BACK
Editorial
An
Ideologue’s Legacy
John F Kennedy once remarked, “A man may die, nations
may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.” Dr Kharak
Singh, who passed away on August 6, 2008, was synonymous
with an idea. And the great idea was to pull Sikh Panth
out of its stereotyped medieval mindset in all its intellectual,
religious, social and cultural moorings and set it on a
path of becoming a vibrant, modern socio-religious entity
which could stand proudly among the comity of various other
denominational entities in India and among the nations in
the world without compromising with its fundamental ethos
and doctrines. For bringing about this phenomenal transformation,
he not only undertook to lay down the conceptual framework
for each and every aspect of Sikh society, but also traced
the broad contours of the roadmap by traversing which the
Sikhs could realize this cherished goal. While he arrived
at the conceptual framework through his own deep contemplation
based on his profound study of Sikh philosophy and consensual
finalization after holding brainstorming discussions with
enlightened Sikh scholars and thinkers, he set out to implement
its roadmap by laying the foundations of two institutions
to fulfill these twin tasks. A visionary, an ideologue and
a practical doer as he was, he has left a clear blueprint
for the coming generations to follow, and march forward.
He created this paradigm for Sikh survival and resurgence
with a spirit of commitment and earnestness.
Let us now familiarize ourselves with the various facets
of this paradigm. The first and foremost dimension of this
pyramid is the mental and intellectual enrichment and empowerment
of the Sikhs, particularly of its youth. In the modern knowledge-based
global world, qualitative academic education is the primary
need. For this, he envisaged a requisite financial funding
of each and every needy, meritorious Sikh. For accomplishing
this monumental task, he proposed the creation of a one
billion dollar corpus fund through mobilizing individual,
corporate and institutional donations. Being a person of
both precept and example, he made the first substantial
contribution to this Sikh Educational Fund, named ‘Guru
Nanak Educational Fund’ (GNEF). Many others followed
suit and this set the ball rolling. On his demise, his equally
dedicated family made a further contribution of rupees five
lacs to this fund. Achieving the target is, no doubt, awe-inspiring,
monumental and apparently utopian, but given the instinctive
propensity of the Sikhs to donate liberally for their religious
causes, it is not impossible. The Sikhs owe it to their
qaum.
For the religious rejuvenation of the Sikhs with its alarming
state of apostasy among the Sikhs, particularly the youth,
Dr Kharak Singh advocated the utilization of the powerful
electronic media to reach out to the Sikh population. Programs
diligently prepared on Sikh scriptures, Sikh philosophy
and Sikh history, impressively choreographed and telecast
through the electronic media can go a long way to stem the
tide of apostasy and bring back the prodigals to the Sikh
fold. The audio-visual impact of the electronic media is
too powerful to resist. For the accomplishment of this task,
Dr Kharak Singh had envisaged an independent Sikh Radio
and TV channel which may telecast live the chalked out programs
through diverse modes of dramatics, lectures, symposia and
quiz contests.
Equally important to him was the standard translation of
Sri Guru Granth Sahib into English on the lines of the only
one authorized version of the Bible into English, undertaken
and accomplished in the early seventeenth century by the
then British monarch James I. Another related task in this
sphere which Dr Kharak Singh pin-pointed is the need for
identifying and then translating the primary sources of
Sikh philosophy and Sikh history into English for the effective
propagation of Sikhism to the world at large and to a vast
section of Sikh readers of English. While emphasizing the
need for translation, he also favored a critical evaluation
of these primary sources some of which have contents that
contradict the basic doctrines of Sikh philosophy. The most
prominent among these is the Dasam Granth. Dr Kharak Singh
had proposed a committee of Sikh scholars to be constituted
by the SGPC under the aegis of Sri Akal Takht Sahib to undertake
such a task and give a final verdict on its authenticity.
Dr Kharak Singh had been exhorting all Panthic leaders and
institutions to rise above their narrow considerations and
think in terms of the greatest good of the greatest number
of Sikhs. He had been stressing upon the supremacy of the
Akal Takht in Sikh affairs with well-defined status and
role of its Jathedar and the need for an advisory Committee
of Sikh scholars and professionals, which could assist the
Jathedar in finding solutions to the emerging complex problems
of the globally-dispersed Sikh Panth. In order to make the
shiromani body of the Sikhs, the SGPC, more representative
and comprehensive, he stressed the need for getting the
All India Gurdwaras Act passed in the Parliament. Like an
astute physician, Dr Kharak Singh had diagnosed all these
religious maladies and suggested sensible and viable solutions.
These issues can neither be wished away nor brushed under
the carpet. Rather, these need to be tackled on an urgent
and priority basis.
For realizing these well-conceptualized missions, Dr Kharak
Singh laid the foundations of two institutions – the
Institute of Sikh Studies and the International Sikh Confederation.
The former is devoted to producing English translations
of primary Sikh sources and well-researched Sikh studies
as well as watch out for any kind of calculated propaganda
and/or distortions in the Sikh ideology/history. The latter
(ISC) addresses the academic, educational, legal, economic
and religious issues on a global scale.
What is needed is the integrity, commitment and determination
of those who are on the bandwagon of Dr Kharak Singh’s
brilliant mission. A befitting tribute to the legacy of
a great and dedicated Sikh savant and visionary shall be
to accomplish the tasks and goals set out with passion and
commitment by him.
Let us finally pay our homage to Dr Kharak Singh by repeating
and reiterating with another twentieth century intellectual
giant, George Bernard Shaw, “Life is not a brief candle
for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got
hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly
as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
Are we ready to take over this splendid torch and keep it
burning more brightly?
¤
©Copyright Institute of Sikh Studies,
2009, All rights reserved.
