PROUD OF MY FAITH
On Friday 15 April 2016, I finally took a leap of faith and walked into work with a new addition to my daily outfit – my Sikh turban. I sat at my desk anxiously, waiting to be bombarded with questions about the new look. To my surprise, only a few brave souls plucked up the courage to ask questions and, although relieved, it meant my turban remained the elephant in the room.
Why were people hesitating to ask me questions about my turban? What were they afraid of? The more I questioned the silence, the more it baffled me. Did they really feel that inquisition about faith, identity, culture and heritage may be offensive, controversial or insulting?
On reflection, the whole experience opened my eyes to this bizarre new age. I realised that, living in a world where political correctness dominates our lives, we have been silenced into making assumptions and relying on Google for the answers, from fear of offending people. This silence deprives us from having friendly, and healthy, educational discussions; thereby understanding and embracing one another’s differences.
On the one hand we are encouraged to celebrate our differences, and on the other hand our mouths are sealed with political correctness. Schools have already banned ‘baa baa BLACK sheep’ and before we know it, we will be changing HIStory to HERstory, writing Apu out of the Simpsons and banning Come Fly with Me.
Ok, I hear you; get to the point you say! So, why do I wear a turban? Who am I, and why did I change my appearance?
I was born and brought up in England, but both my parents were born in Punjab, which lies close to the foot hills of the Himalayas in northern India. Therefore, having been born in England but in a traditional Punjabi household, meant that from a young age I identified with both eastern and western cultures.
Born to semi-practicing Sikh parents I was also a Sikh but by ‘default’, so growing up I was far more cultured than religious. Back then, being religious wasn’t really very fashionable, and I guess is even less so now. Religion was, and is, unfortunately tarnished with a reputation as being archaic, not in line with logic or science and is in some shape or form - restrictive. So, as a typical young and impressionable teenager, I shied away from being a Sikh, not wanting to draw unwanted attention and strange looks from the people around me. Not knowing a huge amount about the history of Sikhism I was happier to swim with the tide (the social norms) than to trouble myself and swim against it. However, naturally, as I grew older, the seeds of Sikhism sown by my parents began to sprout. I became more inquisitive about this way of life and actively began to research and educate myself about this relatively new religion.
I was overwhelmed with the things I was learning: at a time when women had no rights, were forced to wear veils, and were burned alive on the funeral pyre for being a widow (a practice called ‘Sati’); Guru Nanak (the founder of the Sikh faith) was liberating society by freeing women from oppression and teaching mankind about gender equality. In my eyes he was the first feminist and a true revolutionary.
As I matured, and developed a greater understanding of the faith, I gradually began to practice this unique way of life. It wasn’t until my later years that I read about the historical significance of the Sikh turban. In the 15th century, India was ruled by Mughals and had a predominantly Hindu population. Any ideology which was in contravention of society’s accepted norms was met with brutal force. During this period, the turban was reserved by the Mughal empire for people whom they considered to be royals. In protest, the turban was gifted to the Sikhs by the 10th Sikh Guru as a means of promoting equality for all mankind i.e. all mankind should be considered equally royal. For 300 years Sikhs persevered and suffered 3 genocides in the process, but continued to uphold these ideals for the generations to come. Today, as a Sikh, I wear this turban to preserve my Sikh identity and as a constant reminder and in honour of those sacrifices. My turban is an expression of my heritage, history, identity and faith. My turban represents equality, self respect, dignity and courage.
Now, this is the part where I cleverly tie all of this back to Investments Solutions... not.
I will, however, close this blog by leaving you with some food for thought – the next time you’re sitting at your desk and have the burning desire to ask a question; think about the reasons why you think you shouldn’t be asking the question. Why? Because you will likely find that there’s not many life threatening reasons for you not to ask; and you may even be pleasantly surprised to find that your question opens up the floor for all to explore new and enriching avenues.
Vaheguroo!
