HUMAN RACE EQUALITY by Pritam Singh Grewal - a former College lecturer and Public School Principal from Punjab (India) now a local Heritage Language Teacher.

One of the largest visible minorities of Canada, the Sikhs, started arriving at the west coast from the Punjab at the beginning of this century. Of about 170,000 Sikhs settled in Canada, over one thousand reside in and around Kitchener- Waterloo. They can be identified from their outward symbols of unshorn hair, turban and a steel bracelet on the right wrist. The usual Sikh middle name is Singh (Lion) for males and Kaur (Princess) for females. Known as the youngest major religion of the world, Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539 AD). His birth-place, called Nankana Sahib is now in Pakistan, after the Punjab split in 1947. The world population of the Sikhs is around 20 million. The Sikh faith evolved and developed under the leadership of ten Gurus. The tenth Guru Gobind Singh installed the holy book named Guru Granth Sahib as the perpetual Guru. It is a 1430 page anthology of hymns composed by the Sikh Gurus and some saints from other faiths. These hymns were written in several current dialects and languages including Sanskrit and Persian, and are set to 31 musical scores.

One of the cardinal principles of Sikhism is the essential equality of all human beings. Thus Sikhism rejects all man-made divisions of human race into castes, creeds, colours and classes. In fact, Guru Nanak's constant companion was a Muslim musician named Mardana.

The famous Sikh temple called the Golden Temple at Amritsar has four doors towards the four directions signifying that all persons are welcome there without any discrimination of creed or clime. The foundation of this Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) was laid by a Muslim saint named Mian Mir.

The Sikh Gurus opposed all forms of oppression and exploitation. They resisted the religious, social and political policies which went against equality and dignity of human beings. An example is when the Brahmins (members of the priestly and highest caste of Hindus) of Kashmir feared persecution at the hands of the then rulers of India, they sought help from the ninth Sikh Guru: Tegh Bahadur. Though they had a different faith, the Guru sacrificed his own life at Delhi in 1675 to defend their right to faith and life.

An important Sikh practice of social equality is 'Langar' or common and free kitchen, where every person is welcome to eat irrespective of faith or status. Sikhs recognise the whole human race as one. The Sikh Community celebrates Baisakhi Day, as on this day in 1699 A.D., the tenth Sikh Guru GobindSingh created the Khalsa Order by baptising the Sikhs with Amrit ceremony at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab.

This article was originally published in Cross Cultures Magazine in Volume 1 - Issue 3 - 1992. Unauthorized copying, distribution or other usage without express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.