528. The Man in Blue – Caste, Gotra, Jaat

Hinduism is a conglomerate of beliefs and practices, some of which go back to the ancient Aryans/Indo-Germanics who trekked from the Caucasus to both Iran and to the South-Asian sub-continent.

Amongst modern Hindus I have found people who do not believe in caste, who do not do rituals, who believe in One God, and who think that you have to look after all fellow human beings. There are even more Hindus who believe in ‘Manuvád’, are very keen on rituals, believe in 33 crore Gods and only work on personal liberation. Just like ‘The Indian’ does not exist, so does ‘The Hindu’ not exist.

Caste is described as the four traditional groups. These groups might have existed before the arrival of the Aryans in India, and be adjusted to the circumstances found in the subcontinent, or might be a product of the South Asian soil. Interestingly Iranian Aryans do not have such a system.

When ‘Hinduism’ was making progress amongst so-called tribal people and the people of South India, the approach of the Brahmins was as follows : They shared their knowledge with the ruling class of the ‘tribals’ and South Indians and said : If you join us we will make you Kshatriya and the rest of your people will be Shudras, and they can no longer challenge your authority.

The Brahmins were supplied by the Aryans. The Brahmins had not just knowledge of (useless) rituals and of how to divide and rule, they also knew about irrigation, veterinary medicine etc.

In essence the caste system was, and still is, a racist system, a form of apartheid invented long before this word was used in Suid Afrika. There have always been groups that left ‘Hinduism’ or were on the fringes of ‘Hinduism’ who either did not practise caste or actively opposed to it.

Within Sikhism there is widespread discrimination, not so much in the name of the 4 castes but more based on gotra or jaat. Just as is the case with caste, those looked down on tend to have darker skins than those that are looked up to.

But there is no Jat caste, Ramgharia caste or for instance Mazhbi caste. I do not know if these divisions pre-date caste or not.

I am against caste or gotra discrimination just like I am against racial or gender discrimination. As a Sikh I feel upset when I hear my fellow Sikhs talk in a derogatory way about people of other nationalities, social groups or caste. Honour killings are of course totally abhorrent, but they also happen in our community.

I am a Sikh, I have been taught as a first principle that Humanity is One, but people who also claim to be Sikhs kill their daughters because they are disobedient and want to marry outside caste or gotra. We have to join with organisations like Castewatch UK, and fight the Guru’s fight for One Humanity, for the sister and brotherhood of man. Blaming the Hindus is just not good enough.

525.The Man in Blue – The Turban and the 5 Ks

I have earlier written about the notion propagated by the SGPC that you are a Sikh when you have uncut-hair (keshdhari), and that you are not if you have not. This division of Sikhs ignores the Sikh way of life as taught by the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Gobind Singh told us to be different, to behave different and to look different, to follow the Sikh way of life and to wear the Khalsa uniform of the turban and the 5 Ks. Amritdhari is a valid category in Sikhí, keshdhari not. Wearing the Khalsa uniform without having Khalsa behaviour is meaningless.

A Sikh is somebody who seriously tries to live according to the teachings of our eternal Guru, a Khalsa is somebody who does the same and has offered her/his head through the amrit ceremony.

I am at the moment reading ‘Guru’s Wisdom’, a book written by Madan Singh of Birmingham (UK). I found some useful information in the book, but when writing about hair he creatively interprets Guru Granth Sahib.

He writes that Sheikh Faríd must have uncut hair as the sheikh writes in a slok on pana 1380 : ‘your hair has turned grey, your beard has turned grey and your moustache has turned grey’. This indeed suggests that Sheikh Faríd had a moustache and a beard, but does not prove that he was ‘keshdhari’.

Guru Arjan writes on pana 749 in rág sohi : ‘I make my hair into a fan’. This is of course a poetic image, and does not prove that Guru had uncut hair. It is very likely that he did, but this verse does not prove it. The same applies to : ‘with my hair I dust the feet of the Guru’ (pana 387, rág ásá, M 5).

In a different vein Guru Arjan writes in rág maru (solhé) on pana 1084 : ‘Let your total awareness be the turban on your head’. I have earlier discussed the full verse and its context in Man in Blue column 468, which can be found on the ‘Maninblue1947’ blog (search 468.).

