Discussion Board Final Portfolio (2)
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Discussion Board Final Portfolio
Week 1
What are the 5K's ? Name and gloss the five elements. Hagiographically, what is the narrative given within the community to explain the origin of these symbols ? Historically, what was the larger socio-political context for the early Sikh community in this era (turn of the eighteenth century) ? What is the relation of the turban to the 5K's? What other social and cultural groups does the turban resonate with ? Choose ONE of these points to discuss in your response, with page numbers.
The 5 K's are articles of the Sikh faith worn by baptized Sikhs who have been initiated by the Khalsa. As expressed in the text, the 5 K's are perceived as the customary articulation of Sikh
"identity" (Oxtoby 189). The five things are kangha, kesh, kara, kirpan, and kacchera. Kangha addresses a wooden brush worn in the hair, kesh address whole hair and facial hair,kara addresses a steel wristband worn on the wrist and kacchera addresses shorts, kirpan addresses a blade. When a Sikh is immersed or baptised by taking 'amrit', they become a piece of Khalsa and enhance the 5 K's while following Rahit (189). Another important piece of identity that can be identified with a Sikh is the turban or pagdi, yet it isn't only held for Sikhs to wear. The turban keeps and manages a Sikh's whole hair by folding it over the head. It has become an image for one's Sikh character (190). Both amritdharis and non-amritdharis
can be seen wearing turbans, even though the turban or pagdi is not mentioned in the 5K.
Week 2
Based on the readings this week, w
hat were the historical "push factors" that motivated the
earliest Sikh Canadians to leave India? In which industries did this early group of South Asian
Canadian immigrants work, and how did this influence their integration in Canada? Through the lens of gender, what was the composition of this early group, and what factors influenced this? Choose ONE of these points to discuss in your response, with page numbers
please. The push factor dictates that attracts Sikh Males was the economic power and potential held
by the Canadian industries and everyone looked at the chance of starting a family and leading a new good life. Johnson mentioned that most immigrants “arrived at their own expense and without the assurance of work” (Johnston 297).
For Sikhs coming to Canada in the mid 20th century, work was promptly accessible. Generally, they were utilized to do unpleasant outside work for which there was an inadequate stockpile of white work which was mentioned by (Johnston 301). This remembered working for amble plants, railroad development, building locales, dairy cattle ranches, plantations, and salmon canneries. While they were paid not exactly their white partners, they figured out how to stay utilized in light of the fact that they would in general be portable and move to any place there were open positions. This, nonetheless, brought about expanded bigotry towards Indians since they acquired notorieties as "strikebreakers" from different workers, just as confronting segregation from British Columbian city specialists (Johnston 302). Beginning in 1907, after the Vancouver hostile to Oriental uproar, open positions were more enthusiastically to discover for Indian foreigners since organizations started to lean toward white workers (Johnston 303).
Week 3
Pashaura Singh (2014)
: Early Sikh history is characterised in more than one way—some hold that Sikh traditions are consistently and cohesively distinct from the earliest days of Nanak's community at Kartarpur to the present day; while others view Sikh history as having evolved dramatically away from its nirguna bhaktifoundation to the institution of the Khalsa at the turn of the 18th century. According to Prof. Pashaura Singh, there are (at least) four elements which contribute to these "contested views" around early Sikh historiography (pg. 25 ff.), namely: the range of teachings of the 10 human gurus; the early expansion of the Sikh Panth into all three regions of the Punjab; inter-Panth dissension about what constituted Sikh tradition; and the political and territorial tensions of North India in the 17th-18th centuries. Choose ONE of these elements to highlight in your post, and discuss how your selected element has added to diversity within the Panth, whether intentionally or
unintentionally, with page number references. Gurunanak Ji moved on from Onkaar to Satya Naam of a Sant mat, worship Satguru. Hindus, Muslims and others followed him. There was no saparate physical identity needed, no personal weapons. Even Islamic rulers began to respect Nanak Dev. Nanak dev Ji gave no Book of faith
After Gurunanak dev ji gave the seat to Angad as per Sant mat tradition, Hindus started promoting Nanak Devs son Sri Chand it was known as Udasi sects. They slowly took control of the panth and expanded it.
Guru Govind Singh Included and abolished worship a living Guru. He gave a religion similar to the Abrahamic faiths, Holy Book, Service and Books created Gyanis not realised Sant. Many Gyanis left to form their own sects and seat of Guru Gadh. Since there was no living Guru, Gurus permission is assumed and they disagreed with Book as a living Guru.
