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Anti-Sikh jokes are no laughing matter. In fact, students found cracking them may soon find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

The apex body representing the Sikh community has demanded in the Supreme Court that ‘racial slurs’ and ‘racial profiling’ be included in the definition of ragging that is banned in educational institutions.

SC was approached this week regarding a possible ban on jokes or negative remarks about Sikhs.

The community has over the years been at the receiving end of a large number of gags and wisecracks, which typically portray its members as dim-witted.

Most of them feature two fictional characters, Santa and Banta. But many believe Sikh jokes, like all jokes playing on stereotypes and jesting about one’s race, are harmless fun.

Holding that the stringent measures will ‘bolster the pride and self-esteem of youngsters belonging to the Sardar community, and preserve the Sikh identity’, the SGPC said, ‘since curbing of such jokes and comments on the basis of appearance alone, would reduce the number of young Sikh boys who otherwise under peer pressure and to save themselves from such objectification choose the route of getting their hair cut, which ultimately results in loss of identity of the Sikh religion in the very country of its origin.’

More and more youngsters belonging to the community are now cutting their hair in order to be accepted by their peer group or to escape derision, said the committee.

Pointing out that it does not want Sikhs to be ridiculed, the top court had in March for the first time asked the community to come out with suggestions as to what can be done within the permitted jurisdiction of the judiciary to impose a limited ban on Sardar jokes.

‘Of course we do not want you to be ridiculed, but please tell us in what way we can do something. You come out with suggestions,’ a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur had told lawyers who represented the SGPC, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and main petitioner and advocate Harvinder Chowdhury.

The brunt of the situation is faced by youngsters going to school and college, who are at an impressionable age, the SGPC told the court.

‘The same holds especially true for Sikh boys who have physical unshorn hair, and tie patkas (mini headscarf), or turbans, and just by virtue of adorning the symbols of their religion become the victims of mean jokes and insinuations which can emotionally scar them for life,’ it said.

DSGMC’s lawyer RS Suri however said he is not for any penal provision, but primarily wants sensitisation of the public, especially school students, on the issue.

While Chowdhury demanded a ban on websites spreading jokes portraying the Sardar community as ‘persons of low intellect, stupid and foolish’ and equated this to ‘racial abuse’, the DSGMC sought ‘framing the guidelines to curb the menace of the social, racial, religious, ethnic remarks abuses or jokes and direction to the state to implement some guidelines through their law-enforcing agencies at all the public places’.

‘Certain types of jokes going viral after the advent of the social media, WhatsApp, some of which are in very bad taste, are hurting us,’ Suri argued.

‘It is not only against the Sikhs. There is a wider canvas like Biharis, people from the Northeast also are the butt of many jokes. We may be enjoying jokes and also cracking jokes ourselves. But we do not want to become jokes ourselves.’

Telling of her personal embarrassment on account of such jokes, Chowdhury had said during the last hearing: ‘I know the petition is strange. But I am on something else… the kids in the community are thoroughly demoralised.
‘I am married to a Hindu family. My daughter and son do not want the ‘Kaur’ and ‘Singh’ tag with their names. Their friends make fun of them.’

She said she found it strange that when certain communities and castes are targeted, there’s always much ‘hue and cry’, but when Sikhs are made the butt of jokes, there is not a single word of protest.

Mahan Singh was born on 31st January 1902 in Sahni, a village near Sanehwal in Punjab, India. He had his early education in Sanehwal and at Government High School Ludhiana. He later went to Lahore for further education and was well versed in Persian, Punjabi, Urdu and English.

In 1921, at the age of 19, Mahan Singh emigrated to Kenya and joined the East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration Headquarters in Nairobi.

He had a dream to make Kenya a force to be reckoned with in the world of hockey.

For nearly half a century Mahan Singh worked to realise this dream by recruiting equally passionate players and perfecting the game using both skill and science.

In 1931 he was one of the founders of the Sikh Union Nairobi and served as its Secretary for 20 years. Through the Sikh Union he helped develop hockey in East Africa which eventually led to Kenya’s participation at Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956.

1938 was a breakthrough year for Mahan Singh and Kenyan hockey when he was made captain of a mixed race Kenya Hockey team which toured South Africa and Rhodesia.

During a visit to India in 1946, Mahan Singh held talks with the Indian Hockey Federation, the aim being to link Kenyan and Indian hockey.

The result was a tour to Kenya from the Indian hockey team in 1947. This tour was a display of the expertise of the Indian hockey team which entertained many East Africans.

For the first time Kenyans saw star players in Dhyan Chand, Manna Singh and Dig Vijay Singh who collectively triggered great enthusiasm for hockey in Kenya by their hockey wizardry.

The Indian hockey team were equally impressed with Mahan Singh’s knowledge of the game. He knew the successes and failures of each and every move in the game but was always enthusiastic to learn more.

This tour was one of the major highlights in Kenyan hockey history and subsequently India officially toured Kenya in 1949.

The Tata Sports Club toured Kenya in 1952 and India returned twice more in 1959 and 1963. Due to Mahan Singh’s knowledge and determination Kenyan hockey improved with each tour.

He became a FIH international umpire in 1961.

This was when Kenyan hockey reached its peak and when Mahan Singh became known as the Father of Kenya Hockey .

Mahan Singh retired from hockey management in 1961 and went on to train the Kenya Women’s Hockey Team who gained much success against an International Wanderers team and then went on to tour India in 1968.

