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History

What Shall I Call Thee?

by BHUPINDER SINGH MAHAL

 

 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet
."

 

By those words, Shakespeare's Juliet meant to convince Romeo that a name is a contrived and meaningless tradition; that she loves him for who he is and he should not let his family name stand between them; thus trying to persuade Romeo to renounce his surname.

Like the branch that is a limb of a tree, a person is an extension of a family and a clan and the name is what links a person to a family and in turn take on family or group identity and reputation.

The people of ancient times gave a single personal name to their new born child. The system of choosing the name varied from culture to culture. The name may express hopes and aspirations as in Emilio (one who is industrious). The name may presage fate of the child as in Cuthbert (famous and brilliant). The name may be rooted in religion as in Abdullah (servant of God).  

In time, many people came to share the same single name requiring a definitive method of identifying who is who. This was achieved by the addition of a second name; and, again, the determinatives of identification varied. Among the Scottish Gaelic and the Norse, the second name was derived from one's father or paternal ancestor as in Mackenzie (son of Kenneth). Parsis of the subcontinent took the name from their trade as in Daruwalla (wine and spirit seller). The Jutts of Punjab chose their clan name as the fingerprint of their identity as in Sangha (settled mostly in Hoshiarpur district).  

By the Middle Ages, the second name was commonplace and acquired an emotive dynastic dynamics. The surname became a matter of pride encouraging the head of the family to keep the surname alive through a line of direct male descendants.   

On the subcontinent, a surname was traditionally determined by the position of the person in the highly structured Hindu caste system which was basically stratified by occupation, with the priestly class (brahmin) at the top. Within a particular caste, there were other criteria of ranking by sub-castes.  

The brahmins, however, were the ones who mastered the Sanskrit language which gave them power on liturgy and interpretation of the vedas and capability to perform Hindu rites and rituals. Ordinary people participated in the ritualism but with no understanding of the vedic utterances. The priest acted as an intermediary between God and the supplicant or devotee. 

Guru Nanak was to challenge the stranglehold of brahmanism who he felt asphyxiated the human spirit. He was to condemn the caste structure that stifled personal growth. He rejected religious rituals and simplified the Word of God in the vernacular of the times that every person could understand. Above all, he championed egalitarianism.  

Two hundred years later, Guru Nanak's message was renewed in a profound way. On Vaisakh day of 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the Sikh Gurus, introduced a whole new concept in the Amrit baptism. Before a multitudinous congregation that he had summoned to Anandpur, he baptized five fearless congregants with ties to different castes into a new religious order in a ceremony known as ‘Khande di Pahul'.  

The baptism represented a spiritual rebirth. It required the initiate to renounce surname and family ties; repudiate the faith of his ancestors, and cleanse himself of caste pollutants. The baptized was given a new name of "Singh" or "Kaur" and made a member of brotherhood of equals called the "Khalsa". Henceforth, they were to recognize only one God, carry a torch of truth, defend the vulnerable, fight tyranny and do away with superstitions, fasting, penances and pilgrimages.  

There is no rule on the acceptable age at which an initiate may be baptized. The agrarian culture considered fifteen years as the right age when a boy had acquired the skill and knowledge of of the trades of agriculture and animal husbandry from his father. The general benchmark for the initiate to be administered ‘Khande di Pahul' was that he/she be well versed in the principles of Sikh religion and have the maturity to commit to a life of commitment and discipline.   

Thus, Guru Gobind Singh introduced a novel form of name-giving by requiring the baptized to adopt ‘Singh' or 'Kaur' as their last name. Although the name ‘Singh' is fairly wide spread in India and its usage is common among other groups such as the Rajputs, Yadavs and scheduled classes, it is a mandatory name for male baptized Sikhs.   

The purist and the strict constructionist argue that the names ‘Singh' and 'Kaur' have to be earned and are reserved for those who have been administered ‘Khande di Pahul'. But a reality check will dispel the truthfulness of that notion. It is customary for a newly born son in a Sikh household to be given ‘Singh' as the second name on the birth certificate. Or 'Kaur' for a female. Such practice originates from a deep-seated belief that one born into a Sikh household is a Sikh.  

Such an indiscriminate use of the name ‘Singh' is argued by some to devalue the very essence of Guru Gobind Singh's noble idea of a brotherhood of saintly soldiers. Worse still are those going awry after having rightfully acquired the name ‘Singh' or 'Kaur' by undergoing baptism of ‘Khande di Pahul'.  

