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Roundtable

Competing Loyalties:
The Roundtable Open Forum # 82

by LEESHA McKENNY

 

 

 

During the Ashes Test series last year, Gurnam Singh proudly donned a turban that matched the colours of his Australian flag.

But yesterday at Carlton in Sydney's south he swathed his head in green, white and orange to join the growing ranks of the Swami Army for the second day of the India-Australia Test.

''I'm living here and I love this country, and this country gave me so much,'' the 27-year-old from Delhi said. ''But if India is playing with Australia, hey, we have to support India.''

There is more than one group calling themselves the Swami Army.

A co-founder of the largest, "Aussie born-and-bred" Amit Grover, says his group began informally among friends about 12 years ago, but attained official supporter status last June. It has since attracted 3500 members, and mirroring the cheek of its English counterparts, has borrowed the tune of Waltzing Matilda for an ode to Sachin Tendulkar.

''One of the aims we the Swami Army want is to bring people back to live cricket,'' he said. ''What we're trying to do is to bring a bit of atmosphere.''

A love of cricket is said to run in India's blood, and that now runs in Australia's, too. Although 147,106 people signalled they were Indian-born in the 2006 Australian census, 234,718 named it as their ancestry.

''We come out to Test matches even if India's not here,'' Mr. Grover said. ''But we also have that cultural heritage and we hold on to that culture and our parents are big Indian supporters when they were in India and when they moved out here.''

Gurnam Singh, who sits with a branch of the army that spells its name ''Swamy'', was first encountered by the Herald in the stands the last time India and Australia met in Sydney in 2008, and he was singled out by television cameras again this week. He claims to be such a regular, its security staff know him and his dhol drum by sight.

The St George cricketer arrived in Australia five years ago as a student and now hopes to join his clubmate and cousin, Gulshan Singh Bedi, in permanent residency. Department of Immigration and Citizenship figures show that at 21,768, India was Australia's third largest source of migrants last year.

In winter, Gurnam Singh's turban will turn blue to show his support for his NRL team, the Bulldogs. Gulshan Singh, 41, said the Canterbury team was his local side when he arrived in Australia in 1999. His son, Australian-born Ronak Singh, 9, said a Bulldogs premiership would top an Indian Test victory - although either result seemed a distant prospect yesterday.

POINTS TO PONDER

As the topic for this week's Roundtable Open Forum (# 82), we ask you to ponder on the above and o some soul-searching.

Having made a conscious choice of leaving India and making our home in a new land, who do we owe our political loyalty to? The country which is now our home, or the land we have left behind, for whatever reason?

Let's suppose you are now an Australlian.

What if there is a conflict betweenAustralia and India? A war?

What if the two find themselves on opposite sides?

Or in sport? As described above, during a match between Australia and India, who would you cheer for?

Does we owe India any loyalty, in such conflicting situations?

What if you were born in Australia, but your parents immigrated from India? Because of 1984 and similar events or experiences? For economic reasons?

Would love to hear your thoughts on these questions.

 

[Courtesy: Syndney Morning Herald. Edited for sikhchic.com]

January 5, 2012

 

January 5, 2011

Conversation about this article

1: Manu Kaur (New York, U.S.A.), January 05, 2012, 9:35 AM.

I am an American through and through. I am a Sikh whose political loyalty is to the United States of America and to no other nation on earth. War, conflict, trade, sports ... whatever ... there are no ifs and buts for me or any other Sikh-American. The same, I believe, should be for Sikh-Britons - loyalty to Great Britain; for Sikh-Canadians to Canada; for Sikh-Aussies to Australia! ... and so on. God help those who think or behave otherwise.

2: Jesroshan Singh (Malaysia), January 05, 2012, 10:18 AM.

The best thing to do is to stop lacing sports and politics together. I am a Malaysian and 10 years ago when Malaysia hosted the Men's Hockey World Cup, there was a Pakistan vs. Malaysia match and I supported Pakistan because of their skill in the sport. India may have killed Sikhs in 1984 but it wasn't Sachin Tendulkar holding the gun or rioting. There were also hate crimes against Indians in Australia. So what good is there in supporting Australia? Might as well just sit at home and support neither country.

3: Ravinder Singh (Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.), January 05, 2012, 10:59 AM.

Sikhs owe their loyalty only to Akal Purakh, not to some piece of cloth called a flag or some geographical area. We know which side we are on.

4: Shivraj Singh (Kent, United Kingdom), January 05, 2012, 11:22 AM.

