The Sikh Community in Britain; an outsiders opinion.

Britain is an island which has over the years become a melting pot of culture and languages. Each ethnic community has their own specialisms and strengths which has helped this country to become a beacon for social cohesion. Whether it is the West Indians who came during the 1950’s to work on the London buses or the Pakistani Muslims who worked endless hours in the Yorkshire mills. All of these communities have left an indelible mark in rich and varied script of British history.

In my post today I will look at the Sikh community, an ethnic group of people who hail from the Punjab region of North India. I live in a small town in England called Gravesend, which has its own very well established and growing Sikh community which is now in its 3rd or 4th generation. Even though my own ancestors hail from the same area as these people, I am writing this post as an outside because I am not a Sikh; I am a HIndu Brahmin. I follow a different religion and as a result a different culture to my Sikh brethren who live in my neighbourhoods.

This is my view of the Sikh community within the UK having not only lived in Gravesend for my formative years but also having spent 3 years living in Leicester and witnessing the Sikh students who strive to follow their faith…

The Sikhs of Britain are the most hardest working community in the land. They bring with them a tenacity to work and a humbleness to not complain, as a result they are also the wealthiest of the south Asian minorities in the UK with a median household salary of £200,000. The Sikhs today, as they did back in the 50’s when they first arrived always look after one another and their families. Many families try to bring relatives over from India and help them set up in this ‘land of oppurtunity’. However, although lots of families have gained immense fortune living here, the hardships they have had to endure to become successful has been great too. Many turbaned Sikh men still experience racism in this modern era even though there is lots of education within schools about differentiation of religions. However, if anything this makes the bonds between the people much greater and they face the adversity with a combined effort. Sikhs are also very progressive and integrate very well wherever they go, they have excelled in all aspects and sections of British life without compromising on their background. I think the best thing I have seen in my time living with these big hearted people is that they love their religion so much; it gives them boundless energy during their bad times as well as a reflection during their good times. This is why Sikhism as a religion is unique, because the people by and large carry out the message which the Gurus laid out before them in their illustrious history. They love their religion so much they have a mission to build Gurdwaras wherever they go so that they can pray and do sewa in peace. On that note the concept of ‘service for others’ or Sewa is a key tenet of the faith and again they hold this in high regard whether it be serving langar with love in the Gurdwara or giving great hospitality in family functions. They always seek to include, educate and promote others about their faith and do this by means of TV channels, leaflets and even facebook. All in all it is a faith for humanity.

As an outsider I have a different perspective on things and this provides me with a different view on Sikhism within this country. Although I understand much of the faith I do not claim to be educated in it, I have many Sikh friends who I consider my own brothers and this has provided me with much insight into the community. There are however various problems which are apparent from my viewpoint…

I think the major struggle the Sikhs (as with any ethnic minority in the UK) have is the battle to maintain and preserve their culture and religion. I have seen first hand at University how young Asian girls and boys, not only Sikh, try to diverge away from their true paths and try to become more modern in their ways. The Sikh Society at my university did a great job to educate the students but despite tremendous support in volunteering, one can only feel that these were the minority. There were very few people who I can say exhibit true qualities of a ‘Singh’ or a ‘Kaur’. The youth are in a struggle to try and fit into British society but also to adhere to their faith, it is a struggle which I have been through myself and it is tough.
The issue of caste, as mentioned in another one of my blogs, is indeed a cancer on the community which affects everyone. One of the fundamental tenets of Sikhi is that caste is wrong and one should not follow it; however there are deep divisions within the community due to people still believing that their caste is better than another. I have seen separate Gurdwaras for Ravidassia ( Low caste) Sikhs and it seems that people will still hold onto their attached caste.
More recently the cases involving sexual abuse and grooming of young Sikh girls has hit the community hard, I have seen and heard cases in Leicester involving grooming gangs in clubs and there is a lot of truth to these stories. There has even been a BBC documentary highlighting this issue and it is heartening to see that there are educational programmes out there in place to deter such vile acts against these girls.
There also seems to be some kind of weird mix between how one should uphold Punjabi culture; which promotes alcohol, eating meat and caste etc and the true values of Sikhism which do not promote such things. Again it is just my opinion, but for normal Sikh youth it may be a very difficult balancing act to try.
The burning issue for Sikhs who really are in touch with their roots is the issue of Khalistan and the events before and after 1984. TO MAKE THIS CLEAR; I was not born and I did not live in that time, so I will not comment on it because I have no knowledge other than news reports and friends. However, I will say that it is very clear that the justice system of India is a shambles and why the perpetrators of the Delhi riots have have not been dealt with is beyond me. My family come from Delhi and my Dad has recounted to me the story of how he and his brothers defended his Sikh neighbours with cricket bats while the city around them was in chaos. I cannot help but cry in anguish over his story, as well as the miscarriages of justice that has occurred in the Punjab during the 1990’s. I am not educated enough to comment on the validity of Khalistan (a homeland for the Sikhs) but the Sikh youth of the UK do try tirelessly for their cause and I respect them for it…you need to stand up for what you believe in.

