In some way, everyday we remember – his exploits are mentioned in Ardas.  The lines:

Khopreean Luhaiyaan – those that lost their heads/scalps – for my Punjabi Refill brothers/sisters – here you go

and then followed by Sikhi Kesan Suasan Naal Nibahi – “who sustained their Sikhi and Kes til their last breath’)

These lines are usually invoked to remember Bhai Taru Singh.  While the famed feature-length movie would give a better overview, for now I copy from some Sikh history websites.  Our main source comes from Rattan Singh Bhangu, author of Prachin Panth Prakash, and grandson of Bhai Mehtab Singh, who took the head of Massa Rangar for attempting to desecrate Darbar Sahib, just as Sukha and Jinda did to AS Vaidya 246 years later (1986).  Here is a short synopsis:

Hoping that Bhai Taru Singh will help in arresting other Singhs if he embraces Islam, the Governor said to him, “All your sins can be pardoned if you become a Muslim and cut and give me those long hair of yours so that I may make a string of them for weaving my bed.” Bhai Taru Singh said, “I shall keep my faith with these hair and you shall be controlled by my shoes and with these you will die.” The Governor was beside himself with rage on hearing this. He got Bhai Taru Singh mounted on rotating wheels of torture and then from a cobbler got his scalp removed so that hair may not grow again. After that he got him thrown in a ditch.

In the evening the Governor could not pass urine. When the efforts of the physicians failed, the Governor sent Bhai Subeg Singh to seek pardon from Bhai Taru Singh. He sent him to the leader of Dal Khalsa. The leader said, “The Governor can pass urine if he is hit on the head with the shoe of Bhai Taru Singh but he will die before Bhai Taru Singh.[link]

And so it was Zakria Khan, the barbarous governor of Punjab, was hit on the head with Bhai Taru Singh’s shoe and survived for 22 days, before finally dying.  Bhai Taru Singh left this life soon after.

Since that time in 1745, the life of Bhai Taru Singh has been an inspiration for all Sikhs.

The post More than Remembering Bhai Taru Singh first appeared on The Langar Hall.

I saw this and just could not contain my own excitement.

For those of you that have not heard yet, click to watch.

Woot woot California!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The post Apathetic Youth? Think again… first appeared on The Langar Hall.

The nature of this post is not to address any ‘politics’ behind the specific gurdwara elections referenced, but instead to credit the young man using his voice (and humor) to take a stand and put effort into driving change.  Jus Reign, AkaAmazing, and others…step aside, this kid is funny and has a purpose!

Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The post Canadian Youth Holding it down? first appeared on The Langar Hall.

Yet few women’s stories about their experiences with health issues are shared beyond workplace women’s rooms, grocery store checkout lines and kitchen tables. Sorrowful and infuriating, hilarious and humiliating, our stories must be told, because women’s health concerns have been denied, ignored, misdiagnosed, and belittled. Today, as women are taking back control of their health and wresting their bodies away from the medicalization of what used to be natural, our stories — of successes and failures — will help others do the same.

This anthology will serve as a soapbox for women of all sexualities, races, classes, ages, and abilities, from which to tell their tales of health and illness, care giving and receiving, recovery and degeneration, birthing and dying. It is a soft shoulder and a bullhorn, a cup of chamomile tea and a concoction that will knock your socks off. We hope you have a feminist story or two you want to share with us in the form of an essay, short fiction piece, or poem. We are particularly interested in creative approaches to the overall theme of women and health.

The post Call for Submissions for “My Body, My Health” first appeared on The Langar Hall.

“A Sikh’s entire life is life of benevolent exertion”. Sikh Rehat Maryada (Code of Conduct)

Benevolent exertion. These powerful words along with countless examples from history, gurbani, and rehat remind us that to question, challenge, and think for the purpose of informing our actions according to the Guru’s teachings is a Sikh’s birthright, privilege, and responsibility. This benevolent exertion toward an egalitarian world and empowered society devoid of oppression is a standard rooted in our collective psyche. But to know this, is not enough. The first Sikh Feminist Conference in North America, by SAFAR: the Sikh Feminist Research Institute, seeks to unpack what this means for Sikhs of the 21st century.

Personally, at every turn in my own journey toward creating a life imbibed with thoughtful action toward a more just and humane world, I have craved to understand and experience the unspoken viewpoints of the Kaur experience. Today, few can deny that no matter where you look- within the Sikh social context or in the global context-the dominant narrative is not inclusive of the female voice; that our calibrated center-where we collide as a society-is not in line with the standards our Guru’s introduced. A space for expansive revival, attention, voice and praxis to the feminist values and egalitarian politics inherent within Sikhi is a step toward a more calibrated center.[1] SAFAR’s Conference Program promises such progressive steps.

