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Some Random Thoughts:
Janam Da Firangee,
Sikhi Mai Mangee

FATEHPAL SINGH TARNEY

 

 

 





I have been an admirer of long standing of the writings of the late Khushwant Singh. In fact, I am currently, working on an open letter to his atma about whether he still has doubts about the existence of God, now that he has left this earth.

I always admired his honesty about his agnosticism, although I vehemently disagreed with him. My own belief in God is quite firm. When I look at Sikh history and our shaheed tradition, I refuse to believe that our Chaar Sahibzadey, our Punj Pyarey, and so many others were willing to die solely out of love, affection and loyalty for our Gurus, but had some doubts about the God our Gurus fervently believed in. I doubt that very much. Belief in God was the bedrock of the courage of both our Gurus and all our martyrs.

I have read and reread many of Khushwant Singh's books and one of my favorites is his little paperback, “Big Book of Malice“, which is a series of columns, essays, anecdotes – all of which do not mince words regarding his strong feelings about a variety of issues dealing with the subcontinent and beyond. I have learned a lot from them.

Occasionally, I try to write in the style of Khushwant Singh's Big Book of Malice, with a series of often unrelated opinions. So, here goes …

I have learned, for example, the Muslim population of India is larger than that of Pakistan. Of course, Pakistan's defeat at the hands of India in 1971 resulted in the loss of 20% of its territory and 60% of its population. There are more Muslims in India than in all the Arab countries combined. Muslims have killed more Muslims fighting each other than have been killed by non-Muslims.

I was recently reminded of a related reality by the words of a brilliant African-American professor of sociology who was discussing American race relations and Islamophobia. He reminded his audience that very few Americans have been killed or injured by ISIS and other so-called jihadi groups in the post 9-11 period as compared to whites killing whites and blacks killing blacks.

He put it this way and I admit that I am paraphrasing, “ 'Billy Bob' kills far more fellow whites than Muhammad does, and 'Marcellus' kills far more fellow blacks than does Muhammad!”

He is not saying that these jihadi groups should not be resisted and fought against, but he does pose the question as to where our priorities are in terms of resources. I reiterate, neither this fellow nor I suggest that ISIS and other jihadi groups are not despicable and unworthy of strong resistance.

In Sikhi, we have the dual concepts of Miri and Piri. I would say that it was Miri rather than any spiritual concerns that attracted me to this faith. Upon my return from the Vietnam War, India was at war with Pakistan which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh out of what was East Pakistan. Most evenings, on American television, Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora would give press briefings about the progress of the war and I was so impressed with his saroop and demeanor. I often pondered how I would look in a turban with an impressive beard with its chardi kalaa muchh (moustache).

I then began to do research on Sikh soldiers which, in turn, led me to the religion as a whole and Sikh history. General Jagjit Singh Aurora remains one of my heroes and I happened to notice in his later interviews that his beard turned gray about the same mine did!

Many Sikhs assume that I, as a Westerner, came into Sikhi through Harbhajan Singh Yogi's 3HO group. Over thirty years ago, I met him at the home of a very devout Sardar ji from our local saadh sangat. He predicted that I would one day take Amrit and was unconcerned that I was not a member of his group. Many Vietnam War veterans with post-traumatic stress issues who succumbed to alcohol and drug addiction were helped by ‘Yogi Bhajan’ (as he came to be popularly known) and even those who did not remain Sikhs owe their healthier lifestyles to his influence and guidance.

I continue to struggle with post-traumatic stress a full 50 years after my time in war. I have nightmares, flashbacks, periodic anxiety and irritability, and especially during my teaching career, I tended to react to routine workplace problems and stress in ways similar to tactics used in jungle warfare.

In the jungle, when one heard a noise one would immediately spray automatic rifle fire in the direction of the sound and toss hand grenades in that direction. This method of dealing with civilian challenges is counter-productive, to say the least.

My Vietnam War experience involved going from interpreting for a children's hospital to P.O.W. interrogation to combat reconnaissance work. These transitions took me from very rewarding, humanitarian seva-like activities to something just the opposite. These were the result of my linguistic abilities and hard work in learning the Vietnamese language and my abiding respect for the Vietnamese people and their culture.

However, my language skills were in demand by intelligence people and I was compelled to get involved in enhanced interrogation techniques. I much preferred helping children, but I could not remain in that role. I don't think I ever fully recovered from these role transitions during that war.

I am alive today – physically, mentally, and spiritually sound - thanks in large part to my Sikh faith in all its aspects. I must also acknowledge the abiding support of my beloved patni as well as regular exercise; modern psychiatry which has included medications, counseling, and ECT – electro-convulsive therapy. I contend that Sikhi, exercise and so-called “shock therapy” have been most effective in treating my chronic depression when I returned from the war.

