Understanding Sikhism with Sikhs in Greater Montreal
Mes remerciements à la communauté sikhe du Gurdwara Nânak Dakbar de LaSalle pour son accueil,
au professeur Singh Chahal de Laval pour sa contribution à cet article, au chercheur Michel Boccara
de Toulouse pour sa relecture « hors Québec », à la professeure et directrice de la Revue Ouvertures
Marie-Ève Garand pour son évaluation et la pertinence de ses remarques critiques.
Understanding Sikhism with Sikhs in Greater Montreal
I discovered Sikhism in 2011 in Montreal when visiting the Gurdwara Nânak Dakbar (Sikh
temple) in LaSalle as part of an UQÀM course on World Religions. Sikhism, a monotheistic
religion, begins with the disciples of Guru Nânak. The word Sikh etymologically means disciple or
student. After a conversation with Professor Singh Chahal, he highlighted that Sikhism derives from the
Punjabi word " Sikhi "which is a philosophy founded by Guru Nânak. It was then anglicized and
frenchized by adding the suffix " ism " .Nowadays the term " Sikhi " is more frequently used.
At the occasion of a seminar in India in 2013, my Sikhism’s knowledge increased through my visit to
their New Delhi’s Gurdwara (temple). This was led by my Sikhism’s study in History, including the
massacre of Sikhs on the 1st and 8 June 1984 at Darbar Sahib, the Golden temple of Amritsar, ordered
by Indira Gandhi who was assassinated on October 31, 1984. A genocide ensued Sikhs, especially in
New Delhi. I attended a Genocide Studies seminar in 2016 at Ottawa where I could witness testimonies
of survivors.
It was the major cause of Sikh migratory wave after 1984, many of whom were
welcomed as refugees in Canada.
Those years in Canada, Sikhs were on the media front pages for several reasons. First, Jagmeet Singh
was elected at the head of the NDP. Second, the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to India and
Pendjab in 2017 was in the limelight for a while. Finally, the last federal election which took place in
2019. Meanwhile, journalism kept emphasizing Sikh’s dresses and religious symbols like a ritual knife
called kirpan without being consulted.
Therefore, in this article the reader will find a critical reflection on Sikhism representation built by the
media. Radio Canada and CBC News articles have been analyzed with Montreal Sikhs collaboration.
An interview with four young women Sikh titled “What do we know about Sikhs in Quebec?" was first
published in French in 2019.
Considering the urge to inform French’s speakers about Sikhs and Sikhism, an article on Sikhism was
published in September 2020 presenting their historical context and deconstructing some cant from
Radio Canada and CBC News. To this purpose, I interviewed other Sikhs in September 2019 at
the Gurdwara Nânak Dakbar in LaSalle.
As Sikh studies have developed deeper in English by Sikh and Westerners scholars, there won’t be here
a translation of the brief historical and contextual summary of Sikhism. Instead, this paper will present
the translation of the second part of my article analyzing articles from CBC News and Radio Canada on
Sikhism in English and French.
1. Reread Radio Canada and CBC articles on Sikhs with Sikhs
1.1. Methodology
Twelve thematic categories have been chosen from 43 articles about Sikhs from Radio-Canada (29 in
French) and CBC News (14 in English), selected from August 10th, 2017 to September 7th, 2019,
bysearching the keyword "Sikh" on their websites:
1. Justin Trudeau and the Sikhs
2. Jagmeet Singh and the politics of the NDP
3. Wearing the turban
4. Sikh celebrations and Sikh commemorations
5. The laws of Quebec and the Sikhs
6. The kirpan
7. Denouncing racism
8. Independence
9. Terrorism and Sikh extremism
10. Women and Sikhism
11. Sikh refugees
12. False beliefs about Sikhs.
Three young Sikhs were interviewed at the GurudwaraNânakDakbar in the city of LaSalle about the
portrayal of the Canadian media on Sikhs,especially on Radio-Canada and CBC News. These three
French speakers who had received a Quebec education had been introduced to me by the temple
responsible member.
Firstly, I asked them how they saw Sikhism represented in media. Secondly, I invited them to choose
the four categories that seemed the most relevant in media to represent Sikhism. Finally, they had
chosen their four categories that seemed to be the least relevant from their perspective.
The intention of thismethodology wasaimed at making Sikhs be better heard about themselves and their
religion,so that the discourse gaps existing between them and the press may be revealed.
Due to the need for didactic conciseness, the 12 categories mentioned earlier were reduced to seven.
For example, categories turban and kirpan were put together, because they related both to the dress
code of khâlsâ. The final seven categories shown below, in decreasing order of articles concern:

The Sikh attributes of khâlsâ (12 ) including the turban (7) and the kirpan (3)

Justin Trudeau, Sikhs, Sikh Extremity and Independence (9 )

Jagmeet Singh leader of the NDP, Sikhs and independence (8 )

The celebrations, commemoration and Sikh refugees (5 )

The laws of Quebec and the Sikhs (4)

Denouncing racism and sexism (4)

False beliefs about Sikhs (1)
Categories one to six were analyzed in first part with Sikhs respondent’s viewpoint collected during
their interview. The 7th categoryin the last part is a support for a criticaldecolonial synthesis.
1.2. The Sikh attributes of khâlsâ including the turban and kirpan
The first category is related to the distinctive religious symbols which characterize some Sikhs. Thus,
the media including Radio-Canada and CBC News highlightedthe wearing of turban and kirpan on
different occasions.First, the right not to wear a motorcycle helmet in Alberta, British Columbia and
Manitoba (Radio-Canada, 23.2.2018). Second, Sikhs requested to keep the kirpan during flights(RadioCanada, 25.10.2018) or at school (Radio-Canada, 1.3.2019). Finally, the political use of turban’s design
and colorworn by Jagmeet Singh (Radio-Canada, 10.8.2017). For example, the accusation of
“ostentatious religious symbols” (Radio-Canada, 16.9.2017) as incompatible with political authority
from his opponents.
The order of the khâlsâ which determines the dress code of the turban and the kirpan is neither
contextualized nor ever named with one exception in the sample (CBC News, 19.5.2019). No
explanation for symbols or vows to which turban or kirpan are linked have been found.
Furthermore, false information has been statedby a journalist in an article : "like all believers who
practice this faith, [a 12-year-old child] has to always wear a kirpan " (Radio-Canada, 1.3. 2019).
Actually, only Sikhs who are engaged in khâlsâ have this obligation.
So, isn’t this kind of journalistic practice, which targets the religious attributes of a visible minority
without contextualizing them, an easy scapegoat for the reader?
The only symbolic contextualization that has been made in one of these articles came
from Harjinder Singh Kandola, representing the Sikh Cultural Society of Windsor. According to him,
the turban is one of “the most important acts of loyalty in our religion. It represents grace, sovereignty,
honor and equality for everyone”(Radio-Canada, 11.5.2018). All other discussions about the turban
or kirpan concern legal issues (for example right to wear a motorcycle helmet or not with a turban,
right to wear a kirpan to school or to the National Assembly). Therefore, these articles tend to
exacerbate potential conflict points and the adjudication of ensuing conflicts.
1.3. Justin Trudeau, Sikhs, Sikh extremism and independence
The second article’s category involves Justin Trudeau and Sikhs. It shows that politics is the main
media theme related to Sikhs (i.eto the politics of Justin Trudeau in this case and the politics of Jagmeet
Singh in the next category). Indeed, in February 2017,the Prime Minister's trip to India had hit the
headlines and covered many events in relation to Sikhs:
 the diplomatic incident involving the invitation of a Canadian Sikh labeled as a terrorist
 the Prime Minister's visit with his Sikh ministers to India
 his visit to the Amritsar temple with his family
 his – tense – meeting with the provincial head of state of the Indian Sikh Punjab
This would explain the abundance of articles linking Justin Trudeau and the Sikhs for the period from
February to May 2018. It was apparently an opportunity for the Canadian press in general to sharply
criticize the leader of State and its foreign policy(although Radio-Canada was not the most vehement in
this regard). Thus, six out of the ten articles published between February 21 and May 12, 2018 dealt
directly with Justin Trudeau's trip to India, described as chaotic in one article’s titles(CBC
News, 02.24.2018).