Therefore Akalis- Khalsa Sikhs expelled others. The Sikh Gurdwara Reform Act, 1925 defined the term "Sikh" in a way that excluded the groups like the Udasis, the Nanak panthis and Sanatanis. Khalsa provided a political identity for the Sikh community. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (or SGPC) is made responsible for the management of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship.
Week 4
The poet-saint, Kabir, is typically renowned for being the most direct critic of caste and community orthodoxies. Reflecting on the qualities of Kabir's personhood and poetry as discussed in our reading this week, choose one poem (or excerpt) of Prof. Hawley's translation
of Kabir's writings, to discuss in your post. Which characteristics of Kabir's nirguna bhakt
theology are expressed in your selection ? Is this tied to social and/or religious critique? If so, what kinds of orthodoxies are denounced, and what kinds of actions and attitudes does he suggest should replace them? Kabir Das was a fifteenth century Indian spiritualist artist and holy person, whose works impacted Hinduism's Bhakti development and his stanzas are found in Sikhism's sacred text Guru Granth Sahib. His early life was in a Muslim family, however he was emphatically affected by his instructor, the Hindu bhakti pioneer Ramananda. Kabir was brought into the world in the Indian city of Varanasi.
Kabir is known for being incredulous of both Hinduism and Islam, expressing adherents of both were misinformed by the Vedas and Quran, and scrutinizing their rituals of commencement like the sacrosanct string and circumcision. During his lifetime, he was compromised by the two Hindus and Muslims for his perspectives. At the point when he passed on, the two Hindus and Muslims he had roused guaranteed him as theirs. Kabir proposed that Truth is with the individual who is on the way of uprightness, thought about all animals on earth as his own self, and who is latently withdrawn from the undertakings of the world. To know the Truth, recommended Kabir, drop the "I" or the conscience. Kabir's heritage endures and proceeds through the Kabir panth ("Path of Kabir"), a strict local area that remembers him as its originator and is one of the Sant Mat orders. Its individuals are known as Kabir panthis.
Comment
- One of the spiritualist artist which I find to be very insightful. The very fact that coming from a Muslim family and impacting Hinduism and Guru Granth Sahib. All the dohas by Kabir are so insightful and teaches you a lot. The fact that Kabir had an impact in Sikhism and the same learnings were inculcated is what attracted me a lot.
Week 5
In his recent article on Amritsar and the Golden Temple, Prof. Jutla discusses some of the context behind the growth of Sikhism (in "world religion" terms) and insight into the gap between doctrine and practice regarding pilgrimage and religious travel in Sikhism (pg. 264ff). Why is Amritsar a popular place to visit for Sikhs? What historical events and social practices are affirmed for the Sikh community at Amritsar? What layers of history are commemorated at the Golden Temple complex? Choose ONE of the many possible points to discuss in your post (with page numbers, please). The importance of Amritsar is that the Golden Temple is situated there.The gurdwara is built around a man-made pool (sarovar) that was completed by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das in 1577. Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of Sikhism, requested Sai Mir Mian Mohammed, a Muslim Pir of Lahore, to lay its foundation stone in 1589.In 1604, Guru Arjan placed a copy of the Adi Granth in Harmandir Sahib. The Gurdwara was repeatedly rebuilt by the Sikhs after it became a target of persecution and was destroyed several times by the Mughal and invading Afghan armies.Maharaja Ranjit Singh after founding the Sikh Empire, rebuilt it in marble and copper in 1809, overlaid the sanctum with gold foil in 1830. This has led to the name the Golden Temple.
The Golden Temple is spiritually the most significant shrine in Sikhism. It became a center of the Singh Sabha Movement between 1883 and 1920s, and the Punjabi Suba movement between 1947 and 1966. In the early 1980s, the Gurdwara became a center of conflict between the Indian government led by Indira Gandhi, some Sikh groups and a movement led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. In 1984, Indira Gandhi sent in the Indian Army as part of Operation Blue Star, leading to deaths of over 1,000 Sikh soldiers and civilians, as well as causing much damage to the Gurdwara and the destruction of Akal Takht. The Gurdwara complex was rebuilt again after the 1984 damage.
