Crystal Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Good morning all, This has been on my mind for a while, we know about the recent beheadings and killings reportedly carried out by Isis. Many Punjabi's who I know are very sympathic towards the victims. So I want to put the question why are punjabis(Sikhs) more inclined to get upset over the Isis beheadings? At no point do I believe a life is more important than someone else's, unless the person is a rapist or a child molestor in that case I have no emotions towards vile like that. Why aren't punjabis/Sikhs reading up about their history regarding shaheeds in battles and those who gave their life for the panth? Why are they disregarded and pushed to the side? Whereas Sikhs don't show emotion towards their own kurbanis? The reason for this topic is because a friend of mine who has recently expressed his sadness over the Jordan pilot burnt alive...I put the question to him "what about our own history of Singh's being beheaded and killed for even having long hair"(as written in rattan Singh's granth - jatts with long hair even being killed even if they were not khalsa). Please do discuss. Crystal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Singh Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) I'm guessing some Sikhs have shanka - doubts over sikhi to the point they don't even believe in those kurbanis (acts of sacrifice/martyrdom) because there are instances of miracles and the super natural makes people doubt the entire thing, like Baba Deep Singh picking up his own head to fight. But with that there have been Sikhs who have been beheaded in Pakistan and Afghanistan recently, perhaps people put that down to minor disputes, not one my caste/relative. Perhaps people are wrapped around the media so much that if the mainstream media don't cover Sikhs being killed in Afghanistan it never happened for them, but at the same time we don't hear about the beatings the taliban give to other muslims like lashing going on. Maybe Sikh history is depressing and you can get away from it but getting away from mainstream media is hard, but with many media stories they get forgotten about over time, current affairs don't always make it to the history lessons of tomorrow. Perhaps due to some sikhs feeling xenophobia/racism/contempt as of late due to mistaken identity with islamists and increase in coverage of islamist atrocities, many people want an apology from those with the islamist kin, we can't always separate ourselves from other humans and some people just have businesses, careers, education relationships to maintain and build and it's easier to say sorry for something you have nothing to do with or have relation with then to actually explain that you have nothing to do with it. I think many "Asiatic" religions have been brushed over to be branches of islamism at the moment by some less than affluent folk who have become a vocal minority. Edited February 5, 2015 by JatherdarSahib 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Good morning all, This has been on my mind for a while, we know about the recent beheadings and killings reportedly carried out by Isis. Many Punjabi's who I know are very sympathic towards the victims. So I want to put the question why are punjabis(Sikhs) more inclined to get upset over the Isis beheadings? At no point do I believe a life is more important than someone else's, unless the person is a rapist or a child molestor in that case I have no emotions towards vile like that. Why aren't punjabis/Sikhs reading up about their history regarding shaheeds in battles and those who gave their life for the panth? Why are they disregarded and pushed to the side? Whereas Sikhs don't show emotion towards their own kurbanis? I think there is a serious disconnect by today's Sikhs with their past. I don't think they relate to the past shaheedis because of the difference in lifestyle they are living. Most Sikhs today live (or aspire to live) mod con, comfortable lives. The events of the 18th century are just too 'out there' for them and don't really relate to their current comfortable lives. Maybe in their heart of hearts they know that they could never live like those puratan Singhs and so see no point in exalting those sacrifices? Or alternatively, they will use those past events to build up their own egos. From what I see, most Amritdhari families are not remotely concerned with anything truly martial today. Their kids aren't remotely raised to be real fighters, instead they are pushed to study hard and get a good job. What we've seen in England is a complete reluctance to face up to external challenges (like grooming), which makes me think that the average person is extremely conservative and doesn't like to stick out (other than physically), or take any risks - even when there is rampant sexual abuse of Sikh females going on under their nose - this is very telling. You can also see the timid response of US Sikhs to physical attacks due to mistaken identity with Moslems in this light too. I also think the concept of martyrdom has taken a knock due to suicide type attacks that it has now become associated with. There's also been unprecedented (in my opinion) division in the panth too, mainly based on caste. Let's be frank, we are a pretty selfish and aspirational quom right now. I see this tendency to try and out do each other in material wealth as the main driving force in the panth today, be this along familial, caste or jatha lines. Another thing: I know plenty of Panjabis who've expressed disgust at the actions of the west in destabilising regions like Iraq/Syria/Libya with their foreign policies that gave rise to the growth of ISIS. Something else I just thought of is that Sikhs may be viewing the past as just that - the past; something over with; whilst the current atrocities are contemporary and relevant, so they show more emotion towards that. With that all being said, I'm sure plenty of clued up Sikhs see things like what is going on with the Yahzdis women, and recall their own history in fear. I think, despite all the bravado, a lot of apnay are scared right now. They are scared of sullay, and they are scared of not being accepted by mainstream society too. The reason for this topic is because a friend of mine who has recently expressed his sadness over the Jordan pilot burnt alive...I put the question to him "what about our own history of Singh's being beheaded and killed for even having long hair"(as written in rattan Singh's granth - jatts with long hair even being killed even if they were not khalsa). See (I'm going to possibly be controversial here), I don't think long hair was the central issue. The long hair represented something else. A belief. A political, social viewpoint. It was THAT that was being attacked. People growing their hair wasn't causing ANY problems to the Moghuls, it was their beliefs and refusal to accept Moghul authority that was the problem. The kesh was like a flag back then. Something that overtly and explicitly represented non-conformity to the rulers. It was a symbol of rebellion. It doesn't mean that at all these days - at least not here in the west. Edited February 5, 2015 by dalsingh101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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