Justin Trudeau and Sikh extremism
Five articles focused on the controversy about Jaspal Atwal’s official invitation by Justin Trudeau.
Atwal had been accused of murdering a Sikh minister in Punjab and he had been mistakenly invited.
The invitation was immediately canceled right after Prime Minister’s Cabinet was briefed by CBC
News (Radio-Canada, 23.2.2018). But this allowed the media website to present itself as a better
guarantor of national security.
The sixth article is about Justin Trudeau and his Sikh Minister of Defense Harjit Singh Sajjan meeting
with the Chief Minister of the Punjab, Amarinder Singh, also Sikh who claimed "that money was sent
from Canada to Sikh extremists”(Radio-Canada , 21.2.2018 ). In other words, all articles from this
period involving Trudeau and the Sikhs willy-nilly associate the latter with some form of extremism.
Also, theoretical and practical ignorance of religious traditions by journalism might be one of the
indirect causes of terrorism in the name of religion. Specialists in terrorist radicalization state that this
phenomenon is indirectly caused by media projections, which could eventually lead to the creation
of home made terrorists[28].
The theme of independence
Apart from the overdetermined journalistic association between Sikhism and extremism, there is also a
recurrent association between the theme of independence and Sikh religion. This will be examined in
detail in the following section (1.4).

Critical media analysis on Trudeau's trip to India
From February to May 2018, Trudeau and the Sikhs were extensively exposed by media. There should
be a thorough political analysis explaining why the Canadian press was unanimously doing that. Would
the initial poor reception of Trudeau in India be questioning the international legitimacy of Canada?
Were the local costumes and photos of the Canadian Prime Minister in India fashionable enough to
increase the number of readers? Or could thediplomatic incident showing Trudeau's wife with the
former Sikh extremistbe offering an easy target for the opposition and journalists to rebuke the foreign
policy and the professionalism of the Canadian PM?
The reception of Iranian PM by Indian PM happened at the same time as Trudeau’s visit, and it might
have been a priority for India due to the closeness with Iran. Being the NDP a Sikh leader, one might
wonder why the media focused on Sikh / Trudeau. The reception of the Canadian press should be
compared to the reception of the Indian press and the Indians themselves. However, this research is
beyond the objectives of this article.

Asikh’s critical view of Justin Trudeau
One of the Sikhs interviewed at LaSalle’s Gurdwara observed Justin Trudeau's relationship with Sikhs
and he characterized it as inequality towards the Sikh community advocating that politicians might
develop more impartiality in relation to different communities and ethnicities:
Yes, I believe that some people bring their religion into play when it comes to certain topics and
it could get very subjective that certain views on things. For example, Trudeau is not a Sikh, but
you might think he has a certain favoritism for Sikhs, that's true, right? If you look at this I don't
know why he is so friendly with the Sikhs… because he knows the votes are coming from there
too, is that right? So it's favoritism that can happen with people of a certain ethnicity, if he was
Polish he could have helped all his Polish people or he could have helped… but he does, but I
think it is still subjective, as a statesman he has to help the Sikhs of course, but he has to make
sure that everyone also feels favoring that a certain group. Is it not true? It would be like going
back to the kingdom of Maharajah Ranjit Singh only 150 years ago, the impact it had in the
country in terms of agriculture, development and everything was so great. And the reason for
this is that they took into account all the different ethnicities and made sure that each ethnicity
developed at the same time.
This is a remarkable example of what Homi K. Bhabha (2006, 26) theorized as a third-space which
“comes to disrupt the histories that constitute it and establish new structures of authority, new political
initiatives that escape in common sense”. Indeed, this intervieweeexposed anacute discourse quite
different from the mainstream’s media narrative. On the one hand, he denounced the subjective
favoritism of Justin Trudeau vis-à-vis his community in contrast to the expected impartiality of a
government. On the other hand, he made manifest the example of Maharaja Ranjît Singh as an
impartial and secular Sikh’s reign (Duggal K. Singh, 1989). It seems to be the antithesis of a secular
paradigm in a modern state, though. Consequently, it opens the space for reflection on what is
understood by secular.
This other debate will be covered on the laws of Quebec (2.5).
1.4. Jagmeet Singh leader of the NDP, Sikhs and independence
Jagmeet Singh was another major political media theme on Sikhism in Canada. Hehad become the
elected NDP candidate in 2019 federal elections, being mentioned in nine articles.

Is Sikhism only a turban?
Even though Jagmeet Singh was recalled as Sikh in many of these nine articles, nothing was really said
about Sikhism itself. Indeed, it is a less known religion than the three monotheisms resulting from the
descent of Abraham (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) or than Buddhism, and Hinduism. Actually, it
has never beeneither in the political interest of Jagmeet Singh or in his role as the NDP candidate in the
federal elections to explain what Sikhism is. Otherwise he would appearas proselytizing.However, only
for the fact of wearing a turban he hadsometimes beenconsidereddoing that.
The few elements referring to Sikhism in these articles are mainly kirpan and turban ("Singh is a Sikh
and wears a turban" Sheena Goodyear, CBC News, 2019).It should be noticed, however, that many
Hindus and Muslims also wear a turban and it is not always considered as an ostentatious religious
sign.

The theme of independence
The possibility of Quebec’s independence from Canada has always been a controversial subject.Punjab
Sikh independence may be controversial toodue to diplomatic relations between India and Canada
since 1984 Sikh’s genocide. Therefore evoking Punjab Sikh independence could be a subtle way to
bring on the topic of independence and have it associated to violence. Indeed, three articles (2 in
English, 1 in French) about the theme of Jagmeet Singh and independence have been found. The one in
French is an interview with Frédéric Castel, an academic Quebecer who hadthe article “Les Sikhs du
Québec” published in 2007. The contrast between his article in French and the two short
articles in English is striking. Frédéric Castel’s intention wasto temporize the media association
between extremism and the Sikh movement for an independent Punjab, whereas the articles in English
tended to exacerbate this association (independence / violence).
CBC News' three-line brief stated two antithesis: “political violence” and “understanding and
inclusion”; “separatist events” and “healing and reconciliation”.
Thus, in Canada on CBC News, Jagmeet Singh seems to be accused of encouraging separatism and
violence despite beingthe NDP leader, whileFrédéric Castel tries to relativize this association in
Quebec.

Respondents' perspective on Jagmeet Singh
After being asked what the four most relevant media categories representing Sikhs were, two answers
were given:
 “The most relevant I would say that it is Jagmeet Singh. If he becomes Prime
Minister it is very surprising. Because he would be the Prime
Minister who would be Sikh. And, also what I find relevant is that he is fighting
against racism, that is very good. Then, thirdly, I would say that Jagmeet Singh
is in the process of fighting for nature, against pollution.”
 “I would say that the celebration of Sikhism and commemoration is very
relevant. Also, Jagmeet Singh with the NDP, it was very relevant.”
The motivation of these two young Sikhs fitted the federal elections, which happened to be in full
swing at that time, withthe main candidates continuouslyin thespotlight. This highlights the importance
of political arguments especially regarding ecological and anti-racist issues.
1.5. Sikh celebrations, commemoration and refugees
One of the two young people mentioned above indicated thatthe category“Sikh refugees, Sikh
commemorations and celebrations” was in the first rank of importance. Therefore, it would be
interesting to learn a little more through journalistic professionalism about the Sikh tradition, which has
been barely ignoredso far.