Week 6
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In our REQ'D SKIM introduction to the Janamsakhi literature
, the B40 manuscript takes us along with Guru Nanak to visit a range of places that have become immortalised within a mythical-historical Sikh religious landscape. From the following list of destinations choose ONE site to look up: what did the Guru do at this place? whom did he encounter? what didactic lesson(s) are imparted from the Guru's actions at this place? From a critical perspective, what site-specific theological points are made by placing the Guru at your selected locale? A man named Rukandin was the priest of the Kaaba. He came out and saw Guru Nanak's feet towards the Kaba. He was very angry. He at once shouted. "Don't you know this is the house of God, you fool? Why are you lying with your feet towards the Kaaba?"
Guru Nanak woke up. He said, "O sir, I'm sorry I didn't know it. I was tired so I just lay down and fell asleep. Could you turn my legs to the side in which there's no God?"
Rukandin at once caught hold of his legs and dragged them to the other side. He saw that the Kaaba still stood before Guru Nanak's feet. Then he gave another pull but to his great surprise, he saw the Kaaba again towards the Guru's feet. He was so upset that he could not speak.
Guru Nanak said, "Rukandin. God does not live in one place. He lives everywhere." Saying this, Guru Nanak and Mardana started singing hymns. A crowd of people gathered around them. They called Guru Nanak, 'Baba Nanak'. 'Baba' means an old and wise man. After a few days they went to Medina and Baghdad. At Baghdad a Muslim saint Behlol met the Guru. They had a long talk and became friends. Behlol asked Baba Nanak, "What is your idea of God?"
Guru Nanak replied, "There is one God. He is True. He makes everything. He is not afraid of anyone. He is not born. He never dies. He is self-made. We need only think of Him and pray to Him."
Behlol liked the Guru's teaching very much. He travelled a lot and told the people about this
idea of Guru. After some time Guru Nanak and Mardana came back to the Punjab.
Comment
- This story made a huge impact on me because this is one of the stories we were taught back in 5th grade in India and this was one of my introduction to Guru Nanak ji and Sikhism partly one of the many reasons to take this course and actually studying about Sikhism. The notion of Guru Nanak ji explaining that you don’t need to go to a temple/mosque/gurudwara to pray to God and the very notion of God being everywhere is what I found very interesting and insightful.
Week 7
Choose one of the chapters from the first half of the Dasam Granth to discuss: what key theological points does it make? to which era(s) of South Asian history does this reference / seem to belong? Does this section affirm earlier Sikh norms that we have studied? Does it contain any surprising or interesting points ? Please include references to relevant class readings, including Shackle (pgs. 8-9)
, Oxtoby (pgs. 187-189)
and Rinehart (pgs. 23-31)
. Jaap is a Sanskrit word signifying "to absolute in a soft tone, murmur, mumble (particularly petitions or spells); to conjure or call upon in a low voice". Jaap Sahib is a musical song made
like an accessory out of pearls and jewels, beauteously orchestrated around a string: the string is the Supreme God; the pearls and diamonds are His credits, strengths, and wonders.
It fundamentally assists peruser with doing a day by day Greetings to Waheguru in 199 refrains, actually as we do hi to one another. The wonders sung by Guru Sahib rotate around the accompanying credits of God: God is supernatural , past time, Eternal, Unborn, Uncreated, Self-existent, and withour structure, highlight, shading or shape. Accordingly, neither would god be able to be portrayed or portrayed, nor would anyone be able to make a picture or icons of that which is
undefinable. God's appearances are generally inescapable. God can't be bound to a specific spot, land, country, religion, race, attire, body or name. God is the Creator of the Universe and the laws overseeing it. Never would anyone be able to be outside the ambit of these laws nor would anyone be able to have the ability to go against them. God's Law and Justice is Righteous and Ultimate. God's is inescapable in all that 'He' has made, yet God likewise reaches out past 'His' manifestations; God is in this manner Immanent in His Creation and simultaneously Transcends it. God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient; nothing, regardless of whether great or wickedness, can occur outside of the Creator's Will; God is the Creator-Sustainer-Annuller of His Creation. God is the Life of life, the Death of death, the Darkness of dimness, the Light of light.
Week 8
Who was Maharaja Ranjit Singh? What were his personal characteristics, as understood in the readings by Prof. Grewal and Prof. Stronge this week, and the overview from the Victoria and Albert Museum
? Additionally, what art objects and material artefacts are associated with his person, reign, and court? Choose one key feature of the king's personal legacy to highlight in your post OR one of the principal art objects associated with him, with links/page number references.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-
Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died, he fought several wars to expel the Afghans in his teenage years and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21. His empire grew in the Punjab region
under his leadership through 1839.
Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring confederacies, twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim. Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh confederacie and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire. He repeatedly defeated invasions by outside armies, particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with the British.
Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment into infrastructure and general prosperity. His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans. His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other major gurudwaras, including Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra under his sponsorship.
Week 9
In 1849, Punjab was annexed by the British, leading to the rule of the Indian subcontinent by
the British from 1858. Following this event, a movement to change property laws regarding Gurdwaras arose in Punjab. According to
Prof. Murphy
, how did this movement within Punjab correlate to larger issues of identity, and religious property reform in Hindu and Muslim communities? How did these movements attempt to present their cases, within the context of British colonial law in India, and Victorian Christian notions of religious identity? (Choose ONE of these points to discuss in your post, with page numbers).
Following World War I, numerous Punjabis returned back to India in huge numbers subsequent to battling for the British. The Jallianwala Bagh slaughter, Non-Cooperation and Khilafat development, just as WWI became important to resistance contrary to pioneer rule. Moreover, the British generalized Sikh and Muslim people groups dependent on their geological area (metropolitan or provincial) and capacity to battle (Murphy 190). These generalizations were additionally imbued into the British view of the Sikh people group during the discussions with the Legislative Council for power over Sikh gurdwaras.
Following the eighteenth century the Sikh people group had set up numerous gurdwaras in Punjab. This permitted the Sikh people group to associate with their particular verifiable past, and mirrored the political force of Sikh pioneers post Mughal rule (Murphy 189). Land in Punjab was controlled through families and genealogy, and was viewed as political and debatable. As the British attached Punjab, center moved from a political cycle to a restrictive
right dependent on height, at last changing the connections the Sikh people group had with spots of journey. Thus, the Sikh people group started a development to recover control of gurdwaras and drove the principal huge change against the British.
Week 10
Toba Tek Singh
is a famous short story by renowned 20th century literary intellectual and author, Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955), set in the aftermath of Partition in Punjab. Based on your reading of the story, and reflection on it included in William Dalyrymple's article on Partition
, choose 2-3 of the following questions to discuss in your post:
(1) When does the story take place? (2) Where does the story take place?
(3) Who is the protagonist? (4) Where does he think he is? (5) Where does he want to go?
(6) What is the cause of his confusion? (7) What is the protagonist's final fate?
Saadat Hasan Manto's story"Toba Tek Singh" is set two or three years after the 1947 partition, when the governments of India and Pakistan decided to exchange some Muslim, Sikh and Hindu lunatics, and revolves around Bishan Singh, a Sikh inmate of an asylum in Lahore, who is from the town of Toba Tek Singh. As part of the exchange, Bishan Singh is sent under police escort to India, but upon being told that his hometown Toba Tek Singh is in
Pakistan, he refuses to go. The story ends with Bishan lying down in the no man's land between the two barbed wire fences: "There, behind barbed wire, was Hindustan. Here, behind the same kind of barbed wire, was Pakistan. In between, on that piece of ground that
had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh."
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Week 11
One of the most important Sikh socio-religious reform movements of the 20th century, the movement for a separate Sikh state known as Khalistan, was led in the 1980s by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in an Indian Army attack on the Harmandir Sahib in 1984. According to Prof. Jugdep Chima
, what was the political and social situation like in Punjab in the early 1980s? What were the chief causes of political unrest as well as social factors that led to the rise of Bhindranwale's popularity in Punjab? Contrastingly, which Sikh groups were opposed to Bhindranwale and the Khalistan movement? Subsequently, in their chapter on the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, what factors did Mark Tully and Satish Jacob attribute to PM Gandhi's decision to unleash the army on Punjab? How did public sentiments towards Sikhs change after the 1984 attack? And, subsequently, how did public opinion in Punjab change on the matter of Khalistan? Operation Blue Star was the code name of an Indian military action which was carried out between 1 and 10 June 1984, in order to capture the Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers hidden inside the buildings of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab. The decision to launch the attack rested with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who, according to retired general S.K. Sinha, had been considering the operation for more than 18 months prior, authorizing army preparation for it long before any insurgents were in the complex. In July 1982, Harchand Singh Longowal, the President of the Sikh political party Akali Dal, had invited Bhindranwale to take up residence in the Golden Temple
Complex to evade demolition of Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
Indian intelligence agencies had reported that three prominent figures in the operation, Shabeg Singh, a court-martialed Indian Army officer who fought in major battles for India, Balbir Singh, and Amrik Singh, referred to in reports as "prominent heads of the Khalistan movement," had made at least six trips each to Pakistan between 1981 and 1983. The weapons training was being provided at Akal Takht Sahib by General Shabeg Singh. The Intelligence Bureau alleged that the training was being provided at Gurdwaras in Jammu and
Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Amrik Singh responded to these allegations by stating that student training camps with “traditional weapons” had existed prior for four decades at these locations. The Soviet intelligence agency KGB reportedly[weasel words] tipped off the Indian intelligence agency R&AW about the CIA and ISI working together on a plan for Punjab. From its interrogation of a Pakistani army officer, R&AW received information that over a thousand trained Special Service Group commandos of the Pakistan Army had been dispatched by Pakistan into the Indian Punjab to assist Bhindranwale in his fight against the government, but there only common Sikhs could join Bhindranwale because of the high level
of Indian Border Security. Many Pakistani agents also followed the smuggling routes in the Kashmir and Kutch region of Gujarat, with plans to commit sabotage.