Some have chosen to singularize their identity by adding a third name, sort of a surname, as was done by the eminent Sikh poet Giani Gurmukh Singh, who served as Jathedar of the Akal Takht and also General Secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), who in assuming the takhallus ‘Musafir' (nom-de-plume) emphasized his occupation as a poet. Gurcharan Singh, former long serving President of SGPC, added ‘Tora', his ancestral birth place, to his name.  Surjit Singh, former Chief Minister of Punjab, chose ‘Barnala' based on a place where he began his legal career. Even Jarnail Singh, a fervent advocate of the Khalsa creed, embraced the appellative Bhindranwale derived from Bhinder Kalan village where he once headed Damdami Taksaal ... and the list goes on and on.  

This urge to appropriate a name to differentiate oneself by occupation or place runs contrary to one's raison d'etre to be baptized a Khalsa. The names ‘Singh' and 'Kaur' that were meant to be neutral and negate ties to family and occupation are increasingly being qualified. By being assigned to a middle name, the splendor and nobility that Guru Gobind Singh embedded in the names ‘Singh' and 'Kaur' has been relegated to lower importance and beheld as an ordinary name. 

 

May 30, 2010

Conversation about this article

1: Gur Singh (Boston. MA, U.S.A.), May 30, 2010, 12:49 PM.

Most interesting is the fact that the author himself is not using 'Singh' as a the last name. In a complex world with the law of the land changing with every district/ county/ state/ nation, it is sometimes very difficult for people to change their name once it is written on paper. So, many people still keep using Singh as a middle name or may not use it at all if it was omitted on their birth certificates by the parents' negligence. Another thing that I have noted is that there is a deliberate attempt by some sections of the Indian system/ society to write only the first part of the name on the birth certificate of the poor strata of people in society which dilutes the identity of the individuals as they grow up in life and many often forget that their parents were Singhs and Kaurs.

2: Kartar Singh Bhalla (New Delhi, India), May 31, 2010, 7:23 AM.

Guru Nanak challenged the stranglehold of brahmanism and rid his followers - Sikhs - from the clutches of brahmans. But today, are we free from the diktats of our semi-educated granthis and politicians? No. Guru Gobind Singh introduced a whole new concept of names under which all Sikh men and women were to be called 'Singh' and 'Kaur' and were to be cleansed of caste indicators after their names. But have all Sikhs dropped the caste indicators after their names? No. A vast percentage of Sikhs write Bhalla, Arora, Ahluwalia, Bedi, Trehan, Sodhi, etc. after their names. Those who do not write caste names have started writing the names of their birth place {e.g., Tora), the name of the place where they started their careers (Barnala) and such surnames are used by their children like caste names. Many Sikh women use 'Singh' after their names instead of 'Kaur'. Why are Sikh women not adding 'Kaur' after their names and why are Sikh men not dropping caste indicators after their names?

3: Baljit Kaur (Albany, New York, U.S.A.), May 31, 2010, 8:50 AM.

Kartar Singh ji has highlighted the problem so perfectly. He is willing to pontificate on the issue but continues to use the obscenity of a caste name as his surname! We'll get nowhere as long as we won't begin to start living according to the teachings of our Gurus. Kartar Singh ji: will you please start by dropping the unnecessary 'bhalla' after your true name? It's a good place to start ... you do your bit, and others will do theirs, I'm sure. Please forgive me for being this direct.

4: Kartar Singh Bhalla (New Delhi, India), May 31, 2010, 12:11 PM.

Sardarni Baljit Kaur ji, you are correct in chastising me.

5: Bhupinder Singh Mahal (Dundas, Ontario, Ontario), June 01, 2010, 11:47 AM.

Regrettably, the responses indicate readers not seeing the forest for the trees. The question of surname based on occupation, geography or clan was a secondary issue. The primary issue was over the legitimacy of using Singh in one's name without undergoing the baptismal ceremony. One should not find fault with my father for registering our clan name 'Mahal' as my last name. The fault lies in my undeservedly adopting the name 'Singh' and pretending that I was properly baptized.

6: Jasneet Kaur (London, United Kingdom), June 01, 2010, 12:54 PM.

I am surprised by the perverted twist you have given to your take on this issue, Bhupinder Singh ji. I do not accept your passing on the blame to your parents, Your parents did whatever they did ... you could blame them as long as you were a child or a minor. Since you've grown up, you control your life now. You can correct whatever you want, and change your name without much difficulty, if you want to do so. If you are a Sikh - baptized or not - using a caste name is (to borrow the words from another reader) an obscenity. A most cursory glance at the teachings of Guru Nanak and all of the other Gurus tells us this. Guru Gobind Singh ji merely endorsed this idea and crystallizerd it for amritdharis - he DIDN'T tell or allow the others to thenceforth revert to old and hindu perversions. Your latest take - as conveyed in your comment - is a convoluted justification which makes no sense if you call yourself a Sikh. It sounds to me too much like finding excuses and justifications for being a lazy Sikh! Sorry, Bhupinder ji, but you can't get away with this one, I'm afraid! I don't know how old you are but it does sound a bit like an infantile argument.

