Thanks to the initiative of Sardar Mahanbir Singh, it became possible to establish a closer contact with the Sikhs of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. After initial hardships, the Sikh community has not only found its feet in these countries, but has established itself as an important, progressive, and flourishing segment of the society. Apart from individual success stories, Sikhs have organised themselves into societies performing important collective functions to meet the needs of their new environment.
Singapore could serve as a model. With a total population of around 25000, Sikhs run four gurdwaras. The most important one is the Central Sikh Temple which also houses the smadh of Bhai Maharaj Singh who led the first revolt against the British rule in India in 1850. He was exiled and imprisoned and became a martyr to the cause of Indian independence. Sikhs as well as non-Sikhs come to worship at his smadh, make offerings there and firmly believe that all prayers are granted. Each of the four gurdwaras has a separate committee to run it, doing an efficient job.Besides, there are two other organisations which are unique to Singapore. One, the Singapore Khalsa Association (SKA), as reported elsewhere in this issue, owns huge premises, and looks after practically all needs of Sikhs, collective as well as individual. Its current President, Sardar Jagjit Singh, affectionately known as J.J., is a successful businessman. Its Secretary is Sardar Sarwan Singh, a retired high school Principal. The other is the Punjabi Foundation of Singapore. With efforts of the Sikh community Punjabi is recognised as one of the elective subjects in schools at the ‘O' and ‘A' levels. The government, however, provides no facilities for its teaching. This Foundation has organised Punjabi teaching classes catering to the needs of approximately 2000 students, with over one hundred part-time paid teachers, using premises of government schools during weekends. This activity is running very efficiently, thanks to the untiring efforts of the Foundation President, Dr Bhajan Singh, who is also the Sikh Education Advisor to the government of Singapore.Much of the success of these organisations is due to the pioneering efforts of Justice (Retd) Choor Singh, who is deeply respected as a father-figure and continues to be a source of inspiration to all, young and old.
Sikhs in Singapore are by and large well-off. Thakural Brothers, Kartar Singh and Mohinder Singh, own big businesses in several countries, and are well known for their charitable and philanthropic nature. Apart from large donations in Singapore, they offered two million dollars for the Parklea Gurdwara and half a million dollars to Gurdwara Austral, both in Australia. Sardar Niranjan Singh, who is the Vice-President of the SKA, is another leading businessman. Among other prominent persons in Singapore are Col Jaswant Singh, Sardar Gurcharan Singh Narula, President of Guru Nanak Sat Sang Sabha and Sardar Nanak Sat Singh, President of the Central Sikh Temple.In a meeting specially organised for the purpose these leaders showed keen interest in the Abstracts of Sikh Studies and other activities of the Institute of Sikh Studies, and assured full support to its programmes, financial, physical as well as moral. Sardar Narula has ordered bulk supply of 250 copies of the Abstracts.
Malaysia has the largest Sikh community in South Asia, their population being over 60000. There is a chain of gurdwaras built by Sikhs. At the southernmost tip is the Gurdwara of Johore Baru managed by a team of dedicated Sikhs like Sardar Amar Singh, Sardar Sarbjit Singh Grewal, Sardar Mohkam Singh, besides Dr Rashpal Singh and Bibi Manjit Kaur.Next in the chain is the beautiful gurdwara at Tampin, which is dedicated to the memory of Baba Deep Singh Shahid whose huge statue and that of Mai Bhag Kaur adorn the entrance. Not far from this town is the historic city of Malacca. The Gurdwara here is managed by a team headed by Sardar Sarbjot Singh Sekhon with Sardar Mohinder Singh Marne as Advisor.Kuala Lumpur is the state capital and also the hub of activities of the Sikh community. Besides four gurdwaras, including the biggest Santul Gurdwara, there are some very powerful Sikh organisations with their headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. One is the Aman Club with its sprawling campus, running under the Presidentship of Sardar Sohan Singh Randhawa, with close cooperation of Dr S S Cheema. The second is the Sikh Naujawan Sabha with Master Daljit Singh as President. This is the most active organisation and has ongoing programmes for youth practically in all towns. It organises a one week camp every year which is attended by approximately 1000 young boys and girls. The 1999 annual camp is scheduled to be held at Ipoh where a very committed Sikh doctor couple is playing the leading role. They are Dr Bhajan Singh and his wife Dr Amarjit Kaur, the latter being the regional President of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha. They are doing most commendable work.
The third organisation is the Malay Khalsa Diwan, with Sardar Darshan Singh as President and Sardar Gurnam Singh as its Honorary Secretary. Their commitment is evident from the fact that they have on their own initiative, printed 5000 copies of the Botswana Questionnaire of the Institute of Sikh Studies for free distribution in Malaysia. There is also the Gurdwara Council of Malaysia which nominally controls almost 60 gurdwaras in Malaysia.
At Ipoh the main gurdwara is on the Ashby Road. Its President and Vice-President are, Sardar Pritam Singh and Dr Ranjodh Singh, respectively. Other eminent Sikh personalities at Ipoh are Dato Dr Gurdip Singh and Sardar Parkash Singh. In the extreme north of Malaysia are the gurdwaras of Penang and Butterworth. Management of the former includes Sardar Harbans Singh, Sardar Hardial Singh, Sardar Sarjit Singh and Sardar Manjit Singh, while the latter has Sardar Gurbachan Singh and Sardar Jagjit Singh on its management.
These gurdwaras and the organisations are doing excellent work. However, there is no single body looking after the collective interests of the Sikh community in Malaysia at the national level. They could also have a body like the SKA in Singapore, with representatives drawn from the existing organisations.
