*3.3. Miri*/*Piri*

Respondents also highlighted how their activism was driven by the concept of miri/piri through which "the role of the individual Sikh was transformed from a purely spiritual aspirant (piri) to that of a spiritual aspirant fully immersed in temporal affairs (miri/piri) ... [through] the immersion of politics and spirituality (or rather, the resistance toward the separation of these two realms)" (Mandair 2011, p. 67). For Pashaura Singh, the concept of miri/piri "affirms that religion and politics are bound together, thereby allowing religious issues to be defended in the political arena and political activity to be conducted in accordance with the religious values of truth and social justice" (Singh 2019b, p. 296). Furthermore, Takhar found that the young British Sikh political activists she spoke to were "keen to mention that it is being Sikh which is an important contributing factor to their activities and support for campaigns for Justice" (Takhar 2018, p. 308).

The emergence of humanitarian charities, including Sikh foodbanks, where food is distributed free of charge to the homeless (Singh 2015a), can also be seen to be driven by miri/piri, and was highlighted by Respondent 6 as being driven by the importance of "getting involved in your local level, national or international level in society and community ... the main source of us doing this is sewa and miri/piri." Respondents further highlighted how they gained inspiration from the lives of the Sikh Gurus, with Respondent 11 explaining how Sikh history included numerous examples of activism including "Guru

<sup>4</sup> The leaflet is available to view on the Karaj Campaign Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Karaj.Campaign/photos/a. 1142415149109176/2198582750159072/ (accessed on 17 August 2020).

<sup>5</sup> The first protest occurred on 5 July, 2012, at a gurdwara in Swindon, when "protesters occupied the Kembrey Street temple and locked the gates to halt the marriage between a Sikh woman and a Christian man" (Swindon Advertiser 2012). The second protest took place in Bradford on 19 July, 2014, (Yorkshire Sikh News 2014) and received little coverage in mainstream media. The protests which took place in Southall on 11 August, 2015, (Dearden 2015) and in Birmingham on 18 August, 2015, (Fricker 2015) were widely reported in mainstream media, as was the Leamington protest which took place on 11 September, 2016, for which Sikh Youth UK claimed responsibility (Taylor 2016).

<sup>6</sup> These include an arson attack at the home of the president of the Ramgharia Sikh temple in Birmingham for allowing a mixed faith Anand Karaj to take place (Birmingham Post 2007) and an attack on the home of a Sikh family whose daughter was about to marry a man from a different religion (BBC News 2012).

Nanak Dev Ji standing up to the Mughal emperor Babar ... [and] the Gurus ... standing up to the governments of the time" (for a fuller discussion of this encounter, see Pashaura Singh 2020). Narratives from Sikh history were repeatedly emphasised as a key reason why Sikhs should challenge injustices; as Respondent 10 explained, "when you follow the history of our Sikhs throughout 300 years ... they opposed the governments of the day, whether it be the Mughals, the British governmen<sup>t</sup> or this governmen<sup>t</sup> in India." This highlights how, through the concept of miri/piri, for many Sikh activists there is little distinction between "religious" and "political" drivers for action.

#### *3.4. Resistance and Violence: Morchas and Martyrdom*

Sikhs have a long history of mobilising around single-issue campaigns, or morchas, from the Akali morchas in the 1920s to the turban campaigns in the 1960s to various campaigns post-1984 (Singh and Tatla 2006, p. 95). Alongside these campaigns, respondents highlighted how shaheeds (martyrs) continued to inspire them, as demonstrated by Respondent 8:

I still really do draw inspiration from Sant Jarnail Singh, even as a child, although I didn't understand what was going on, I think I was always mesmerised by his presence ... I was always drawn to that and again, you look at the Shaheeds, whether of the past or the present, certainly ones that were willing to put their necks on the line and uphold what they felt was important, they'll always be inspirational, whether latter or more ancient, they're all important. But I do draw inspiration, I personally do anyway.

Although most frequently discussed in relation to Islam, Mahmood makes an important distinction between Islamic and Sikh notions of martyrdom, explaining that "though the concept of the righteous martyr (shaheed) is related to Islam, death in a holy war for Sikhs is not conceptualized as some kind of entry ticket to paradise" (Mahmood 2002, p. 32). Martyrdom in the Sikh tradition is primarily an act of resistance where "resistance to injustice is an existential stance, as something one does as a mode of worship with no other necessary aim than the fact of resistance itself" (Mahmood 2002, p. 48). Furthermore, in her discussion of the place of violence in the Sikh tradition, Mahmood (2013, p. 71) notes that "the Sikh stance of militancy evolved through the leadership of the ten gurus who originated and led the community; violence emerged as a last resort when all other means of maintaining Sikhi had failed." Similarly, in his examination of Sikh militant movements, Wallace (2011) illustrates how these movements have in general been non-violent, where "militancy" relates to having "an aggressive and passionate stand for the cause of their religion and the Gurus" (Singh 2019b, p. 296).