The exception of one article on a Sikh celebration
Despite the lack of information about Sikhism’s celebration on CBC and Radio Canada, the
"Nagar Kirtan,
a
Sikh
cultural
and religious celebration " (CBC
News , Kives , 1.9.2 019) was
mentioned by the journalist Bartley Kives in Manitoba. He described it as a procession following
the Guru Grant Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs. The procession includes religious and secular music,
ending with some food shared with participants (the practice of the laṅgar) which are fundamental
practices of Sikhism.In temples, Guru Grant Sahib’s words are turned into chants and music.
Actually, the main subject of Kives’ article was about car insurance prices, being aloof and at times
ironic,but givingindeedsome concrete context on Sikhism.
Two other concise articles onSikh celebrations and commemorations were found. One of them about
the memory of Sikh soldiers of Canada, which is ahistorical documentabout the first settlement of this
community in 1900 in Alberta. And the other one about a Sikh paradein Regina in May 2019. Although
the historical contribution of Sikhs, especially military, is highlighted in these articles, no concrete
information on Sikh celebration has been mentioned.

An article about refugees
The only article about refugees concernstwo families of Sikh refugees from Afghanistan persecuted by
the Talibanin . This article indicates an existing solidarity movement within the Sikh community for
Sikh refugees. It is indeed a subject of great importance as most Sikhs arrived at Canada as refugees
after the 1984 massacres in India (Normand, 2017, 42-45).

A respondent on Sikh refugees, Sikh commemorations and celebrations
A s nly three respondents highlighted in his remarks Sikh refugees, commemorations and celebrations
Sikh as a category representing the best : "I would say that the celebration of Sikhism and
commemoration ... that's very relevant, Jagmeet Singh with the NDP, that is also very relevant… um…
also the Sikh refugees ”. It should be taken into account here that the respondents were either born in
Quebec or arrived in their early childhood and therefore did not themselves experience the refugee
condition linked to the generations of their parents or grandparents. In view of the interviews carried
out in January, this is by no means meant that commemorations and celebrations are not fundamental to
defining Sikhism in the eyes of Sikhs , but it is understandable that this is not the priority representation
for all young Sikhs. Quebecois .
1.6 Sikhs and Quebec law
Even though Quebec’s Bill 21 prohibits authorities to wear religious symbols (2019), the category
"Quebec law and the Sikhs" was barely mentioned on Radio-Canada and CBC News.
 The turban, an ostentatious sign in Law 21
Being considered ostentatious signs, turbanshave been forbidden on Law 21 for any State authority
representative. We could have expected many articles in French about this bill, since it is the official
language in Quebec and a matter of major interest, butmost of the articles selected were in English:
only oneout of four was published in French.
Among these three articles in English, one focused on the impact of the Bill 21 in federal
elections (CBC, 17.6.2019), especially the position of Jagmeet Singh. Another one was about a
campaign named "No to the law 21". And the last one involved a Sikh teacher who said she was forced
to leave Quebec for the right to teach with her turban on (CBC News BC).

Gender equality in Sikhism
"Sikhs believe that men and women are equal [and that is] the reason why women also wear a turban"
the Sikh teacher said in this last article. The insistence on male-female egalitarianism in Sikhism is a
part of a Canadian Sikh leitmotif. It testifies the integration of Canadian values and a revitalization of
equality inscribed in the Guru Granth Sahib as well as in a social transformation when Sikhs decided to
change their hindu name indicating caste to the name Singh (men) and Kaur (women). However, some
aspects of this equality might not be properly applied in the Punjabi sociological context according to
Sikhism specialist Julie Vig :
Despite all the apparent reinforcing elements for women in the scriptures,
several contemporary historians, sociologists and anthropologists agree in recognizing that
male-female relations are still marked today by a subordination of Sikh women to men (Vig ,
2006, 72)
After all, this ambivalence between an egalitarian discourse and unequal practices is not specific
to Punjabi culture. The Me too movement has recently reminded it to all the world.

A respondent's perspective on Bill 21
In the category "Justin Trudeau and Sikhs ", one of the respondents implicitly criticized Legault
Government
of
Quebec
secularization.
His
statement
was
founded
on
the
reign
of
Maharajah Ranjît Singh which was reputed as a secular Sikh government, at least for him and others
Sikhs. His criticism specifies later that there is a contradiction between Canadian law and the new 21
Quebec law regarding the ban on wearing a turban in a position of authority:
You need to think about it. Canada's defence minister, his origin doesn't matter, does it? If he is
a Muslim, a Sikh, a Buddhist, it does not matter as long as he fulfills his function of defending
Canada. That is what matters. However, if Quebec needs to be defended, who are they going
to ask, the Minister of Defence, right? But, currently, the Minister of Defence is a Sikh wearing
a turban, therefore in a position of authority. And the country which he protects is saying: oh no,
people in positions of authority cannot wear a turban. So, are they asking not to be
defended? What do they want? This is the question I ask them. How not to realize that it does
not matter as long as you put your qualities and your love at the service of your country? That
alone matters.
The subversive force of his entreptic argument seems to turn the law against itself. The current
Canadian Sikh Minister of Defence might recall one of the foundations of Sikhism, which has been
anchored in a martial tradition of defence for religious freedom since the assassination of his tenth
guru . At least, that's a decolonial reading of this Sikh respondant, who turned all this double justice
into a brilliant irony .
2.7. Denouncing racism and sexism
In the selected sample there are three articles about racism and Sikhs, and one about sexism and Sikhs.

Denouncing racism
Regarding the three articles dealing with racism and Sikhs, one of them reports the assertion
of Gurrutan Singh , Ontario MP and brother of Jagmeet Singh , when he states "racism has no place in
Canada" ( Radio Canada, 2.9.2019) , responding to an Islamophobe having taken him for a Muslim.
The others denounce acts of racial discrimination against Sikhs.
These
three
articles
related
to
three
Sikh
politicians, Gurrutan Singh, Jagmeet Singh
and Navdeep Bains (Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development), who are in a
position of authority to denounce racism, involving incidents or traumas they suffered as Sikhs, or as
"looking like a Muslim" in the case of Gurrutan Singh. Thus, racism is clearly stated in the media
as unacceptable, but it still remains disturbing that racism is denounced especially and only when it is
addressed to politicians and not when it is expressed to the rest of the population . Besides, these
articles don't give any information about Sikhism.

Denunciation of sexism
Regarding sexism and Sikhs in politics, one article shows the underrepresentation of Sikh women
especially for the Municipal Elections Edmonton . Once again, journalism emphasizes politics instead
of Sikh women daily life. According to Julie Vig's research, the existing gender inequality practice is
confirmed within the Montreal Sikh community. However, in that article the only information given on
Sikhism is that, according to " the scriptures of Sikhism, men and women are equal." (
Khushwant Singh Hoonjan quoted by the journalist).