One of my most rewarding, challenging, and frustrating seva efforts was as president of my local Gurdwara Sahib. I take pride in being one of a few ‘Western’ Sikhs to have led predominantly Punjabi Saadh Sangats. Another I know of is a Sardar ji in Nova Scotia, Canada. I attribute most of my gray hair to this difficult seva! At the time of my presidency, we had two polarized factions and I tried to serve as mediator.

I'll end this autobiographical column with this. No one ever told me that becoming a Sikh would be easy. I have had my share of experiences, both good and bad, with “mistaken identity.” I have had friendly people come up to me saying “As-Salaam-Alaikum” and “Allah-ho Akbar.” I have had hooligans shout at me “Osama bin laden” and things like “Go back to Arabia!”

Once, I attended the funeral of an uncle of mine. Many, not all, of my relatives as well as friends of my uncle, looked at my saroop very critically. I happened to look on a wall at the funeral home and saw a picture of Jesus. So here were people who worship that person with long hair and beard as God incarnate, but have trouble with my appearance. Also, biblical experts state that Jesus and his apostles often wore turbans.

In other words, isn't there a self-contradiction in the attitudes of many of these people?


January 24, 2017



 

Conversation about this article

1: Brig Nawab Singh Heer (Davenport, Iowa, USA), January 24, 2017, 11:03 AM.

Sardar Fatehpal Singh ji, Sat Sri Akal! I have a few comments on S Khuswant Singh. I happened to hear him in person only once, at Pune. Otherwise I have read him like all others for many years. I found him a far better Sikh than many others I know. One, he had moral courage to call spade a spade and could speak and write stark truth in the same spirit. He returned the Padam Bhusan award to the Indian Government in protest of its criminal assault on the Darbar Sahib and the murder of thousands of innocent Sikh men, women and children. He was therefater attacked personally by Hindu mobs during the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom in New Delhi. He wrote the two definitive volumes on Sikh History. His seminal contribution to an otherwise barren literary landscape in India should make all Sikhs proud of him. He did touch upon subject of existence of God, I think just to debate and and encourage a free discussion. There is no doubt that he was a Sikh to his core. If he had been an atheist , he would not have always stated the truth even when it came at great personal cost. Finally, I have one complaint with the Sikh community, that it is only after his death that we Sikhs all over the world gave him the honor which he richly deserved. Fatehpal Singh ji, thanks for reminding us of this great Sikh.

2: T. Sher Singh (Mount Forest, Ontario, Canada), January 24, 2017, 12:35 PM.

Two comments in response to Brig Nawab Singh ji's posting above. 1) I had the good fortune of visiting S. Khushwant Singh a few years ago when he was already in his 90s and of spending some quiet time with him. I walked away with no doubt whatsoever that he was a proud Sikh and had always been one. Our talk drifted into spiritual issues a bit and what I heard from him not only had a deep impact on me but also conveyed to me unequivocally how passionate a Sikh he was in all respects. 2) Shortly before I left for India for that visit, I consulted with several Sikh leaders from different parts of the world and with permission and authority from them, I carried with me a gift for Khushwant Singh on behalf of the 'Sikhs of the World'. Its inscription carried the greetings, gratitude and honour that the community felt for him for his life work. It was given to him in a public ceremony and was reported in the press. It brought tears to his eyes. I feel eternally grateful that I was able to do that one small, token act in time, fully aware that he was quickly getting on in years.

3: Brig. Nawab Singh Heer (Davenport, Iowa, USA), January 24, 2017, 1:30 PM.

Dear T Sher Singh ji, you have made my day on hearing that amongst us there many sane voices who felt that Khushwant Singh deserved a big place in the memory and history of Sikhs. We are pleased that some of us like T Sher Singh took initiative and did their share. Our sincere thanks to them.

4: Ajit Singh (New Delhi, India), January 24, 2017, 1:39 PM.

I have seen the gift -- a chrome-polished metal, life-size loon -- that you took for him, Sher ji, sitting on a table beside him in his living room. I remember him once proudly pointing to it and reliving the memory of it being brought to him from the diaspora. Indeed, it was a grand gesture which he fully deserved.

5: M Kaur (Canada), January 24, 2017, 3:58 PM.

Sardar Fatehpal Singh ji: Thank you so much for talking so openly about your post-traumatic stress and depression. I think we need to have more open conversations about mental health in general and how Sikhi as well as other modalities can help us as a community. God only knows how much PTSD the people of Punjab might be dealing with after the killing fields of India during 1984-1995.

