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The attack on Harinder Singh ‘Nirvair Jatha’ & the self appointed guardians of Sikhism

December 23rd, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Press Releases - (0 Comments)

Dr Gurdeep Singh and Gurmel Singh Kandola

Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib ji in West Bromwich was less than a third full (perhaps 50-60 people present) on 21 December 2019, when Dr Gurdeep Singh and S Gurmel Singh Kandola, claiming to speak on behalf of  all UK Sikhs, began an extraordinary attack on S Ranjit Singh Dhadrian Wale, Harinder Singh and the Nirvair Khalsa Jatha, demanding they be banned from preaching in all gurdwaras in the UK.

The Sikh religion is a strong faith rooted in compassion and commonsense and has nothing to fear from discussion and questioning. Our Gurus were far-sighted human beings who far from claiming special powers, warned us against superstitious beliefs and idle speculation about peripherals of belief. Our responsibility as Sikhs is to live true to the teachings and make them known to the wider world. We should never follow the practice of other faiths in trying to deify our Gurus. Christians talk of an empty tomb following Christ’s crucifixion, Muslims that Mohammed ascended to heaven on a horse. Such superstition and conjecture are contrary to Sikh teachings.

S Harinder was shown in a video played at the gurdwara trying to make this very point. Unfortunately, he got carried away by his own rhetoric with unnecessary speculation over the circumstances surrounding Guru Nanak’s death rather than keeping to the topic of what happened to Guru Nanak’s body after his death. The correct response would have been to support S Ranjit Singh’s suggestion to ask S Harpreet Singh, Jathedar Akal Takht for his guidance.

Both S Harinder Singh and S Ranjit Singh Dhadrian Wale have done much to emphasise the importance of Sikh teachings and it is wrong for a few self-proclaimed guardians of the Sikh faith to issue un-Sikh like ‘resolutions’ against those that do not conform to their view.

The NSO requests all Sikhs to look to the real issues facing the Khalsa Panth in this 550th year of Guru Nanak’s birth, such as the overt attempt by the RSS/BJP to absorb the Sikh faith into Hinduism, the alarming mushrooming of sants, babas, deras and others to dilute and distort Guru Nanak’s teachings beyond recognition.

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The Sikh Federation UK and wanton use of statistics

December 18th, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Press Releases - (0 Comments)

 

         2011 census statistics | England and Wales 

        Total census Sikh population:  430,020

No. of Sikhs who identified themselves as Sikhs under ethnicity:  83,362

No. who identified themselves as Sikhs under both religion & ethnicity:  76,500

No. Sikhs who identified themselves under ethnicity only:  6,862

      % Sikhs who do not want to be identified by religion 6,862/430,020: 1.6%*

The 2011 census results show that 98.4% of Sikhs in 2011 were happy to be identified by religion.

Comment:

The above statistics show that the 2011 census accurately reflected the Sikh population. This effectively destroys the Sikh Federation UK’s (SFUK) case of under-representation. Facts and figures however mean nothing to the SFUK anxious to downplay our religious identity and show Sikhs as a tribe or sect needing state protection. Their staggering response is now to suggest without any evidence, that the true population of Sikhs is as much as 800,000.**Nearly twice the census figure, suggesting some 370,000 beings, so-called ‘ethnic Sikhs’ are wandering around refusing to be identified under ethnicity.

Dr Jhutti-Johal an academic from the University of Birmingham supports our position when she concludes, ‘It is difficult to see what additional benefit that data collected through a Sikh ethnic tick box would bring. ONS research has already suggested that the existing Sikh religion tick will capture virtually all Sikhs in the UK.’[i]

Whist previously boasting that Sikhs lead other communities in home ownership, in a classic example of double-think SFUK have since claimed Sikhs face discrimination in housing.[ii] They contradict themselves. In the 2016 UK Sikh Survey, The Sikh Network (their sister organisation) suggested, ‘92% of Sikhs are owner occupiers the highest for any group in the UK’.[iii]The 2014 British Sikh Report made a similar point, ‘In terms of wealth and assets, home ownership is very high amongst British Sikhs with 87% of households owning at least a portion of their home’.[iv] Why the U-turn by SFUK?