I think the Sikh community in the UK have done themselves proud, they have made a shining example of social cohabitation and it has been a privilege to live among these fiercely proud people. The religion has inspired me through my tough times and its followers have shown me and my family a lot of love over these years. Despite the problems facing it, I am confident that the youth will overcome them with the same zeal and effort as their fore-fathers.

If I have offended anyone then I am incredibly sorry, it was not my intention. Please however leave comments or criticisms if you get time, I would love to educate myself. This post is merely an objective viewpoint of Sikhism in this country, not an attack.

The BNP and the EDL; do they have a point?

BNP leader Nick Griffin and EDL leader Tommy Robinson are both at extreme ends of the political spectrum. Nick and the BNP use the democratic system within this country to express their views in a open and ‘honest’ way, whereas the EDL appear to be a group of misguided football hooligans with no clear agenda. Yet they both originate from the same National Front beginnings, so despite the fact that the general British public think they have no serious case in their policies they still have a valid point to make.

I think what BNP and the EDL stand for is national pride. They feel that Britain has lost its culture and its very way of life is being undermined by immigrants who use the system for their own benefit. There is NOTHING RACIST about this stance, they know as much as I do that without immigrants this country would collapse immediately. The simple fact is that immigrants in this country are taking the jobs which the ‘White British’ would never do; the jobs such as cleaning, potato picking, factory work, nurses and the list is endless.

The people who support the BNP/EDL know this fact as well, but do not seem to admit it. What they will admit however is that the growing influx of immigrants has made them nervous and agitated..they walk in their town centres and see people from all parts of the world BUT they don’t hear them speak English. They send their kids to a school where 50%+ of the students speak English as a second language, as a result the Ofsted rating is poor. They also see gangs from these various immigrant communities roaming the once peaceful streets.

It would make anyone nervous, and I think they have every right to feel this way! This is your city/town/village and over the course of your lifetime you see it become a hell-hole, and you would start blaming these extra terrestrial people called ‘immigrants’!

Any colonized people in History would feel this amongst other things such as rape, forcible conversion and slavery.  Over time these lands were granted freedom but at a huge cost; they were left in a quagmire of poverty, corruption and disease. I think in a weird twist of Karma the British people are suffering the same fate as the people they colonized for 200 hundreds or so; a disintegration of culture, language and customs. They have every right to stand up for their rights…

BUT and this is a big BUT, despite the good and valid message the EDL and the BNP wish to get across, they cannot ever be taken seriously until they form a group of highly intellectual people who can argue the points for them without it coming across lazily as racism. I would listen to Nick Griffin and Tommy Robinson if they actually did their research, came up with a valid discussion and talked with a sense of authority (or if in fact they were not racist). As it is they lurch from media disaster to another, and I talk about EDL in regard to this point that they need to rebrand themselves not as drunken thugs but as people who have genuine concerns and are willing to discuss not BEAT UP people to get it across.

