The Role of Misinterpretation in the Discrimination against Sikhs

Religious objects are one of the most profound statements of a given faith. The former symbolize the doctrines and objectives of a particular religion. When properly interpreted, therefore, religious objects bring about a transformation of personal, social or cultural character. But when misinterpreted or given no interpretation at all, they have the potential to cause discrimination and even hatred (Neville, 1996).

Members of Sikh communities in Western countries are constantly experiencing discrimination due to their continued usage of Sikh religious objects.Sikh religious objects have often been mistaken for those of Islam’s, resulting in Sikhs being mistaken for terrorists. Some Sikhs, for instance, have been terminated from their jobs for refusing to remove their turbans and wear the caps or hard hats assigned to postal or construction workers (Mann, Numrich, Williams and Williams, 2007). There have likewise been cases of Sikhs being charged by their Anglo neighbors of assault using a kirpan (Sikh ceremonial dagger). History of Sikh Immigration to the West The Sikhs first came to the United States in 1880.From Punjab, India, they originally settled in Yuba City, California.

But due to strict immigration laws during this period, male immigrants had to leave their wives behind in India when they came to the US. Upon reaching the country, many Sikh men married Mexican women – intermarriages between Sikhs and white women were considered illegal (Leifker, 2006). It was not until after World War II that large numbers of Sikh immigrants began arriving to the US. The country’s immigration laws had started to loosen by this time, triggering a wave of Sikh immigration.Men were finally allowed to bring their wives with them, resulting in the growth of Sikh families across the US. Although majority of Sikh immigrants to the country in the 1960s were farmhands and manual laborers, decades of hard work have transformed them into well-educated and affluent professionals.

At present, most Sikhs are entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists, teachers and lawyers (Leifker, 2006). There were at least 500,000 Sikhs residing in the US in 2006, with about 100,000 of them based in California. Northern California is now regarded as the country’s center of Sikhism.Sacramento, for instance, is home to an estimated 15,000 Sikhs and seven gurdwaras (Sikh temples). These temples are open almost 24 hours a day and serve food to anyone in need (Leifker, 2006).

Misconceptions about Sikh Religious Objects One of the most cited reasons behind the discrimination against Sikhs in the West is mainstream society’s misinterpretation of Sikh religious objects. Misconception is not a new issue in the history of Sikhism. Sikh and non-Sikh scholars alike have been guilty of misreading Sikh religious objects for reasons that range from honest ignorance to personal motives (Singh, 2003).In the process, Westerners are given an erroneous description of Sikhism and Sikhs. Kesh Westerners often assume that Sikhs are “uncivilized” because even Sikh males sport long hair. What most Westerners don’t understand is that for the Sikhs, unshorn hair is a symbol called kesh.

Kesh has two important functions in Sikhism. First, it helps preserve Sikh identity. In India, Sikhs constitute only about 2% of the total population. They would therefore be lost in the crowd of Hindus and Muslims if they do not keep their hair long (RealSikhism, n. d.

).Second, the Sikhs consider hair as “the symbol of love for God and respect for everything he has given human beings” (RealSikhism, n. d. ). The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, started the custom of letting the hair remain uncut. He justified this tradition by arguing that allowing hair to remain in its natural state is synonymous to living in harmony with God’s will.

God intended hair to be an integral part of the human body and therefore it should be preserved (RealSikhism, n. d. ). Turban Contrary to popular belief, the turban is not an exotic accessory.For the Sikhs, the turban is an object of immense religious significance. The 10th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, required all followers of the religion to cover their hair with a turban for two reasons.

The first reason is that the turban, akin to long hair, is very useful in preserving Sikh identity. Should all Sikhs wear turbans, they will be easily distinguishable from the Hindus and the Muslims even if they make up only about 2% of India’s population. Gobind Singh Ji was said to have remarked, “(With the turban), my Sikh will be recognized among millions” (RealSikhism, n. . ). In addition, he wanted to promote egalitarianism among all Sikhs.

In the early years of Sikhism, only the upper classes wore turbans. Since they were likewise the religion’s sardars (leaders), the turban eventually became a tool for segregating upper-class Sikhs from the lower-class Sikhs. To get rid of this unsavory reputation of the turban’s, Gobind Singh Ji made one for each and every Sikh. Furthermore, he limited Sikh surnames to just two – Singh and Kaur (RealSikhism, n.

d. ). Kanga The kanga is a small wooden comb that Sikhs use to fix their hair.It is mandatory for all Sikhs to comb their hair twice a day and keep their turbans neat at all times. According to Indian religious tradition, unkempt hair is a symbol of withdrawal from the world – a sharp contradiction to Sikh doctrines.

Furthermore, the regular usage of the kanga instills in Sikhs the discipline that they need in order to be able to comply with the demands of their religion (Teece, 2004). It must be clarified that the kanga, just like the turban, is not an exotic hair accessory. KaraThe kara, a slim steel bracelet worn by both male and female Sikhs, has been recently generating a lot of controversy in the West. Sikh students in some Western schools have been excluded or subjected to disciplinary measures for their insistence on wearing their karas in the campus premises. In November 2007, 14-year-old Sarika Singh from south Wales was excluded by Aberdare Girls' School due to her refusal to take off her kara while inside the campus.

The school administration claimed that Singh violated their “no-jewelry” rule – her kara could be seen as a “symbol of affluence” (BBC News, 2008).Singh filed discrimination charges against the school soon afterwards. In July 2008, a High Court judge in London ruled that she must be allowed to return to the school wearing her kara. According to the judge, Aberdare Girls' School was “guilty of indirect discrimination under race relations and equality laws” (BBC News, 2008). The school should respect the fact that the kara was an important part of Sikhism (BBC News, 2008). Contrary to what most Westerners believe, the kara is not a status symbol.