Distinguished keynote panelists, Dr. Nikky-Gurinder Kaur Singh, Dr. Inderpal Grewal, and Palbinder K. Shergill will launch the discussions and introspections for the day while exploring the topic “What Do We Know?” By exploring what knowledge exists from various sources, this panel promises to dive into an exploration of the intersectionality of Sikhi, feminism and discourse on Sikh Feminism. Each of the panelists is a pioneer in her own right; while Dr. Singh is often fondly thought of as the mother of ‘Sikh feminism’, Dr. Grewal from Yale is lauded for her seminal work on ‘transnational feminism,’ while Ms. Shergill is a trailblazer in the courtrooms in Canada, and just recently distinguished herself as the only female lawyer in the Supreme Court, that too while articulating the fundamentals of religious freedom in a case about the religious freedoms for a non-Sikh-Sikhi in action! I look forward to their discourse and interaction with each other as moderated by writer and activist, Inni Kaur.

The post Beyond Just Enough: The Promise of USA’s First Sikh Feminist Conference first appeared on The Langar Hall.

Recently the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) announced that they will be honoring Gap, Inc. for taking “pride in featuring the Sikh American identity” at their annual gala on October 11^th in Washington, DC. As you may remember, last year, the Gap used Sikh actor and designer Waris Ahluwalia in their “Make Love” campaign. The Sikh community gave a lot of praise to Gap over social media posting and re-posting the advertisement as even encouraging Sikhs to purchase from and support the company. This support increased exponentially when Gap responded positively to racist vandalism on an ad in New York City.

While having a Sikh model on a mainstream advertisement might be a positive step especially a year after the Oak Creek tragedy, as Sikhs, how can we, as a community, support a company that has carried out horrific labor practices? Gapâ€s terrible labor practices in South Asian countries have been widely documented, putting employees in extremely dangerous working conditions with less than minimum compensation.

Gap, Inc. literally has blood on its hands, as 29 trapped  garment workers died in a fire in a Bangladesh factory that produced clothing for the company in 2010. United Students Against Sweatshops states:

Human rights activists and labor groups have been calling on Gap to fix the factories in the rest of their Bangladesh supply chain since December 2010, but instead Gap is sticking with its own corporate-controlled voluntary initiative that lacks transparency, accountability, and worker voice. Gap initially promised to sign onto a meaningful fire and building safety agreement, but then backed out, announcing their own, go-it-alone initiative. Gap is using the same self-regulatory approach that they and other brands have used for two decades and that has failed to protect the safety of workers in Bangladesh: factory monitoring controlled entirely by Gap, with no transparency, no role for workers or their trade unions, no commitment to pay prices to suppliers that make it feasible for them operate responsibly, and no binding commitments of any kind.

The post How much weight does the Sikh image carry? first appeared on The Langar Hall.

“Pavan guru paanee pitaa
Maataa dharat mahat
Divas raat du-i daa-ee daayaa
Khaylai sagal jagat”
-Guru Nanak Sahib 

In honor of the Sikh concern for preserving ‘Mata Dharat†(Mother Earth), Sikhs from cities across the northeast are joining the People’s Climate March in New York City on September 21st, the largest mass movement for climate justice in history.

Next week, world leaders are coming to New York City for a UN summit on the climate crisis. The world is urging governments to support an ambitious global agreement to dramatically reduce global warming pollution.

With our future on the line and the whole world watching, weâ€ll take a stand to bend the course of history. Weâ€ll take to the streets to demand the world we know is within our reach: a world with an economy that works for people and the planet; a world safe from the ravages of climate change; a world with good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities.

Why Are We Marching?

We march because Sikhi affirms the sanctity of the Earth.

We march because the ecological basis of Sikhi rests in the understanding that the Creator (‘Qadirâ€) and the Creation (‘Qudratâ€) are One. The Divine permeates all life, and is inherent in the manifest creation around us, from the wind that blows across land and skies, to the water that flows through rivers and seas, to the forests and fields and all creatures of land and sea that depend on the earth for sustenance.

We march because Sikh Gurus teach that there is no duality between the force which makes a flower grow and the petals we are able to touch and sense with our fingers.

We march because the Sikh Gurus referred to the Earth as a ‘Dharamsaal,†a place where union with the Divine is attained. Guru Nanak describes this in Jap Sahib, that amid the rhythms of Creation, the changing seasons, air, and water, the Creator established the earth as the home for humans to realize their Divinity in this world.

The post Defending Our Mother Earth: Sikhs at the People’s Climate March first appeared on The Langar Hall.

Given the popularity of Amu in the Sikh community, I wanted to interview Shonali about her new film, which explores equally important issues to those brought up in Amu—disability and sexuality among them. Read on for the full interview, and check out the trailer here.

What inspired you to make Margarita, with a Straw?