Mahan Singh was the Secretary of the Kenya Hockey Union from 1949.

He was elected as the President of Kenya Hockey Union in 1957.

In 1959 the East Africa Hockey Union was created and Mahan Singh led the Kenyan delegation to a conference in Kampala, Uganda.

Mahan Singh continued to play hockey well into his 60’s and was still a strong player at that age.

Mahan Singh died after suffering a heart attack on the beach at Malindi on Friday 17th January 1969 aged 67.

He will always be remembered as the “Father of Kenya Hockey”.

Source- SikhsinHockey

General Joginder Jaswant Singh (born 17 September 1945) was the 22nd Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army. He was appointed on November 27, 2004, and took over the role when his predecessor, General N C Vij, retired on 31 January 2005. He was succeeded by General Deepak Kapoor. He served as the COAS from January 31, 2005, to September 30, 2007.

He is the first Sikh to have led the Indian Army and the 11th chief of army staff from the Western Command based at Chandimandir. His selection was not a surprise, as at the time of his appointment he was the most senior officer in the army after General N C Vij. Following his retirement, he became Governor of the state of Arunachal Pradesh on 27 January 2008.

Humanity is the greatest religion of them all and Sikhs are a testament to this fact. Sikhism has its roots in selfless service, and time and again, people from this community have reiterated this fact. Ravi Singh, a British Sikh of Indian origin, is a living example of this. Through his humanitarian work in the world’s most dangerous territories, Singh is making a difference in the lives of war victims.

To give you a little background, Yazidis are one of Iraq’s oldest yet neglected minority communities. When ISIS captured northern Iraq, they killed their men and took their women into sexual slavery. Those who escaped were forced to flee their ancestral homes and take refuge in the Sinjar Mountains without food or water.

And this is where the 47-year-old Ravi Singh comes in. Singh is a ray of hope for all the 400 refugee families, who not only wait for ration but also the positivity that Singh brings into their lives, making them feel cared for.

The Yazidi religion was born from Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam, but they are castigated as devil-worshippers in Iraq. Calling them infidels, the ISIS mercilessly slaughtered the Yazidis and carried out a mass-scale genocide in 2014. The remaining people, estimated to be around 50,000, were forced to flee to Mount Sinjar, where they took shelter in abandoned buildings and official camps.

When Singh heard the news of the mass exodus of the Yazidi people in Iraq, who were leaving their homes with their belongings to escape the atrocities of the ISIS, it moved him. He decided that he had to do something about it.

Humanity is the greatest religion of them all and Sikhs are a testament to this fact. Sikhism has its roots in selfless service, and time and again, people from this community have reiterated this fact. Ravi Singh, a British Sikh of Indian origin, is a living example of this. Through his humanitarian work in the world’s most dangerous territories, Singh is making a difference in the lives of war victims.
To give you a little background, Yazidis are one of Iraq’s oldest yet neglected minority communities. When ISIS captured northern Iraq, they killed their men and took their women into sexual slavery. Those who escaped were forced to flee their ancestral homes and take refuge in the Sinjar Mountains without food or water.
And this is where the 47-year-old Ravi Singh comes in. Singh is a ray of hope for all the 400 refugee families, who not only wait for ration but also the positivity that Singh brings into their lives, making them feel cared for.

The Yazidi religion was born from Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam, but they are castigated as devil-worshippers in Iraq. Calling them infidels, the ISIS mercilessly slaughtered the Yazidis and carried out a mass-scale genocide in 2014. The remaining people, estimated to be around 50,000, were forced to flee to Mount Sinjar, where they took shelter in abandoned buildings and official camps.

When Singh heard the news of the mass exodus of the Yazidi people in Iraq, who were leaving their homes with their belongings to escape the atrocities of the ISIS, it moved him. He decided that he had to do something about it.

BBC World News even made a documentary on Singh, titled ‘The Selfless Sikh’, and captured his journey to the Yazidi refugee camps in war-torn northern Iraq on the eve of the battle to retake the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.
Women and children in the camps eagerly wait for Singh, who not only gives them their monthly supply of ration, but also becomes their confidant, someone in whom they can confide the tales of horror that they went through in the past.

Every month, Singh comes with packets of necessary supplies that contain tinned-tomatoes, pasta, oil, sugar, salt, tea, a bag of rice, cleaning pack with bleach and soap, and a huge packet of washing powder.

Singh spent his childhood in a village in Punjab and moved to Britain at the age of 11. He believes that his commitment to help the needy comes from his religion which teaches selfless service. And so, the benevolent Sikh risks his life and travels to the war-struck country to help these marginalized people, who have largely been neglected.

Due to his long beard and turban, he’s often mistaken to be ISIS, which also makes him prone to attacks. But that doesn’t deter him from visiting the most-dangerous locations in the world to help people. You’ll be immediately touched by his dedication to the cause when he says:

“Yes, there’s danger, but it’s worth it for me. Because it’s the calling within.”

Whether it’s donating groceries or taking young girls and boys who’ve been released from ISIS out for shopping, Singh’s motive is not restricted to providing them with just material relief. He wants to make these Yazidi people feel included.

For these families, most of whom still have their daughters, mothers and fathers in ISIS’ captivity, Singh aims to provide a meaning to their lives through his service. And he’s proud of his faith which teaches him these strong values. In his own words:

I’m so proud of my community. It’s just hundred percent unconditional support. And that strength comes from my faith.