Rather, it is a representation of the cycle of birth and rebirth.The symbol of the circular wheel is not exclusive to Sikhism – the former is a common theme in all Indian religions. The kara likewise symbolizes the eternality of God – he is a being that has no beginning or end (Teece, 2004). Most Sikhs, however, view the kara as a conscience. The bangle reminds them of their Khalsa vows whenever they are tempted to commit any form of wrongdoing. As a result, they often describe the kara as “half a handcuff” (Teece, 2004).

The other half is supposedly attached to God (Teece, 2004). KirpanThe kirpan is a Sikh ceremonial dagger. It is sometimes referred to as “the sword of mercy” – a weapon that is supposed to be used to uphold righteousness only in extreme circumstances. But in the spiritual context, the kirpan is considered as a representation of God. This is because it is also a weapon against human ignorance or spiritual blindness – an extension of God’s capability to eliminate these ills (Teece, 2004).

Unfortunately, most Westerners assume that all Sikhs who are carrying a kirpan are violent individuals.In February 2009, 13-year-old Sikh student Gurbaj Singh Multani appeared in a Montreal court to face charges from his two white classmates. On September 11, 2008, Multani allegedly threatened them with his kirpan and long hairpin during an argument. He denied the accusations, claiming that they fabricated the charges because they had a certain prejudice against Sikhs. Multani added that they were jealous over his friendship with one of their classmates (NRIInternet. com, 2009).

Interestingly, the school that Multani attended at the time of the incident (Cavalier-de-LaSalle High School) already had a former problem with his kirpan.In 2006, Multani filed charges against the school’s administration for prohibiting him from wearing his kripan inside the campus. He, however, won the case – the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the same year that barring Multani from wearing a kirpan to school was a violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights (NRIInternet. com, 2009). Kachera The kachera is a short pair of trousers that Sikhs use as underwear.

It was considered as a practical alternative to the traditional dhoti (a long strip of white cloth). Contrary to what most Western scholars believe, the kachera does not represent chastity.Although the Sikhs regard lust as one of the Five Vices, chastity for them is unnatural (Teece, 2004). They accept the fact that it is impossible for human beings to eliminate sexual desires. Billions of years of evolution have programmed humans to become sexual beings mainly for the purpose of procreation (Sikhism. com, 2009).

Sikhism, therefore, emphasizes moderation when it comes to sex. In the context of the former, “moderation” means “(keeping) lust under control so that it does not distract from living the pious life” (Sikhism. om, 2009). Adultery is forbidden, and so is premarital sex.

Thus, the real symbolism of the kachera is faithfulness in marriage (Sikhism. com, 2009). Discrimination against Sikhs Because of certain misconceptions about Sikh religious objects, most Westerners end up having wrong impressions about Sikhism and Sikhs. They assume that all Sikhs are barbaric, violent, religious fanatics and have an inclination towards terrorism.

Consequently, it was no longer surprising if cases of harassment against Sikhs increased after 9/11.Many Sikhs have been discriminated upon and even physically assaulted simply because they were mistaken for Muslims. Below are some examples: a. In February 2009, 21-year-old Sikh student Gagandeep Singh was assaulted by security and then arrested by police at a Toronto Raptors game. Singh entered a washroom after a post-basketball event when a security officer accosted him and ordered him to leave.

Four to five other security personnel then dragged Singh out of the washroom and brought him to the police, where he was charged with trespassing and engaging in prohibited activity.Singh’s lawyer, Jagmeet Singh, claimed that what they did to his client was unlawful because he was a ticket-paying fan and they also had no evidence to prove their charges against him (Singh, 2009). b. In 2002, Sikh entrepreneur Harinder Bains and his brothers Gurinder and Gagandeep won $5 million in damages in a discrimination suit against gasoline company Arco. They entered into a contract with Arco to haul gasoline from the Arco Cherry Point refinery in Ferndale to a gasoline tank farm on Harbor Island.But Bains and his sons claimed that Arco employees called them “rag heads” and “camel jockeys,” forced them to stand in the rain and use slower pumps while other drivers did not and even demanded that their turbans be used to clean up oil spills.

The Bainses’ contract with Arco was abruptly terminated after they complained to the company’s superiors in Los Angeles and Seattle (Skolnik, 2002). c. In March 2006, unknown assailants knocked an elderly Sikh man off his bicycle in Yuba City. The Sikh man was riding his bike when four or five occupants of a sport utility vehicle began throwing rocks at him.Because none of the rocks hit him, one of the assailants stepped out of the vehicle and pushed him. The elderly Sikh man sustained a fractured hip due to the incident (Leifker, 2006).

d. Iqbal Singh and his two-year-old granddaughter were waiting to be fetched from a religious service at the San Jose Gurdwara in July 2006 when their neighbor, Everett Thompson, stabbed him once in the neck with a steak knife. Upon police questioning, Thompson said that he stabbed Singh because he “wanted to kill a Taliban” (Leifker, 2006). e.A Sikh man sued Delta and Atlantic Coast airlines and one of its flight attendants in September 2003 for discrimination and mistreatment. He claimed that the flight attendant berated him for retrieving a magazine from an overhead bin.

Because he was wearing a traditional beard and turban, she referred to him as “a Muslim from the Middle East” (Leifker, 2006). When he tried to explain that he was a Sikh and not a Muslim, she ordered him to “shut up” and “do not cause any problems” (Leifker, 2006). The flight attendant even threatened to have the Captain take the plane back to the airport (Leifker, 2006).