Mahton Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, G, H, J, K, L, M, P, S, T, W – 48 castes
4. Kalal or Ahluwalia subcastes: A, B, C, D, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, Y – 67 castes
5. Kamboh Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, S, T – 104 castes
6. Khatri Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, G, H, J, K, L. M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W – 144 castes
7. Arora Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, V, W – 310 castes
8. Ramgarhia Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, V, W – 454 castes
9. Saini Sikh subcastes: A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, S, T, U, V – 193 castes
All these numbers adds to a staggering figure of 2643 (Two thousand six hundred forty three). This is no mean figure. Thus this menace of caste curse is as bad in the contemporary Sikhs as it is in any other society. It should be noted that Baldev Singh spells ‘Ramgarhia’ while Niranjhan Singh has spelt it ‘Ramgharia’ and both are same except for the individual variant in its spelling. Perhaps my own inclination would be for Baldev Singh’s spelling.
It is pointed out that Sikhism is only a toddler in religious history. Jews are only a few millions in number and are fighting for their establishment in Israel; yet both have, more or less, been stung by the hornet of castes. One only needs to stretch their imagination to think of an order vibrantly flourishing since times immemorial, for countless millennia despite being persecuted from time to time by rapacious savage profligates of barren deserts and beyond.
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Errata – from the last line in first para – “…from Nanak Saheb to the tenth Guru Gobind Singhji aka Gobind”
In the end it should have been “Gobind Rai”. This typing error is regretted. No disrespect or malice.
What sikhas do is none of our buisness. They can keep on promoting anything that they like including their non hindu, non plannetary martian origins for all we care. Its so retarded to see thag instead of building bridges with our hindu brethren in Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mynmar and other places here we are wasting time over sikhas with whom we have nothing to do culturally, religiously or otherwise. We are a billion plus people and yet we waste time over a bunch of people who hate us as much they hate plannet Sikha from where they originated
The only difference is that for all those creating caste structure in Sikhism can be directly negated because the original philosophy and the scriptures shun the stupid thing (nature does not create un-equal humans, and no religion can make them so either). However, in the case of Hinduism, even priests and pandits and brahmins would assume supremacy over lesser human-beings because their SCRIPTURES say so, so they are right because of the written word (Now don’t tell me your written word is not worth it). It is obvious that the society-of-the-time would try to corrupt and try to influence the new initiatives which is what has happened. People get carried away so easily, no matter a Sikh or a Hindu or a Muslim. If they see caste all around, they would be influenced by it. But the silver lining is that Sikhs have a reference to fall back upon, which is their scriptures which shuns the caste system. This is not the case with Hinduism, and as and when they fall back upon their scriptures and written word for a reference, they see casteism sprinkled all around and thus they sink even deeper. The poison does spread around, no matter the body or the society. And for the haters commenting here, you can keep enjoying living in your well like a frog.
Dear Mr/Ms JSS,
“And for the haters commenting here, you can keep enjoying living in your well like a frog.”
May I complete your sentence that that also includes you as well. It is easy to be pedantic if one doesn’t have fear for being proved wrong. You are so authoritavely commenting about Hindu scriptures as if you are a big pundit on these vast treasures. I won’t be rude to use ‘stupid’ word so easily.
Your obvious reference as hater is to Amit above, it is a naive observation from an ill informed person as I percieve it. That is why I ignored it. But what are you doing? It is no less blasphemous. I have given strong evidence in my essay from Sikh scholars. You are trying to bypass the issue by needlessly maligning Hindus. This is the reason for my writting these posts and once again you prove me right.
Please read or get some help to understand Hindu scritures. I shall avoid being rash like you. Hindus have multiples of sacred scriptures to lean on and quote. Who told you otherwise or your hate has prompted you to skew venom against the peace loving Hindus. All these so called religions of “Book” are thriving on hate propoganda against Hinduism instead of drawing the nectar out of their vast ocean of great wisdom.
Pouring hatred against Hinduism has become an international fashion parade. Please get out of this mean race. Srimad Bhagwat Geeta has several references but only if applied without bias. The epistemology is a double edged weapon. Needs a careful and diligent apllication.
