Nikki Haley: Feeding Lions To The Christians

[kdsingh80]

http://www.sikhchic.com/columnists/nikki_haley_feeding_lions_to_the_christians

Nikki Haley: Feeding Lions to the Christians

by T. SHER SINGH

Sikh-born Nikki Haley - daughter of Sikh parents from Amritsar - has been elected Republican Governor of South Carolina, U.S.A.

Before you take umbrage with the reporting of this piece of news on the sikhchic.com front-page this morning, or my referring to her as "Sikh-born", I ask for your patience and a few moments of reflection on what I have to say.

I have been meaning to write this piece earlier, but did not want it to be used against her in her election-bid, because a) I do not have many nice things to say about her; 2) pieces posted online tend to get viral with lightening speed; and 3) many of her opponents and supporters are religious and racial bigots and have been grasping at any straw to get ammunition against her, in order to further warp similar minds that surround them.

I met Nikki not too long ago in Toronto. She had come with her parents to Toronto where she was being honoured at the annual Vaisakhi gala of The Centennial Foundation.

I spent much of the evening talking to the three of them at our table.

Here's what I garnered from the evening:

- Nikki was very proud of being a Sikh and publicly said so.

- It was also obvious that she was not a practising Sikh.

- She was a politician, first and foremost - and I do not use the word as a compliment - and had indeed come a long way on a very rough journey requiring many compromises.

- She was married to a Christian and her children were being brought up as Christians.

- She was cognizant of the narrow-mindedness of the Christian South and had become very adept at stepping over their egg-shells.

- She was very ambitious, and was not willing to be tripped by lesser minds on her rise to the top.

- She was capable of making any and all compromises to reach her goals.

I concluded from my brief meeting with her that she was a politician to the core. Let me explain what I mean.

I believe that our system of democracy - deeply flawed, but sadly the best we have today - simply does not allow high principles to flourish in its halls of powers.

Which means that any person with high principles - genuinely, not just paying lip-service - simply cannot get very far in the political arena.

Which means, I believe, that politics today - in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world - simply has no room for high-principled people in its corridors.

Which means, I believe, that there are NO high-principled people in politics today.

Barack Obama is walking proof of this. Although I continue to support him all the way, I have seen his principles unravel from the very day he became President - starting with the criminal pay-out of almost a trillion dollars (I don't really know how much that is, I must confess) to a handful of thoroughly corrupt people, all the way to his most recent cowardly response to a planned visit to the Darbar Sahib.

Sadly, he's the best we have today.

And Nikki Haley doesn't even come close.

She has indeed sold her soul to win this Governorship. I know her distancing herself from her Sikh roots was a mere ploy to placate her bigoted detractors and that she doesn't really believe it. A lie of this magnitude is bound to destroy all the integrity one has within oneself.

But that has never been a danger with politicians - we require them to leave their integrity at home, once they start on their political journeys.

Nikki's has been a double lie.

But I lay only part of the blame at her door.

The rest of it is at the door of Southern Christianity and the South's warped brand of democracy which demand their politicians to be weaklings and unprincipled, and prove their qualifications to the world by publicly declaring allegiance to their brand of Christianity.

An abomination, I tell you, which would drive Jesus Christ to tears. And each of the founding fathers of the United States of America to spin in their graves.

True, Nikki has failed us - and herself.

And so has America!

Our work as Sikhs - saint-soldiers - is cut-out for us.

Instead of turning our guns at poor, weak, unprincipled Nikki - or our backs to her - we should concentrate on fighting this racial and religious bigotry that plagues America as pervasively as it does Hindu India, Muslim Pakistan, or the Jewish-Muslim Middle-East.

There is nothing to rejoice for us in Nikki's election victory.

There is nothing to rejoice for Americans or Republicans or South Carolinians or Southern Christians either, in Nikki's election victory.

All it has done is expose the ugly under-belly of America.

And how much we Sikhs have neglected the upbringing of our own children - how we have failed them at home.

November 3, 2010

[W..]

what a wonderful post.

I agree with everything you say, but I think Obama is just a bad as all the rest.