When you read the sixteen verses of this shabad you will discover that a) the shabad addresses Muslims, not Sikhs and b) that the Guru is not suggesting in this shabad that either Muslims or Sikhs should have uncut hair or wear a dastar.

Madan Singh also thinks that the description of God as ‘He/She with the beautiful hair’ means that Sikhs should have uncut hair. Does describing God as ‘She/He with the dark skin’ mean that Sikhs should have a dark skin ?

The Guru Granth Sahib does not tell us to wear the Guru’s uniform. The Guru Granth Sahib teaches us the ethical values that are the core of the Sikh or the Khalsa way of life.

Guru Gobind Singh fully supported the Gurmat teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sant-Sipahi is practising seva, selfless service to all. Additionally the Sant-Sipahi follows the discipline of wearing the Guru’s uniform as a sign of her/his commitment to the teachings of our eternal Guru.

524.The Man in Blue – Turban problems in Belgium

Many have written and spoken about France and its laïcité policy and the resulting ban on the wearing of religious symbols in schools. Not many people seem to know that there are similar problems in Belgium.

The anti-discrimination laws in the UK are based on EU directives, but in Belgium the interpretation of these directives is ‘creative’. Here the excuse for discrimination is neutrality. To give an example: as part of a neutrality policy religious symbols are banned for all those who work for the city of Antwerp.

Of course the neutrality principle also applies in the UK: whether you work for a local council, a police force, a supermarket or whether you are a judge, those wearing a turban should not show any preference for people of their own tradition.

This is how creative Belgium works: a store employed a lady who wore a híjáb, and she was dismissed because of it. The lady took her employer to court and won her case. Since then store has adopted a neutrality policy which makes it legal to discriminate people who chose to wear religious signs.

Trying to explain that neutrality is in behaviour rather than in the presence of religious signs seems to be a waste of breath.

The situation in primary and secondary education is pathetic. The community schools in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium have adopted a neutrality policy and from 01/09/2013 new students are not allowed to wear hijábs, turbans or patkas.

Many of the Catholic schools have an anti head-cover policy, which was meant to stop pupils wearing hats or caps in schools. This is now also used to ban the wearing of híjáb, turban or patka. Although these religious symbols also ‘cover the head’ they clearly do not belong to the same category as caps and hats.

Although both in the community schools and in the Catholic schools we have found good people who are against discrimination of people who wear religious symbols, they are powerless to stop the widespread islamophobia/xenophobia that seems to be at the root of the problem.

We have been campaigning together with other groups asking schools to allow people to wear their religious symbols under the condition that all students fully take part in the school curriculum.

Many of the Moroccan and Turkish Muslims in Belgium are villagers like many of the Sikhs that live here. They are natural conservatives who do not like their girls to go swimming or take part in school excursions. This is less of a problem amongst the Sikhs, but some Sikh girls in secondary schools also opt out of the swimming lessons.

There is one little light shining in our darkness: those that want to wear a turban or a patka on their ID cards or passports can do so if they produce a letter from their Gurdwara stating that they are part of the Sikh community.

521.The Man in Blue – Sat Nám

On the ‘Sikh News Discussion’ yahoo group some members are discussing Nám and although the participants are meant to be ‘learned’ gentlemen, they all seem  keen to narrow down Nám to either one word or to specific texts.

I am only a sixteen year old Singh and do not claim to fully understand God and his or her nature. I also do not have a handy exact definition of what Nám means, just like I am not arrogant enough to even try to define God.

But I will explain my understanding of Nám without entering in the dialogue of the deaf that goes on in the ‘Sikh News Discussion’ group.

Nám is introduced to us by Guru Nanak on page 1 of the Guru Granth Sahib and is the third word after the figure one, the word Ongkár and the word Sat. This opening line, which Bhai Gurdas named the Mul Mantr, contains nine words/ combinations of words that all point to God.

Seven of those highlight aspects of God, but I think that the first two are more comprehensive. Ongkar is often explained as highlighting God who is both All-pervading and Almighty, both Imminent and Transcendent (inside all and over and above all) or Nirgun and Sargun (no qualities and all qualities).

Sat Nám is an even more all compassing statement. Sat of course means true, but it has been explained to me that in this context it is as if you are saying with much emphasis: Nám IS. So What or Who IS ? There is of course only one possible answer in a spiritual context: God IS, God IS the Absolute Truth.