7: Karan Singh (Idaho, U.S.A.), June 01, 2010, 1:06 PM.

I just don't get it! One would have to be suffering from pretty low self-esteem to want to shed 'Singh' or 'Kaur' and revert to embracing a petty, diminishing, often demeaning, caste or sub-caste surname. I know some fools who proudly use Singh and Kaur while claiming chaudhry-ship in the community, but willingly replace them with a silly-sounding 'Phool' when they are elsewhere. As a last name! I swear I'm not making this up! And how about the clowns who use the last name 'Liddar'? Didn't anyone tell them what the word means? And they chose it in preference to Singh and Kaur? Not that any of the other caste names are any better! But then, it take all kinds to make this world, doesn't it ...?

8: Bhupinder Singh Mahal (Dundas. Ontario, Canada), June 01, 2010, 2:17 PM.

To put a spin on words and make them mean that which one wants is not conducive to a good debate; that's the Humpty-Dumpty pattern of behaviour. To attack the messenger serves no purpose. Let me simplify the query: should a non-baptized person call oneself 'Singh' or 'Kaur'?

9: Gurpal Singh (Wolverhampton, United Kingdom), June 01, 2010, 5:57 PM.

I do believe Bhupinder has a point. I am one who still keeps the surname Singh, yet I am an 'invisible' Sikh, as opposed to a visible Sikh. Is this right?

10: Parkash Singh (Belgium), June 01, 2010, 6:00 PM.

I am inclined to agree with Jasneet Kaur and Karan Singh. The question posed by Bhupinder Singh reeks of 'chaturrta', but just can't be a serious one. The culmination of the path of a Sikh's disciplined life is the Khalsa Amrit. All of us aspire to it - or should be, if we are on the Sikh spiritual path. That doesn't mean that we are to do nothing in observance of any discipline until we are completely ready to take on the complete package in toto, in one single step, one fell swoop. That would be ridiculous. You take on the progressive stages, one by one, or a few at a time, until you are ready for the whole commitment. But one of the very first and one of the most easy steps along the Sikh journey - easy to understand, easy to follow, easy to implement - is to accept the most basic precept of Sikhi: that there is One God and that we are ALL equal. There is a practical manifestation of one's commitment to this belief system: we immediately and unequivocally shed caste and the other foolish manipulations devised in the historic past to oppress others. That is, one of the most obvious ways of embarking on this path - and there are many - is to reject caste affiliations and pretensions. As Sikhs, the first expression of doing that is by shedding the demeaning caste appendages and replacing them with Singh and Kaur. The mere act of doing this - or acquiring this through birth or parental inheritance - doesn't mean it turns you into a 'good' or 'ideal' Sikh. All it means is that you have embarked on a Sikh journey. If one thinks that one can willy nilly discard this basic precept and yet claim to be on the road of Sikhi, I'm afraid I would have to tell that person that he/she is on the wrong bus. Those who don't understand this basic idea due to lack of education or some other disability is one thing, but for 'educated' people to claim that they don't understand this and want answers to 'chatur' questions, is a sheer waste of time - their own and ours. Sorry to be blunt, Bhupinder ji, but you need to be told this, without any ifs and buts.

11: Gur Singh (Boston, MA, U.S.A.), June 02, 2010, 2:15 AM.

Any one can call himself Singh as long he is committed to the ideals of the Guru Granth Sahib. Getting baptized is just the final step in one's coronation into Khalsahood. In fact it would have made more sense to me if the author had dared to talk about opportunistic Singhs (e.g., politicians), the spiritual Singhs which history knows only in terms of numbers, the invisible Singhs (who recognize the importance of the Guru Granth Sahib only after losing the discipline), etc, etc.

12: Bhupinder Singh Mahal (Dundas, Ontario, Ontario), June 02, 2010, 10:43 AM.

Both Prakash Singh of Belgium and Gur Singh of Boston hold the view that 'any one can call himself Singh as long he is committed to the ideals of the Guru Granth Sahib. Getting baptized is just the final step in one's coronation into Khalsahood.' Is this just an opinion or is there something to back this position?

13: Parkash Singh (Belgium), June 02, 2010, 10:53 AM.

Dear Bhupinder ji: If you read the Guru Granth Sahib from cover to cover and ruminate on its contents, you will find the answer you seek. There is no short cut - others cannot do your homework for you. Answers re Sikhi are to be found all in that one place. Then, derive your own conclusions and do as you deem fit for yourself. That's the crux of a Sikh way of life.

14: Gur Singh (Boston, MA, U.S.A.), June 03, 2010, 9:41 PM.

I hope this link might help the author: http://www.iuscanada.com/journal/articles/sehjdhari.pdf

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