#### **4. Societal and Cultural Issues**

Some respondents stated that an important reason for their activism was to uphold the izzat (honour) of the Sikh community. Although honour and shame are universal terms that play a significant role in all societies, both concepts are culturally constructed and defined (Lindisfarne 1998), and act as a compelling influence on individuals' behaviour. For British South Asians, Toor (2009, p. 244) notes how

The role of the community is paramount in a ffirming izzat as it provides a marker of one's status within the cultural community, which is where traditions and morality—which are, in turn, governed and determined by izzat—are continually reinforced and sustained from generation to generation.

The documentaries "A Warrior's Religion" (Amar 2012) and "Warrior Boyz" (Sangra 2008), both examining the Punjabi Sikh community in Canada, highlight how notions of izzat play out, often leading to "violent altercations in gurdwaras, instances of domestic violence and gang warfare ... [which] may or may not include violent action" (Jakobsh 2014, p. 171). Regardless of their own religiosity and identity practices, respondents highlighted the importance of defending the honour of the Sikh tradition. Respondent 1 explained how, although he did not maintain long hair, a beard and turban himself, he had the right to expect those that did to uphold the tradition:

it doesn't matter if we're mona [have a haircut] or anything, we will punish a guy with a turban because ... he belongs to the guru. You can judge me, I could be in the pub the next day, but I've not become a Khalsa [taken initiation] ... it's all about Pride and Honour and to be Defenders of the Faith.

With the attack on Harmandir Sahib in June 1984 and violence against Sikhs in November 1984, many respondents felt that the honour of the Sikh community had been tarnished, and that this was a wrong which needed to be addressed. Jakobsh (2014, p. 172) links izzat to hyper masculinity, explaining how "a commonly heard phrase used to describe powerful Punjabi Sikh males is "Sher-Punjabi" or "lions of the Punjab" with Punjabi males often encouraged to demonstrate their masculinity". For Respondent 4, "this is where the whole question of mixed marriages comes in, because mixed marriages themselves are seen as a threat to Sikh male masculinity, because the opposition to mixed marriage is always to do with a Sikh girl marrying a non-Sikh boy." Therefore, some male Sikh activists may be "performing" their masculinity in public, given the "historical representations of Sikh masculinities, in part informed through the colonial encounter, [which] have constructed a hyper-masculine, martial, Sikh warrior (often Jat) as the ideal and 'authentic' Sikh male" (Gill 2014, p. 336).

Linked to issues of honour are incidents, particularly in Britain, relating to Sikh–Muslim tensions. Sian (2011) notes that antagonism between Sikhs and Muslims in Britain is present in large sections of the Sikh community and is not exclusive to members of Sikh gangs and Sikh youth. An analysis of Sian's work in conjunction with the examination of Sikh–Muslim community relations (Moliner 2007) and issues in Britain (Singh 2010, pp. 34–38) highlights contemporary and historical reasons for tensions between the two communities in Britain:


In recent years, the narrative around Muslims targeting Sikh girls for conversion (e.g., Birmingham Mail 2007) has evolved to also focus on "grooming", with Respondent 10 explaining that "grooming's been going on for years—Sikh girls being groomed, totally overlooked and acknowledged." Respondents frequently cited a BBC "Inside Out" documentary which aired in 2013 on the issue of Sikh girls being groomed by Muslim men (Adesina 2013) as evidence of the phenomenon. Although it is beyond the scope of this report to empirically examine the truth behind these claims, the narrative of Sikh girls being groomed by Muslim men has been a key factor in some

of the recent incidents of Sikh–Muslim tensions, in particular the Mughal Darbar incident in Leicester in 2013 (BBC News 2013). Further research is required to understand why similar incidents between Sikhs and Muslims have not occurred in other parts of the world (the US and Canada, for example), although this may simply be a consequence of di fferences in patterns of settlement.

The interviews also highlighted di fferences in the types of activism undertaken by male and female activists. A female respondent highlighted that Sikh institutions and organisations remain highly patriarchal and that "the female is expected, even in today's age, to go home and look after the kids whereas the men can basically step out and do other things." Another explained that Sikh men are more likely to participate in activism as they have "more flexible and disposable time to do it in". Respondent 4 noted how organisations being run by Sikh women have emerged "due to the utter denial of the gurdwaras to address questions of gender abuse and domestic violence" with these organisations highlighting issues including honour killings, domestic violence, sexual abuse and substance abuse. Indeed, in her examination of institution building among Sikh millennials in the US, Luthra (2018, p. 286) found one particular Sikh female "often being the only woman and only millennial in committee meetings ... [and having] to rely on her father to ge<sup>t</sup> access to local leaders to arrange such visits". These various exclusions have led Sikh youth to establish new spaces where "more than half of those involved in the new Sikh institutions are women" (Luthra 2018, p. 289).
