# The 51 Top Sikhs-WSN Comments On HT Publication



## Gyani Jarnail Singh (Aug 8, 2009)

Cashing on the Sikh Face*
* Charanjit Singh 

 



Not              to be left behind Bollywood, where every other actor and even              actress wants to sport the turban, Times of India’s sister              publication in Hindi, Navbharat Times, in association with business              house Ayur Herbal, too has joined the bandwagon. It has come out              with a well-produced but ill-researched TOP 51 SIKH coffee table              book, handpicked by a whole set of non-Sikh “experts” of the paper.               

The book was              presented to me by a non-Sikh friend, who, doesn’t fail to bring to              my notice anything which is even remotely related to Sikhs and              Sikhism. 

Before getting              into the who’s who of the members who were outlined in the book with              their pictures and testimonials, let’s look at the overall format of              this publication and what was the need or drive behind such a              publication along with the people behind this endeavor. 

The book is              result of a collective effort of the following panel of Navbharat              Times- Shachindra Tripathi, Madhusudan Anand with additional              assistance from Manjiri Chaturvedi, Balmukand , Shrikant Sharma,              Joseph Bernard and Sunderchand Thakur.  Non-Sikhs may set out their              preferences on who the Top 51 Sikhs are, but if they do not do cross              referencing with a Sikh, they are bound to trip badly, as the              current editors have by including Mandira Bedi as a Sikh stalwart in              a Bollywood-style revealing photo! Is it deliberate marketing              strategy to tease the Sikhs? Not stopping there, to taunt the Sikhs              to the hilt, included in the list is convicted molester and former              Punjab police chief KPS Gill. Including K.P.S Gill is tantamount to              including Salman Rushdie while presenting a piece on famous Muslims.

The political              correctness of the publishing house is clear from the inclusion of              the father and son politicians –Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir              Singh Badal. This is not only outrageous but presentation of a              vitiated image the Sikhs in the eyes of the lay Indian.  

                 The media in general and the Times of India in particular have                  rightly made the Sikhs cynical about Indian media. Try sending a                  rejoinder or communication to The Times of India calling                  attention to any unfair representation of Sikh community and you                  would invariably receive no response. In such a scenario it’s                  quite difficult to understand this daily’s effort of going out                  of their way and coming up with a book dedicated entirely to a                  minority community.

The media in              general and the Times of India in particular have rightly made the              Sikhs cynical about Indian media. Try sending a rejoinder or              communication to The Times of India calling attention to any unfair              representation of Sikh community and you would invariably receive no              response. In such a scenario it’s quite difficult to understand this              daily’s effort of going out of their way and coming up with a book              dedicated entirely to a minority community.

Firstly the              title Top 51 Sikh (why not Sikhs?) sounds highly colloquial rather              than profound, includes only Sikhs from India and the text has many              typographical errors, which is uncalled for coming from the              prestigious house of Bennett and Coleman Limited.  

The book starts              with a small commentary on Sikh faith, its tenets, and then a brief              on each of the Sikh Gurus. Beautifully and boldly inscribed is the             _Mool Mantar, _only in Devnagari and not in Gurmukhi, which              script too is a significant contribution of the Gurus.  








The              preface by the Indian Prime Minister spells out the agenda of the              compilers of the book. Dr. Manmohan Singh says, _“Sikh Quam Desh              Ki Raksha Karne Ke liye hi Paida hui hai” _meaning,”  “The Sikh              community was born with the sole purpose of defending the Indian              nation.”  The reputation of Times of India to toe the line of the              government is pretty well-known. Obviously, the editors could not              have reacted to this travesty of truth from the Sikh prime minister.              Guru Gobind Singh lived and died in the 17th century.              India as a country came in to being only in the 20th              century and here we have the Sikh Prime minister telling us that,              “we were born to protect the country.”    

The very              universality of the Sikh thought and the existence of the Sikh              Diaspora have been badly ignored both by Dr. Manmohan Singh and by              the editors of the book. 
It is a              consolation that the authors have included stalwarts like former Air              chief Marshal  Arjan Singh, Vice-admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi, Montek              Singh Alhuwalia, Athlete –Milkha Singh, environmentalist – Baba              Balbir Singh Seechewal, hockey player Balbir Singh Senior, sufi-singer              Rabbi Shergill, author Dr. Mahip Singh, painter Arpana Caur,              commentator Jasdev Singh and writer Prabhjyot Kaur. 

These names              won’t fail to bring awe and inspiration. It is, however, a task to              sift the chaff from the grain. Some like Harbhajan Singh force their              way into the book and some have greatness thrust upon them, though              the Sikh world is oblivious to their contribution.  

                 The preface by the Indian Prime Minister spells out the agenda                  of the compilers of the book. Dr. Manmohan Singh says, _“Sikh                  Quam Desh Ki Raksha Karne Ke liye hi Paida hui hai” _                 meaning,”  “The Sikh community was born with the sole purpose of                  defending the Indian nation.”  The reputation of Times of India                  to toe the line of the government is pretty well-known.                  Obviously, the editors could not have reacted to this travesty                  of truth from the Sikh prime minister. Guru Gobind Singh lived                  and died in the 17th century. India as a country came                  in to being only in the 20th century and here we have                  the Sikh Prime minister telling us that, “we were born to                  protect the country.”

Sikhs welcome              any effort by a mainstream publication, but an effort of this              magnitude should have called for much more seriousness so that in              doing so the makers won’t hurt the sensibilities of a community. And              that too with a sponsorship from the Sikh business house of Ayur. 

The owner of              Ayur, Mr.Narang must have been through what every Sikh has faced              some time or the other in his life. A battle between acceptability              and faith. This battle has led many to applaud with pomp and glory              any attention which members of your community receive. Be it in any              form, from anyone. How else would you explain the featuring of J.J.              Valaya and Jigs Kalra who adorn the pony and the cap respectively,              with audacity - giving Maharaj Bhupinder Singh’s turban a run for              its money. 

Fortunately, it              is a coffee table book, meant to be seen, not be read and              referenced.  
_Charanjit              Singh is World Sikh News’s young columnist based in Mumbai. He may              be contacted at singh_charanjit@rediffmail.com_
5              August 2009


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## Archived_Member_19 (Aug 8, 2009)

lol

i think over 50% of the ones mentioned do not follow the SGPC "Rehit", so how come they were listed as "sikhs". 

being "sikh" is a special sticker(tag) given by SGPC.

wondering why SGPC is not suing B&C ?

oh...i forgot...the SGPC's masters are in that list....hahaha


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