Sikhism in Canada

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Sikhs have been in Canada since 1897. One of the first Sikh soldiers who arrived in Canada in 1897 following Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Sikhs were one of the few Asian immigrant communities who were loyal members of the British Empire. The irony was that greater entry restrictions were placed on perspective Sikh immigrants as compared to their Asian brothers, the Japanese and Chinese. While Canadian politicians, missionaries, unions and the press did not want Asian labour, British Columbia industrialists were short of labour and thus Sikhs were able to get an early foothold at the turn of the century in British Columbia. Of the nearly 5,000 East Indians in Canada by 1907, over 98% were Sikhs, mostly retired British army veterans. ^[1]

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Canadian Sikh Religious Institutions 3 World Wars and the Sikh Contribution 4 Recasting Canadian Sikhism 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Introduction

According to Sikhism in Canada "Canadian Sikhs practise one of Canada's best-represented non-Christian religions and form this country's largest South Asian ethnic group. Census figures suggest that there were 145 000 Sikhs in Canada in 1991 (up from 67,710 a decade earlier), but this is recognized to be an undercount. Population estimates of all Canadian South Asians based primarily on immigration data show that there were roughly 530,000 South Asians in Canada at the end of 1993; of these, about 35%, or 180,000 are believed to be Sikhs.

The first Sikhs came to Canada in 1903 as part of a Hong Kong military contingent travelling to the coronation of Edward VII. Some soon returned to Canada, establishing themselves in BC. More than 5,000 South Asians, over 90% of them Sikhs, came to BC before their Immigration was banned in 1908. This population was soon reduced to about 2,000 through out-migration, almost all those remaining being Sikhs. Despite profound racial discrimination (see Komagata Maru), Sikhs quickly established their religious institutions in BC. The Vancouver Khalsa Diwan Society was created in 1907. Through its leadership Sikhs built their first permanent gurdwara (temple) the following year. By 1920, other gurdwaras had been established in New Westminster, Victoria, Nanaimo, Golden, Abbotsford, Fraser Mills and Paldi. Each was controlled by an independent, elected executive board.

From the beginning, gurdwaras were the central community institutions of Canadian Sikhs. Through them, Sikhs provided extensive aid to community members in need. The dramatic fight to have the immigration ban rescinded was also organized through the temples. By 1920 Vancouver Sikhs alone had contributed $300,000 to charitable causes in India and to the defence of Sikhs in Canada. Temples were also the focus of much anti-British revolutionary activity.

[edit] Canadian Sikh Religious Institutions

Canadian Sikh religious institutions reached another stage of development in the 1920s, when wives and children of legal Sikh residents were allowed entry to the country. In accord with the teachings of the gurus, men, women and children participated fully in both temple and home-based observances. Sikh religion provided the basis for a strong collective identity between the world wars, so that very few Sikhs renounced the faith or married outside it. The main religious revision of the period 1920-60 was a tendency among second-generation men to become Sahajdharis - to cut their hair and beards to conform to Canadian dress. Initiation into the Khalsa through amrit pahul became very rare.

[edit] World Wars and the Sikh Contribution

According to century of struggle and sucess the Sikh Canadian experience "With the advent of World War II and the internment of Japanese Canadians, Sikhs were able to prosper. Before going to the internment camps Japanese preferred to sell their homes and properties to their Sikh neighbors who they had known for so long. As the war economy picked up speed and moved into high gear, Sikhs were given positions of greater responsibility on the factory floors across the country as well as sharpening their skills as successful businessmen. Just as the war helped to emancipate North American women, showing that they were capable of doing a mans job, Sikhs were showing that they were just as talented as their European counterparts. One of the last major roadblocks remained the right to vote. The year was 1947, fifty years since the first Sikh immigrants had arrived, yet they were still denied this fundamental right. A right that was long overdue and Sikhs rallied to the cause, holding town hall meetings and lobbying local politicians and the government in Ottawa to try change the law." ^[2]

[edit] Recasting Canadian Sikhism

Sikhism in Canada began to change its character in the 1950s as immigration resumed. Many postwar immigrants were more urbane, educated, westernized and religiously untraditional than those who had come earlier. The democratic basis of control over temples soon reflected this division in the domination of older temples by immigrant Sahajdharis and the establishment of alternative, more "orthodox" temples by Keshadharis in Vancouver and Victoria.

In the 1960s and 1970s tens of thousands of skilled Sikhs, some highly educated, settled across Canada, especially in the urban corridor from Toronto to Windsor. As their numbers grew, Sikhs established temporary gurdwaras in every major city eastward to Montréal. These have been followed in many instances by permanent gurdwaras and Sikh centres. Most cities now have several gurdwaras, each reflecting a different shade of religious, social or political opinion.There are 25 in Ontario alone. As before, they are the central community institutions. Through them Sikhs now have access to a full set of public observances. Central among these are Sunday prayer services followed by langar, a free meal provided to all by members of the sangat (congregation). Services are open to anyone who obeys the conventions for entering a temple: that one do so shoeless with the head covered, and refrain from smoking or drinking. Temple observances are also held to celebrate the various gurus and such traditional Sikh calendrical celebrations as Baisakhi Day. The temples are also used for marriages and funeral services.

Perhaps the most important aspects of Sikh religion in Canada are personal and devotional. A daily routine for an Amritdhari Sikh would include rising early for a bath and prayers. Many Sikh families have a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib in their homes and in the morning select a passage at random from it for inspiration from God. A hymn is read at sunset, and a hymn and prayer at night. All Sikhs are expected to abstain from tobacco and alcohol, stealing, adultery and gambling. They are not to make caste distinctions, worship idols or acknowledge any living religious teachers as gurus.

Sikhism emphasizes the importance of family life, philanthropy, service and defence of the faith. Sikh philanthropy has been extensive, especially in support of local gurdwaras and increasingly of pan-Canadian social causes and the arts. Service has been traditionally interpreted chiefly in terms of service to the religion and the community, but this notion of service is slowly broadening out to incorporate Canadian social issues.

Save for a possible resident gyanji (priest), volunteers take on all the affairs of local gurdwaras, from administration to cooking food at the weekly langar.

Sikhs have gone to great lengths to teach their children their culture and religion. Many temples support classes to teach religious precepts and the written language to children; most second-generation Sikhs speak Punjabi from an early age but must be formally taught the unique Sikh gurmukhi written script in order to read from the Guru Granth Sahib.

There have been several attempts to develop a unitary national Sikh religious organization, but this objective has not yet been achieved. National and regional conferences to discuss Sikh issues have been held in several cities, and informal contacts between various regional temple organizations are usually maintained. The primary organizational basis of Canadian Sikhism remains, however, the local temple association. Sikh Canadians maintain strong religious ties with India. A continual stream of theologians, teachers, singers and musicians visits Canada, and Indian religious texts are in wide circulation. Sikh Canadians visiting India often go on Pilgrimage to the famous Sikh shrines, especially the Darbar Sahib (commonly called the Golden Temple) in Amritsar." ^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ Century of Struggle and Sucess The Sikh Canadian Experience13 November 2006
2. ^ Century of Struggle and Sucess The Sikh Canadian Experience13 November 2006
3. ^ Sikhism in Canada13 November 2006

[edit] External links

• Sikhs in Canada
• "Sikhism in Canada"