Sikh student at Loyalist invites peers to learn about his culture

Harpreet Singh, 19, demonstrates how to properly tie a turban. Photo by Jaykob Storey.

by Jaykob Storey

BELLEVILLE — Harpreet Singh is a Loyalist student who wants to educate his peers on his native Sikh culture.

Originally from the Punjab region of India, 19-year-old Harpreet Singh came to Canada to study business and accounting. During Universal Break on Wednesday, Singh held a small presentation about his people at Loyalist College.

Sikh’s are a prominent world religion with a strong community across Canada. According to Singh, 1.4% of Canada’s population is Sikh, and here at Loyalist there is a sizeable group. “I know many Sikhs here… I think about 15 out of 20 Indians you see here, are Sikh.” When asked if he knew how many Sikh’s attended the school, he laughed. “Just go down the student registry and look for the last name Singh. All Sikh boys are named Singh.”

Singh began with a small slideshow about his people. When he pulled up an image of five different Sikh men wearing turbans, he asked the room, “When you see a man in a turban, what do you think? People think, in North America, when you see a turban, you see a Muslim. They think, because Osama Bin Laden wore a turban, that it is associated with Muslims and some people associate it with terrorists. This is not true. I would say, 90% of the turban wearing population in North America is Sikh… All Sikh men wear turbans. In Hindu, only the Maharaja wears a turban, but in Sikh all are equal, so we all wear turbans.”

During the presentation, Singh spoke of his people with great pride. When discussing one of the tenets of Sikhism, “Work hard and honestly,” Singh said. “In India, you will see many beggars. You will never see a Sikh beggar.”

The hard work aspect is hard to deny in the case of Singh, as one of his professors spoke very highly of him, and joked that, “his grades aren’t looking so good. That 95% average just isn’t going to cut it.”

Next, Singh demonstrated how to properly tie a turban. He said that a turban, called a dastar by the Sikhs, is one of the five articles of faith that all Sikhs carry with them. When asked why he didn’t always wear one, Singh smiled. “Sometimes when you get up and you have a class eight,” he said before trailing off with another laugh. It took him nearly eight minutes to properly don the turban, and Singh says that is fairly quick.

When tying the garment, the loose cloth was gathered on a chair. A student present inquired if the turban was allowed to touch the ground, to which Singh said, “No, it cannot touch the ground.” The student inquired as to what would happen he dropped it, and Singh shrugged. “We never drop it,” he replied.

One of the more popularly known aspects of Sikh culture is the kirpan, a large, curved dagger worn at the hip at all times by Sikhs. Singh was asked if he ever had difficulties considering the legal nature of carrying a weapon in Canada, but said that he is not a baptized Sikh and therefore does not need to carry one. Another Sikh student attending the presentation, however, reported that he has carried his and has rarely encountered trouble. He said, “Sometimes, security guards may tell me I cannot have it, but they don’t bother me once I explain.”

Singh emphasized the fact that Sikhism is also a warrior religion. “We are warriors. We fight for independence, and we fight for equality… We will never fight for victory. Anyone, Muslim, Hindu, we would fight to protect them.” This should come as little surprise to Canadians, as our Defense Minister, Harjit Singh Sajjan, is a decorated soldier who proudly wore his kirpan and turban on multiple tours in Afghanistan. “Only 2% of the Indian population is Sikh, but over 20% of India’s military is Sikh,” said Singh.

The presentation was received well by a small, but curious, crowd who bombarded Singh with questions throughout. When the hour came to a close, Singh’s professor requested that he give another such presentation in the future.