Tussi mere sikh veer ho! ( You are my sikh brother) When a minibus hit the car of a middle aged Sikh man, he angrily demanded compensation for his loss. And when the minibus driver tried to get physical and intimidate the Sikh man, three well built Sikh youth appear out of nowhere, hold the driver by his collar, force him to pay the amount, say Sat Sri Akal and leave. The middle aged Sikh had no idea who they were. A Sikh youth was being mercilessly beaten by some guys just outside a college when two Sikh boys jump in and try to stop the fight. And when they don’t, they start fighting as well; injuring some and getting injured themselves. Late when police questioned them, they said they had no idea what the issue was, but could not stand a Sikh being beaten up like this. When a Sikh man in a coffee shop realised he had no money to pay for the coffee, he offered to leave his cell phone with the waiter till he arranges for money to pay. The waiter, who was also a Sikh, refused, saying he will pay the bill for the coffee, and that the man can pay him back later. The man, surprised asked the waiter how is he so sure that his money will be returned to which he replied, ‘Tussi zaroor pay karoge, tussi mere Sikh veer ho’ Now this may seem like some fake stories taken from a Sikh propaganda fan page, but these are all true stories. The man in the first story is my father, one of the two guys in the second story is a friend (ironically who is in police now) and the third guy is me. And these are a few of the many incidents where a Sikh helped a Sikh only because of the common religious affiliation. Everyone i know of does acknowledge the feeling of solidarity among the Sikhs, how Sikhs help, support and promote other Sikhs. So there is a Sikh band that got famous because it had Sikhs in its name. Sikhs all over the globe, including me are orgasming over the GAP and the AXE Sikh advertisement. Sikhs in India supported Indian cricket team but cheered Monty Panesar when he took wickets against India. How Sikhs in Jammu protest over the killing of a Sikh youth in Pakistan. And we all know how Singh is King was a massive hit despite being a terrible terrible movie. But why? Well the first thought that comes to mind that it is because Sikhs are in minority, and members of a minority community help each other as much as they can so that they can survive and thrive. After all, if Sikhs would not help Sikhs, who would. But this argument fails when we see Sikhs helping Sikhs in Punjab, a state where Sikhs are in majority; Punjabis being the most helpful and generous Sikhs of them all. Maybe it’s not a Sikh thing, it’s same with every minority community. After all, a Muslim in Kashmir does protest for Muslims in Palestine. But still, at a macro level, at least from the community from which I am, I never see this behaviour at par with Sikhs. One big reason may be that one does need to ask a person’s name or religion to ascertain what faith he follows, but in case of a Sikh, one look and you know who he is. So when only orthodox members of the rest of the communities have a characteristic look associated with that community, majority of the Sikhs wear their faith, be it as small as a KADA, in this age of modern clean shaven fashion savvy Sikhs. And this overflows to the fine arts as well. A good friend of mine says his favourite band is THE ****** SIKHS, even though he has never heard any of their songs. Why? ‘Come on, Sikhs hain yaar!’ I, being an amateur photographer, have also received loads of love and support from my community, only because i am a Sikh. And this is what a lot of people tend to exploit. They produce piece of shit movies like Son of Sardar or Singh Sahib because they know that Sikhs will come and watch and support the Sikh characters. But then, this love and support is just a push, a head-start. One can never substitute hard work and quality by just being ‘a Sikh’. But that’s a different story altogether. And it may not be about just the looks and the survival tactics. The values of SEWA or free voluntary selfless service are very deeply imbibed in the Sikh psyche. And SEWA isn’t exclusively for just the Sikhs; it is By the Sikhs, for the World. Hence no matter what faith, what colour, you can enter any Gurudwara at any time and have free food, and at times, place to stay as well. Or one should see the grand spectacle that is a Nagar Kirtan, where tonnes and tonnes of sweets, fruits and a variety of food items are given away for free. Many of my female friends tell me that when late, they prefer to get into Auto Rickshaws with Sikh Drivers, preferably old Sikh drivers (to eliminate all risks, including hormonal ;) ), because not just they feel safe, but the Old Sikh drivers tend to go the extra mile and make sure they reach their home safe. Also, A Sikh is clearly directed to donate a tenth of his monthly income; not to the Gurudwaras or the Sikhs, but to the poor and needy, be it from any community. Hence with the values of free service and help to the world so deeply imbibed in a community, it is only natural to assume that the same values would be more pronounced when the receiver is a Sikh as well. Whatever be it, I feel happy and proud to be from a community that believes in helping each other, and helping the world. Yes, we can be biased sometimes, but then no one is perfect. Though I still hope and wonder, what if instead of Sikhs, I could say the same for Humans. What if Humans help and support each other, just because they were humans. Maybe we need an Alien invasion for that :)
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 08:27:12 +0000
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