[Xylitol]

What about Ron Paul??? Doesn't he have a track record of following through on all his election promises (voting wise)?

[kdsingh80]

One surprising factor is that if you read comments section their then you will find some people are happy and even congratulating her.It is so sad to see that a sikh who sold her faith for worldly success is considered as one worthy to be congratulated on sikh site.If we go by this logic then How the sikhs who converted to islam or christianity for some worldly gain were not good sikhs.

It looks to me that for many in our quom worldly success is everything.It does not matter how it comes,message going to youngseters is that Just get worldly success,if you are unable to get it then so many people will say you are not a good sikh ,but if you get even by getting it even converting to other religion ,it is not going to matter,we will mold all rules for you to accomodate Sikh Faith.

[Mithar]

One surprising factor is that if you read comments section their then you will find some people are happy and even congratulating her.It is so sad to see that a sikh who sold her faith for worldly success is considered as one worthy to be congratulated on sikh site.If we go by this logic then How the sikhs who converted to islam or christianity for some worldly gain were not good sikhs.

It looks to me that for many in our quom worldly success is everything.It does not matter how it comes,message going to youngseters is that Just get worldly success,if you are unable to get it then so many people will say you are not a good sikh ,but if you get even by getting it even converting to other religion ,it is not going to matter,we will mold all rules for you to accomodate Sikh Faith.

It's not surprising to me. Blogs like Sikh chic or langar hall are full of politically correct liberal type people. I remember how a few months ago when there was an article about a keski wearing Sikh girl who married a guy from another faith (I think he was Jewish) all the "Sikh" girls on that site were congratulating her and even going to the extent of defending her.

Then we have this politician (nikki randhawa) who in actuality has no vishvaas in any deen/dharm convert to another religion just to get elected and Sikhs are congratulating her. Not just that, she even married out of the Sikh faith to a non Sikh.

Currently these are bad times for the Panth. Very few Sikhs are faithful to Khalsa ideals, in a way we can see this as a test being conducted by Guru Jee to see who will remain strong and steady to his Panth. Only Guru Jee knows when the Panth will come out of this dark time and Khalsa Raaj will emerge, until then the Sikhs need to have a strong unshakable faith in the destiny of the Khalsa Panth.

Edited November 6, 2010 by Mithar

[kdsingh80]

It's not surprising to me. Blogs like Sikh chic or langar hall are full of politically correct liberal type people. I remember how a few months ago when there was an article about a keski wearing Sikh girl who married a guy from another faith (I think he was Jewish) all the "Sikh" girls on that site were congratulating her and even going to the extent of defending her.

But many of these liberal sites are hardcore anti hindu and even support Khalistan.On sikhchic every other day there is article on RSS,Fanatic hindu's

even when the subject is not even closely linked to sikhs.Recently same site posted article by arundhati that how hindutva forces are harrassing her,I wrote a comment that when she herself is sitting with people like Geelani then she has no right to complain.Unfortunately that comment was not even allowed to be published.

[dalsingh101]

Sikhchic is seriously 'managed'. I've had comments I've posted edited by the admin to make them a bit more politically correct.

I think they are seeking to be a conduit for interfaith/culture exchange. Which I have nothing against personally. But I think they are quite desperate for stories with a possible wide audience hence jumping on Nikki Halleys.

That being said, I think the site does have some merit. It is like a 'pop' website for Sikhi. Something newbies can use for their first step in. I did read this 'Talking stick' thread about Japji on there once and there was some good stuff on it.

In any case, why are you guys acting at all surprised that apnay and apneean are probably some of the most consummate materialists around these days?

Edited November 6, 2010 by dalsingh101

[kdsingh80]

In any case, why are you guys acting at all surprised that apnay and apneean are probably some of the most consummate materialists around these days?

Being materialist is different and thumping and cheering for person who openly sold her faith and clearly saying that she is not a sikh.Just look at Khans of Bollywood ,they are materialist ,do 100s of unislamic practices yet in many of their Films they do their best to show muslims in positive light.on the other hand look at our sikh brothers in bollywood they never care about their sikh faith and do not hesistate to show turbannned sikhs as jokers.