The Sikh Geek

I’m sure everyone has been viewing with horror and sadness the terrorist attacks that have taken place in Mumbai. I was there the night the events started unfolding and was in my hotel room when the news channels started reporting what was happening in South Mumbai at various locations. I was some distance away from the attacks in a small hotel next to our offices in Goregaon East (about 20 mins from the International Airport). As the horrific events were coming in on the news, I phoned our Operations Director, Amit, who had gone towards that area to meet up with his brother Ashish (my business partner) and a UK Client we had visiting his team at our offices. Luckily Amit had not made it to the area due to the roads being blocked and having to turn back and Ashish had made it back safely as well. I phoned my wife to tell her that I was okay at about midnight and went to bed. At about 2.30am I was woken by a knock at my hotel room and was confronted by armed police officers with the hotel manager. The police had their handguns in their hands by their side. They questioned me for some minutes, checked my passport and got me to empty my luggage and searched my room. They were not aggressive but just firm and efficient and apologised as they left. I was okay with this as I knew it was as a result of what was happening that night. In the morning Amit and Ashish came to pick me up to go to the Airport to catch our scheduled flight back to London. There were no delays at the Airport, no panic, no chaos or confusion but obviously heightened security and full flight due to people wanting to leave. Many of our staff did not arrive at work that morning but that was understandable as many come in via train and we were happy that they should not put themselves under any undue risk. Life generally in Mumbai was going on as usual and despite reports I saw on the news the City was not paralysed.

Many people have died and many more are injured and therefore my thoughts turn to them first and foremost. Most of the dead are Indian citizens and reports have been in the UK Press as to how the staff of the Taj Hotel had saved the hotel guests whilst losing their own life. The Indian Armed forces, Police and Emergency services showed great bravery and the Chief of the Anti-terrorist unit in Mumbai lost his life amongst other senior police officers.

Thanks to all those that were concerned for me, I really appreciate your thoughts. It’s great to be connected with so many caring and thoughtful people around the world.

Mumbai and India has suffered terrorist attacks before and probably will do so again but India’s resolve and desire to fulfil its destiny will never be destroyed. It is taking its rightful place at the top table of nations and there is no reversal of this no matter how many people denigrate Indian workers and their capabilities. The last two weeks that I have been in India, I have felt extremely proud to be a person of Indian Origin.

There is a famous quote which is often read out during the Remembrance Day Celebrations and written on many war memorials through out the world which is :

When you go home
Tell them of us, and say,
For their tomorrow
We gave our today

However, few know what the origins of this quote is. It is written on the Kohima Epitaph which commemorates the Allied deaths during World War II who repulsed the Japanese Army from invading India, which was then a part of the British Empire. This was the largest defeat the Japanese suffered on land.

Mark Tully’s account of the Indian Army from the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent recalls how this for many years was called the "forgotten army".

Today is Armistice Day, 11th November which on this day on the 11th day of the 11th hour in 1918 the end of World War I came about. I mention this because to understand human suffering on the scale that was seen in the World Wars and the Wars that are current today is to feel the very thing that makes us human. To understand man’s inhumanity to man is something we should all try and comprehend and forever be asking "Why?".

I went to the Gurudwara this Sunday with my family as we do some time and there were slideshows of the Sikh Soldiers who had fought in World War I in Europe, almost 85,000 Sikhs losing their lives during the two World Wars. The Secretary of the Gurudwara said that in today’s Remembrance Sunday ceremonies in London at the Cenotaph there would be no recognition of that contribution and he was right.

The Allied Army which fought the Japanese at the Battle of Kohima had a large contingent of Sikhs and one of them Gian Singh won a Victoria Cross for his bravery. So, next time you see a Sikh with a Turban remember that their ancestors fought and died with their Turbans on fighting for this country and freedom.

Francis Yeats-Brown said of the Sikhs :

I have never met a despondent Sikh in the front line. In a hospital in the rear he will moan dreadfully over a small wound, but in a fight he will go on to his last breath, and die laughing at the thought of Paradise, with the battle-cry of Khalsa ji ki jai as he falls.