Worse still the legal action against the Cabinet Office was brought by the Chair of the SFUK, namely Amrik Singh Gill (on behalf of SFUK), the owner of apparently more than 100 properties, who was recently described as a ‘rogue landlord’ and fined more than £50,000 for housing tenants in overcrowded and substandard conditions.[v] We have asked the SFUK to confirm or deny if their Chair Amrik Singh Gill was the subject of the fine and gave them an opportunity to comment on the decision, we did not hear back from them. The phrase, ‘physician heal thyself’ comes to mind.

The SFUK are now seeking permission to appeal the High Court decision against them,[vi] with Gill as the appellant on behalf of the SFUK.[vii] Neither Gill nor, the SFUK represent the view of the majority of British Sikhs who are content with describing themselves as Sikhs by religion in the census.

All Sikh organisations urgently need to make clear that the ‘rogue’ Sikh Federation UK in no way speaks for British Sikhs.

*https://bit.ly/36M335J

**https://www.leighday.co.uk/Sikh-Federation-UK-to-seek-permission-to-appeal

[i] https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/sikh-ethnic-tick-box-ons-assesses-evidence.aspx

[ii] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/campaign-to-include-sikhs-as-ethnic-group-in-census-reaches-high-court-a4285236.html

[iii] http://www.thesikhnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UK-Sikh-Survey-2016-Findings-FINAL.pdf

[iv] http://www.britishsikhreport.org/british-sikh-report-download-2014/

[v] https://news.derby.gov.uk/rogue-landlord-fined-over-50000/

[vi] https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2019/3407.html

[vii] https://www.leighday.co.uk/Sikh-Federation-UK-to-seek-permission-to-appeal

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Demolition of Babri Masjid – flawed judgment of India’s Supreme Court

November 16th, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Human Rights | Press Releases - (0 Comments)

‘Sikhs should be wary of Hinduism’s capacity to act like ‘the boa constrictor of the Indian forests’ in absorbing other faiths and beliefs.’

Max Arthur Macauliffe

India’s boast of being a secular democracy exposed as hollow

On 10th November 2019 India’s Supreme court issued a seriously flawed and politically motivated judgment granting ownership of the disputed Ayodhya Babri Masjid site to the Hindu community.

In a lengthy, judgement, the court accepted that the demolition of the mosque in 1992 had been illegal, as was the surreptitious placing of Hindu idols in the mosque in 1949 claiming that they had ‘just miraculously appeared’ and were a proof that the mosque had been built on the site of the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram. Instead, the Supreme Court anxious to implicate Sikhs in their narrative, relied heavily on fake history of the Sikh Gurus, asserting that they were Hindus and pejoratively referring to Sikhism, the 5th largest world religion as a ‘cult’, it went on to conclude that the site should go to the Hindu community.

The timing

  • The Supreme Court judgment was given on eve of the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak and the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor from India to the Guru’s birthplace in Pakistan. The gurdwara at Katarpur Sahib and the surrounding area had been generously renovated by the Pakistan government.
  • The growing friendship between Sikhs and Muslims was seen as a threat to the BJP’s avowed aim of turning India into a Hindu State, by absorption of Sikhs into Hinduism and subduing of other minorities. Mr Modi decided to use a compliant Supreme Court to try to create suspicion and distrust between Sikhs and Muslims while at the same time relegating members of Sikhs to the status of a Hindu ‘cult’.

Absurd and biased arguments used by the Supreme Court

Fake history

  • False assertion that Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus made pilgrimages to Ayodhya because they were Hindus and it was an important Hindu holy site.
  • God appeared to Guru Nanak and ordered him to go to Ayodhya.

Facts

  • No historical evidence was produced to show the site was of historical importance to Hindus.
  • Guru Nanak argued against the practice of going on pilgrimages.
  • Guru Nanak rejected the Hindu faith and refused to wear the Hindu sacred thread. He also criticised central aspects of Hindu belief such as the caste system, idol worship, multiplicity of gods and goddesses. Guru Arjan wrote, ‘I am neither a Hindu, nor a Mussalman.’
  • The idea of God appearing to people is contrary to Sikh teachings which state God has no physical form.

