Maagh/ਮਾਘ

Election Season

With the holidays drawing to a close, we hope everyone’s well and in high spirits. Two weeks ago, we celebrated the start of a new year and, in less than a week from now, Lent will have formally started. Today, however, we are celebrating the start of Maagh, the eleventh month of the Bikrami Calendar. Traditionally, the first day of Maagh is reserved to commemorate the sacrifice of the Chali Mukte — literally, “the forty liberated ones”. This band of forty Sikhs had initially deserted Guru Gobind Singh Ji during the seige of Anandpur. It was under Mai Bhago’s leadership that they were once again united with Guru Ji, who bestowed upon them the title of “Chali Mukte” upon their martyrdom in 1705.

In the present day, Maagh could prove to be an especially pivotal month for Sikhs, particularly in Panjab. It’s election season, and, fresh off the repeal of the Farm Bills, Panjab has become an intense political battleground. Last week, Prime Minister Modi’s convoy, which was en route to a planned rally, was blocked off in Ferozepur by protestors belonging to the Bharatiya Kisan Union. Of course, allegations of supposedly “Khalistani” motivations have been propagated by “Godi media”, but the incident highlights two indisputable facts: that, despite the repeal of the Farm Bills, farmers are far from content with Modi or the BJP; and that Panjab’s farmers are still effectively utilising mass mobilisation in the wake of the Farmers’ Protest.

Still, the most notable outcome of this has been an uptick in Hindutva-led attacks and threats, particularly on social media. BJP supporters have gone as far as to call for a genocide of Sikhs — a “repeat of 1984”. One tweet, written by a verified account with almost 40,000 followers, suggested that ‘1984 would be dwarfed’ if any harm came to Modi. Hindu nationalists calling for the erasure of Sikhs is not new, but the added threat of misinformation, propaganda and hate spreading on social media, particularly by the BJP IT Cell, could intensify hostility for minority Sikh communities in India.

To segue into lighter news, it’s time to turn our attention to a proper democratic election, one of far greater consequence — the annual Sikh Soc elections. This will be an opportunity for you to get involved and directly shape the Soc’s future, whether it’s by standing for a post or just by voting. In the past, people (me included) have been hesitant about running for a role, dreading the prospect of juggling the role with Uni work. If you think being President, or any other role for that matter, looks like hard work, thank you, firstly, for flattering me, but it could not be further from the truth. Being part of a committee, where everyone has an equal say and an equal input, is genuinely fun and exciting. There’s no barrier of entry: whether you’re new to the Soc; whether you’re a post-grad; or whether your relationship to Sikhi itself has just gotten started, the committee is open to all. More information on when elections open and the roles available will be sent closer to the date, but, in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to current committee members if you have any questions.