Current Events

No, Sikh-Americans Do Not Need to Pack Guns

A J SINGH

No, Sikh-Americans do not need to be packing guns.

This is in direct response to the article and discussion titled “He Wants Sikh-Americans to Bear Arms” published here on sikhchic.com on October 3, 2013.



The published interview, while harmless in itself, was misguided and has serious policy implications as it tries to color the gun debate in America by mixing it with Sikh ethos.



Not only does it jeopardize the excellent work being done by organizations such as The Sikh Coalition and SALDEF, etc, it also propagates a false narrative about the historical aspects that led to Sikhs bearing arms historically, in the first place.



The article implies that Sikhs have a right to bear arms in self-defense against some hate mongers (in America or anywhere else) who may be ignorant about Sikhs and the Sikh appearance.



While I agree with the right to bear arms, I do not believe that we live in a society where law and order has completely broken down or where Sikhs are routinely persecuted. To simply take to arms in order to protect yourself from bigoted/racist individuals does not find much support in Sikh values. The actions of a few misguided (or mentally challenged) individuals do not reflect on the larger society that we are a part of. Raising arms against a select few individuals is akin to being a bigger bully in the room – an idea that is abhorrent to all Sikh teachings.



The way to deal with with ignorance and bigotry is through patience and education.



The right to bear arms is already enshrined in the American Constitution and every American has the right to carry a gun for self defense, leisure, hunting or, for that matter, as a collectible item. A Jewish-American has an equal right to bear arms as an African-American or a Sikh-American.



It begs the question, “What is so "Sikh” about carrying guns?”



Nothing. It is totally inappropriate to color the gun debate (in America) in the garb of religion, culture or identity.



We Sikhs should take a step back and first brush up our knowledge of history before we attempt to justify our position on carrying arms on a historical basis. That Sikhs have borne arms since Guru Hargobind advised them to do so in 1609 and Guru Gobind Singh gave it a more formal proclamation in 1699 is undisputed.



However, Guru Gobind Singh also clearly laid out the Sikh position on warfare. In his famous letter, the Zafarnamah, to the fanatic and blood-thirsty Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, he first lays out his intention to meet and resolve issues peacefully, and then he goes on to say:



chu kar az hamaa heelt e dar guzshat / halaal ast burdan ba shamsheer dast



"ALL modes of redressing the wrong having failed, raising of the sword is then pious and just."



Fortunately for Sikhs, America has embraced our heritage and accorded us with the same rights as anyone else on this land. While there may be some issues, such as Sikhs serving in the Army, we should rest assured that competent people are handling these issues at the right levels. All modes of addressing our issues on identity, heritage, culture and the like are far from exhausted.

In fact we've been making good and steady progress.



However, I am not for a moment ignoring or belittling the tragedies of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, or the bigoted assault on Dr. Prabhjot Singh, or the killing of S. Balbir Singh Sodhi in the aftermath of 9/11, or any of the other hate crimes that Sikh-Americans have endured in the recent past.



I firmly believe that to ensure that such tragedies are prevented, we need to multiply our efforts to ensure that Sikhs are known worldwide for their incorruptible character.



Throwing arms and guns into this mix is at best a distraction that Sikhs can do without.



Let us Sikhs first embrace the “Saint” in the “Saint-Soldier” that our Gurus wanted us to be.



I can think of 10 ways we can do a better job in our outreach before we even start thinking that arming Sikhs will somehow magically make us safer. Listed below are my ways of outreach and spreading awareness and I am sure every Sikh can come up with 10 more of their own.



Let’s build our community with love, care, compassion and sympathy as we have done so for the last five centuries and more.



* Take pride in wearing the turban and talk about your heritage whenever you meet someone new. Color coordinate with your favourite sports team and wear it to the ballpark (instead of that fancy baseball cap from the Giants game.)

* Run a marathon, or a half marathon or a 5K collectively with other Sikhs. Ask your co-workers, friends, neighbors or even your landscape artist to join your team.

* Embrace your immediate community and volunteer for local charities.

* Create a relationship between your local Gurdwara and the local homeless shelter, food bank etc.

* Establish an online presence for your local Gurdwara. Everybody is on Facebook and Twitter and you can run a $50 ad campaign every month to reach out to your local community.

* Embrace diversity in your gurdwaras – at least once a month at your local Khalsa school, invite your local community for a Sikh 101 course.

* At your local Nagar Kirtan, get your local elementary schools to participate and help them create effective floats and exhibits.

* Throw open your community events like Sikholars, Saanjh or Sidak to anyone who cares to attend. At least one session must be catered to a diverse audience.

* Play an active role at your kid’s school – make it easy for their classmates to see the Sikh identity as an integral part of their learning. Reach out to Sikh organizations like SikhRI if you need presentation materials.

* Finally, an idea I am borrowing from the editor of Sikh chic.com: Hanukah and Christmas are just around the corner – walk into a Synagogue or Church with a gift of a basket of bread and be a part of their celebrations. It is in the same spirit as inviting everyone else to your gurdwara or nagar kirtan, etc.



* * * * *



I look forward to hearing from you here about more ways of outreach and community building … things that can be easily replicated without much effort around the globe.

October 9, 2013

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