I think that Nám is something like the Godly essence, the Godly principle and/or the Godly constitution of the Universe. Nám is present in all Gurbaní and in all other truly spiritual writings. Like God Nám is infinite and all-pervading, present on and in the planet Earth, in our solar system, our milky way and other milky ways, in the entire universe.

You and I are part of that system and therefore are part of Nám, and equally words like Vahiguru, Nirankar. Saibhang, Mukande, Paramatma and other descriptions of qualities of God are part of Nám, but they are not Nám.

You can do Nám simran using such words, you then do what is also mentioned in Gurbani, you sing God’s qualities. As we are only humans it is highly unlikely that we would come to a full understanding of all that is contained in Nám, or of all the different qualities of God.

Instead of trying to restrict God to one word we should be happy to have in the Guru Granth Sahib a guide that shows us the awe inspiring greatness of The One ! In the Gita Krishan showed Arjun the image of God, but God has such radiance that Arjun could not see God, just like you cannot look straight at the sun.

Our highest authority is the Guru Granth. This article reflects my understanding of our Guru. I hope I have not made too many mistakes.

BBC News – Why India may not be such an attractive destination for supermarkets

Is India really an attractive destination for global supermarkets?

Soutik Biswas, Delhi Correspondent

Monday, 17 September 2012. On Friday, the government finally cleared a controversial plan to open up its lucrative retail sector to global supermarket chains in an effort to revive a flagging economy.

There has been a massive political kerfuffle over how the supposed invasion of global chains will destroy India’s fabled “mom-and-pop” stores, which have a stranglehold on the retail market.

Yet, it may be much ado about nothing, say many analysts. The political outrage against the government’s decision – which actually comes with several business inhibiting caveats – is outsized, they insist.

Yes, India’s growing economy, favourable demographics and an upwardly mobile middle class do portend a healthy future for organised retail.

Only, one doesn’t quite know when the future will arrive.

At a paltry 4% of the overall sector, organised retail has a low base in India. The overwhelming majority of Indians continues to buy from friendly neighbourhood mom-and-pop stores.

Decoding the customer

But a quarter of the world’s young people live in India, and more than half of Indians are below 25 years of age.

In a booming economy, that should mean a growing middle class, cheap credit and more disposable incomes. That’s something, say consultants, which will make India a very attractive destination for foreigners wanting to invest in retail.

Big retail is struggling in India

The bad news is that nothing of this sort is happening: “mom-and-pop” stores are thriving and big retail, promoted by some of the top business groups in the country, is struggling.

The economic slowdown at home hasn’t helped matters. Big retail footfalls have been hurt by high rents, overcrowding of malls and a credit squeeze.

Also, as a study by management consultant KPMG shows, Indian retailers have also made big mistakes – and the inability to compete with the neighbourhood stores is one of them.

“Mom-and-pop stores already have a model that is preferred by the consumers and is also cost efficient. The big stores are still trying to get their model right in providing an alternative to neighbourhood retailers who offer convenience, credit and personalised service,” the 2009 report says.

Is it then any surprise that most Indian supermarket chains are bleeding, and some – including one with over 1,000 shops – have actually shut down?

One of the suggestions made by KPMG is that big retail needs to work harder at decoding consumer behaviour.

India is a diverse nation and a homogeneous retail strategy is possibly doomed to fail.

“A case in point is discount shopping in India. Indian discount shopping is still fragmented because of diverse culture while Western retailers are able to treat the entire customer base as one. This helps them gain benefits of large-scale promotions and offers,” the report says.

The report suggests that retailers should tailor discount seasons based on festivals of different regions, offer best prices and value added services (happy hours on shopping deals, offers for retirees, contests for students, for example), among other things.

The Indian consumer is a unique beast. In an article aptly titled The Myth Of Big Retail, journalist Sreenivasan Jain tells the story of the head of one of India’s biggest retail chains explaining why his store design actually encouraged overcrowding.

“He called it his ‘butt and brush’ theory, a somewhat cute metaphor to describe how Indians actually prefer to shop in an overcrowded environment [where their butts can theoretically brush against each other],” he wrote.

Even this retailer is deep in the red.

