“Sikhs are unique”- SGPC respond to RSS attempts to erase Sikh identity

Last weekend (03.09.23) SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) President Bhai Harjinder
Singh Dhami released a statement emphasising the distinctness of Sikhs in response to an RSS claim on Sikh identity.

Chief of Hindu extremist Indian nationalist group the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat made a statement earlier in the week claiming “All Indians are Hindus”, in an attempt to advocate India as a Hindu only nation. SGPC President Dhami responded that Sikhs are a “distinct entity, which reflects their originality and uniqueness”.

The statement went on to say that “Mohan Bhagwat gives a fatwa (decree) to every person living in
India to be Hindu to satisfy his mind”, but that those who call India a Hindu nation should
“read the history of India and especially the Sikhs”.

The RSS Chief’s statement reflects the growing Hindutva rhetoric in support of Hindu
Rashtra (Hindu nationalism) which is being taken more and more seriously and is fostering
intolerance and hate for Sikhs as well as other minorities.

In his statement about all Indians being Hindus, Bhagwat also ominously stated that “everybody has understood this. Some acknowledge it, some do not” illustrating how widespread and comfortable the thought has now become among Hindu groups in India.

This thought stems from a long history of the erasure of Sikh identity as Hindu, as is demonstrated in respected Sikh author Bhai Kahn Singh’s famous “Ham Hindu Nahin” (We are not Hindus) which was published in 1898. In the Constitution of India, Sikhs are not recognised as an independent entity and are labelled as Hindu.

The Hindutva agenda aims, amongst other things, to swallow up Sikhi into Hinduism. The
Sikh community are feeling the effects of this agenda in many ways in Punjab, with the
erasure of Sikhi as well as Punjabi language, culture and rights.

As such many Sikhs welcome leading Sikh body the SGPC directly combatting this issue.

Media inquiries- Har-Rai@SikhPA.com.