A respondent's perspective on racism
A respondant particularly emphasized the importance of fighting against racism and he was pleased
with the Sikh position of standing against racism during the federal election campaign :
I find relevant is that we are trying to fight against racism ... that's fine.
His words highlight the positive impact of this rejection of racism by people who have suffered it as
Gurrutan and Jagmeet Singh, according to the latter's autobiography (Singh, 2019) . From this point
of view, the lack of both popular and journalistic information on Sikhism exceptionally benefitted the
antiracist cause. Indeed, Gurrutan Singh stood against racism when being taken for a Muslim, whereas
Sikh history records more political antagonism between Sikhs and Muslims than reapprochement.
Conclusion : why an “ abyssal vacuum ” knowledge on Sikhs ?
A column by Hugo Lavoie on Radio-Canada devoted to the Sikhs of Montreal was entitled : “Void
abyssal sur le sikhisme” (2017). This title , three years later, is still as relevant today. C Audio chronic
ette Hugo Lavoie was accompanied by a paragraph calling itself "False beliefs about the Sikh religion
deconstructed by young Sikh," whose approach seemed promising, because the word was given to
them Sikhs to talk of Sikhism and because the stated intention was to deconstruct false beliefs. The
brevity of this chronicle, however, only allowed us to address certain prejudices, such as that confusing
Sikhism with Hinduism or Islam or that reducing it to wearing a turban.
The treatment of the representation of Sikhs by Radio-Canada and CBC News since this alarm bell
launched in 2017 by this columnist would thus appear significant, because the awareness of a gap
between the information given by previous media (or the popular rumor ) and some facts had already
been pointed out. These differences are not only on the factual level of knowledge of Sikhism, but also
on the processing of information in relation to Sikhs.
For example, I can not however ignore that all of CBC and CBC News items on the relationship
between the laws of Quebec and Sikhs, was unanimously pronounced - directly or indirectly - against
the lo i 21 . Therefore, it is difficult not to consider the possible instrumentalization of Sikhs refusing
Bill 21, as an opportunity to grant more legitimacy to the multicultural federal power versus the
Quebec provincial power. If this hypothesis is correct, it would be interesting to reflect on the status of
the scapegoat (Girard, 1972) of the cultural difference that would be glorified and sacrificed in the
media - by claiming to save it from exclusion from positions of authority - while this difference is
fundamentally ignored by the said media whose function would be above all to remind that, in any
case, it is the dominant voice of Radio-Canada and CBC News which would be right on this chapter, a
voice which is neither sik he, nor Québécoise, within the limits of the validity of this analysis, certainly
quite
modest
given
the
sample
selected. The
recurring
journalistic
evocation of Jagmeet Singh's turban without giving its meaning seems to go in the same direction and
to have been a means of undermining the electoral campaign of ideas to play on that of the image,
often, it must be said, guaranteeing an audience and readership larger than ideas .
The main purpose of this article is not, however, to demonstrate the political intentions of the media
which vary according to the journalists, but to underline the uses that can be made of Sikh
representations, with or without their consent, without ever saying anything about Sikhism or give a
voice to the Sikhs themselves on this matter. Indeed, hardly any belief or practice of Sikhism has been
explicitly mentioned in all these articles supposed to refer to Sikhism or to Sikhs , while associating
them for a significant number of articles with extremism, social or legal conflicts. .
In the best case, especially from the perspective of the fight against racial discrimination, Sikhs
would perhaps represent in the media “ the other ” having sufficiently succeeded in their Canadian
integration and their social rise while having suffered from racism, to be able to defend other ethnic or
religious minorities against
discrimination, perhaps in this way renewing their side with
the justiciary tradition that Guru Gobind Singh had transmitted to them.
However, this role, both real and collectively imaginary, of the politico-religious representation that the
media make or have given to the Sikhs must not make us forget that these representations are very far
from their daily reality, their culture and their religion. , as well as their history fraught with injuries. I
insist on these points, because I think it is especially important to develop in Quebec a mutual
understanding of Sikh and Quebec cultures, given their de facto cohabitation in Quebec and the
historical wound that these two peoples share, to have wanted or want some form of independence and
to have been repressed collectively for this reason. To be able to speak of one's collective wounds and
to recognize with tact the wounds of others seems to me to be one of the deeper conditions for living
well together than a legal or religious norm.
To conclude , I would add that taking the time to meet them is often enough to undo this type of media
representation , while I hope that this article has contributed to renewing the view on Sikhs and their
culture .
Annex 1 : Some major principles of Sikhi (Sikhism )
Truth
Being truthful is a very important principle of Guru Nanak's philosophy and one of his
recommendations. He said thus :
ਸਚਹੁ ਓਰੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਉਪਰਰ ਸਚੁ ਆਚਾਰੁ ॥ ੫ ॥
Sacẖahu orai sabẖ ko upar sacẖ ācẖār . || 5 ||
Though the truth is p high read any other religious ritual, it is still higher living truthfully.
A di G uru G ranth S Ahib , M . 1, p 62.
In addition, Guru Nanâk has confirmed that he himself tells the truth and advises to tell it at the right
time, otherwise it will have no productive effect in solving the problems. So, Guru Nanâ k was not
afraid in 1521 to tell the truth about the destruction and murder of people by Babar at Saidpur near
Islamabad, now in Pakistan , just then, although he did been jailed for telling the truth. However, he
was later released :
ਸਚ ਕੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਆਖੈ ਸਚੁ ਸੁਣਾਇਸੀ ਸਚ ਕੀ ਬੇਲਾ ॥ ੨ ॥ ੩ ॥ ੫ ॥
Sacẖ kī baṇī Nānak ākẖai sacẖ suṇā▫isī sacẖ kī belā . || 2 || 3 || 5 ||
Guru Nanâk speaks the truth and proclaims it at the right time when it must be proclaimed.
A di G uru G ranth S ahib , M 1, p 723.
How to be truthful?
Guru Nanak says that we can become true by performing the purification of the mind , breaking the
vicious circle of lies (built by ' e nchevêtrement of falsehood s), including the laws of nature / universe
and exploiting these laws for the welfare of mankind in order to maintain peace. This is real life :
ਰਕਵ ਸਰਚਆਰਾ ਹੋਈਐ
ਰਕਵ ਕੂੜੈ ਤੁ ਟੈ ਪਾਰਲ ॥
Kiv sacẖi▫ārā ho▫ī▫ai
kiv kūrhai ṯutai pāl .
So, how to achieve purification are picked, to the tranquility? And how to break the vicious circle of
lies? Guru N anâk answers this :
ਹੁਕਰਿ ਰਜਾਈ ਚਲਣਾ
ਨਾਨਕ ਰਲਰਖਆ ਨਾਰਲ ॥ ੧ ॥
Hukam rajā▫ī cẖalṇā
Nānak likẖi▫ā nāl .
ਅਗਗਸ , ਜਪੁ # 1, ਪੰਨਾ 1.
We can achieve purification esp laughs or tranquility by breaking the vicious circle of lies by
understanding and respect of art established laws of nature / the universe ( ਹੁਕਰਿ , hukm).
Adi Guru Granth S ahib , Jap ji # 1, p 1.
The practice of wisdom ( ਅਕਰਲ ):
In his advice, Guru Nanâk emphasizes the importance of practicing wisdom in order to determine what
is right and what is wrong : he names this attitude as establishing a true modus vivendi.
ਅਕਰਲ ਏਹ ਨ ਆਖੀਐ ਅਕਰਲ ਗਵਾਈਐ ਬਾਰਿ ॥
Akal eh na ākẖī▫ai akal gavā▫ī▫ai bāḏ .
This wisdom which leads to arguments is not called wisdom.
ਅਕਲੀ ਸਾਰਹਬੁ ਸੇਵੀਐ ਅਕਲੀ ਪਾਈਐ ਿਾਨੁ ॥
Aklī sāhib sevī▫ai aklī pā▫ī▫ai mān .
One cannot understand the Entity EternalE dull daughter (God) by the use of the intellect ,
and itone is honored. pa r this purpose .
ਅਕਲੀ ਪਰੜ੍ ਹਹ ਕੈ ਬੁਝੀਐ ਅਕਲੀ ਕੀਚੈ ਿਾਨੁ ॥
Aklī paṛĥ kai bujẖī▫ai aklī kīcẖai ḏān .
It is by using the intellect that one must read to discover the truth.
And it should also be used to evaluate a cause before making a charitable donation to it .
ਨਾਨਕੁ ਆਖੈ ਰਾਹੁ ਏਹੁ ਹੋਰਰ ਗਲਾਾਂ ਸੈਤਾਨੁ ॥ ੧ ॥
Nānak ākẖai rāhu ehu hor galāʼn saiṯān . || 1 ||
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 1245.
This is the true way; all other philosophies lead to misguided actions.
Adi Guru Granth Sahib, M 1, p 1245.
The human being has inherited four specific qualities ( Patharath )
Guru Nanak points out that humans are born with four inherited characteristics: seeing, hearing,
feeling, and finally thinking, analyzing data and using it while living honestly and peacefully :
ਚਾਰਰ ਪਿਾਰਥ ਲੈ ਜਰਗ ਆਇਆ ॥
Cẖār paḏārath lai jag ā▫i▫ā .
ਰਸਵ ਸਕਤੀ 5 ਘਰਰ 6 ਵਾਸਾ 7 ਪਾਇਆ ॥
Siv sakṯī gẖar vāsā pā▫i▫ā .
ਏਕੁ ਰਵਸਾਰੇ ਤਾ ਰਪੜ ਹਾਰੇ ਅੰਧੁਲੈ ਨਾਿੁ ਰਵਸਾਰਾ ਹੇ ॥ ੬ ॥
Ėk visāre ṯā piṛ hāre anḏẖulai nām visārā he. || 6 ||
This man has all of these characteristics as energies in his mind (consciousness) .
Man, who ignores even one of these characteristics, has lost the purpose of
life ; this innocent man also ignores the Laws of Nature, of the Universe .
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 1027.
AGGS, M 1, p 1027.
É assess before accepting:
Guru Nanak cautions against accepting any philosophy or suggestion, or teaching before his rigorous
evaluation:
ਸੁਰਣ ਿੁੰਧੇ ਹਰਣਾਖੀਏ ਗੂ ੜਾ ਵੈਣੁ ਅਪਾਰੁ ॥
ਪਰਹਲਾ ਵਸਤੁ ਰਸਞਾਰਣ ਕੈ ਤਾਾਂ ਕੀਚੈ ਵਾਪਾਰੁ ॥
Suṇ munḏẖe harṇākẖī▫e gūṛā vaiṇ apār .
Pahilā vasaṯ siñāṇ kai ṯāʼn kīcẖai vāpār .
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 1410.
Oh innocent e? devoutee (married) with the curious eyes of a deer!
Hear the deep message of infinite wisdom.
First evaluate everything, then accept, buy or adopt.
Adi Guru Granth Sahib, M 1, p 1410.
Importance of research:
Guru Nanak's philosophy encourages research to uncover the truth:
ਖੋਜੀ ਉਪਜੈ ਬਾਿੀ ਰਬਨਸੈ ਹਉ ਬਰਲ ਬਰਲ ਗੁ ਰ ਕਰਤਾਰਾ ॥
Kẖojī upjai bāḏī binsai ha▫o bal bal gur karṯārā .
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 1255.
The seeker progresses while the others (arguing and aimlessly) perish; Nanâk sacrifices himself
to the creative awakening.
Adi Guru Granth Sahib , M 1, p 1255.
Freedom of expression
Freedom of expression and speech is a birthright for every human being. Guru Nanâk reinforces this
right in his philosophy:
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਿੁਨੀਆ ਰਹੀਐ ਨਾਨਕ ਰਕਛੁ ਸੁਣੀਐ ਰਕਛੁ ਕਹੀਐ ॥
Jab lag ḏunī▫ā rahī▫ai Nānak kicẖẖ suṇī▫ai kicẖẖ kahī▫ai .
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 661.
As long as we live in this world, we must listen to others and allow others to express their
opinions (to find the truth and live amicably).
AGGS, M 1, p 661.
Equality
Contra irement to the prevailing inequality because of discrimination caste, beliefs or of colors ,
Guru Nanak passed the equality of human beings on the principle that all belong to a higher class and
no to a lower class :
ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਊਚਾ ਆਖੀਐ ਨੀਚੁ ਨ ਿੀਸੈ ਕੋਇ ॥
Sabẖ ko ūcẖā ākẖī▫ai nīcẖ na ḏīsai ko▫e .
ਇਕਨੈ ਭਾਾਂਡੇ ਸਾਰਜਐ ਇਕੁ ਚਾਨਣੁ ਰਤਹੁ ਲੋ ਇ ॥
Iknai bẖāʼnde sāji▫ai ik cẖānaṇ ṯihu lo▫e .
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 62.
Call everyone high, none appear to be low ;
Everyone was molded from the same material ;
And the same source of energy is found in everything.
AGGS, M1, p 62.
Altruisme:
Guru Nanak recommended the value of education as it relates to the welfare of mankind:
ਰਵਰਿਆ ਵੀਚਾਰੀ ਤਾਾਂ ਪਰਉਪਕਾਰੀ ॥
viḏi▫ā vīcẖārī ṯāʼn par▫upkārī .
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 356.
AGGS, M 1, p 356.
Sharing material wealth
Nanak advises to share some of her gains for the welfare of mankind. It is not like the tithe (a tenth of a
tenth) of everything we weigh, as it was practiced during the Middle Ages in Europe. He encourages
some
who
can
easily
save . Unfortu ment,
the
system
of
Christian
tithing also
slipped E in Sikhi (Sikhism) and is preached to tithe , but not sure if s earnings as suggested by Guru
Nanak :
ਘਾਰਲ ਖਾਇ ਰਕਛੁ ਹਥਹੁ ਿੇਇ ॥
Gẖāl kẖā▫e kicẖẖ hathahu ḏe▫e .
ਨਾਨਕ ਰਾਹੁ 5 ਪਛਾਣਰਹ 6 ਸੇਇ . ੧ ॥
Nānak rāhu pacẖẖāṇėh se▫e . || 1 ||
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 1245.
Nanak says:
Whoever winsearns by the sweat of his brow and shares a portion of his gains for the welfare of
mankind, Nanak says he has recognized the true path of life.
AGGS, M 1, p 1245.
Don't abuse anyone and don't argue with the ignorant
Guru Nanak recommends this:
ਿੰਿਾ ਰਕਸੈ ਨ ਆਖੀਐ ਪਰੜ ਅਖਰੁ ਏਹੋ ਬੁਝੀਐ ॥
Manḏā kisai na ākẖī▫ai paṛ akẖar eho bujẖī▫ai .
ਿੂਰਖੈ ਨਾਰਲ ਨ ਲੁ ਝੀਐ ॥ ੧੯ ॥
Mūrkẖai nāl na lujẖī▫ai . || 19 ||
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 673.
After reading and understanding the teaching (the philosophy that all are equal), one discovers
that one should not abuse anyone and not argue with the ignorant.
AGGS, M 1, p 673.
Work for yourself instead of relying on what thatGod fill do. Fera is it French of do?
Many people from all confessionprofessions pray to God for their work to be done and wishes come
true, however, Guru Nanak them eur advises them to work by themselves to work themselves to get
their -even s for their wishes to be fulfilled:
ਆਪਣ ਹਥੀ ਆਪਣਾ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਕਾਜੁ ਸਵਾਰੀਐ ॥ ੨੦ ॥
Āpaṇ hathī āpṇā āpe hī kāj savārī▫ai . || 20 ||
ਅਗਗਸ , ਿ : 1, ਪੰਨਾ 474.
Do your work with your own hands.
AGGS, M 1, p 474.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
List of references ( excluding Radio-Canada / CBC News articles )
N. Gerald Barrier and Verne A. Dusenberry , The Sikh Diaspora : Migration and Experience beyond
Punjab, Chanakya Publications, New Delhi, 1989.
Homi K. Bhabha , "The third space", Multitudes 3, n ° 26 ( 2006 ), 95-1 0 7 .
Bremen
and
Kaur,
“ What
do
we
know
about
Quebec? » , 2019 , http://embargo.media/2019/10/que-sait-on-sur-les-sikhs-auquebec/ Accessed December 6, 2019.
the
Sikhs
in
Frédéric Castel, “Les sikhs au Québec”, 2007 , http://cjf.qc.ca/revue-relations/publication/article/lessikhs-du-quebec/, accessed March 13, 2019.
Devinder Singh Chahal , “ Illiteracy about religions with specia l reference to Sikhism”, Institute for
Understanding Sikhism, 2008 , IUSCanada.com , Accessed 18.8.2020
D uggal, K. Singh, Ranjî t Singh: a secular Sikh sovereign, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi, 1989.
Canadian Encyclopedia, Norman Buchignani , Sikhism article , 2008.
Alain Gabon, “The Twin Myths of the Western Jihadist Thr eat and Islamic Radicalization”, Cordoba
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René Girard, La violence et le sacré, Édition Grasset, Paris , 1972.
Guru Granth Sa hib ,Editions Golden Temple, Corenc.
Claire Launay, “Les sikhs du Québec ”, 2013 , https://www.delitfrancais.com/2013/10/22/les-sikhs-duquebec/, accessedDecember 7, 2019.
Denis Matringe , The Sikhs. History and tradition of the “Lions of Panjab” , ÉditionsAlbin Michel,
Paris , 2008 , 377 p .
W illiam Hevat Mc Leod , Guru Nânak and the Sikh Religion, Oxford University Press, New Delhi,
1976 .
William H evat Mc Leod , The B40 Janam Sakhi , B40 de India Office Library, Guru Nânak Dev
University, Amritsar, 1980.
W illiam Hevat Mc Leod , Sikh s of the Khalsa : a History of the Khalsa Rahit , Oxford University
Press, New Delhi, 2003.
Mencé-Cast er ,
C. , Bertin- Elisabeth ,
C. , Roches app for decolonial thought , Archipélies , https://www.archipelies.org/189 , posted on June
15, 201 8, consulted on February 21, 2019 .
Laurence Normand, The impact of the representations of the events of 1984 in India on the
construction of the identity of the Sikh community in Montreal , Master's thesis in religious sciences,
UQÀM, 2017.
Harjot Oberoi, The Construction o f Religious Boundaries : Culture, Identity and Diversity in the Sikh
Tradition, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1994.
Baptiste Rappin , “ Pierre Legendre or law from the point of view of dogmatic anthropology ” , Droit et
société , 102 ( 2,019 ) ; 397-411 .
Jagmeet Singh, Love and Courage , Simon & Schuster, New York , 2019 .
Julie Vig , Women and Sikhism in Montreal: the case of representations of women and male-female
relationships , Master's thesis in religious sciences, UQÀM , 2009.
References of Radio-Canada and CBC articles by theme

