Misidentified: Sikhs in America

Описание: One of the world's youngest major religions, Sikhism, has a rich history that is often misunderstood. This goes through the meaning behind the religion's turbans and racist motivations behind discriminations associated with those turbans.

“On one hand we're hypervisible with our unique identity, our turbans, our beards,” said Simran Jeet Singh with the Sikh Coalition, a nonprofit founded after the Sept. 11 tragedies. “People definitely noticed me in an airport or on an airplane right? We're noticeable. And at the same time, people have no idea who we are.”

Today, there are approximately 30 million Sikhs worldwide. There are roughly a million Sikhs living in North America.

“Whenever I have to explain anyone who I am, what's my identity, I always tell them Sikhs used to be warriors,” said Deb Bhatia, founder of the nonprofit Sikhs of St. Louis.

Originating in the 15th century in the Northern region of India known as Punjab, Sikhism was established during a time where superstition and social inequity ruled the land.

Sikhism's founder, Guru Nanak, was born into a Hindu family. From a young age, he sought to establish a faith that considered all people- regardless of caste or gender-equal.

They called themselves Sikhs, which means 'students' in Sanskrit. The term ‘Guru’ translates to ‘teacher’. Over the course of two-and-a-half centuries, there were 10 Sikh Gurus. At the start of the 18th century, the Guruship was finally passed on by the tenth guru to the holy Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, which is now considered the living Guru by the followers of the Sikh faith.

“Sikhism is more about believing in humanity. Sikhism means that there is one God. We see a human race as one race,” said Bhatia.

Early in its history, Sikhs had to defend their faith against the Mughal empire and tyrannical rulers who persecuted religious minority groups.

That's when Sikhism’s tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, officially made the turban a symbol of the faith.

"Only Sikhs basically wear turbans,” said Vik Singh Saluja from Chesterfield, Missouri.

Vik and his wife, Pav Kaur Saluja, are Sikhs living in Chesterfield, Missouri.

They explain, other middle eastern and Asian cultures often wear head coverings that may look similar, but a Sikh’s turban is unique. It served in part, as a way to identify Sikh warriors during battle.

“When [Sikhs] were in war and they could not even identify who were the Hindus or the Muslims that they were fighting against, Guru Gobind Singh Ji actually turned and said, ‘The way that you will be identified is through your turban. And if anyone sees a man with a turban, they'll know that that's the person that you need to go to for protection,'” said Pav.

"Nothing has changed after so many years. You see a Sikh standing in the crowd and you need help, you go tell them and say, 'hey, man, I need help. You have to help me,'” said Bhatia.

Prior to the founding of Sikhism, turbans were worn by India’s upper-class and cultural elite. Kings and rulers once wore turbans. However, a core teaching of the Sikh faith is that all people are equal. In order to eliminate the class system associated with turbans, Guru Gobind Singh Ji declared every Sikh- man or woman- keep their hair uncut, and wear a turban. Other Purposes of the turban include protecting Sikhs' long unshorn hair and keeping it clean.

“We don't cut the hair because God has told us that we should keep our bodies the same way as we were gifted by the God,” said Bhatia. Not every Sikh wears a turban. Some choose to cut their hair for personal reasons.

Sikhism’s last Guru also rejected the caste system by giving all Sikhs the last names Singh (Lion) or Kaur (Princess). Today, you can find Sikhs use ‘Singh’ and ‘Kaur’ primarily as middle names.

Singh or Kaur, Sikhs have been in America since the 1890s. So why do so few people know about Sikhs?

“In our religious tradition, we don't have a history of proselytizing. Because we're not going around announcing who we are and trying to convince other people to be like us. You know, there's no PR effort, at least not traditionally within the Sikh faith and so perhaps that has something to do with why folks don't know us as well,” said Simran Jeet Singh.

Unfortunately, when we do see Sikhs in the media, it's often in the aftermath of violence.

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