On the Burma Star website under the Indian Forces the Sikh Regiment list reads (6 of the 12 are Sikh Regiments whilst Sikhs only make up 2% of the population) :

• 1st Punjab Regiment
• 2nd Punjab Regiment
• 6th Punjab Regiment
• 14th Punjab Regiment
• 16th Punjab Regiment
• 3/11 Sikh Regiment

I was listening to the ITV News last night and they interviewed the last 3 surviving UK men to have fought in World War I, now well in their 100s. One of them said don’t forget the Germans because they lost many people as well.

As these World Wars pass out of living memory what will you do to Remember?

There was a comment on Nick Bryant’s Australia Blog that the Olympics euphoria won’t last because we British just don’t feel comfortable with winning. Well I can tell you that I feel VERY comfortable with it.

  Perhaps the final table won’t look like that (I don’t really care!) but honestly I can’t see Australia or Germany surpassing Team GB now as they are on 11 Golds. Team GB have been amazing and inspiring and makes you feel proud to be British, something we don’t say or show enough of.

I recently found out that the British Library in London holds some amazing pieces of Sikh Manuscripts. The most amazing of these is the "Guru Granth Sahib" (The Sikh Holy Book) but what is remarkable is that is the oldest known version outside of India and one the 20 oldest known in existence. It dates from c1660-75 which is the time of the Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and his son the Tenth and Final Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It was only in 1699 that the Khalsa was formed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji and he declared that after him the Sikhs should only follow the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. So, it became the living embodiment of our Faith and it is treated with the utmost respect and reverence. I’m not sure if it is a good or bad thing that the British Library owns such a rare part of the Sikh Faith. You could argue that it might have been destroyed if it had remained in India through various upheavals. I understand it has been restored with funds from the Sikh Education Council.

The collection also contains the Prayer Book of Rani Jindan Kaur, the wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who fought two wars with the British before the Punjab was finally annexed. His son Maharaja Duleep Singh was shipped off to England, converted to Christainity (later went back to being a Sikh) and become a favourite of Queen Victoria. This was when the famour Koh-i-Nor diamond was somehow given/taken from Duleep Singh and now is part of the Queen’s Crown Jewels ("To the Victor the Spoils"). Duleep Singh is buried in Elveden Church in Norfolk. How strange that the last Maharaja of the Sikh Nation’s resting place is only 100 miles away from me. There is a Sikh Memorial to him there but I’ve never visited or seen it and to be honest I didn’t know it even existed until quite recently.

It’s amazing to think how intertwined the history of Britain and the Sikhs are and I guess why my parents came to this country back in the 1960s.

Within the collection there is a picture of Guru Nanak Ji, the founder of Sikhism with his two followers one which was a Muslim and one a Hindu. The message from this and from the Sikh Faith is of the equality of Religious belief.

The opening words of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is "Ek on Kar" meaning "One God"!

I  saw this article on the online Daily Telegraph, that plans for a Sikh Regiment had been scrapped by the British Army over fears of being considered "racist". It’s actually supported by UK Sikh Community leaders and I can safely say that it would be supported by most Sikhs in the UK. I think this would’ve sent a great signal as to the reality of integration into UK Society. Too often people question the loyalty of those who are from Immigrant families, especially in the post 9/11 and 7/7 era. In the US Sikhs wearing their turbans were mistaken for Taliban and attacked.

This move for a UK Sikh Regiment was reportedly backed by Prince Charles but obviously Political Correctness has won the day but that still doesn’t stop the British Army recruiting from Nepal for the Gurkha Regiment!

At a time when the British Army is struggling to recruit and is over-stretched with deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, then this would help to ease the burden.

The Daily Telegraph (not known for its Left Leaning view) also has an article on Sikh Gallantry and the fact that the British had a Sikh Regiment previously which also fought in the Two World Wars with 10 Victoria Crosses won and the Indian Sikh Regiment is the most decorated Regiment in the Indian Army. But you won’t hear their stories on Armistice Day on the televised broadcasts on Remembrance Sunday. Yet, we’ve had to fight to wear our Karas in State Schools and other religious symbols and that is why I say we’ve earnt our rights.

I did something remarkable last week and started going to the gym! Like many people I’m sure, I’d been paying for a local gym but never using it. I managed 3 sessions last week and plan to keep this up. I started all this by going running with my son who is 8.5 years old on a mile long run and it was hell (for me at least) and I had to keep stopping. That’s pretty pathetic as I have in the past run a couple of half marathons at about just under the 2 hour mark and a 10K in about 47 mins. I know I’m not going to break any world records as I’m not really a distance runner. I only ever did it because I was playing rugby (before I broke my arm and had to have a metal plate in it) and five-a-side league football. The training was a means to an end i.e. to play competitive sports. Training and keeping fit for it’s own sake was never my thing.