Justin Trudeau , Sikhs , extremism and independence
Radio-Canada, 21.2.2018, “ Trudeau clarifies the Sikh question with the Chief Minister of the
Punjab ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1085009/trudeau-clarifie-question-sikhe-ministrependjab Accessed 5.9. 2019
Radio-Canada,
Mathieu
Gohier,
22.2.2018,
“ Extr ”, https://ici.radiocanada.ca/nouvelle/1085326/trudeau-gregoire-atwal-invitation-extremiste-sikh-verificationscommataire-adjoint-grc Accessed 5.9. 2019
Radio-Canada,
23.2.2018, “ … ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1085409/modi-trudeau-indesarai-rencontre?depuisRecherche=true Consulted on 5.9.2019
CBC, 24.2.2018, “ … ”, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/justin-trudeau-s-chaotic-india-trip-andnext-week-s-federal-budget-1.4546501 Accessed on 7.9. 2019
CBC, 24.2.2018, “ … ”, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/justin-trudeau-s-chaotic-india-trip-andnext-week-s-federal-budget-1.4546501/ shaking-ties-to-sikh-nationalists-trudeau-s-only-hope-to-movepast-india-trip-expert-says-1.4547635 Accessed 5.9.2019
Radio-Canada, 13.4.2018, “ Justin Trudeau tries to get closer to the Sikh electorate ”, https://ici.radiocanada.ca/nouvelle/1164230/justin-trudeau-sikh-vancouver-vaisakhi?depuisRecherche= true Accessed
30.8.2019
Radio-Canada,
16.4.2018, “ … ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1095389/justin-trudeau-jaspal-
atwal-invitation-evenement Consulted on 5.9.2019
Radio-Canada, 12.5.2018 , “ … ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1100730/voyage-trudeau-indejaspal-atwal-accusation-menaces?depuisRecherche=true Consulted on 5.9.2019
Radio- Canada ,
12.5.2018, “ … ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1164117/ottawa-eviteraextremisme-sikh-rapports-menace-terroriste?depuisRecherche=true Consulted on 31.8.2019

