The beginning of Sikhism started in 1469 with the disappearance and reappearance of a man named Nānak (1469-1539). Nānak claims to see God and God is “distressed over the violence that sectarian religions perpetuate in his name.” God told Gurū Nānak to “call his followers from rigid adherence to dogma and performance of empty rituals”. Gurū Nānak said, “There is no reason for religious groups to fight each other, and that all theological ideas are inadequate”(Fieser & Powers, 2015, pp.137-138). The 5th Sikh Gurū Arjan (1581-1606), constructed a golden temple for pilgrimages and organized Sikhism into a religion forsaking Gurū Nānak’s teachings. Turning Sikhism into a religion brought centuries of suffering, violence, and war to the Sikh’s. …show more content…
Sikh’s believed they had to militarize to protect themselves, even though in doing so meant a vast departure from the original message. The changes made by the 5th and 6th Gurū are seen as necessary to contend with the Muslim Mughal ruler’s deadly force. Sikhism becomes a defense of religion and Sikhs must be willing to die for their faith (Fieser, et al., 2015, p. 139). Turning the faith into the very thing Gurū Nānak spoke against.
Before Gurū Arjan is murdered, he instructs his son, the 6th Gurū Har Gobind (1606-1644), to take up arms and defend the faith. Har Gobind wore 2 swords which he named Miri Piri (Sikhiwiki, 2017). They symbolized his authority both politically and spiritually. By incorporating these symbols into the Sikh traditions Gurū Har Gobind makes a statement that he is more a political leader than a spiritual teacher. In ordaining himself a ruler, he turns Sikh’s into protectors of a King and not a congregation of devotees to God. The Gurū’s from Arjan, to the last, Gobind Singh were all killed by Muslims. To prevent any more deaths and brutality the last Gurū Gobind Singh (1675-1708), made the holy scriptures, Ādi Granth, the final and forever Gurū of the Sikhs (Sikhiwiki, 2017). The Ādi Granth are poems and teachings of the Gurū’s. However, violence towards the Sikhs did not
…show more content…
This caused massive damage to the temple and killed hundreds of soldiers, Sikh militants, Bhindranwale included, and innocent bystanders -- both women and children. This strike created the domino effect which leads to the assassination of the Prime Minister, an international outcry from the Sikh communities, and subsequently a vicious anti-Sikh riot which killed thousands of people (BBC, 2014). Sikh men were ripped from their homes and set on fire in the streets in front of their families. This is a far cry from the original teaching of
Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the Punjab area, now Pakistan, founded the Sikh faith. He began preaching the way to enlightenment and God after receiving a vision. After his death a series of nine Gurus (regarded as reincarnations of Guru Nanak) led the movement until 1708. At this time these functions passed to the Panth and the holy text. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, compiled this text, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib. It consists of hymns and writings of the first 10 Gurus, along with texts from different Muslim and Hindu saints. The holy text is considered the 11th and final Guru.
Sikhism and Christianity are two very popular religions in the world today that are practiced by millions. They each have their own origins, beliefs and practices that are custom to their own religions, and some that are shared by other religions. Each religion founded by different people, Guru Nanak for Sikhism, and Jesus for Christianity, had their own upbringings, beliefs, and legacies that they left behind. Though the lives and teachings of Jesus and Guru Nanak may seem different at first though when the early lives, teachings & late lives and religions today are looked at closer, they start to resemble each other.
Since 9/11, there have been several attacks considered as hate crimes towards Muslim-Americans and Sikh-Americans within their own community because of the conflation that exists between both cultures, to be mixed or confused together which is the source of the similarity that they both share in the religious image. Prabhjot Singh, an Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a Resident in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital was violently attacked due to this conflation. Maria Alvarez, a writer for Newsday, states in article that, “The professor, whose lower jaw had to be wired, said he heard his attackers yell ‘Get him!’ and ‘Osama.’” (www.newsday.com). This makes him pariahs because they are attacked due to their image for being religious.But Singh only responded to his community and attackers by expressing his concern of the religious image that is targeted...
Violence like this is very common. Also, they have had their fare share of discrimination. According to The Sikh Coalition many have reported employment discrimination. Sikh Awareness.(2010). Retrieved from http://www.sikhcoalition.org/ .Most recently, Frank Singh was called a terrorist and fired by an AutoZone ...
