Diaspora Sikh Experience of Des Panjab

Your work will be done (ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਕੰਮ ਹੋ ਜਾਇਗਾ ਜੀ!) is a common phrase heard in Panjab and says much about the whole system of work ethic in public and private sectors.

• Over the decades, it has become clear that Sikh diaspora next generations will not return to Panjab. They have grown up and lived in the Western environment where there is rule of law and things get done if one follows the system, not as a favour but as a public service.

Regrettably, Panjab, once the most advanced state in India, is falling behind on most fronts: economic, educational, environmental and social. Panjab and India have not progressed in the way we expected after Indian independence. Unlike a few decades ago, there is hardly any migratory Sikh traffic from abroad to Panjab.

Earlier generations migrated abroad but retained strong links with their roots in Panjab. Next generations have worked and lived in a very different world than their kith and kin in Panjab. Earlier diaspora generations referred to Punjab as Des. So it was Des Punjab for them expressing Panjabi origin and orientation. That link is much weaker now.

Many kept family connections and invested in Panjab until recent times. They have family properties and had dreams of settling down in Panjab after retirement. They were encouraged to invest in Panjab and many did.

It is not just the economic and environmental reasons which have discouraged diaspora Sikhs. It is the whole system, the behaviour of people, the way of life and the work attitude and general social environment. There is less talk these days of taking children to Panjab to learn about their culture and roots. It is easy to see why next generations are discouraged.

As an example from daily life, if you stand in a queue in a Western country, your turn to be served will come. There is no such certainty in Panjab that your turn will come because standing in an orderly queue is unknown. It is a system of queue jumping through sifarash or bribery. Local people accept that as a system because it works for them! It does not work for a visiting diaspora Sikh.

Some years ago, while visiting Darbar Sahib, I also thought of meeting Jathedar Akal Takht Sahib. I was told that he was available and, as directed by the reception office, I went to the outer office at Akal Takht Sahib. The place was a bit disorganised and I approached the Manager sitting behind a table surrounded by others. They seemed to be local prominent people from Panjab villages.

Feeling a bit out of place in my western dress, I stood in confusion for a few minutes when the manager looked up at me. It is possible that the outer office had informed him that I was from abroad and wanted to see Jathedar Sahib. After a short exchange, he told me to sit at a vacant table saying: ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਕੰਮ ਹੋ ਜਾਇਗਾ ਜੀ! (Your work will be done). That phrase is now hard-wired into my memory.

Why is that assurance from village Patwari to the highest level public servant in every field, department and business institution, necessary? So that the phrase is heard even in the highest Sikh religious institutions.  

It is not just state level rapid decline but also daily life wheeling and dealing, which discourages our next generations to retain links with what was our Des Panjab.

Gurmukh Singh OBE

E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk

https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurmukh_Singh_OBE