The Sikhi, The Khalsa and the Sikhs - Talk by Dr. Manisha Bangar

"hanne hanne mir" (a king in every saddle)
There has not been a time as ripe as now to resurrect the unique "Miri and Piri" system, the true meanings of the "Sabads" and "Banis" in Guru Granth Sahib as inaugurated by the Sikh Gurus which have inspired humanity- spirited Sikhs in the last 700 years to establish a coercion free society based on equality of opportunity guided by a secular modern polity.

The belief that every person is created a sovereign to make unhindered spiritual and material progress has been the foundation of the Sikh society.

However, the current scenario which unfolds in India is nowhere near the vision of the Gurus.

Nearly 70 years of Brahminical dominance in educational, economical, judicial and socio- religious - political sphere in Modern India by the self-arrogated traditionally hierarchical feudal upper varna class/castes brought about by the subversion including non-implementation of Constitutional policies ethics and egalitarian spirit , has led to the re- emergence of supremacist imperialistic ideology and practice moving the Mulniwasi Bahujans ( The Backward classes including religious groups the Muslims, Sikh, Christian or Buddhists) into a vulnerable terror infested atmosphere ever liable to face apathy indifference and unspeakable violence from non-constitutional illegal (ut organized) outfits that receive state protection.

That the so-called secular liberal Intellectual space always remaining to be the unchallenged preserve of the same dominant class has resulted in a feeble, unpredictable non-radical and therefore ineffective resistance to these supremacist forces determined to establish "Brahmin Raj" under the garb of "Hindu or Ram Raj" has entrenched the situation more in favor of the oppressors.

The fallout has been an overall escalation in religious bigotry, irrationality, ignorance and sharp decline in humanitarian values which nourish brotherhood mutual respect, knowledge capital and equality.

In this pessimistic milieu, we should look for guidance and inspiration in Sikhi thought and practice as enunciated by Guru Nanak and the Sikh Gurus which has always illuminated the path of the suffering Mulniwasi Bahujans to attain material and spiritual sovereignty and demolish upper varna /caste thraldom.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Manisha Bangar National Vice-president, BAMCEF is a leading organizer of Mulniwasi Bahujans in India and the diaspora. A practicing Transplant Hepatologist Bangar is also an Associate Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Deccan Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad and is Council Member of national and south Asian forums of Hepatology.

She writes and speak Asians regularly on many prominent print electronic and social media sites and since a decade and more has been invited to speak at many universities, human rights, civil society, Phuley Ambedkarite organizations in India and abroad, the United Nations, Columbia university, UC Davis, JNU, HCU, Interfaith and Public sector Organizations, on topics ranging from gender equality, health care, science, education to caste, patriarchy, bahujan issues, democracy nation, nationalism and Phuley -Ambedkar-Periyaar ideology and movement.

She has been awarded by many international and national forums for her exemplary work in the arena Bahujan movement and Hepatology medicine.