World Turban Day to honour Sikh identity

AMRITSAR - Thousands of Sikh men will take to the streets of the country today on the occasion of the World Turban Day to highlight the significance of the most conspicuous emblem of their faith.

Scores of rallies, prayer vigils and tying competitions will mark World Turban Day, an event conceived amid concerns that young Sikhs are abandoning the turban in favour of Western-style hairdos.

“Already we are a microscopic community of just 20 million worldwide. The turban is a crucial demonstration of our existence,” The Times Online quoted S. Dilmegh Singh, the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) Secretary, as saying.

“Our youths are flirting with apostasy by cutting the hair, trimming their beards and not wearing turbans. That’s why World Turban Day is so important,” he added.

Jaswinder Singh, of the Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj, added: “We are inviting Sikhs, who have forsaken the turban to return to the fold. This day is their chance to reconnect with our gurus.”

In recent decades many Sikhs have preferred to live without the turban, as their turbans and beards are often confused with those of Islamic fundamentalists since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Others trace the demise to 1984, when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, and in the riots that came after people wearing turbans were attacked.

“People think I’m Taleban. The prejudice is ridiculous: I’m not a terrorist, I’m on Facebook,” said Gagandeep Singh, founder member of the Sikh Turban Pride Organisation.

The World Turban Day is organized annually to help the Sikh youths connect to their culture and religion.

Although the keeping of unshorn hair was mandated by Guru Gobind Singh as one of the Five Ks or five articles of faith, it has long been closely associated with Sikhism since the very beginning of Sikhi in 1469.

Among the Sikhs, the turban represents honor, self-respect, courage, spirituality, and piety. (ANI)