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Minority report
How the Sikhs integrated in Switzerland
By Anand Chandrasekhar
This content was published on July 1, 2019 11:00 AM Jul 1, 2019 - 11:00
Harbhajan Singh.
The gurudwara's communal kitchen is the domain of pensioner Harbhajan Singh.
(swissinfo.ch)
The first Sikhs to settle in Switzerland faced hardship because of their distinct appearance and traditions. A book published by one of their first Swiss supporters helps clear misconceptions about this community.
The gurudwara – a place of worship for followers of Sikhism – in the town of Däniken in northern Switzerland looks completely out of place. It is in the middle of an industrial zone with the cooling tower of a nuclear power plant in the background. The yellow building with four onion-shaped turrets stands out just like the first Sikh immigrants to Switzerland did. Seventy-two-year-old Christoph Baumann, an expert on Indian religions and a regular visitor to the Däniken gurudwara, was one of the first Swiss people to welcome them.
“I like Sikhism because nobody tried to convince me to convert. It is also a monotheistic religion and I belong to the Protestant church which is quite similar,” he told swissinfo.ch. He recently published a manual in German about the Sikh religionexternal link that addresses many of the concerns both Sikhs and others might have about the religion’s traditional practices.
The first Sikh arrivals came in 1985 in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar in India, when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the army to storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar to flush out Sikh separatists holed up there. Gandhi’s Sikh bodyguards assassinated her for this decision, provoking anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in which at least 2,800 Sikhs were murdered. Many Sikhs left India during this period and a couple of dozen ended up in Switzerland.
Däniken gurudwara
The Däniken gurudwara is only a kilometre away from the Gösgen nuclear plant.
(swissinfo.ch)
Tough start
Baumann offered the new arrivals a room in his house to pray and obtained a copy of their holy book (The Guru Grant Sahib) from England. Up to 25 Sikhs would end up at Baumann’s home for worship in the early days. The close contact with Sikhs resulted in his writing a thesis on the problems faced by the community as part of his diploma to become an educator.
“The Sikhs faced all the difficulties normally experienced by new immigrants. In addition, their distinct appearance made it tough to for them to find work or obtain a room for worship,” says Baumann.
They also ran into problems with the law due to some their religious traditions. In 1990, a court in Zurich upheld a fine issued by the police to a motorcycle-riding Sikh for not wearing a helmet (he was stopped for ignoring a red light). The turban-wearing man’s appeal to the country’s highest court against religious discrimination was dismissed on the grounds that the religion only required a head covering and not a turban per se.
The Swiss police were also not happy about the ceremonial dagger (called kirpan) that some Sikh men carried on them, especially when it was worn under clothes. Sikh men have been detained in the past under the charge of carrying a concealed weapon. However, they are not technically considered weaponsexternal link under the law, as the blade is not symmetrical, there is no automatic switching mechanism and it is not a throwing knife. Baumann collaborated with Basel community police to resolve misunderstandings.
Baumann
Baumann standing next to the Sikh holy book the Guru Granth Sahib.
(swissinfo.ch)
Well integrated
Baumann estimates that about a thousand Sikhs now live in Switzerland. The numbers reached their peak of 3,000 in the 1990s but then over 2,000 of those eventually emigrated to Canada or other countries.
According to Baumann, the Sikhs fit very well into Swiss society.
“Like the Swiss, the Sikhs have a strong work ethic and generally work harder than some other migrant groups,” he says.
Only a minority of Swiss Sikhs follow the religion’s traditions to the letter.
“Out of 60 men in a gurudwara you will find only about 20 wearing turbans,” says Baumann.
Open doors
According to him, Swiss Sikhs are not interested in the occasionally violent Khalistan separatist movement unlike the Sikh diaspora elsewhere. Supporters want a separate state called Khalistan carved out of the Punjab region in India and Pakistan for the Sikhs. The movement was largely financed by the Sikh diaspora.
The Swiss Sikh community is also quite active in reaching out to other groups. Sikhs are regulars at inter-faith initiatives in Switzerland like at the Interreligious Working Group in Aargauexternal link and the House of Religions in Bern. The Swiss gurudwaras – in Däniken, Langenthal, Basserdorf and Geneva – are also open to all.