6: Arjan Singh (USA), January 25, 2017, 11:35 AM.

Fatehpal ji is keeping the spirit of the Sikh alive. I have never served in a war or a battlefield, but somehow I do not recall too many incidents of Sikh soldiers/officers suffering from PTSD in Punjab, even though these soldiers have served in wars around the world. In fact, I have rarely heard that a professional Sikh soldier was involved in raping of civilians or looting in a war zone. #5 M Kaur ji, the Sikhs of Punjab and India are not only suffering from post-Genocide PTSD but also suffering from a serious case of Stockholm Syndrome. These Sikhs have strangely accepted the conspiracy theories that somehow they themselves were responsible for the mayhem and carnage inflicted upon them. In a strange way, I get the feeling that the Sikhs in India believe that by ‘keeping quite’ and ‘moving on’ they will be able to get some handouts and be spared future genocides; that either of these two options will spare them from future humiliation and violence. Sadly, India is once again on a path of de-Sikhification and dark forces are in full swing to ensure that this time around the Genocide will not only be physical violence but also inflict spiritual, linguistic and economic slaughter.

7: Brig Nawab Singh Heer (Davenport, Iowa, USA), January 25, 2017, 7:38 PM.

An interesting conversation. While talking about the spirit of Sikhs, yes, having served 36 years in the Army, I have never come across any Sikh soldier suffering from PTSD. Having said that, today Punjabi youth including many of us who have migrated are suffering from 'Genocide of 1984' PTSD. Spiritual invasion and economic invasion may be the major reason why today's youth of Punjab have turned to drugs. At the same time I still believe that if all these young boys turn to Gurbani they will revive their Sikh spirit. For that we need many Dahdrianwale-type of preachers to come up with an injection of chardi kalaa.

8: Arjan Singh (USA), January 25, 2017, 10:12 PM.

#7 Brig. Nawab Singh ji, thank you for your thoughtful comment. Let me elaborate a bit more as this conversation must be had in the public sphere for the sake of our next generation(s). I consider myself a history/military history buff and in my research I agree with you I have come across no instances of Sikh soldiers engaging in violence against civilians or POWs (let alone raping of women). One must compare this fact with the conduct of American forces in Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia and World War II, Japanese forces in World War II in Korea, Burma and China (e.g., the Nanking massacre) or the conduct of Soviet forces in Eastern and Western Europe. It is a very less known fact that thousands of German women were raped by both Soviet and American troops. The professionalism of Sikh soldiery must be written about and used as an example for future generations. As a young boy in Punjab I used to wear my turban with a full beard and although I was not a an amritdhari, I adhered to long-standing practices and traditions of the Sikh faith. Even during the heyday of the state-sponsored massacres in Punjab post-1984 I did not experience even an iota of anxiety or fear, let alone PTSD. As an avid outdoors boy I used to go for annual trekking trips to isolated hills in Himachal Pradesh (all the way to Rohtang Pass). I have no memory of even a single moment when fear got hold of me and restricted my way of life. One must note that the violence on the streets of Punjab and India during those dark days was much worse than the post 9/11 violence in USA. I can attribute this fearless way of life and complete abstinence from any drugs/intoxicants to my firm belief in the Sikh spirit. Now, many years later, I do not wear a turban (reluctantly) and I must admit that anxiety has entered my daily life and in US/Canada. I have seen many Sikh youth leading a life with much fear/anxiety and have become addicted to alcohol/drugs. I suspect that situation in Punjab is even worse for most of the Sikh youth. I am not familiar with the work of Dahdrianwale, so cannot comment - but even a basic understanding of Sikh history and gurbani can strengthen the spirit of any young Sikh. However, we must be vigilant and prevent ‘Taliban-style fundamentalism’ to creep into the Sikh way of life. I can only say that our previous generation has done a poor job of passing on the values of progressivism and cardi kalaa that enabled our ancestors to survive against all odds - to the next generation. The sooner we start spreading the message and values; the better it will be.

9: Ishverjeet Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), February 02, 2017, 5:21 PM.

Fatehpal Singh ji, I wonder if it was your picture that I saw online not too long ago (a white soldier donning a Vietnam era army uniform with a dastaar). Thank you for allowing us a glimpse of your past. Many single mothers and widows from the killings of 1984-1995 would be eternally thankful to you as well (echoing #2 - M Kaur), if you could share your experiences in fighting PTSD, although I believe it is more of His Grace through Naam that healed you and propelled you. Arjan Singh ji, you are absolutely right on the Stockholm Syndrome and Brigadier Sahib's view on gurbani and Dhadrianwale hits the nail on the head.

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Janam Da Firangee,
Sikhi Mai Mangee "









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