LOS ANGELES, CA, USA (February 19, 2015)—Floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade often have a message, but in the case of the United Sikh Mission entry, “A Sikh American Journey,” the message was vital: We are Americans. Tournament of Roses Examiner recently spoke with Minu Kaur Singh, the float’s creative director, about Sikhism and the first Sikh float to roll down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, 2015.
It was the brainchild of Rashpal Singh Dhindsa, the founder of the charitable organization United Sikh Mission, Minu Singh told us. “He immigrated back in the ’80s and really enjoyed watching the Rose Parade in his home on TV. Since 9/11 when hate crimes against Sikhs increased, he kept thinking what a great idea it would be to have a Sikh float, since so many people watch the Rose Parade and it would bring awareness.”
Through a friend, Rashpal Singh was able to navigate the process of entering a float in the 2015 parade. The theme “Inspiring Stories” was a lucky choice for them, Minu Singh said, because she saw it as a platform to showcase religions and cultures. It worked so well that the Sikh community, which is 700,000 strong in the US, is seriously considering an entry for the 2016 parade as well.
Getting a float in the Rose Parade
The goal of the float was to send a message about who Sikhs are and what they stand for. Singh said the committee considered different ideas, but when she came on board as creative director, it was clear that it needed to portray the Sikh story of more than 125 years in America. She said, “To be honest with you, it was just kind of instantaneous, immediate, we had to tell our history…. We are as much a part as any other American ethnic community.”
When she and other members of the float committee sat down with builder Phoenix Decorating Company to discuss the design, Singh sketched her concept of a pictorial timeline with pencil and paper. Designer Michelle Lofthouse tweaked it, creating a beautiful Rose Parade entry. The float was topped by a model of the first Sikh temple or “gurdwara” (house of worship) in California. Like many immigrants of the time, the Sikhs from Punjab found work building railroads and farming, reflected in the locomotive, tractor and produce depicted on the float.
A Rose Parade float can be an expensive proposition, and a certain amount of funds must be confirmed before the Tournament will accept a sponsor. Singh shared, “That was a big challenge because it’s a very small community here in Southern California. The other thing was that time was very short for us to start a fundraising campaign. It was pretty much word of mouth. It was all community funded, in very short period of time.”
The entry was a collaboration among United Sikh Mission, the lead sponsor, SikhLens, Khalsa Care Foundation, and Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), as well as Sikhs around the country. One effort was a phonation, Singh said, “But the good thing is, I don’t think anyone who received a call minded, they totally believed and wanted to be part of this very unprecedented event of the community.” Many also came out to decorate the float. About 100 members of the Sikh community participated, enjoying the work, interacting with other float volunteers, and sharing who Sikhs are.
Details of the float design and riders are with each photo in the list attached to this article.
Who are the Sikhs?
We asked Singh what is the most important thing for people not acquainted with Sikhs to know. She responded that, in the current environment where both America and the world are facing differences in ideology, “what Sikhs want people to know most about them is who they are and what they stand for, and not to be stereotyped, misunderstood, or be completely unknown and then become a target of bullying and hate or discrimination, or all that comes along when someone gets stereotyped in a bad way. That’s the most important thing the Sikhs want people to know.”
Misconceptions about Sikhs commonly relate to the religious garb they wear, which they call the five articles of faith: kara (a steel bracelet), kirpan (a short sword), kachha (undershorts), kanga (a comb), and most obviously, Singh said, kesh, the uncut beard and hair covered by a turban. The articles of faith represent a Sikh’s commitment to equality, service, and justice. “The message is not just that we are not Muslim, the message is that anyone with the turban and beard is not a terrorist,” she said. “It does not make them a terrorist.”
Sikhism, the fifth largest religion in the world today, was founded by Guru Nanak in the 15th century at a time when Hindus and Muslims in India were fighting with each other. His idea was to shed identities, to become human and lead a life of good morals, to pursue “truthful living.” Singh said, “The ultimate truth is God, but if we don’t have truth of living, we cannot call ourselves a person of God.” She said that many of the people in India who were tired of the religious wars became Sikhs.
It wasn’t until 1699, in response to persecution by the Muslim emperor, that the 10th and last guru Gobind Singh instituted the articles of faith as a way to preserve the Sikh identity and ideals. Seeing the beard and turban, Minu Singh told us, people would know that the person wearing them believed in freedom, justice, and standing against violence and oppression.
In the wake of 9/11, it has become more difficult to retain the articles of faith as violence against Sikhs has increased, and yet for men such as Singh’s husband, who does not carry the sword, it is very difficult to part with them. While most baptized Sikh men carry all five articles, the percentage of those who only keep the turban and beard has risen and many practicing Sikhs do not keep any of the articles.
Equality and service
Baptized Sikh women have the option to carry or not to carry the articles and to wear their hair in a bun rather than a turban. “Within the community, I think people just accept them, whatever they choose to do,” Singh said. She added that Nanak “made it very clear, there is absolute gender equality,” and that he wrote the first document that included a women’s rights statement. “Women are equally entitled,” she affirmed. They can become priests, serve in the temple, and hold offices, including the highest office of granthi.
The message of equality is reinforced by shared meals after each worship service, a tradition that was established in 16th century, when the society was still under the caste system. Singh said, “One of the very strong values of Sikhism is equality. To establish equality is important for people of all backgrounds, castes, classes…. It’s a very big part of every service in every gurdwara.”
The Golden Temple in Punjab, the holiest Sikh gurdwara, feeds 100,000 people every day and is the largest communal kitchen in the world. The design of the temple itself reflects equality, with four entrances to show, Singh said, “In God’s house, no matter what color, what direction, you are welcome. We don’t believe in converting from another religion, but at the same time, we have all these open doors for anybody who would like to come, partake, enjoy, learn and understand who Sikhs are.
She continued, “It’s for equality and also, when you go to guru’s house [the literal translation of gurdwara], we all go with some kind of expectation. We want the guru’s lessons, so we will stay strong, still live by the values and Sikh way of life, and also get a blessing. You feed your mind and your body at guru’s house. We refer to God as our teacher as well, our guru. Our prophets are also guru. God as guru, because we feel he is our guiding light, the source of our guiding, teaching right from wrong, choosing the right path.”
Asked what the most important thing for a Sikh to do is. she replied, “In one word, it would be to serve. The most important thing for a Sikh to do is to serve. It is actually part of our tenets to serve with your body, to serve with your hands, to serve with your mind—essentially talents—, and lastly to serve with your money. But to serve with your hands comes on top, next is mind/talents.”