Concluding Note

In 1990 Advani, the then president of the BJP rode through India on a truck designed like a chariot to whip up support for the Babri masjid to be converted to a mandir (Hindu temple).

The latest shenanigans of the BJP and their use of the Supreme Court to further their determination to make India a Hindu state are being watched and condemned by a wider world.

We call upon all Sikhs and people of other faiths to condemn the BJP’s attack on religious freedom. In the spirit of Guru Nanak’s teachings, we pledge to oppose all forms of religious bigotry and work for tolerance and respect for people of all faiths and beliefs.

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Anti-Sikh Behaviour by Sikh Federation UK on the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak

November 11th, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

                                                                                 ‘Look beyond divisive factions to loyalty to all                           in our one human family’                 

Guru Nanak, Japji Sahib, Sri Guru Granth Sahib

On Tuesday the 12th November Sikhs worldwide will be marking the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism. Sikhism is a world religion dedicated to the promotion of compassion, equality and tolerance between different faiths and beliefs.

Sadly, on this very day of celebration where Sikhs and non-Sikhs will be marking a significant day in human history, the fringe Sikh Federation UK (SFUK) have a judicial review listed in the High Court challenging the ONS’s decision not to include a Sikh ‘ethnic’ tick box in the next Census.

Religion is already an option for Sikhs in the Census, and we maintain the ONS made the right decision – it is an absurdity to suggest Sikhs are an ethnicity. SFUK and their ally Preet Gill wrongly suggest Sikhs are an ‘ethnic’ group, rather than the religion founded by Guru Nanak, and one which is open to all regardless of ethnicity, colour or background.

Worst still, the SFUK are asking others to demonstrate ‘against continued discrimination’ outside the High Court on Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. What a way to commemorate the birth anniversary of someone opposing artificial factional divisions.

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The NSO Marks the Annual Festival of UK Parliament Week

November 11th, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | UKPW - (0 Comments)

We are delighted to be official partners for UK Parliament Week (UKPW) for the second year running. This year we held a series of events to mark UKPW. On 13th October we organised a workshop at Sri Guru Singh Sabha Hounslow, where Ruth Cadbury and Lord Singh of Wimbledon addressed an audience of over 100 children and adults. The speakers explored how we can better engage with parliament and the democratic process. The Q&A afterwards was a highlight, especially because of the excellent questions to the panel from young children – who wanted to know about policies around knife crime, the environment and Brexit. They were fully engaged and had also participated in a parliament quiz earlier in the day conducted by Barinder Kaur from the gurdwara.

On 4th November we held an event in the House or Lords and were delighted to be joined by Annie Waddington from UKPW who addressed the audience about this year’s campaign, as well as Gurpal Virdi former councillor and author of Behind the Blue Line. Gurpal asked the attendees to mark with a short silence the anniversary of Kirpal Kaur Sandhu – Britain’s first Asian female police office and then went on to talk about his battle for justice and how his engagement with democracy helped. Annie talked of approximately 12,000 events up and down the country celebrating UKPW, in which almost a million people have participated. She told the audience, ‘It starts with you.’

The speakers reinforced the importance of our responsibility in acting – they said, ‘don’t sit on the sofa moaning’, and described the ways in which we get involved in issues we are passionate about to make the changes we want to see.

Lord Singh closing the meeting said, ‘we must take personal responsibility in engaging with the democratic process, and we are all equal stakeholders in this regard. Otherwise, there is a tendency for government to look to people who make the most noise, and they aren’t always representative of majority views.’

Here’s a link to a blog written by our Deputy-Director Hardeep Singh for UKPW.