I am not for one moment giving credence to such political groups, in my opinion all parties talk a lot of horse manure and seem to do nothing anyway. However, after witnessing EDL demonstrations in Leicester and Luton, as well as watching Nick Griffin fumble Question Time on TV i feel they are doing a huge injustice to the British people who support them! For it is not only white British but plenty others from all backgrounds that support their cause, because they all regard this land as their own and will do anything for it.

As a person who has lived in a very mixed community for the past decade or so I have also seen a  great shift in society due to mass immigration. Some of it has been bad, but a lot of it has been good, and I think personally BNP/EDL need to focus on the good and not only extrapolate from the bad….they owe a lot to the immigrants and their contribution to society cannot be forgotten.

The challenges of keeping your culture and religion in University

Many of you who are above the age of 21 will fondly remember your University days with a tinge of sadness. Now you are in your working life and yearn the wild nights out, the one-night stands and your alcohol-induced antics. You will remember falling out of bed in the morning with an intense hangover, as if someone had just beaten you with a kitchen sink.

Ahh those were the  days…

Except for me, my uni life was completely different. Before I set off to university I made pact with myself that I should not drink, eat meat or engage in one-night stands. Why was this you may ask? Well for me, and I think for hundreds of other students who take their religion and culture seriously, it is to not to go against your teachings and upbringing of your parents.

I think for many a uni life without meat can be achievable, but without alcohol? The 2 words ‘uni’ and ‘alcohol’ go together like ‘One direction’ and ‘Crap’.

But I think I had the best 3 years of my life at uni by being sober! You could remember your best nights out, make up stories to hangover sufferers about who they made out with AND look half decent in pictures. But obviously my student life wasn’t always fun…

Freshers was the toughest week of my life, before that I had never experienced the smell of alcohol, the sight of drunken fun or even making out which could only be described as ‘hoovering the carpet’. With all this happening around me, I had to keep sight of what was important to me, my culture and my religion. I knew if I gave into these temptations then I could never look myself or my parents in the face ever again. Sure enough explaining my soberness to my  flatmates generated a sense of suspicion but also empathy as to what I was missing out. Though I will say this, the white folk never tried to coerce me…it was the Asian students who were keen to force me to try a shot or 2! It was deeply saddening that the people who should know my culture are the ones who want me to abandon it for a cheap thrill.

However after waking up from the coma of Freshers I managed to make plenty of friends just by trusting myself that I am interesting enough for people to know me sober. As first year progressed my peers respected me for my lifestyle and over time friendships developed out of pure respect and not any love of the drink. Clubbing was not an issue and usually people could recognise me with my glass of water in hand in the corner trying to bust a bhangra move in the RnB room (yes I was that guy). Obviously this meant that I could not chat up any of the student birds in the club, but this was fine…I doubt they would be impressed if I tried to charm them by buying a orange juice over a vodka and coke. As it is I do not believe in messing about with girls or one night stands, I am waiting for ‘THE ONE’ *vomiting noise in toilet*

But the monotony of clubbing sober soon set in to the point where in 3rd year I summed it up as:

Attempting to dance very badly to very loud music  in a dark room  with a sticky floor and chilling with drunk friends until one of them pulls a bird/gets into a fight/gets wasted/loses all their money and annoys all his/hers mates until he/she walks back on their own.

Still even into my final year it was the Asian students that had the biggest problem with me being sober, I think many of them thought I was out-of-touch or that I didn’t have the balls. But I discovered at University how to dance to Bhangra music, this was MY alcohol and you could see my sweaty face in most of the bhangra nights within Leicester and surrounding areas.  The adrenaline rush when you have a showdown in a club with other guys is second to none AND surprisingly a few girls found it an attractive part of my personality ( I was still going to buy them orange juice though). Fair to say though whenever the Rnb/Hiphop music came on the black brothers would just own you anyway.

So out of ten I would rate my sober University experience as a solid 8.5. I not only proved to myself that I could have fun without comprising my culture and religion but also my parents, brothers and friends. My advice to anyone going through or is about to go through my experience would be to trust your guts, explore other passions and don’t give in!

It’s funny really; sometimes you underestimate how strong you really  are.