1/Of course, there are Sikhs who don’t support self-determination #Khalistan. Ultimately there’ll be reasons why people believe they don’t want a sovereign state but 1 reason overriding all of them is that factor which even within nature overrides all considerations, SURVIVAL! 2/There were also Indians who objected to the idea of Indian independence from the British so this sort of stance is nothing new, in many ways they had what could be considered to be a just argument as to the economic viability of such a change.

I understand from the strong parent reaction this morning there's been a follow up apology communication issued by the Head Teacher.
It's a shame the initial email even came out with such a lack of thought and insight in the first place.

https://twitter.com/MankamalSingh/status/1518493268140564481?t=aDx8YCEnWnu85w3_57liaw&s=09

The whole concept of a Sikh faith school is just completely skewed in the UK. There's such a fear of asserting faith identity in school setting, it's not like that in CoE, Catholic or Jewish settings.

Fed up of how Sikh identity gets walked over by our own. How our children are continually subjected to feel themselves "security breach" or "health & safety risk". Communication below was issued by a Sikh faith designated school in UK, ironically one I helped set up a few yrs ago It's not just disheartening to read blanket commentary/wording telling Sikh parents that their Sikh children should really remove their Karas, it's actually disgraceful that it's written this way by a Sikh faith designated school.

During past 3 General Elections, there's been no adverse impact to the Tory votes following leak of 1984 Amritsar papers or during aggressive policing of Sikh protesters or abduction and incarceration of Jaggi or raids on homes of Sikh activists.
1/

https://twitter.com/SikhPA/status/1517496673064398849?t=hc1RyCllLyCBacA1OMnUYg&s=09

To Tories the UK Sikh community has little value, disposable in pursuit of securing trade. The double whammy is that UK Sikhs en masse have traded commitment to truth & justice for self-aggrandisement, social mobility, personal pleasure. We have become an apathetic community
2/

VIRK BROTHERS 1977 - East London
On St George's Day 1977 - 3 Sikh brothers, Mohinder, Balvinder and Sukvinder Virk were repairing their car in front of their home in East Ham, when they were approached by 5 drunk White youths who began racially abusing and attacking them.
1/ The Virk bothers resisted,
there was a struggle and one of the White youths was stabbed. The Virk family phoned the Police who were sent from Forest Gate Police station, it was the Virk bros who were then arrested, refused bail, charged with grievous bodily harm
2/

Mainstream over focus on perpetrators by ethnicity marginalises issue of youth violence as 'cultural', feeding far-right narratives billing themselves as ‘protectors’ of women & children. Concepts have been accepted into liberal & even leftist commentary
mol.im/a/10250989 I guess it feels closer to home for Sikh population to comment now because we see the face of Sikh youth amongst other victims. Whatever the ethnicity of the vicitims and continual media portrayal is, it's clear however that London's Youth violence is impacting Youth of Colour.

SANGAT v COMMITTEE CULTURE
Gurdwara Sangat cultures become embedded over time and there are always different dynamics at play. It is a mixture of Committee and Sangat influence that end up shaping the Sevas in the Gurdwaras. Just sharing some observations below.
1/ Some Gurdwaras will only ever be able to be active on weekends purely because of the nature and frequency of sangat commitment.
Demographics and local spread of the sangat who come to a specific Gurdwara has an impact. This motivates the activities within that Gurdwara.
2/

DIWALI (THREAD)

The Sikh historical relevance to the Diwali gatherings does today get completely lost in all the fireworks, mithai giving and assimilation into some kind of mainstream fit for Diwali festivities.

1/ Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji Maharaj showed us not just to fight for our own liberation but the liberation of others too. The Bandhi Chhor event is key shaping up the Sikh "Diwali" significance. #BandiChhorDiwas

2/

"#PunjabDay" has become a calendarised event crowbarred into the #SikhGenocide1984 week. A definite distraction!

The process over 37 years has been designed by the state to protect the guilty, protect those who had power to orchestrate all facets of state machinery.

(THREAD)👇🏽 Every part of what constitutes a state - the government, the political classes, the judiciary, the security services and the media were pitted against the entire Sikh community in a sickening example of collective punishment.

THE ELITE FAMILIES OF PUNJAB AND THE JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE (THREAD)

How does the Jallianwala Bagh massacre expose the lineages of current political elite leadership in Punjab?
1/ Let's start with Sir Sunder Singh Majithia, great grandfather of Bikramjit Majithia and Harsimrat Badal. The wealthy man apparently hosted a meal for General Dyer the evening following the massacre on 13 April 1919. Majithia was knighted in 1926 for services to King and Empire
2/

Duleep Singh (4 Sep 1838 – 22 Oct 1893) 

In reality Duleep Singh was a war trophy, a political pawn and an effective prisoner of the state. Duleep Singh's life was one of the most tragic stories of royalty and political solitude.