Please read the post carefully and then deny if the caste in Sikhs exist or do not? Come to the point instead of using diversionary technique. There is no point in pouring undue anger.
When the Gurus themselves along with their children only married in their own caste than that explains it all why punjab thre jatt sikhs are persecuting the valamki sikhs.So whatever nonsense modern day sikhs come out with now is just all made up stuff in the shed about equality .Recently they were outside a sikh temple threatening people to stay away from a wedding taken place between a sikh and nigerian which also proves that these modern day sikhs are also extremely racist.So who cares what a small cult has to say when its totally irrelevant to the world of Hinduism.
@Sardar,
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you. Please give a little more detail of valmiki sikhs. Then there was a big fight between various groups of Sikhs in Punjab, one is Dera Saccha Sauda or something like it.
Then there was a problem somewhere in Austria when the two Sikh groups clashed again. Please throw more light on these episodes, someone who knows of those incidents. With regards and no malice but truth should be known.
Dr Sudrania, Recently they also killed an Udhasi Guru in punjab so its not only violence against other caste sikhs but also other sikh sects these neo sikhs are trying to eliminate in hopes of creating a new monotheist religion in the shape of islam who they have an inferiority complex with.They are turning the Guru Granth into another koran and even distorting all the meaningsThey are desperately taking all the hindu elements out of their fake new religion with extreme hatred against hindus.You can find enough details on valmikis and other sikhs groups on the net .Personally like Amit said we as Hindus should even give a damn about what they think because they are destroying themselves and are totally irrelevant to Hindus who belong to a world religion and not some small cult like modern day Sikhism.If you want to know true Sikhism ( who khalistanis hate)with its hindu roots then you should check this site for more information
http://www.shastarvidiya.org/
Dr. Sadrania,
Great article you have written but you have either misread or misinterpreted Prof. Baldev Singh’s article on sikhcastes.com . The following quote which you have used to allege the “reintroduction” of caste in Sikhism by Guru Gobind Singh is clearly not expressed nor implied by the quote or elsewhere in the article. All this is saying that Guru Gobind Singh made people realize that all the four varnas are vital and are there in every individual, and each Sikh individually can perform the tasks and duties of the all the four varnas whenever the need arises. This is clearly different from division of the society into four separate varnas. Since each Sikh is capable of performing the dharmas of all the four varnas simultaneously, there is no requirement to divide the society on this basis.
“Having failed to get the desired response from Rajput rulers after prolonged diplomacy and persuasion, the tenth Guru finally decided to institute a new Order in which each initiated Sikh could play the role of all the four castes. As a Shudra, a Sikh is to believe in the dignity of labour. As a Vaishya, Sikh is meant to engage in commerce with honesty and work for the prosperity of the society. As Kshatriya, the Sikh is meant to carry weapons and not shy away from a just fight. And finally, as a Brahman the same Sikh – who has simultaneously all varnas in his being – is to recite Sri Guru Granth Sahib and also play priestly role whenever needed.
… Fighting for both one’s life and faith was the greatest need in era of Gurus. Therefore, the Kshatriya part of Sikh’s identity got more highlighted in Sikh society but it does not mean that the Shudra, Vaishya and Brahmin aspects of his personality were to be devalued. Dignity of labour is the cornerstone of Sikh faith and maryada (prestige or honour). Each Sikh is to take pride in doing service or seva.”
Further he says that even though castes exist within Sikh society but all observant Sikhs believe in the fundamental equality of all castes. One fails to see where the article either “boasts” or self-contradicts as you allege. You have missed the “observant” qualification and the comment that not all Sikhs are really observant which has resulted in caste discrimination still being present in Sikh society . This is a rare open admission of the problem rather than any attempt to cover it or offer “apologia” as you seem to insinuate.
The order of castes given in the article does not imply a ritual hierarchy as you seem to think. The caste categories exists but none of the castes is ritually superior or inferior to the other as in the corrupted form of Hinduism. The inequality that still remains today in Sikh society mirrors pre-Sikh attitudes which Sikh society unfortunately has failed to overcome.