After the initial pain and just wanting to give up I’m starting to enjoy it and even within a week and a half I’m feeling much better and enjoying it. There’s no competitive end to it now, so it’s just about getting fit and staying healthy. It’s easy in the jobs we do to be just stuck sitting down and eating rubbish food, that is when we actually grab any lunch.

The gym sessions are for fitness are split in two. The first bit is all aerobic with a 10 min run on treadmill (approx 1.5km), 6 min (1000m) rowing, 6 min cyling. The second bit is weights (not heavy weights) with 12 x 3 reps of each and ending with situps. I could see from the heart rate monitor on the bikes my heart rate was high at about 170, meaning my body was having to work quite hard but in this week that has started to come down with doing the same intensity a sign  that my body is adjusting. Already, I’m thinking of mixing this up with some circuit training and running in between the gym sessions. I’m trying to make time to do this and not make excuses as to why I shouldn’t go.

One of my motivations is my wife who been getting up at 6.00am and going running for quite a few months which is very impressive and made me get off my backside. The kids keep trying to check for my six pack but that’s never going to come!

As they say, a healthy body a healthy mind.

The Curve is Leicester’s state of the art theatre which has been designed by the world famous architect Rafael Vinoly. After the nlabnetworks conference meal, we were given an impromtu outside tour of the theatre. Even though I live and work in Leicester, I hadn’t realised what an impressive thing this was! It’s completely glass fronted and even looks onto the actual stage and backstage areas from the outside walk ways. The entire building is suspended by steel wires, creating an amazing open structure. Outside there will be an open area where people can sit (cafe style) and/or watch outside performers. This is pretty exciting and to be honest I hadn’t really understood until know what was happening in that area. The foyer area will be open to have meetings and there is space to hold conferences within the building. I know in the past people have questioned the costs of the project but this a real coup for the City. Makes me feel proud of the place where I was born and brought up. Leicester is changing …

It’s amazing what you find on the Internet and found this story of my dad’s uncle, Jaswant Singh Riyait, who lives in Leicester and is 91 years old. He was one of the people that my Dad lived with because my grand parents died while my father was relatively young. It’s a story of migration over three continents. It’s difficult to imagine the courage and hardship our families have had to endure.

So, getting recognition with things like the SBSC PAL’s award means something much more to me, a validation of the sacrifices made by our community in coming to this country, a reason for them to be proud of me.

I’ve just got back from Florida from a 2 week break there with the family. I like the US for a number of reasons and one them is that it just one big melting pot of people and cultures. I know that the UK is fairly diverse but almost everyone you meet and talk to is from "somewhere" in the US.  I know people often say that America has no culture but to me it has a thousand different cultures and you can hear it in the different languages you hear spoken. It’s funny how a Nation built almost entirely on immigration can have any sense of coherence and any ideals that can bind people together. But it does and people are proud to be Americans in a way we as Britains wouldn’t show or be embarrassed by.

It is the ultimate consumer society but reading the USA Today Newspaper and it was full of the impending economic crisis. The most trusted Institutions seem to be unravelling overnight with the US’s 5th largest bank Bear Stearns being bought by JP Morgan in a rushed 11th hour deal. The analysis was that if Bear Stearns was allowed to go into Administration then it would have caused chaos in the entire Financial System with it being uncertain as to where it would end - a kind of chain reaction! Isn’t kind of funny that as Small Businesses people accuse us of ignoring our cashflow and debt and yet somehow this gets ignored for these huge institutions where there it is called Risk Management or a High Growth Strategy!

But after all that the US is a pretty complex place and so different from coast to coast. The other unique thing is that at the moment you have a woman and a black guy fighting it out for the Democratic nomination to become President. It’s very interesting to me because it shows that race doesn’t necessarily have to be a barrier in the US. Here in the UK, I couldn’t even imagine a black person becoming Prime Minister within my lifetime. So, which is the more Cohesive society?

So, what is it that keeps kids worrying at night? Well, this is an insight into the mind of my 8 year old son. I saw this hanging up in our living room recently and I had to share it

Isn’t great to have a child’s imagination?!