"Everyone is welcome to the gurudwara provided that you cover your head, take your shoes off and don't talk politics," says Baumann.
Karin Lüscher
Lüscher appreciates having a gurudwara nearby that she can visit.
(swissinfo.ch)
Karin Lüscher, an alternative medicine practitioner who lives nearby, regularly visits the gurudwara. Born a Protestant, she is interested in Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. Lüscher heard about Sikhism seven years ago and first visited the Däniken gurudwara last year.
“I find a very peaceful and heart-touching energy in a gurudwara. Here the separation of men and women is much less than in other religions like Islam,” she says.
The Sikh religion
Sikhism is a religion that originated in northern India and was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539). Nanak saw himself as a reformer of ritual-heavy Hinduism and a static Islam. He taught an idol-free monotheism that views everyone as equals. Nanak was followed by nine more gurus, with the last being Guru Gobind Singh (1666 to 1708).
Sikhs are required to wear the “5Ks” to distinguish them from others: Kesh (uncut hair and beards), Kangha (a wooden comb worn in the hair), Kacha (special cotton underpants), Kara (steel bracelet on the arm) and Kirpan (a dagger to defend others).
At a typical service (held on Sundays in Switzerland) texts from the holy book Guru Granth Sahib are read, songs from the holy book with musical accompaniment are sung, and short speeches are given. Afterwards all those present are invited to the Langhar or public kitchen to eat a vegetarian meal prepared by volunteers.
All Sikh events are open to people of all religions, as long as they abstain from alcohol and smoking, take off their shoes and cover their head. The World Religions Database estimates that there are around 25 million Sikhs worldwide with over 80% living in India.
Source: Inforelexternal link
end of infobox
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There are 7 comments on this article.
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"a reader commented on the content at 01 July 2019 18:13".
a reader 01-Jul-2019 18:13
"...the separation of men and women is much less than in other religions like Islam"
"Like the Swiss, the Sikhs have a strong work ethic and generally work harder than some other migrant groups"
Oh really... now which other migrant groups might those be?
Curious, so long as we're generalizing ethnic groups here.
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"Uk Swiss Sikh commented on the content at 01 July 2019 22:28".
Uk Swiss Sikh 01-Jul-2019 22:28
This is a terrible article -
The Khalistan movement was never a violent movement- the sikhs make up just 1% of indias population and so they are easy to attack and kill and the media and government can report any narrative which pleases the hindu majority.
The sikhs in Switzerland like the sikhs in the UK, Canada and USA all faced discrimination and racism. Maybe this article should focus on how westerners who pride them selves on education and being civilised are racist to sikhs, and uneducated about sikhism.
Sikhs do not convert people to their religion, unlike christianity and islam who actively do charity events and ask people to convert to their religions, the only way to get to know a sikh is to be civilized and reach out to them and make them your friend and you might learn about sikhism from them and from your own personal research. This is because the sikh religion wants the sikhs to live in total freedom and with high morales.
I am a sikh from the UK and moved to Switzerland in 2016 to work in pharma and I have faced discrimination and racism not only from the swiss but also from expats and from the LGBT community and branded as "indian" and put into that box, this has meant that many expats and swiss people have missed out on my friendship since they may not be used to talking to a sikh or a sikh from the UK and only have experience with indians from india. I predict that switzerland will face many issues as its population grows and the swiss will be ill prepared to encourage cohesion.
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"wanderer replied to the comment of Uk Swiss Sikh at 03 July 2019 01:16."
wanderer 03-Jul-2019 01:16
@UK Swiss Sikh
Sat Sri akaal, Maharaj, kee hal hai, yeh kia baat hai? " I am a sikh from the UK and moved to Switzerland in 2016 to work in pharma and I have faced discrimination and racism not only from the swiss but also from expats and from the LGBT community and branded as "indian" and put into that box"? The author is from India.