The BBC’s attempt to censor Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom – how you can help

November 8th, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Radio | Sikhism | Thought for the day - (0 Comments)

We have been overwhelmed by supportive messages for our Director following the front-page headline in The Times last month – ‘Sikh peer leaves BBC Radio 4 show with swipe at ‘thought police’’.  The solidarity has come from all over the world, from Sikhs and people of other faiths and none – including Christians, Jews, Muslims and Hindus. It is a matter of grave concern that an overzealous producer had the temerity to insult Sikhism by attempting to censor the sacrifice of our 9th Guru, Tegh Bahadur, who gave his life standing up for freedom of religious belief in the face of tyranny. In an increasingly fractured society, it is these very values that must be celebrated and promoted – not censored by the ‘thought’ police.

The story was covered across the media including in the Sun, Express, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Times of India and many more.

You can read Lord Singh’s opinion editorial in the Mail on Sunday here and our Deputy-Director Hardeep Singh wrote an article for the Spectator.

We are pursuing a complaint against the BBC for the insult to Sikh teachings and cannot do this without your support.

We have set up a petition and need as many signatures as possible: The petition can be signed here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/public-inquiry-into-bbc-censorship-and-bias

We are grateful for those that contacted us with messages of solidarity including the following:

‘Lord Singh is a Sikh ambassador, who speaks about the teachings of Guru’s with passion. The Sikh Guru’s taught equality, truthfulness and honesty, they fought and sacrificed their life for freedom of worship and other injustices, regardless of who they were.’ Kuldip M

‘Lord Singh is not alone and with support we need to highlight the orchestrated bias within the BBC’ Manjit B.

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The abduction and conversion of a Sikh girl in Pakistan is not an isolated incident

September 2nd, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Human Rights | Press Releases - (0 Comments)

Jagjit Kaur

The video of a Sikh girl (Jagjit Kaur) allegedly abducted from her home in Punjab (Pakistan) and visibly under duress whilst being betrothed to a Muslim man in a marriage ceremony has sent shock waves across India and amongst diaspora Sikh communities across the West.[i]

Politicians have waded in, including Captain Amarinder Singh the Chief Minister of Punjab (India) and the Akali Dal’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa. The Indian government responded on 30th August: ‘the Ministry had received a number of representations from various quarters of civil society in India, including Sikh religious bodies in India, at the reports of the incident of abduction and forced conversion of a minor Sikh girl in Pakistan. We have shared these concerns with the Government of Pakistan and asked for immediate remedial action.’

The girl’s father has been identified as Bhagwan Singh, a priest at Gurdwara Tambu Sahib. A few days ago, her brother Surinder Singh issued a statement to ask for her safe return home, he confirmed the family had lodged a first information report (FIR) with Nankana Sahib police, however according to Surinder Singh the family was facing threats from the abductors for filing the case and being pressurised to convert.[ii]

However, news reports of the incident have been contradictory, confusing and allegations of fake news have been made. Some reports suggested Jagjit Kaur was returned to her family and 8 arrests had been made,[iii] whereas other reports on the same day suggested she refused to go back to her family ‘fearing a threat to her life’.[iv] In another article her brother refuted the news that she has been returned despite government claims.[v] Separate reports point to a statement filed in court which suggests Jagjit Kaur converted out of her own free will.[vi]

The incident is a cause of huge embarrassment for Pakistan who have been hosting an international Sikh Conference on August 31 at Governor House in Lahore. Former Labour MP for Glasgow, the incumbent Punjab Chief Minister tweeted about the abduction following representations made to him.[vii]

We are cognisant the issue of abduction of non-Muslim girls in Pakistan is a significant blight on wider Pakistani society. Aside from Punjab, there is compelling evidence of abduction and forced marriage in Pakistan’s Sindh province – a 2018 University of Birmingham report ‘Forced Conversions & Forced Marriages In Sindh, Pakistan’, highlighting the issue for Hindu and Christian women. The report’s executive summary says, ‘It has been estimated that 1000 women and girls from religious minorities are abducted, forcibly converted and then married off to their abductors every year.’[viii]

We have flagged Jagjit Kaur’s case with the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

[ENDS]

References

[i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVRWy_ETGPk

[ii] https://twitter.com/SikhMessenger/status/1167080801097461761

[iii] https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sikh-girl-forcefully-converted-to-islam-in-pakistan-sent-to-parents-1593732-2019-08-31