Turban, kirpan , the Sikh attributes of khâlsâ
Radio-Canada, 10.8.2017, “ Jagmeet Singh , candidate for the leadership of the NDP ” https://ici.radiocanada.ca/nouvelle/1049809/jagmeet-singh-candidat-direction-nouveau-partidemocratique?depuisRecherche = true Accessed 7.9. 2019
Radio-Canada,
Pierre Nantel ,
16.9.2017, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1056349/signesreligieux-jagmeet-singh-npd-incompatibles-quebecois-selon-depute-pierre-nantel?depuisRecherche =
true Accessed 7.9. 2019
CBC News, 7.11.2017, “ World Sikh Organization welcomes Canadian decision to allow
small kirpans on
flights ”, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/world-sikh-organization-welcomescanadian-decision-to- allow-small-kirpans-on-flights-1.4393163 Accessed 7.9.2019
Radio-Canada, March 29 , 2018, “ Sikhs in Alberta will be able to ride motorcycles without a
helmet ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1092320/sikh-alberta-casque-moto-exemptionturban Accessed 7.9. 2019
Radio-Canada, 3.4.2018, “ Valérie Plant é open to a reflection on the wearing of religious symbols in
the police and the public service ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1092937/spvm- turban-hijabletter-marvin-rotrand-coalition-montreal-font-letter? fromRecherche = true Accessed 7.9.2019
Radio-Canada,
11.5.2018,
“ … ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1100521/incident-turbanaeroport-detroit-communaute-sikhe-windsor-reagit?depuisRecherche=true Consulted 7.9 .2019
Radio-Canada, 25.10.2018, “ The kirpan banned at the National Assembly ” , https://ici.radiocanada.ca/nouvelle/1068896/assemblee-nationale-dit-non-kirpān-avions Accessed 7.9. 2019
Radio-Canada,
1.3.2019, “ Forbidden kirpan in
Quebec
canada.ca/nouvelle/297726/kirpān-coursup Accessed 7.9. 2019
schools ” , https://ici.radio-
Radio-Canada, 12.4.2018, “ … ”, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-forapril-14-2019-1.5095374/why-are-so-many- canadians-obsessed-by-what-people-put-on-their-headsmichael-s-essay-1.5095433 Accessed 7.9.2019
Radio-Canada, 16.9.2018, “ … ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1124224/motocyclistes-turbancasque?depuisRecherche=true Accessed 5 .9. 2019
CBC News, 11/30/2018 , “ … ”, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-ban-on-turban-wearingsoccer-players-in-quebec-1.1528896 Accessed 7.9.2019
CBC News, 19.5.2019, “ Thousand of Sikhs gather to celebrate 'equality, freedom and justice'
for Khâlsâ Day”, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/thousand-of-sikhs-gatherto-celebrate-
equality-freedom-and-justice-for-khâlsâ-day-1.5142196 Accessed 23.11.2019

