Discussing Sikh Issues and Gurmat Perspectives

Monday 17 February 2020

Bhai Moninder Singh Canada - Confronting Indian Interference in Sikh Affairs

https://sikhsiyasat.net/2019/04/17/confronting-indian-interference-in-sikh-affairs-op-ed/

Saturday 1 February 2020

Bhai Manvir Singh U.K. - Discussion on Brexit and Sikhs

Op/Ed – A Sikh perspective: The UK’s divorce with the European Union by Bhai Manvir Singh

https://www.sikh24.com/2020/02/03/op-ed-a-sikh-perspective-the-uks-divorce-with-the-european-union/

News and previous discussions relating to Brexit and Sikhs living in Great Britain and Europe:

Brexit vote sparks ‘open season for racists’ say workers at Sikh soup kitchen by Kirsteen Paterson
https://www.thenational.scot/news/14903894.brexit-vote-sparks-open-season-for-racists-say-workers-at-sikh-soup-kitchen/

Akaal Channel discussion by Bhai Jagjit Singh

Why Sikhs becoming ‘ready for another vote’ on Brexit is ‘the right thing to do’ by Bhai Randeep Singh

https://www.sikhpa.com/why-sikhs-becoming-ready-for-another-vote-on-brexit-is-the-right-thing-to-do/

Vishav Darpan Brexit 31st Jan 2020 by Bhai Sardul Singh Marwaha

Sunday 19 January 2020

Sikhs will now be recognized as an ethnic group in USA

Economic Times: Sikhs to be counted as separate ethnic group in US census for first time
Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/sikhs-to-be-counted-as-separate-ethnic-group-in-us-census-for-first-time/articleshow/73271587.cms?from=mdr

Sikh24: SGPC welcomes USA’s move of recognizing Sikhs as a separate ethnicity
https://www.sikh24.com/2020/01/17/sgpc-welcomes-usas-move-of-recognizing-sikhs-as-a-separate-ethnicity/#.XkA3ESOnw2w

United Sikhs: HISTORIC VICTORY: SIKHS TO BE COUNTED AS SEPARATE ETHNIC GROUP IN U.S. CENSUS 2020
https://unitedsikhs.org/historic-victory-sikhs-to-be-counted-as-separate-ethnic-group-in-u-s-census-2020/

Sikhs to be counted as separate ethnic group in US census for first time

Tuesday 31 December 2019

Dr Gurnam Singh U.K. - Sikhs and the Census unwrapped

‘Sikhs are not to be given a separate Tick Box in the next census’
Author: Dr Gurnam Singh U.K.

The Office for National Statistics has given its verdict on the question of a separate census category for Sikhs as an ethnic group. Based on qualitative and quantitative research the broad conclusions of the ONS are that there is considerable support for a separate sikh ethnic box amongst leaders of Gurdwaras and Sikh organisations but not amongst the younger sections.

I suspect also that this reflects a split between ‘religious’ Sikhs who may have a firm sense of identity and/or are regular attendees at Gurdwaras and ‘secular Sikhs’ who are more likely to adopt a more fluid sense of identity. The research identified considerable confusion amongst the younger Sikhs about the question of Sikhism being a faith or ethnicity. To fully answer this question, more research is clearly needed and this confusion may well be a symptom of not having an ethnicity box.

The ONS report does concede that there is a need to more accurately measure the Sikh presence in the UK in order to inform better public policy towards this group. They intend to address this by providing an option to chose Sikh ethnicity from the ‘Other’ category under the ethnicity section in the online version. They are also recommending other mechanisms to correlate the ‘religion’ data with data from the ‘other’ option in the ethnicity section.
Sikh organisations such as the Sikh Federation UK and Sikh MP Preet Gill will be disappointment about this outcome as they were confidently predicting the ethnicity box for Sikhs had been conceded by the Government. Others, such as Lord Indarjit Singh, who were arguing about the dangers of conflating a religious category of Sikh with ethnicity, would have damaging effects, will be pleased. Their argument was that such a move would create confusion amongst non Panjabi Sikhs and those who chose the Sikh other but were from non Panjab.

This issue is probably going to rumble along but Sikhs in the UK have another 10 years to work on building consensu, which means carrying the vast majority of the community with you and not relying on eco chambers. Yes there is a significant number, even perhaps over 100,000 that have expressed a desire for a separate Sikh ethnicity box, but that means 2/3 or the community are either agnostic or opposed to this and their opinions need to be changed.

Here is a link to the full report for those interested in looking at the detail.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

https://www.facebook.com/gurnam.s.khela/posts/10158110858538761

Thursday 15 August 2019

Creating Safe Schools: Sikh Awareness Presentations Impact 1,200 Students

Ishmeet Kaur, Sikh community member and parent in New York state, discusses how she was empowered by the Sikh Coalition to go from leading presentations to her children’s classes to working with the Monroe-Woodbury School District to conduct more than 35 Sikh awareness presentations that impacted more than 1,200 students and faculty members. Through her efforts, the Sikh Coalition and volunteers were able to engage in effective techniques to teach every 6th and 9th grader in the Monroe-Woodbury School District about Sikhism, including the Sikh faith, traditions, and community. Ishmeet advocated for her school district to do more to raise Sikh awareness in their classrooms over the course of eight years. Over four days, the Sikh Coalition conducted presentations, providing students and educators alike with a diverse learning experience that has helped them understand what Sikhi is all about as well as the similarities and differences amongst Sikhism and other major world religions.