Written by: Navraj Singh, 16, Virginia
Dr. Simran Jeet Singh is an award-winning educator, activist, and unapologetic Sikh-American based in Manhattan, New York City. Singh is a Visiting Scholar at NYU Center for Religion and Media and was recently named Columbia University’s first Sikh Religious Life Advisor. He also does work for the Sikh Coalition in New York and has written for various publications including the Washington Post, the New York Times, and TIME Magazine. I had the opportunity to speak with him about his advocacy and his experience as a Sikh-American.
Find more about Singh at: www.simranjeetsingh.org/what-we-do
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
How are you today?
I had an early start today with the kids, as usual. Later, I will be at the Sikh Coalition office in New York, a group that works on civil rights advocacy.
What are some projects that you’re involved in currently? Any books coming out? Any TED Talks?
I am releasing a children’s book about Fauja Singh (a British-Sikh marathon runner, aged 107 years at the time of this publication), who is my inspiration for running. I have always dreamed about writing children’s books with a Sikh hero. I’m trying to think about what it would mean to have this book in every Barnes and Noble around the country and the importance of seeing a Sardar (generally meaning a Sikh who wears a turban) on the cover of a kids’ book.
So first off, you’ve done amazing work in the activism space. Advocating for both Sikhs and non-Sikhs and being unapologetic about your background and identity. So how would you say that your background influences your activism?
As a Sikh, I’ve always learned that everyone’s liberation is tied together. I have learned that nobody is free until we’re all free. Sikhi has definitely taught me to advocate for others. While it is important to deal with the challenges Sikhs face today, it is equally important to address the challenges of other communities, as well. We can learn this from Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (ninth Guru of the Sikhs), who stood for the Hindu community and spoke against the persecution of Kashmiri Brahmins.
Not only are you involved in activism, you’re big in academia. You recently became the first Sikh Religious Life Advisor for Columbia University in the City of New York. However, Columbia is known for having a pretty Western-Centric culture, requiring its undergraduate students to read a variety of solely Western literature. These values are bound to become embedded in the University’s culture. How do you, as a non-white religious minority find your place in the University and how do you think the University can be better at including voices of people of color?
I think its a problem across our culture, not only at Columbia. Whenever we think about history, we automatically think about European history. The best way to make this change is to work with the social systems that are already in place. We must show them the blind spots that they have and show them the value of including other cultures and viewpoints. For example, universities have not historically thought about Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1st Guru of the Sikhs) as an important figure. As a historian, I hope to make sure people know his message and know his work. Making this change is a matter of embracing the discomfort we may experience when considering other viewpoints.
You are not only an advocate for Sikhs but you’ve also spoken out against things like Islamophobia. Unfortunately, as we both know, Islamophobia is rampant in the Punjabi-Sikh community. Whether this be for a historical bias or a current feeling that Sikhs are being unfairly targeted by hate crimes, it is a huge problem in the community. How do you think we can come together and eliminate this bias and help people within the community understand that targeting isn’t the fault of the Muslim community, but more the fault of the ignorance of individuals outside of both communities?
For me, as someone who is both involved in both Sikh history and Sikh theology, I have been trying to address these issues from both perspectives, showing that some of these anti-Muslim narratives that we are being fed are historically inaccurate. As a historian, it’s my job to look back and present what happened in a more accurate way. From a theological perspective, it’s important for Sikhs to go into the tradition and see what the Gurus said about the Muslims that lived alongside them. In fact, a lot of our scripture (primary Sikh scripture is the Guru Granth Sahib) includes authors of Muslim backgrounds (e.g. Shaikh Farid, Bhagat Kabir).
Personally, I have been following you and your work for years now. And you recently had a daughter! Which is great. You said you decided to name her Azaadi Amro Kaur and you said that azaadi means freedom. What does that name, which in the Sikh community may be considered unconventional, mean to you personally and do you think it will be important in forming her identity as she grows up as a Sikh-American girl.
That’s a really good question. Azaadi is a word used in Punjabi a lot. It has a Persian origin. Personally, I have a particular love for Persian because I’ve studied it a lot. Sikh names are definitely aspirational. We give names for what we want in our children’s future. In a world that is so terribly misogynistic, we have been thinking what it means for our kids to live freely--as Sikhs and as people of color. There are so many oppressions that our kids will endure daily that could really make them bitter and we want them to be free of those oppressions. We want her to be free not only physically but also mentally and spiritually.
Today, so many more young people, including myself, have entered the activism space for their own reasons--whether they were forced into it based on their experiences or they felt the need to do something about injustices around them. What piece of wisdom can you give to young people who are new to this work or hope to enter it.
That’s another good question. If I could give some general life advice, I would say to never act out of anger. This comes from an ethical but also strategic perspective. Ethically, acting out of anger is acting out of impulse and ego. Whatever actions you take will not be just. If you act out of love and genuine concern, your actions will be selfless. In Sikhi, we call this selfless service, “seva.” So many people, not only young people, but people of all ages, are acting out of anger which ends up producing more anger and more oppression. From a strategic perspective, anger is also short lived. As soon as you are not angry anymore and once you are appeased, the momentum for the movement is gone. Actions of love lead to movements rather than mere ripples.