Proper Response to Kirpan and other Minority Rights

With Quebec Assembly’s recent decision to ban Kirpan in the assembly, the issue of allowing Sikhs to carry a sheathed knife into public places has come alive again. Being a visible minority immigrant myself, the issues of minority rights concern me. I was born and grew up in Dehradun, then a sleepy town in foothills of Himalayas in Northern India. After the separation of Pakistan all Hindus including Sikhs were driven out of Pakistan and the population of Dehradun doubled within a month. A large number of the ‘refugees’ were Sikhs whom we considered another sect of the broad Hindu faith. They were welcomed in the community. They became integrated and contributed to the community with their energy and varied talents. We had a few Sikh families living near us and we children played together without any consciousness of differences of culture because except for the turban there was none. They went to Gurudwara, the Sikh temple, and celebrated Guru Nanak but then other Hindu sects also went to their different temples and had different deities. We spoke different languages at home and Hindi in public and at schools but shared the same values. There never was a problem between Sikhs and others during my life in India for the next fourteen years.

I have written this to make it clear that I have no communal prejudices against Sikhs or any other minority. I have compassion for their inconveniences having suffered them myself and pride in their achievements which are many. I appreciate a colourful turban and the handsome bearded face as much as a hijab, a fez, a Gandhi cap or a bald head. I often talk in Hindi to strangers wearing turban and invariably have an interesting conversation. A large majority of Sikh immigrants have adjusted to life abroad. Most second generation Sikhs have given up the turban, don’t speak Punjabi, refuse arranged marriages and rarely go to a Gurudwara, just the way my children don’t follow my parents’ traditions. As is to be expected, this large scale disavowal of cherished values is hurtful to a few immigrants who wish to continue the traditions in their original form. It increases their resolve to preserve their ‘culture’ whatever the cost and whether it is necessary or even rational. It is a small vocal minority that screams about their rights and suppression of their freedoms. The vast majority goes about their daily lives earning their living and enjoying the fruits of their labours the best they can. The impact of the few disgruntled immigrants is picked up by the media and blown out of proportion. Then it sways some politicians afraid to lose crucial support. Blatant political words and actions follow which create more brouhaha and a mole hill becomes a mountain.

Carrying a kirpan hidden on one’s person is one of the five requirements Guru Gobindji instituted in 1699 which the ‘devout’ Sikhs are dedicated to preserve. It is no different than the command of Bhagwan Mahavira who instructed Jains, my sect, to give up on worldly pretensions, including all apparel. The Jain edict is harmless and is never raised because thankfully only a few monks follow it. The issue with kirpan, on the other hand, is often in the news. The real objection to kirpan is not the size of the blade nor that it has only been rarely used but that it is concealed and is available for use and gives the owner power over others. Carrying a weapon at all times was perhaps necessary in the violent period of eighteenth century India when every one carried one. In Canada in twenty first century it could arguably provide a defence against bullying but surely not the kind we would wish to encourage in a law abiding community. Unfortunately, it is just one of the issues which continually crop up; wearing niqab and establishing sharia legal system are two of the other examples of the same type. There is a possibility, albeit remote, that the rights of former U.S. nationals to carry weapons may be raised sometime in the future. All human rights issues of minority rights have to be handled the same way. Before any action is taken on them we need to answer two questions. First, do we need to consider every demand made by elements of every minority group as if it were a national crisis? Second, how will our response impact on us and on our children? Our personal and collective reply should be determined by our view of whether the issue will go away if we look the other way and, in the particular case of concealed weapons regardless of their size, are we comfortable sitting next to an individual or when our children play with a kid who has one on his person?



Alberta's Next Premier

I am alarmed at the thought of Ted Morton as our next Premier. Prof. Morton is as close to Sarah Palin's gang known as TEA party as any one can be. I am afraid that Alberta under him will become a foothold from where TEA party can spread its wings into rest of Canada. Do Albertans really want this? I for one don't and I will do my best to stop him. This post is just the beginning.