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Face to Face with Obama
Harvind Kaur
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The young Sikh activist and documentalist reminisces her
meetings with Obama and questions the attitude of Sikhs towards
‘different people –Blacks and Muslims’ as she describes it and
urges for review of the same in the light of election of Barack
Obama as the President of United States of America. This is an
adapted version of an article written by the author prior to the
election. |
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 It
is amazing that an African-American man with a Muslim name is the
President of the
United States of
America.
I think many are
still in awe. Not so much the Gen X'ers who didn't live through the
Civil Rights era, but those with long memories of the days of Rosa
Parks know how historic this moment truly is.
I am relieved
that
America finally has an opportunity to move away from the horrific
policies of the last eight years as represented by George W. Bush
and the various agendas that put him into power, like the
evangelical Right-Wingers.
There is hope in
the future of this country. Given the climate and fear mongering in
this country against those that are different (insert Muslim, South
Asian, etc.), the people spoke and they chose the path of change.
I had the
opportunity to meet Mr. Obama twice.
Once when he was
Illinois State Representative covering the area of
Hyde Park, home
to the
University
of
Chicago.
I was an entering Master's student in the
Divinity
School.
He went to each school's student orientations and met with the
students. I remember how, back then in 2000, he was so sincere when
he addressed all of us.
He let us know
he was willing and available, should we need help. There might have
been a political agenda in these meetings. But most of the students
were from out-of-state and probably didn't care about Illinois State
Politics. I even forgot about him.
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Where is the racism of Sikhs coming from? I venture to say that
we have not moved beyond the Brahmanism that continues to plague
all of India. It has been slowly strangling any vestige of
secularism or tolerance that India claims is part of its modern
values. The sub-continent is still a powerhouse espousing the
divisions of caste, while maintaining a global face of secular
democracy. |
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Then he ran for
U.S. Congress. It was with pride that
Illinois elected
him to Congress as its Senator. I again had the chance to meet him
because of his work promoting issues of transportation and
infrastructure. Again, his attitude appeared sincere and on his walk
up to the podium, he stopped and listened patiently to the folks who
wanted his ear. I do hope for
the sake of
America's future
that Mr. Obama can provide this country with much-needed change.
Even so, in the back of my mind, I have a tremendous fear. It deals
with an issue the Indian community has learnt to cover up deftly. It
is the issue of racism.
In the Indian
community, we have a significant prejudicial attitude against Blacks
and Muslims. It is not something anyone talks about openly; it just
seems to be understood.
These are the
type of comments oft heard in Indian circles:
"You can marry a
white boy; but don't bring home a Kalu (Black) or Muslim!"
"Those Muslims
only care about converting you; remember they killed our Gurus".
"Oh, so is she
white?"
"Oh, he doesn't
look black at all; just look at his nose".
Now we don't
talk about these things openly, just like we don't talk about sexual
abuse, domestic abuse, or homosexuality.
But where is
this racism coming from? It definitely is not coming from the Sikh
faith. Our Gurus were magnanimous in their commitment to equality,
both in gender and race.
They also had
tremendous respect for their Muslim peers. After all, it was Sayeen
Mian Mir, a Sufi saint, who was asked by Guru Arjan to lay the
foundation stone of the Darbar Sahib.
And how can we
forget the great contributions of saints like Farid and Kabir? Or
Pir Buddhu Shah and Bhikhan Khan Pathan? Rai Bular?
As an immigrant
community that has set roots all over the Diaspora, it is alarming
that Indians would also adopt such prejudice against the black
minority which is still reeling from centuries of extreme
oppression.
Let's not forget
that the Civil Rights movement is barely six decades old. Most of us
Sikh-Americans who have achieved enormous successes have also
benefited from the Civil Rights Movement.
Many
African-Americans lost their lives during this movement: Emmit Till,
Medgar Evers; the Four Little Girls at the
Birmingham 16th
Street Baptist Church, and, of course Martin Luther King Jr. Who can
forget the images of the March on Washington, the Little Rock Nine,
or the fire-hosing of peaceful protestors?
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There is hope in the future of this country. Given the climate
and fear mongering in this country against those that are
different (insert Muslim, South Asian, etc.), the people spoke
and they chose the path of change. |
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Growing up, I
too have taken advantage of many minority programs. These programs
would not have been possible without the struggles faced by
African-Americans throughout
America,
particularly the South.
I'm not sure
where this prejudice amongst Indians originates. I have some
thoughts, but not verifiable facts. I know that this prejudice does
not come from the teachings of our Gurus. So where is the culprit?
I venture to say
that we have not moved beyond the Brahmanism that continues to
plague all of
India. It has
been slowly strangling any vestige of secularism or tolerance that
India claims is part of its modern values. The sub-continent is
still a powerhouse espousing the divisions of caste, while
maintaining a global face of secular democracy.
Our parents and
grand-parents have traveled to new lands and carried with them many
positive values from their homeland ... and some that are extremely
problematic. Caste and its underlying motivations are still embedded
within their psyche. It is also passed down to subsequent
generations that cling to values presented to them as being
essential to their identity.
More commonly we
can see this manifested in some of our youngsters today who have car
stickers claiming, strangely and inexplicably, their "Jat pride".
While I don't
pretend to know the solution to this problem, I've only offered one
possible reason for the prejudice that exists within our community.
I'm sure many others have more and different ideas. It has come to
my mind now, as we see what is happening in
America with
this historic election returning Barack Obama.
Let's hope
our community can look beyond his color and see him just as a
person. Emancipation for the US and for the Sikhs lies in this.
12 November
2008
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