Comment
- My grandparents used to tell me the stories of Operation Blue Star and when we studied this during this course, I got excited. Operation Blue Star was something that still causes goosebumps to me even though I wasn’t born then but the stories of the situation at that time led me to read about this. The fact that this led to the assassination of the Prime Minister of India and so many intelligence agencies were involved was so scary. The discrimination of Sikhs at that time was also really hurting.
Week 12
Prof. Karen Leonard offers an ethnographic and historical perspective of Punjabi Americans in California
, one of the oldest and most well-established Sikh transnational community outside of India. How is this unique community characterised, in terms of its history; barriers
to social thriving; marriage traditions; cuisine, inter-religious family relations; education; professions; patterns of settlement; attitude to language; evolving sense of religious identity;
prosperity and expansion; politics? Choose two- or three of these points to discuss in your post, with page numbers, please. For decades in the early 20th century, Punjabi farming families sent their sons out of Punjab to earn money. Intending to return to the Punjab, only a handful of men brought their wives and families. In the United States, however, due to changed immigration laws the families of Punjabi workers couldn't join them. Beyond this, poor wages and working conditions convinced the Punjabi workers to pool their resources, lease land and grow their own crops, thereby establishing themselves in the newly budding farming economy of northern California.
Punjabi men married Mexican women labourers and there were eventually almost four hundred of these bi-ethnic couples clustered in California’s agricultural valley. Husbands and wives spoke to each other in rudimentary English or Spanish. The men tended to be older, in their late thirties or forties, and the women in their early twenties. Punjabi men learned Spanish to communicate with Mexican agricultural labourers and to speak to their wives. Some Punjabi men adopted Spanish names or nicknames: Miguel for Maghar, Andrés for Inder, Mondo for Mohammed.
The fathers transmitted little of Punjabi culture to their wives and children, except for food and funeral practices. Cooking in the home drew from both Mexican and Punjabi cuisines and the men taught their wives to cook chicken curry, roti, and various vegetable curries. For
example, the Rasul family in Yuba City runs the only Mexican restaurant in California that features chicken curry and roti. Another important retention of Punjabi culture was the disposition of the body upon death. The Hindus and Sikhs insisted upon cremation, then uncommon in North America, and Muslims carried out orthodox burial ceremonies for each other (though the plots in which they are buried in rural California have since been misnamed "Hindu plots"). The wives were buried in the Mexican Catholic section of local cemeteries, as were the children.[primarily of 5,6,7]
Week 13
Write a brief abstract for your RELG 288 term paper project, including the (current) title of your paper (150 words max).
The paper focuses on the Kartarpur Sahib discussing majorly the significance and the issues.The part 1 of the research project was an overview of Kartarpur Sahib stressing on the
significance like on 22 September 1539 Gurunanak Dev Ji took the last breath in this gurudwara and many more. I also mentioned facts and the statistics about the gurudwara. The second part of the paper stressed on two issues of Kartarpur Sahib,
1.The issue of Pakistan government’s decision to transfer the management and administrative control.The Pakistan government's choice to move the administration and managerial control of the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur from a Sikh body — Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (PSGPC) — to a trust under the Evacuee Trust
Property Board, a non-Sikh body, has welcoming sharp responses from India, which named the move "exceptionally condemnable" and against the soul of the Kartarpur Corridor. 2.The concerns of the rise in Terrorism camps in Kartarpur Corridor.Extreme concerns are being raised against the opening of Kartarpur corridor that interfaces India and Pakistan as Indian Intelligence organizations have gotten to data that psychological oppressors being prepared close to the line locale of Narowal in Pakistan's Punjab area, a similar region where
Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is arranged.
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