Well I was born and educated in India and very much Anglo-Irish rather than Anglo-Indian, I have never been classed as "Indian" by Indians but put in a box of Anglo-Indian. Logically, I can relate to that title as would Kipling, Orwell, Lumley and an ageing singer called Cliff something or other. One can still speak the Hindi language as fluently as the day a 13 year old was told by Indians to, " Go Home to Belayat (England) you don't belong here in India". So please, no airs and graces, no chip on the shoulders, no nose in the luft, like some of the Swiss Germans and British expats, no creative re-definition of facts on Khalistan and the funding that was raised by the Sikh diaspora overseas and the attacks on moderate Sikhs. Not forgetting Bharat/Hindustan/India, was also led by a brilliant Manmohan Singh.
Britain might be multi-cultural, because the political, social, chattering academic middle classes pointing to the anti racist legislation might perceive themselves as such, including, the re-defined New Anglo- Indian shouting, 'We are all British now' while the less knowledgeable say, " I'm not a half-caste or mixed race" forgetting their origins are still Indian. Turn your back and the Javed's, Khan's and Warsi's, who would play linguistic hurdles with their origins, are all likely to call you an Indian in the same way as Smith and Jones would call everybody from South Asia a " Stani." Probably the reason why US President referred to Londonistan. Just as well he did not visit Southall, London.
The Britain that invited the Commonwealth from the1950s, to rebuild it after the war, treated its migrant citizens like it did empire on the decline, disgracefully, until the Notting Hill riots 1958. Followed in your time, by Bristol and Brixton, Tottenham, Toxteth etc. In that time Britain slowly learned to become a more tolerant nation it is today and an example for other European nations.
Switzerland also has done the same, and come a long way, when I first went there during the 1970s. It taught me a lot during that period when the UK failed my generation. That is plain to see with the number of Turks and Balkan citizens, many of whom were there since the 1970s. Unless you were of light skin colour or white, you would not have stayed more than 2 days. Like the UK it still has a long way to go before, we as human beings are colour blind.
Switzerland and Free Movement, allows you as one among the many British and British Commonwealth expats to be employed in Switzerland. Some of those, whom for whatever reason they came to Switzerland, because they have been granted " Residency" of some sort imagine, " I am Swiss now " then move on to the English pages. Those expats including the "*I'm British now" with their personal prejudices imported with their 'insurance policy' of the UK they left behind, for the "good life," Pontificate to the indigenous Swiss, as to the country it should be.
When you say " the Swiss will be ill prepared to encourage cohesion." Tell the Swiss what freaking social cohesion is there in the UK and the little there is in London. Particularly, since 2016 and that vote. The Swiss don't need to be taught lessons by auslander/foreigners. One only has to read the DE, FR, IT language pages to know what the Indigenous Swiss feel about their country and the direction it should be going.
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"CHS commented on the content at 02 July 2019 08:41".
CHS 02-Jul-2019 08:41
I like how the article describes the hardships of shiks when there are many groups from Europe that are 100% culturally compatible and don't come as a package deal with many other potential issues (religious, cultural, political, behavioral) that are facing even bigger hardships in Switzerland. Or I forgot, they are not "diverse" enough because they are from Europe so it's ok to discriminate against them while it's now cool to praise middle eastern, Africans, Indians etc. That is shameful.
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"wanderer replied to the comment of CHS at 03 July 2019 01:44."
wanderer 03-Jul-2019 01:44
CHS Genau! esatto! Actually, SWInfo have done reports on poverty at home in Switzerland, not so long ago. maybe it's time to remind the world about "A Happy Day in Hidden Schweiz". The one that tourists don't see.
Write an answer...
"SwissMiss commented on the content at 02 July 2019 21:40".
SwissMiss 02-Jul-2019 21:40
The article states: “The first Sikhs to settle in Switzerland faced hardship because of their distinct appearance and traditions.“
Shouldn’t it say “...because the locals discriminated against them.”
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"wanderer replied to the comment of SwissMiss at 03 July 2019 02:02."
wanderer 03-Jul-2019 02:02
@SwissMiss, I believe the author is being prudent, understandably so. Also, a long time ago, one used to back a racehorse called 'Swiss Miss'. Was a winner a couple times but my winnings were handed to a beautiful Swiss miss or else I'd be homeless. 😃cheers!
Write an answer...
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