1/ Duleep Singh had his flaws, he was not perfect in any way, which was prevalent throughout his life. 

But many Sikhs today have so readily adopted and accepted all the character assassinations of Duleep Singh

2/

USTAD SITAL SINGH SITARA (THREAD)

Saddened to hear of the passing of Ustad Sital Singh Sitara.

Three generations of Sikhs, perhaps thousands of UK Sikhs, over a span of 50 years have learnt Kirtan from Giani Sital Singh Sitara.

1/ Today, as third generation British Sikhs, my children sit in our living room and sing Asa Di Vaar because of the huge contribution of GurSikhs like Giani Sital Singh Sitara who made Kirtan accessible to the Sangat a generation ago.

2/

SIKH COMMUNITY ATTITUDE TO SAFEGUARDING!
This article is not a pleasant article to share. It brings Sikh faith schools into disrepute, but it's a reality and public outcome of a drawn out legal challenge hopefully opening the eyes of wider Sikh community.

https://twitter.com/SchoolsWeek/status/1446749277133459458?t=7lh4MCZceNwHTUbNoSp6Fw&s=19

The reported Khalsa Academies Trust scandal demonstrates complacency/breach in following statutory safeguarding procedures & subsequent covering up. It resulted in unnecessary clashes with educationalists, local authorities, Ofsted, governors, parents, @educationgovuk etc.

WE ARE NOT SEEKS!
Diaspora Sikhs need to seriously make concerted efforts to stop mispronouncing "Sikh". It is NOT meant to be pronounced as "seek". In Punjabi spheres we use the correct pronunciation. We know the translation of ਸਿੱਖ. So when did it become "seek" and why allow it US/Canadian Sikhs have done better to ensure "Sikh" is pronounced properly within the mainstream. However, in the UK, we need to undo 100+ years of accepting an incorrect pronounciation. I take it on board that I too have been conditioned into the incorrect pronounciation.

Gurdwara Sri Satranj (Chess) Sahib - Bassian village.

The site was being dug in 1933 by local villagers and a clay pot was discovered. The villagers threw away the pot thinking it was worthless. When the pot broke it revealed 32 old chess pieces with 4 pieces of paper
1/ The discovered papers in the clay pot revealed that Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji visited this place in 1705, while coming from Machhiwara.

Guru Sahib played Satranj (Chess) with Rai Kalha, the Muslim Pathan chief of Raikot, at this place, hence the name of the Gurdwara.
2/

Many like Sikhi to be interpreted as an oversimplified set of popular soundbites and buzzwords for the sake of assimilation and acceptance.

We throw around well-liked words like equality, love, courage and expect it to sum up the Sikh Gurus message. We want to project a cultural experience that's appealing to the mainstream.

We want access to the ceremonies, the infrastructure and any past glories.

We continually want to cash in the religious colletaral.

Well that's all good and well!

Sikh Organisations/Gurdwaras and Sangat in general, are completely disconnected with all the “twists and turns” regarding Multi Academy Trust (MAT) structures and how it's clenched Sikh Faith school set up in the UK. (Thread 👇)

https://twitter.com/IlfordRecorder/status/1351273157752049665?s=19

So, philosophical foundation of these schools in UK was based on tenets of Sikhi. When presented to @educationgovuk, it was a school model encouraging citizenship through the Sarbat da Bhalla, equality, hard work etc. commonly communicated as central to the Sikh way of life.

Saddaned about the departure of Sant Baba Sant Partap Singh Ji, Mukh Sevadar and founder of the Institution Gurdwara @KaramsarUK in Ilford.

To me Baba Ji was a stalwart, a pioneer, a visionary, a figurehead and the mentor so many needed.

(Thread) Building and sustaining an institution is a blessing and leading that seva is given to those who come with the virtuous temperament to unite Sangat and connect them to the One. And Baba Ji was blessed with that Seva which won him so much love and respect.

WHY ARE THE PUNJAB FARMERS PROTESTING AND WHAT'S THE IMPACT.

A brief thread that hopefully breaks down what has happened over the past few weeks, why Punjab farmers are marching in mass to Delhi and what the longer term impacts could be.
#FarmersProtest In a nutshell Modi's government is trying to open up the agricultural sector to corporate forces as he has done with other industries resulting in exploitation of natural and Human Resources, lowering of environmental standards, displacement of people from ancestral lands etc.