Jagmeet Singh , Sikhs and independence
CBC News, 03/15/2018, “ … ”, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/jagmeet-singh-says-he-attendssikh-separatist-events-to-promote-healing-and-reconciliation -1.4579614 Accessed 7.9.2018
Radio-Canada, Frédéric Castel, 16.3.2018, “ Sikh independence, a puzzle for Canadian
politicians ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/midi-info/segments/entrevue / 63749 /
community-sikh-politicians-engagement-canada Accessed August 31, 2019
CBC News, 03/16/2018, “ … ”, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-march-16-20181.4577977/jagmeet-singh-s-view-of-sikh
-separatism-under-scrutiny-after-appearances-at-rallies1.4578161 Accessed August 31, 2019
Radio-Canada, 08.31.2018 ,
“ Jagmeet Singh
defends
his
Burnaby
South
headquarters ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1282659/le-chef-du-npd-jagmeet-singh-tentera- todefend-his-headquarters-in-burnaby-sud? fromRecherche = true Consulted on 3.9.2019
Radio-Canada, Fanny Bédard, 25.2.2018, “ The leader of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh,
celebrates his victory in front of his supporters in Burnaby-Sud, on February 25,
2019 ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca / news / 1154152 / partial-election-federale-jagmeet-singh-burnabysud-npd-ontario-outremont-montreal Accessed on 3.9.2019
Radio-Canada, 8/22/2019, “ Jagmeet Singh celebrated Thursday in Toronto the 8th anniversary of the
death of Jack Layton, a great figure of the New Democratic Party of Canada. », Https://ici.radiocanada.ca/nouvelle/1271248/npd-nouveau-parti-democratique-anniversairemort?depuisRecherche=true Accessed on 3.9.2019
CBC News, Bartley Kives , 1.9.2019, “ NDP leader promises 'cheaper' public insurance during
Winnipeg Sikh gathering ” , https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/nagar-kirtan-winnipeg-singhkinew -1.5267540 Accessed on 5 .9.2019
CBC News, Sheena Goodyear, 4.9.2019, “ NDP defector says he warned party some NB voters are
'uncomfortable' with Jagmeet Singh ” , https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday
-edition-1.5270097 / ndp-defector-says-he-warned-party-some-nb-voters-are-uncomfortable-withjagmeet-singh-1.5270101 Accessed 5 .9.2019

Sikh celebrations, commemorations and refugees
CBC News, 20.10.2018, “… ” https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1130967/les-soldats-sikhs-au-coeurdune-exposition-a-calgary?depuisRecherche=true Accessed 5.9 .2019
CBC News, Carmen Ponciano , 6.11.2018, “ Meet Private Buckam Singh, one of the first Sikh soldiers
to serve Canada ” , https://www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada/meet-private-buckam-singh-one -ofthe-first-Sikh-soldiers-to-serve-canada 1.4894613 Viewed 7 .9.2019
Radio-Canada, 15.3.2019 , “ Persecuted by the Taliban, Sikhs from Afghanistan find refuge in
Canada ” , https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1158567/sikh-afghanistan-taliban-yvr-refugie
manmeet-bhullar? fromSearch = true Accessed 31.8. 2019
Radio-Canada, 04/30/2019, “ The army must explain itself about armed Sikh soldiers during a
parade ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1167198/militaires-sikhs-armesdefile-khalsa-toronto?
fromSearch = true Accessed 31.8. 2019
Radio-Canada,
18.5.2019, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1170685/defile-sikh-regina-vaisakhi2019-saskatchewan?depuisRecherche=true Consulted on 31.8. 2019

The laws of Quebec and the Sikhs
CBC News , Graham Hugues , 6/17/2019, “Will Quebec's Bill 21 factor into the federal
election? ”, Https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/will-quebec-s-bill-21-factor-into-the-federal-election1.5274072 Accessed 7.9. 2019
Radio-Canada, 23.8.201 9 , “ A Sikh teacher leaves Quebec because of
secularism ” , https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1271811/voile-turban-racisme-sikhlegault-caq-quebec? fromSearch = true Accessed 31.8. 2019
the law on
surrey-kaur-
CBC News, 8/23/2019, “ Sikh teacher moves to BC over Quebec law banning religious symbols in
public-sector jobs ”, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sikh-teacher-moves- fromquebec-1.5257049 Accessed 5.9.2019
CBC News, Benjamin Shingler , 5.9.2019, “ 'Non à la loi 21' campaign launched against Quebec's
religious symbols ban ”, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-21-campaign-non -a-la-loi-211.5271869 Accessed on 5.9.2019

Denunciation of racism and sexism
Radio-Canada, 11.5.2018, “ … ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1100521/incident-turbanaeroport-detroit-communaute-sikhe-windsor-reagit?depuisRecherche=true , Accessed on 5.9.2019
Radio-Canada, Alex Tardieu, 04/13/2019, “ Sikh women want to be finally taken seriously in
politics ”, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1164242/femmes-sikhes-politique-colloque-education ?
fromSearch = true , Accessed 5.9.2019
Radio-Canada, 20 . 4 .2019, “ … ” , https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1165506/jagmeet-singhmemoires-extraits-racisme-abus-solidarite-premier-ministre-trudeau?depuisRecherche=true Accessed
5.9 .2019
Radio Canada, 2.9.2019, “ … ” https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1284103/gurratan-jagmeet-singhseleve-islamophobie?depuisRecherche=true Accessed September 3, 2019

