UK Sikhs demand answers from Brunel on “Sikh extremist” slur

Brunel University has been besieged with complaints from UK Sikhs after a module was found labelling a revered Sikh seminary as a “Sikh extremist movement”.

This week a module on “Terrorism and Counterterrorism” being taught by International Relations (Defence and Intelligence) lecturer Dr Neveen Shaaban Abdalla included a presentation slide (see picture below) with the allegation against Damdami Taksal, a Sikh educational institution with centuries of tradition that thousands of British Sikhs have learnt from.

The seminary based in Amritsar (Punjab) was founded by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji in the early 1700s and has bases in countries including the UK, Canada and the USA. Its teachings form the structure of Sikh practice and understanding for millions of Sikhs across the world, which are still taught in Gurdwaras and Sikh spaces across the world daily, rendering the statement from Dr Abdalla’s course an allegation against countless Sikhs.

The slide shown in the course included a picture of Sikh saint Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale, a former Jathedar (Head) of Damdami Taksal, who is called “leader of the Sikh extremist movement Damdami Taksal”. Sant Ji as he is affectionately known, has become synonymous with the Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) movement due to leading a panth (Sikh community/path) stand against the Indian state in the 1980s based on Sikh rights and police extrajudicial killings of Sikhs. The Indian state responded with the Sikh genocide.

Sant Ji and the Khalistan movement as a whole have been the focus of decades of Indian state propaganda to label both as “extremist”, in an effort to deflect from the growing recognition of the state’s fascism, which includes subjugation of minorities in the country, such as Sikhs.

This “extremist” image of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale is rejected by the Sikh panth, evident through the fact that his picture is displayed at major Gurdwaras and in Sikh spaces (such as Nagar Kirtans), whilst he was also named the greatest Sikh of the 20th century by the Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh authority.

Sant Ji is pictured next to Shoko Asahara in the slide, a Japanese cult-leader found guilty of 27 counts of murder. Comparatively, Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale was never even put on trial for any crime, let alone convicted. Sant Ji was killed during India’s infamous Operation Blue Star attack on holy Sikh site Sri Harmandir Sahib, an assault which was carried out with guidance from Margaret Thatcher’s British government, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians in the process of targeting Sant Ji and the Sikh resistance. A grassroots panth created documentary on the incident was released last year titled Battle Of Amritsar.

The Sikh Press Association can confirm we are aware of complaints sent to and plans for a demonstration at the West London based university.

Speaking on the issue, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said “Brunel University must answer concerns of the Sikh community regarding what they are teaching about the faith. The casual labelling of a Sikh seminary that influences millions of Sikhs as ‘extremist’ is dangerous. In an age where Sikhs are regularly attacked for the kesdhari (unshorn hair, keeping the Sikh physical identity) look, such allegations cannot be made lightly.

“Recently the BBC released a documentary which exposed the incredible level of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Indian state. This understanding of the reality of India has to impact what is taught in academia. We like to know if there was at least balance; that Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale’s saintly status among the respected British Sikh community is mentioned alongside India’s allegations against him.

“At the minute, the arrogant silence from Brunel prompts further concerns of Indian state influence at Brunel University, which is an issue within academia that has been noted by Sikhs in the UK, USA and Canada. We await further dialogue between Brunel and UK Sikh groups.”

Sikh Press Association requests for comment on this issue from Brunel University have remain ignored at the time this story was published.

NOTE- Damdami Taksal is an institution that impart just one of various Sikh schools of thought. However, this does not dilute the overall perception of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale as a revered figure in the faith, or general Sikh respect for Taksal as an educational institution.