These are indeed tough questions. Nevertheless, we should grapple with them, instead of shrugging them off by obfuscating the issue. Clearly, we are not talking about the spiritual realm ... Of course, Akal Purakh is always the first and only priority. But let's put aside that given and face some real-life dilemmas. I too find these questions difficult to grapple with, but let me try and give my emotional response, not having given it much thought. My country (United Kingdom) will get my loyalty - if in conflict with India or up against a sports-team from India. What if the opposing team is a Sikh one - such as the recent UK polo team versus the Sikh Sherdils? I must confess, I waiver there ... my immediate response: my heart and my loyalty is with the Sikh team! What if there is a situation where UK is up against the Sikhs in a conflict situation, and the Sikhs are clearly in the wrong? I will oppose the Sikhs and side with my country (provided it is in the right). Yes, these ARE difficult questions, and I am not sure there are any right answers, or fixed ones. But those of us who have made our homes in different parts of the world, we need to give them some long and careful thought. And we should canvass them with our children over dinner - in a Socratic manner! I believe it will serve us well.

5: Yuktanand Singh (MI, U.S.A.), January 05, 2012, 11:37 AM.

I agree with Manu. I was born in Pakistan, raised in Punjab, exiled to Kanpur until I was fourteen. Even though I am glad to have learned Hindi and Sanskrit while living in Uttar Pradesh - I longed to be among those who spoke Punjabi, where some kid would not shout "baarrah baj gaya" from across the street each time I was outside. Upon my return to Patiala, I could kiss the land where even the rickshaw driver spoke Punjabi and where gurbani recital could be heard each morning. "Breathes there the man with soul so dead ..." I have been an American now for over 40 years and I never went back due to the unpleasant experiences in India. I miss the sunrises and sunsets of India and over time, we tend to forget even the stench, the flies, and the mosquitoes. India always reserves a romantic corner in my heart, thanks to the gurdwaras and the wonderful sangat in India. Thanks also to Bollywood's larger than life image of India for the dreamer Indian children. But as an American, my loyalty is now with America, regardless. One's religion should not be a factor here. Let us not drag God (or Akal Purakh) into this discussion.

6: Ari Singh (Sofia, Bulgaria), January 05, 2012, 1:04 PM.

My loyalty will always be with the Sikhs. My passport, a piece of paper, can change. And it has changed several times! We Sikhs are all one big family who has made unlimited sacrifices which cannot be forgotten.

7: R. Singh (Canada), January 05, 2012, 3:07 PM.

I agree with Yuktanand Singh ji: there is no doubt about our loyalty, it goes hands down to the the land that gave you everything, including the right to dignity, no matter how hard we may have had to fight for it initially, which in my case is Canada. Those who hold themselves or their kids back from fully participating in the place they live in and call home are promoting second class citizenship for themselves. As for Sachin Tendulkar or any one else, we can admire them as lovers of sports, wherever they or we may be from. But donning another other country's flags in Canada, never! Those invoking the Akal Purukh or culture: Akal Purakh is neutral in this case, being responsible for ALL humans and their idiosyncratic past-times. Culture is not static, it evolves and incorporates, therefore either we join or stay on the sidelines, hoping to get handouts from the land we left willingly. Let Sikhs be true to Akal Purukh wherever they may be, and participate and own their lands, warts and all, wherever they may be.

8: N. Singh (Canada), January 05, 2012, 6:36 PM.

Ari Singh ji: Hear, hear! I couldn't have put it better myself.

9: Manjeet Shergill (Singapore), January 05, 2012, 7:00 PM.

I am a Sikh/Punjabi-Singaporean. I don't care about India - I care about Punjab. If i have the choice to support Punjab or Singapore, I'll go for Punjab - only because Punjabis are more passionate, colourful and I like their sense of humour. Sports these days is all about money and luck. I cheer the winners and I don't boo the losers. My loyalty is with the people of Punjab and the Land of the Five Rivers and their humane culture.

10: Davinder Singh (Nawan Shahar, Punjab), January 06, 2012, 1:41 PM.

An introspective issue indeed. I believe sports cannot be, and should not be linked up with nationalism. Half of the globe cheers for Brazil in soccer even when in many cases the opposing team is their own national team. So that doesn't mean they are unpatriotic to their respective countries. A game should be taken as a game, not as a matter of national pride and honour. Chauvinism in any form is dangerous. Loyalty comes naturally, based on ethics. It's our conscience that is in command and corroborates our stand when the issue of conflict arises, no matter if it's war or issue of interest between countries, states, communities or whatever ... even in our own family disputes.

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The Roundtable Open Forum # 82"









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