Columnists
Conversation about this article
1: Kaala (Punjab), February 08, 2014, 10:02 AM.
Where are the Sikhs of those days, with bodies of steel, the agility of a lion and the soul of a saint? That is excellence, which is the essence of our faith. This is the wealth our Gurus gave us. The loss of this wealth would be the real loss ... for all of humanity.
2: Kulwant Singh (USA), February 08, 2014, 8:15 PM.
Anyone who has read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu will recognize the hit and run tactics used by the Sikhs. They are meant to move and divide a large enemy force, while maintaining a veil of unpredictability. "Just as water avoids heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness" -Sun Tzu. One can argue that the Marathas bled the Mughals dry by using guerrilla tactics. They faltered when they engaged the large Afghan force head on, as it marched towards Delhi.
3: N Singh (Canada), February 08, 2014, 11:24 PM.
I was watching a video the other day on YouTube. Harinder Singh of the Sikh Research Institute was saying that we show our children how to act like Sikhs (i.e., mathaa tekna before the Guru Granth Sahib, etc.) but we don't teach them to how think like Sikhs. We don't instill in them the need for intelligence, education and political thinking that the Sikhs of yesteryear possessed. Kaala ji, I believe Kulwant Singh #2 has partially answered your question. "The Art of War" and Machiavelli's "The Prince" should be part of the Sikh curriculum, not just gurbani. We need to develop well rounded individuals ... the soldier and the saint.
4: Kaala (Punjab), February 10, 2014, 1:52 PM.
If you look at 1984, they beat us with their numbers. So I agree, we must become masters of guerilla warfare like our ancestors were.
5: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), February 10, 2014, 5:44 PM.
Commentator #4: In 1984 they did NOT defeat us with numbers! They did NOT defeat us! They killed countless thousands of helpless Sikh children, women and men in a pre-planned pogrom! We are only defeated when we forget we are Sikhs and what we are about.