False beliefs about Sikhism
Radio Canada, Hugo Lavoie , 10.10. 2017 " False beliefs about the Sikh religion deconstructed by
young
Sikh " https://ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/gravel-lematin/segments/chronique/41705/chronique-hugo- lavoie-religion-sikhe-montreal
accessed on
08/31/2019.
1
[1] PhD UQÀM
in religious sciences 2018 , I first did a master's degree in philosophy on “Kabîr and philosophy” in
Reims, France. Kabîr is a mystical poet whose words have been transcribed in the holy book of the Sikhs, the Guru Grant
Sahib .
[2] “ śiṣya ” ( शिष्य )
[3] See list of references. Professor Singh Chahal is responsible in Laval foris President of the Institute
for Understanding Sikhism, Laval, Quebec. Basically he is a famous Professor of Microbiology retired from the Univerite
du Quebec.
[4] The term genocide to qualify the murderous repression of Sikhs following the murder of Indira Gandhi
was officially adopted and recognized by the Ontario parliament in April 2017. The number of victims varies according to
the sources, but there are several thousands of Sikhs murdered in 4 days, from October 31 to November 3, 1984.
[5] It was during a seminar on genocide organized by professors from Carleton University in Ottawa , including
Professor Gurcharan Singh.
[6] The NDP, New Democratic Party is one of the three major Canadian federal parties, founded in 1961, is of social
democratic tendency and the most left of the three. The other two are the Liberal Party headed by Justin Trudeau and the
Conservative Party. Jagmeet Singh became leader of the NDP in 2017 by leading a campaign on " inequalities, climate
change, reconciliation and electoral reform " according to the NDP site.
[7] Completed January 20, 2019 in the Gurdwara Nanak Dakbar of LaSalle , published in October 2019.
[8] Regarding the local presence of Sikhism in Montreal and shorter articles, I also invite you to read Frédéric Castel's
article "Les sikhs au Québec", that of Claire Launay indicated at the end.
[9] t young men kings Sikhs speaking French and having followed a Quebec school M'O nt been introduced by
management Temple Sikh, depending Francophone available during my visit (as had has succeeded been the case for
interview of young Sikh women of January 20, 2019).
[10] The Indian state of Punjab covers an area of about 50,000 km 2 , the Greater Punjab at least 7 times larger.
[11] Like Chahal , I noted that similar remarks were attributed in particular to Kabîr preceding Guru Nânak :
" Hindus do not want to give up idols,
Neither Muslims with all their fanaticism ” Bhagvan Das , Bijak , sakhi 198
[12] The sants devoted their lives to a yogic and devotional quest , without attachment to Hindu orthodoxy, but inheriting
according to Matringe (2008, 52) the Vishnouite bhakti and the Shaiva yoga of the Naths .
[13] Amriṯ nīr gi▫ān man majan aṯẖsaṯẖ ṯirath sang gahe .
The one who bathes in the life-giving water of wisdom gets the benefit of bathing at sixty-eight sacred places.
[14] Gur upḏes javāhar māṇak seve sikẖ so kẖoj lahai . || 1 ||
The above enlightening philosophy / teachings are like gems and jewels and the one who can research / discover that fact, is
a Sikh and also practices it.
[15] Chahal clearly underlines in one of his articles the risk of confusion between Vedantism and Sikhism
( Devinder Singh Chahal , 2008, 8-13)
[16] Language tonal three tones, the Gurmukhi , has 32 basic character, derive from sharada , lang u e from the brahmi and
also Takri according Chahal .
[17] Sometimes called the Outer Himalayas, a cordillera stretching from southern Nepal to northeastern Pakistan through
northern India.
[18] I obviously knew the answer of books, but if scholarly books are more consistent than news articles, they are less so
in my eyes than living testimonies.
[19] Vazîr Khân (1635-1710) Mughal administrator of a territory between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers .
[20] I will come back to this question in section 2.5 “ The laws of Quebec and the Sikhs ”.
[21] “ When we had a king called ( Ranjît Singh) and his em worst which is not too long ago, this is before the british left
India. So in his empire, there wa s actuall y, we were only 2% of the population tha t was ruling over the majority, so just
like n ow in Quebec. […] The thing was that we had the highest literacy rate in the whol e world at that time. S o literacy
meaning that people knew how to read and write we focus on Education. W e focus ed on equal rights for everybody.
[…] For me that was the perfect example of secularism… its not to remove what make you unique, just t o make everybody
look the same, but it was bring ing your uniqueness to the table so that we could all be one big group .. thats actual
secularism ” Sikh Respondent , LaSalle, 9.2019
[22] Choosing to analyze the treatment of Sikh representations of an exclusively Quebec media could, depending on the
degree of falsity of the information found, have fueled Quebec's anglophone bashing . In the same vein, choosing to analyze
an exclusively English Canadian media on Sikh representations could have fueled the Quebec francophone diatribe vis-àvis English-speaking Canadians. The Société Radio Canada, named Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in English,
is a state-owned information broadcasting service in Canada comprising several radio and television stations in French and
English, as well as websites, on which I have collected a number of articles on the Sikhs. I have restricted this review to this
medium as it is bilingual and is supposed to offer less informative bias as an independent Crown corporation
[23] Many other items are therefore thought s on thematic half her forward, but only those that meet this criterion were
selected.
[24] How did I methodologically choose these categories? Based on the first selection of articles , twelve thematic
categories were initially identified, in decreasing order of number of articles per category:
1. Justin Trudeau and the Sikhs
2. Jagmeet Singh and the politics of the NDP
3. Wearing the turban
4. Sikh celebrations and Sikh commemorations
5. The laws of Quebec and the Sikhs
6. The kirpan
7. Denouncing racism
8. Independence
9. Terrorism and Sikh extremism
10. Women and Sikhism
11. Sikh refugees
12. False beliefs about Sikhs.
I then requested, with the support of a collaborator, interviews with three young Sikhs at Gurudwara Nânak Dakbar in the
city of LaSalle to find out their opinion on the representation of the Canadian media on them, especially on Radio-Canada
and CBC. News according to my selection of articles, having informed them that their words would be used for this
article. These three young men speaking French and having followed a Quebec education had been introduced to me by the
direction of the temple , according to the French-speaking Sikhs available when I came (as had also been the case for
the interview of the young Sikh women. of January 20, 2019).
I first asked them how they think Sikhism is represented in the media, then specifically to choose from the twelve categories
previously stated, the four categories that they think are most relevant in the media to represent Sikhism, and the four
categories which they considered, on the contrary, the least relevant in this perspective. The main purpose of this
methodology was to make the Sikhs themselves heard more about their religion and to better reveal the discourse existing
between those of the Sikhs and those of the press. Taking into account these interviews, the need for didactic conciseness
specific to an article and the overlap of many of the initial categories, I decided to reduce them to seven. For example, the
independence category has been added twice in the themes 1 and 3, because one respondent put political independence as
what better represents Sikhism and the articles where the occurrences of independence were cited differed strongly
according to the liberal or NPD political line. The knowledge of the vows of the khâlsâ enjoins to bring together the themes
of the turban and the kirpan .
[25] “ Decolonial thought consequently criticizes both modernity and adjoining Eurocentrism, as well as post-modernism
and Western pseudo-universalism, because it is in search of heterologies11 and of pluriversal knowledge which would make
account of the diversity of the world (and no longer of an abstract universalism) and of knowledge ”. ( Mencé-Caster , C.,
&Bertin- Elisabeth , C. , 2018 )
[26] This article commemorating the banning of the Quebec Court of Appeal 15 years ago , c and you ban
was overturned e by decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.
[27] Cf. Conclusion.
[28] “In the US, it is actually right-wing terrorism that kills the most people […]: according to a tally by the New America
Foundation, A New York based non-profit outfit, the number of people killed by homegrown domestic Jihadist and Right
Wing attacks since 9/11 are 45 and 48 respectively ”. I emphasize the home made nature of terrorism . (Gabon, 2016, 9-10)
[29] “ Yes, I do believe that some people bring their religion into perspective when it comes to certain matters and it could
become very subjective… than their views on certain things, for example… Trudeau is not a Sikh but you could see hints of
favoritism for Sikhs… It's true, right ?? If you look at it, I don't know why he's being so friendly with the Sikhs… Because
he knows my votes come from there too… right? So that's favoritism… that can happen with people of a certain ethnicity, if
he was Polish, he could have helped all his Polish people… or he could have helped… but he is doing it… but I think it's
still subjective, as a person of a country, he should be helping Sikhs obviously but he should make sure that everybody feels
the same way not only a certain group. Right? It's like for example like coming back to the kingdom of
Maharaja Ranjît Singh that only lasted 150 years, but the different and the impact it made in the country in terms of like
agriculture development and all was so big. And the reason was that, they took into account all the different ethnicities and
made sure that every ethnicity grew at the same time. », Sikh respondent , 8.9.2019, LaSalle
[30] It should be noted that many Hindus also bear the name Singh without being Sikhs.
[31] “ You have to think about it. So the defense minister of Canada, right, it doesn't matter who he is. If he's a Muslim, a
Sikh, a Buddhist it doesn't matter as long as he gets the job done to defend the country of Canada, right? That's what matters
to us. However, if Quebec is ever in need of defense, who are they're going to ask, the defense minister, right? But, right
now, the defense minister is a Sikh wearing a turban and in a government position. And that [Quebec's] country that he's
protecting is saying: oh no people in government can't have a turban. So are they're asking for no defense? What are they
asking for? That's my question to them, right? How do you figure out that it shouldn't matter as long as you bring skill and
the love for your country on the table, that's all what should matter. ” Sikh respondent , LaSalle , 9.2019
[32] Argument which confuses the antagonistic position by the consequences of its thesis.