This my second film, which is inspired by my cousin sister Malini who has acute cerebral palsy. Thatâ€s a condition where the part of your brain that controls your motor skills is damaged at birth. But your emotional and intellectual abilities are intact.  When I was 40 and Malini was 39, I asked her, what are we going to do for your 40th? Itâ€s absolutely the best birthday. Her speech is usually garbled and difficult to understand. But sometimes when she is angry or excited – it comes out crystal clear. This was one of those times. She banged her fist on the table and spoke loud and clear: I just want to have sex by the time Iâ€m 40! I grinned sheepishly and assured her it was not what it was made out to be, etc. But later when I was thinking about what she said, what she so passionately wanted – I realized that I had never thought about her sexuality much. Or maybe I just avoided it as I didnâ€t know what to do about it. This started me on my journey of Margarita.

As I started exploring my fictional character and her issues, the big question that came up was one of self worth. This is a core issue that everyone faces, whether one is disabled or not. From there it went to a place of finding deep self acceptance and self love.

I loved your first film, Amu, which powerfully highlighted the anti-Sikh pograms of 1984 through the eyes of a young Sikh woman. The main character in your new film is also a Sikh woman. Where does your interest in telling “Sikh stories” come from?

I donâ€t see them as Sikh stories at all. The 1984 genocide is a watershed in the entire subcontinent. Like Partition. I made a film about it because no one had and it was covered up. And this history had to get out. To me, this is not a Sikh issue. Itâ€s an Indian issue. Thousands of innocent people being killed in the capital city in broad daylight, organized by those in power—30 years later justice still not delivered. Every justice loving Indian—every Indian who cares about right and wrong and about their country—should be as bothered by this issue as those who were made victims. That was the aim of Amu. In fact, the leads are all Bengalis. Itâ€s only in the end that the lead protagonist, raised as a Hindu Bengali, finds out that she is Sikh and wears a kara.

When I was making Amu, the son of one of my investors—Bhajneet Singh Malik—told me that he was bothered by the fact that Sikhs are only shown as victims, terrorists, or buffoons in films. That remark stayed with me. Itâ€s a fact. When I started creating characters for Margarita and was thinking of the fatherâ€s role, I thought it would be nice if I made him Sikh. As a tribute to Amu. To the community that has given me so much love and support on my first film. Balraj Kapoor is an ordinary middle class father. He also happens to be Sikh. He had a love marriage and married his college mate who is Maharashtrian. The actor playing this role was actually little Amuâ€s father who got killed in Amu.

Bhajneet also said that he hated when Sikhs were played by non-Sikhs who put a turban on. So it was very important to me once I made this decision to cast a real Sikh. My lead protagonist in Margarita is the daughter of this man, Laila Kapoor. She is half Punjabi, half Maharashtrian. Half Hindu. Half Sikh.

The post Interview with Shonali Bose, director of Amu and Margarita, with a Straw first appeared on The Langar Hall.

Sangat: a concept that has been emphasized to me, and thus I have reiterated to others, for as long as I can remember. My mom telling me to be aware of the friends I was keeping at school, my camp counselors telling me that I should strive for sadh sangat, or people who will push me to be better in every moment.

As a young Sikh girl growing up in Wisconsin, sangat was something that was redefined for me every day. Although I found it in my peers on my softball team to my friends in the school musical, the sangat I truly desired was the one I found at gurdwara and at the local Sikh youth camp. With such a small Sikh community in Wisconsin, however, it was not something that was easily found. Sangat came in moments few and far between, and it was often something that I desired more than what I received.

The post Kaur Life: Inspiring Lioness Queens to Rule the World first appeared on The Langar Hall.

(Photo courtesy of Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times)

The story is not a scene from a movie or excerpt from a novel; it is the living nightmare of a 13-year-old rape survivor in Swang Gulgulia Dhoura, India. In a remote village in the woods, in the middle of the night, an intruder assaulted Devi while she sleeps in her hut.  Startled by the strangerâ€s presence, Devi screamed and Harendra, the intruder, escaped.  When Deviâ€s husband complained of the incident to the Panchayat (village elder), the Panchayat decreed that the punishment for Harendraâ€s crime would be that his sister, a 13-year-old girl, be raped by Deviâ€s husband, Pasi.  According to the Panchayat, only then would justice be served for Devi.  In this case, the Panchayat happened to be the father of Devi, so his impartiality in commanding his son-in-law, Pasi, to carry out his sentence wreaks more of revenge than justice.

Nonetheless, Devi went into the 13-year-oldâ€s hut and dragged her out by her hair, in the middle of the afternoon, and then passed her on to Pasi. Spectators stood by silently as the 13-year-old cried out for help as she was dragged into the jungle where the Panchayatâ€s sentence was carried out.  “The girl limped back to her familyâ€s hut 45 minutes later, and then set out on the hour long walk to the nearest police station.”  In an act of great courage, the 13-year-old girl filed a complaint at the local police station. In these cases, survivors of sexual assault rarely file complaints and pursue legal action because perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. Those survivors that do seek justice risk bringing “besti” (dishonor) upon themselves and their families, sometimes risking greater consequences of further abuse.

The post Rape Her to Dishonor Them first appeared on The Langar Hall.