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| April 13, 2010 | World Turban Day to honour Sikh identity | |
Amritsar:Thousands of Sikh men will take to the streets of the country today on the occasion of the World Turban Day to highlight the significance of the most conspicuous emblem of their faith. Scores of rallies, prayer vigils and
tying competitions will mark World Turban Day, an event conceived amid concerns
that young Sikhs are abandoning the turban in favour of Western-style hairdos.
"Already we are a microscopic community of just 20 million worldwide. The turban
is a crucial demonstration of our existence," The Times Online quoted S. Dilmegh
Singh, the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) Secretary, as saying. "Our
youths are flirting with apostasy by cutting the hair, trimming their beards and
not wearing turbans. That's why World Turban Day is so important," he added. Jaswinder
Singh, of the Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj, added: "We are inviting Sikhs, who have forsaken
the turban to return to the fold. This day is their chance to reconnect with our
gurus." In recent decades many Sikhs have preferred to live without the turban,
as their turbans and beards are often confused with those of Islamic fundamentalists
since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Others trace the demise
to 1984, when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards,
and in the riots that came after people wearing turbans were attacked. "People
think I'm Taleban. The prejudice is ridiculous: I'm not a terrorist, I'm on Facebook,"
said Gagandeep Singh, founder member of the Sikh Turban Pride Organisation. The
World Turban Day is organized annually to help the Sikh youths connect to their
culture and religion. Although the keeping of unshorn hair was mandated by Guru
Gobind Singh as one of the Five Ks or five articles of faith, it has long been
closely associated with Sikhism since the very beginning of Sikhi in 1469. Among
the Sikhs, the turban represents honor, self-respect, courage, spirituality, and
piety. |
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