Sikhism is the 5th largest religion in the world, but many people don’t know about Sikhism. Many people mistake Sikhs for terrorists due to their turbans. Sikhism is a monotheistic religion originating from Punjab, India. Sikhs do not cut their hair, and proudly wear turban as part of their religious and cultural heritage. It’s been about 13 years since 9/11 attack happened, but its affects can still be seen in modern USA. There are still many cases reported every year of killing of innocent people that are mistaken as terrorists. The Sikh Coalition, the group created after the ill-fated 9/11, said that almost 900 incidents have been reported in which American Sikhs are bullied and killed since 9/11. Just after an hour of 9/11 attack, Sikhs in New York were harassed, assaulted and beaten with bats. In fact, Muslims and Hindus were also tortured and killed after 9/11, and till today there are cases of bullying Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs in almost the whole America. During the weekend of ill-fated 9/11, Balbir Singh Sodhi, an Arizona Sikh, was gunned down wh...
"Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled his kingdom exactly according to the Sikh way of life and Sikhism considers everyone as friends and talks about the welfare of all irrespective of caste and creed."
Indigenous religions exist in every climate around the world and exhibit a wide range of differences in their stories, language, customs, and views of the afterlife. Within indigenous communities, religion, social behavior, art, and music are so intertwined that their religion is a significant part of their culture and virtually inseparable from it. These religions originally developed and thrived in isolation from one another and are some of the earliest examples of religious practice and belief. The modern world; however, has taken its toll on these groups and many of their stories, customs, and beliefs have been lost to, or replaced by, those brought in as a result of popular culture and the missionary work of Christians and Muslims.
Sikhism was born in the heart of the state of Punjab in India. It was a founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the year of 1469. The Moguls ruled the area during that time period and India was going through a time period of excessive tyranny, segregation and social conflicts. The Moguls were exploiting the population by forced religious conversation. Along with this, Hinduism was the largest religion in India, but it was highly separated into its caste system and influenced by the upper caste.
The time when Sikhism was created was a time when India was being torn apart by different religious factions. The founder of Sikhism was Guru Nanak Dev Ji and he was born in 1469. According to Singh (2004) Guru Nanak spread the message of “Ek Omkar” which basically means that we are all one, created by the One Creator of all Creation. Guru Nanak did not align himself with a religion; he actually respected all religions but he did express the reality that there is only one God and that the Name of God is Truth.
Ahluwalia (2013) recent article called “What’s under There?” The Questioning of Civil Rights for Sikh Men, describes a variety of case examples to explain how Sikhs in the diaspora had faced oppression and discrimination, because of the views towards their identity. For example, Ahluwali discussed Oak Creek Gurdwara Terror Attack, in which a gunman had killed six Sikhs and wounded four other Sikhs in the United States and France banning religious symbols, in which case Sikh boys were not allowed to attend public schools with their turbans. She argues that these types of events had occurred, because of negative views associated towards the Sikhs. She argues that mainstream media have been influential in the makeup of the identity of the Sikh person.
Sikh extremism enters mainstream Canadian politics. (2007, June 28). Retrieved December 4, 2009, from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/sikh-politics-canada/index.html
In the book Train to Pakistan, author Khushwant Singh recalls the brutal and unfortunate times when Muslims were being forced out of Mano Majra. They, along with the Hindu and Sikh population, were living in relative peace. But when there had to be change, chaos ensued. There were several key individuals that shared the total responsibility of the expulsion of Muslims from Mano Majra; Even though some had purer motives than others, they all took stock in the unfortunate process.
Uberoi, J.P.S. (1991). Five Symbols of Sikh Identity. In T.N. Madan (Eds.), Religion in India (pp. 320 - 333). Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Lawrence Auster wrote an eye-opening blog excerpt titled India and Pakistan: Why the Mass Killing Occurred. The content of this excerpt explore the fundamental issues of identity and religion that led to the violence in 1947. The author makes his point by utilizing current event such as the train massacre in 2002, in which 50 Hindu women and children were burned alive. The blog is for an audience with some prior knowledge on the topic and continues to expand upon that knowledge. The blog is a secondary source because it introduces its own unique ideas regarding the issue and was written after the time of the event. It was very helpful to my research because it simplifies the wordy information often found on scholarly sites and condenses it into something comprehensible and relatable to the reader.
...shown through Lenny’s point of view. Prior the partition, Lahore was a place of tolerance that enjoyed a secular state. Tension before the partition suggested the division of India was imminent, and that this would result in a religious. 1947 is a year marked by human convulsion, as 1 million people are reported dead because of the partition. Moreover, the children of Lahore elucidate the silences Butalia seeks in her novel. The silence of survivors is rooted to the nature of the partition itself; there is no clear distinction as to who were the antagonists. The distinction is ambiguous, the victims were Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims, and moreover these groups were the aggressors, the violent. The minority in this communal violence amongst these groups was the one out-numbered. This epiphany of blame is embarked in silence, and roots from the embodiment of violence.