Sikhs in Malaysia are also doing well. Most of them have started from a humble beginning and have worked their way up. Sardar Shamir Singh Randhawa, who now lives in Tampin is a typical example. He migrated to Malaysia from a small village (Madh) in Amritsar district, immediately after the Partition of India in 1947. He worked hard and educated his children who now hold eminent positions in the Malaysian society. One of his sons, Sardar Sohan Singh Randhawa, is a leading timber merchant and the President of the Aman club in Kuala Lumpur. His second son, Sardar Mohan Singh Randhawa, is the Principal of a high school, while his third son, Sardar Balwant Singh Randhawa, who lives in Tampin, is a leading financier, and Justice of Peace, thrice honoured by the government for contribution to Malaysian society. While Sikhs have done exceedingly well in services and professions they have not paid much attention to business which is largely in Chinese hands in Malaysia.
As in Singapore, Sikh sangat showed keen interest in the Institute of Sikh Studies, its activities and the Abstract of Sikh Studies, and wanted its bulk supply for distribution. They asked for scholars who could talk to the youth in English on various aspects of Sikh religion. Such help is particularly necessary during the annual camp of the Naujawan Sabha.
Sikhs' emigration to this continent is rather recent. Their present population is around 15000. They are concentrated in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Woolgoolga, besides a small scattering of farmers in the Riverland of South Australia. Wherever there are Sikhs, however small their number, they must build a gurdwara. Australia is no exception. Sydney has four huge gurdwaras, the one at Parklea being the largest, built at the cost of A$ 4 million. Sardar Ajaib Singh, an engineer and Dr Gurcharan Singh Sidhu, a biochemist of international reputation who had migrated from the PAU, Ludhiana, prepared ambitious plans with practically no funds in hand. But their dreams became a reality with almost a windfall in the form of donation of A$ 2 million from the famous Thakurals of Singapore who have a chain of international hotels in Australia also. The hall of this gurdwara, may be among the biggest in the world, and the attendance on weekends exceeds a couple of thousands. The other two gurdwaras are at Turra Murra and Austral, both suburbs of Sydney. While Sardar Varinder Singh Lamba, Sardar Nirmal Singh and Sardar Dalip Singh are actively involved in the gurdwara activities, Dr Milkha Singh Brar has worked with extraordinary enthusiasm for the latter (Austral) which is the latest addition to the chain of gurdwaras in the area. Dr Tejpal Singh who is associated with Parklea, is deeply respected for his knowledge of Sikh religion and his commitment to its cause. In fact his whole family, particularly his daughter Gurkiran and his son Gurvijay, fully shares this commitment.
Melbourne is next only to Sydney in size of Sikh population. It has two gurdwaras, the old and the new one. While the former is small, the latter is almost as big as the Parklea. The leading man running it is Sardar Jatinder Singh Uppal who donated over half a million Australian dollars for purchase of the present site. He contributes bulk of the running expenses also, and is widely respected by the community. Among other eminent Sikhs is Sardar Gurdarshan Singh Gill, a committed gursikh. As a part of his numerous activities he sponsored printing of the now famous Botswana Questionnaire for free distribution. Another gursikh, Sardar Bharpur Singh, after retirement has dedicated his full time to the cause of the Guru. His son Dr Sarvpreet Singh, is a university professor and an outstanding scientist. The Professor's wife, Bibi Balwinder Kaur is a model of sewa with limitless energy. Sardar Kishan Singh is a Punjabi poet. Sardar Gurmukh Singh has done outstanding service in popularising Gurmat literature. Bibi Ranjit Kaur deserves a special mention. She is a perfect example of what a Sikh can do to spread the Word of the Guru. On her own initiative and at her own cost she issues a newsletter regularly and mails it to 500 readers free of cost. She is fond of the Abstracts of Sikh Studies and other literature of the Institute and is doing her best to promote it.Adelaide is another city with a sizeable Sikh population. There is one main gurdwara where congregations are held on weekends. Sardar Mahanbir Singh is a member of this gurdwara, although he mostly lives at Port Augusta, 300 km away, where he has a chain of motels. In the countryside in the Riverland, there are a number of Sikh farmers owning farms varying from 20 to 150 acres, growing grapes. They have constructed a beautiful gurdwara at Glossop offering morning and evening service all days of the week. Sardar Sarup Singh and Sardar Darshan Singh deserve special mention among members of this gurdwara.Woolgoolga is a unique city in Australia. It is known as the Banana City, and almost 90% of the banana plantations varying in size from 20 to 120 acres belong to Sikhs. Their gurdwara, situated on the main highway from Sydney to Brisbane, and with its beautiful domes, has become a tourist attraction. Most of the Sikh farmers here went initially as labourers on sugarcane plantations, and in the course of time with hard work purchased their own farms specialising in banana cultivation.
It was clear that the Institute of Sikh Studies is held in high esteem everywhere, and its views are received with approbation and respect. This trip has greatly added to the awareness of its activities, and to the demand for its literature. As a result it is expected that readership of the Abstracts of Sikh Studies in these countries will expand by 1000 or so. Another thing that came to light was that Sikhs abroad are starved of authentic information on Sikh religion. The ragis and half-baked parcharaks and kathakars that visit the foreign lands have done more harm than good with their mythical absurdities. They want knowledgeable speakers who can address them in English and in the idiom the youth understands. People look to the Institute of Sikh Studies to meet this keenly felt need. Before concluding this note it is necessary to point out that Sardar Mahanbir Singh who organised this trip, is among the most remarkable Sikhs of our time. He is a household name not only among Sikhs of Australia where he now lives, but also in Singapore and Malaysia from where he emigrated several years back. He along with his doctor brother is doing extremely well in motel business. His affluence has only added to his commitment to Sikhism. It was he who meticulously planned over thirty lectures on Sikhism besides several discussions and interviews held during the brief trip. With such committed people, the future of Sikhism as a global religion is secure.