[iv] https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sikh-girl-forced-convert-islam-refuses-home-pak-official-1593980-2019-09-01?utm_source=rss

[v] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/brother-of-pakistani-sikh-girl-forcefully-converted-appeals-to-imran-khan-for-justice/story-Sobbhiy0jjPlB0kCB3d4wK.html

[vi] https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/adopted-islam-out-of-my-own-free-will-sikh-girl-after-family-alleges-forced-conversion-in-pakistan/ar-AAGzJ4r?li=AAEz3n1

[vii] https://twitter.com/ChMSarwar/status/1167510245461114882

[viii] https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-artslaw/ptr/ciforb/Forced-Conversions-and-Forced-Marriages-in-Sindh.pdf

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‘Islamophobia’ definition is detrimental to free speech new anthology warns

August 22nd, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Press Releases - (0 Comments)

An anthology complied by a leading think tank warns that a proposed ‘Islamophobia’ definition has serious consequences for free speech. Islamophobia: An Anthology of Concerns is a series of essays edited by Emma Webb, Director of The Forum on Integration, Democracy and Extremism (a project at Civitas).

Referring to the proposed APPG definition of Islamophobia, she argues ‘The definition would have a chilling effect on necessary discussion around the Islamist threat to the UK. In a free society, there can be no arbitration of which criticisms of any given religion or ideology are legitimate, regardless of perceived motive, level of education or quality of debate.’

On the publication, our Director, Lord Singh of Wimbledon said, ‘This comprehensive anthology of widespread concerns about the danger to free speech and legitimate discussion in the use of the vague catch-all term Islamophobia, is both timely and welcome.’

He goes on, ‘The report will not only help protect free speech and legitimate criticism, but also help us understand why Muslims and other religious communities are sometimes the target for hate crimes that shame society. Perpetrators of such crimes do not carry out a detailed study of a religion before expressing antipathy. Hatred arises out of ignorance in which small differences can assume frightening and threatening proportions. It can only be removed through greater emphasis on religious and cultural literacy.’

Other contributors to Islamophobia: An Anthology of Concerns include Rumy Hasan, Peter Tatchell, Ed Husain, Pragna Patel, Mohammed Amin, The National Secular Society and others.

For further information contact: info@nsouk.co.uk

[Ends]

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Guest blog: Reporting on Sikhism

August 12th, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues - (0 Comments)

In a guest blog for the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), our Deputy-Director explains Hardeep Singh, explains how the NSO’s media guidance can help journalists get a clearer understanding of Sikhism.

Link to blog post can be viewed here and media guidance for journalists here.

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Lord Singh asks government about FCO support for persecuted Christians

July 28th, 2019 | Posted by Singh in Current Issues | Human Rights | Press Releases - (0 Comments)

Last week our Director Lord Singh tabled a question to the government about Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) support for persecuted Christians. He asked Her Majesty’s Government, ‘what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s support for persecuted Christians.’

Minister for FCO Lord Ahmad, said the Bishop of Truro’s independent review of FCO support for persecuted Christians resulted in a series of ‘ambitious recommendations’, and that ‘we will take them forward as part of our work to support freedom of religious belief for all’. Thanking the Minister for his response Lord Singh who is also Vice-Chair for All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) responded, ‘Sadly the appalling treatment of Christian minorities around the world is mirrored in the persecution of other religious minorities, including the appalling treatment of his Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan. In Afghanistan a once-prosperous Sikh community of more than 20,000 people has been reduced to a few hundred. Does the Minister agree that the underlying cause of religious persecution is the religious bigotry inherent in aggressive assertions that the one god of us all, way above human emotions, favours one group of humans to the exclusion of others?’

The Minister agreed with Lord Singh and was grateful for his work in this area. He said where Christians were persecuted, other minorities were likely to be persecuted as well. Other contributors to the debate included Co-Chair of APPG FoRB Baroness Berridge, Lord Anderson of Swansea, Lord Alderdice and the Lord Bishop of Ely.

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