Sikhs and the Unfolding Migrant Crisis in Europe – Separation or Integration

Mass migration of Sikhs into Europe began in the post war period where large numbers of migrant workers came to the UK to carry out the manual due to labour shortages. Mostly due to language and historical associations with the British Empire, much smaller numbers of Sikh settled in other European countries, most significantly, Germany, Holland and France. However, in the post 1984 period, we have seen a dramatic increase of Sikh migrants across Europe, from Greece in the East to Italy and Spain in the south and Norway and Sweden in the North, and the numbers keep rising. However, if Sikh migration into Europe has largely occurred under the radar of the Western media, this cannot be said in the case of Muslim entering Europe as refugees and asylum seekers.The current media hysteria about recently arrived Muslims refugees from Syria and Afghanistan committing sexual harassment against young (white) women at festivals in Köln, Germany, and in the Swedish capital Stockholm has added fuel to the existing concern about non-Anglo Saxon immigration into Europe. No doubt, the subtext to these media moral panics is a latent racism that still harbours myths associating white Europeans with being ‘civilised’ and by comparison, people from the ‘East’ and ‘Africa’ as being less so. However, it would be simplistic to assume that the current crisis is simply a replay of past debates on inward immigration into Europe from the East. In today’s context of turmoil in the Middle East, the debate is set against against the backdrop of a genuine threat of Islamist fascism, in the guise of such groups as Alkaida, ISIS/Daeish, and their many offshoots.
Overlaying the very real and ongoing challenge of white western racism against minorities in Europe, amongst progressives there is a concern that within some of the minority communities, oppressive feudal practices and beliefs continue to persist, and that in some small or large ways these may be undermining the important progressive values of equality and liberty that have become a hallmark of modern European societies. Though one should not overestimate the extent to which migrants may actually be violating important principles such as respect for women, tolerance of different sexual preferences, rights for children, freedom of (non) belief and expression and so on, there are some grounds for concern that for some, regressive cultural attitudes from their host countries and cultures are being imported into Europe. In the UK for example, we have been grappling with the phenomena of Pakistani Muslim male gangs sexually grooming and abusing young girls, often under age and mostly but not exclusively, from white British backgrounds, leading to a string of prosecutions in places such as Oxford, Luton, Rotherham, Sheffield, Bradford and Manchester. Putting aside the question as to whether certain migrant groups are over represented in these terrible crimes against women and children, there is a broader question that is being posed in relation to the problems with multiculturalist policies that give freedom, and in some instances encouragement, to minorities to preserve separate cultural identities and practices. And in this regard, though the current debate about immigration is framed within the preventing violent (Islamist) extremism and terrorism agenda, there has for sometime been pressure building to move towards an assimilationist policy approach that would require migrants to commit themselves to learn and adopt Western values and norms. Such suggestions have been criticised by some anti-racists that this is simply pandering to old fashioned racism that implies a superiority of white European cultural norms. However, the flaw with this position is the assumption that indeed values associated with liberty, freedom and equality are necessarily European. No doubt there is a vast amount of historical literature testifying to how the European Enlightenment led to the establishment of a human rights culture that ultimately afforded sovereignty and liberty to the individual; the inspirational writing of philosophers such as Mills, Locke, Rousseau and Voltaire are a testament to this. However, if one looks at, for example, the Sikh tradition and the founding principles that were laid down by the Bhagat’s and Gurus well before the advent of the European Enlightenment, one can see equally powerful invocations for such things as gender equality, ending of race, religious and caste based bigotry and discrimination and a secular world view. Given that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 has been signed by almost all the nations of the world, the reality is that European Enlightenment values are Universal values. They belong to each and every human being on the planet.Though economically Sikhs have been very successful in becoming part of the fabric of their chosen country, this cannot be said of cultural integration. Indeed, for many Sikhs, the only time they will encounter native Europeans is in the workplace, school/college or in a store. Culturally as a community, Sikhs have tended to live quite separate lives with the Gurdwara serving as an important hub for the community to socialise, especially at weekends. However, against the backdrop of the growing crisis of immigration into Europe and the rise of right wing parities and thought, serious challenges confront Sikhs in terms of how they see their future.Though Sikhs are not unfamiliar with the question of survival – Sikh history is littered with moments where Sikhi was seen to have been annihilated, only for it to reemerge even stronger – Sikhs are once again at a crossroads. However, there is one significant difference that has no parallel in Sikh history, and that is that by design or necessity, Sikhs are rapidly becoming a globally displaced people; almost a 25% of the Sikhs live outside the Punjab and the numbers are rising. The reasons for the exodus from the traditional heartlands of the pre and post partition Punjab, and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, are a complex mixture of colonialism/post-colonialism and the needs for migrant labour, state terrorism, and political upheavals in the region. However, the development of Sikh institutions is lagging behind these realities, meaning that in many places Sikhs are a rudderless nation.
This is resulting in two equally dangerous consequences. The first is a fragmentation of the Sikh Panth into factions, mostly linked to opportunistic cults (deras) that are exploiting the vulnerability of a community experiencing anomie or identity crisis. As observed earlier, one consequence of is a separation of Sikhs from host societies. The other and equally worrying thing is the dissolution and disappearance of Sikh identity through total assimilation into host societies. Both of these processes are symptomatic of either a lack of knowledge about Sikhi and/or huge deficits of confidence and self esteem.
The solution to this problem and to secure the future of the Sikh nation, it is reject both the cultists who talk about the corrupt nature of Western ‘Gora’ culture, and also the assimilationists who have little regard for their cultural and linguistic heritage.
I suggest an alternative to both these extreme positions, and that is towards what I call an ‘assertive progressive integrationist strategy’. This is not that difficult given that Sikh thought very much resonates with contemporary values of the enlightenment and global concerns around such things as social and economic justice, the rights of minorities and women’s, and of course the need to protect the environment and the challenge of climate change. And so in some sense, there was never a more appropriate moment in human history to be assertive about Sikhi. But tragically, not only have we failed to articulate the progressive and holistic philosophy of Sikhi to non Sikhs, we have failed to grasp the wonderful expansive and dynamic beauty of the teachings of our gurus for ourselves. Integration is a two way process, an exchange of practical wisdom, based on open dialogue with the Other; something that Guru Nanak did for most of his life ( ‘gain gosht’). And it is by taking inspiration from Guru Nanak that we too as fellow travelers should have the confidence to believe we too can/should leave a mark on our adopted societies. A fantastic and highly visible example of this is the way in which Sikhs are being recognized for their kindness through the establishments of Langars on the streets of European cities. Whether it is flood disasters in Northern UK or near the or the recent Bataclan massacre in Paris, Sikhs were there to offer love, affection and food.