Guru Gobind Singh gave even Shudras the pathway to raise themselves to the level of Brahmans and Kshatriyas within one lifetime through the discipline of Khalsa Order (which was open to all castes) and showed the dignity of physical labour (seva) through personal example. Please note the words “within one life time” . All this was truly revolutionary for his time and is still worth emulating by the broader Hindu society. Sikhism , as taught in its original manner by Guru Gobind Singh, is the only viable solution to the ills of the Hindu society without killing spiritual elements which still may be worth saving.
Dear Chakram,
Thanks for your kind observation. Let me first assure you that it is not intended to hurt or malign any particular religion or society. Rather it is intended to highlight the origin of this caste malaise which was never (stress) inteded in the Hinduism in the first place. Today the human society has become so self centered that they are too busy in exercise of their self centered interests. I wish you had read my earlier Eleven Chapter document posted in Chakra where I had clearly revealed the problem globally. I also narrated the views of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan verbatim without my interlocution. He has said that we were all Brahmins or Shudras at birth in the beginning. Please do care to go through. It will give you some logical answer to your enquiring mind.
I feel very sad especially about the Sikh brothers and sisters who want to dissociate themselves from the mainstream parent body whom they one time propped up themselves to protect and fight against the then rising scourge of the allien desert barbarians.
“…but you have either misread or misinterpreted Prof. Baldev Singh’s article on sikhcastes.com .” I am not sure about your observation you make. I did not think I have either misred or misinterpreted deliberately. I have merely just read it without any bias. If I can put it again here that it is widely trumpeted that Guru Nanak Devji had intended to abolish the various castes at that time prevailing in the contemporary society of his time, but then Guru Gobind Singhji re-introduced it for some reasons, let us not divert on it.
As per your statement, “Further he says that even though castes exist within Sikh society but all observant Sikhs believe in the fundamental equality of all castes. One fails to see where the article either “boasts” or self-contradicts as you allege.”
I ask you, “How do you feel that this observation by you differ from the concepts laid down in the ancient Vedic scriptures and its subsequent other sacred testaments”? The same concept has been clearly expounded in Srimad Bhagvad Geeta, I am sure a person of your alacrity would know it.
This is exactly what I am wanting to explain. You feel aggrieved perhaps thinking it to indicative of “I” then “They” principle. This is the biggest problem this world is facing. They want to project themselves as superior than the others. This self centred mind needs broadening. Maligning one particular section without due regard to the other has thown us in this quagmire of chaotic situation.
I hope that my series of these articles would invoke a fresh thinking in the global community than indulging in hate and intolerance. The need of the hour is cohesion than fragmentation.
I paste here another clip from your comment, “One fails to see where the article either “boasts” or self-contradicts as you allege. You have missed the “observant” qualification and the comment that not all Sikhs are really observant which has resulted in caste discrimination still being present in Sikh society . This is a rare open admission of the problem rather than any attempt to cover it or offer “apologia” as you seem to insinuate.”
Either I have or you have, missed the “observant” qualification. Let us not get involved in the war of words. But I wish, “This is a rare open admission of the problem rather than any attempt to cover it or offer “apologia” as you seem to insinuate.”
I am not quite clear of your entire sentence but your blame on me of cover it up or offer “apologia” is total misinterpretation where you, in my measured respectful observation, is what you are apparently doing as “apologia” because you have not cared to go through my other postings which would have broadened your outlook to view it in greater perspective. I request you to kindly read my article, this one as well as the other series diligently to seek the answers within you than seeking outside. I am always open to constructive debate if it could lead us to a solution than a mere defensive “apologia”.
I wish my Sikh community fraternity would try to look into the Hindu societies’ woes when Guru Nanak Devji had started his journey. I am so sad that we have lost our bearings as Indian and indulge in this needless sectarian narrow politics. This is what the colonials wanted us and this is what we have resigned to be. I feel it highly unfortunate. We have taken pride in divided to fall than united to stand.
Be bold to face this scourge collectively and that is the major intention behind my painstaking exercise through these arduous series of writings. I hope that people like you should rally round to combat this menace which is being used by the various vested interestd institutions to subserve their religio-political interests. You cannot deny that it does not exist in Sikh society.