Clearly, it’s not going to be a cakewalk for global supermarket chains entering India. As consultants Ernst & Young warn, they need to understand local tastes, customise their product offerings and secure the right real estate to make things work.

And that will be only the beginning of the hard road ahead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19595655

520.The Man in Blue – Benti Chaupaí

According to the Sikh Rehat Maryada we should as part of our nitnem daily read Tav Prasád Svayé, Jáp Sahib and Benti Chaupaí. These are texts that are found in the ‘Dasam Granth’.

I think that Tav Prasád Svayé and Jáp Sahib are in tune with the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib, but I feel uneasy about Benti Chaupaí.

In this article I will highlight words or phrases in Benti Chaupaí that I do not understand. I hope that others will help me to come to a better understanding. I would prefer a dialogue about facts over a debate on opinions.

I will restrict myself to the discussion of the 25 verses that are specified in the Sikh Rehat Maryada as being part of the nitnem banis.

Hamré dust sabhai tum ghávho – Destroy all my enemies – 1st line of verse 2
Does dust mean wicked and ghávho stab ? Stab all the wicked ?

Sabh bairan ko áj sanghriyai – Destroy all my enemies today – 2nd line of verse 3
Sanghriyai = companions ? Bairan = alien ?

Chun chun satr hamáré máríhi – Kindly kill all my enemies after singling them out – 4th line of verse 4

The above translations are by Harban Singh Doabia. I am not convinced that he has translated correctly, and I wonder about these ‘enemies’ and the ‘killings’. These verses, whether they are written by Guru Sahib or not, date from the period when the Mughal regime saw the Sikhs as their enemies.

But Gursikhs see God’s presence in all, and have no enemies. Of course when those that see us as their enemies attack us or other communities we have not just the right, but the obligation to protect ourselves and others.

But even then, as the Bhai Ghanaya story illustrates, we keep seeing those ‘enemies’ as our fellow human beings.

Another way to look at these quotes is to consider the enemies as the five ‘thieves’ that steal away our balanced state of mind. Please let us know what you think.

I am not interested in a debate on whether these verses have been written by Guru Gobind Singh or by person or persons unknown.

I want to come to a better understanding of Benti Chaupaí, and want to establish whether it is in tune with the Guru Granth Sahib.

As we all should know it is Guru Gobind Singh who emphasised the key role of the Guru Granth as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.

To react to this column either use the comments button underneath or send an email to
harjindersingh_amritsar@yahoo.com

518.The Man in Blue – Sikhí VII

This is the last of the series of ‘Sikhi’ columns. In it I am wrapping up things and am emphasising principles already mentioned.

Nám japo, (meditate) think about God at all times, if you do this it should automatically lead to more ethical and less selfish behaviour.

Kirat karo, (honest work or honest study) Guru does not want his Sikh to be ‘holy beggars’. Sikhs should do an honest job regardless of the type of work they do. If you are a student the same principles apply.

Vand chako, share with others, share money, goods or time.

Before Guru passed away in 1708 he told the Sikhs not to look for a human successor, but to accept the Guru Granth and the Guru Panth, acting under the teachings of the Guru Granth, as their eternal Guru.

This is not practised by many Sikhs, who follow autocratic Pardhans, Jathedars without Jatha, various Babas and other so-called ‘spiritual leaders’ as ‘Guru’. Sant Babas, Jathedars etc are not the Guru Panth.

It is perfectly legitimate to read other books like Dasam Granth, Sarbloh Granth,  Al Quran or the Bible, but our benchmark should always be the Guru Granth.

Transmigration of the soul : in the Guru Granth both the Gurus and the Bhagats regularly refer to the cycle of birth and death. I do not think this is a dogma, in the sense that if you do not believe in it you are not a good Sikh.

I think that it is not the personality that migrates, but the soul. To me the journey of the soul through many existences is some kind of spiritual evolution, where the Godly spark, God’s light that is present in all, travels through different life forms, developing to higher states of awareness on the way.

Harjinder Singh will not be reborn, but Harjinder Singh’s death will lead to his soul going to another life. I think that Sikhs should not believe in avtars as in Tibetan Buddhism or Hinduism.

Shahids. A Sikh should be willing to give her/his life in the struggle against injustice. But this struggle, including giving your life if needed, should be part of your humble seva, and not to make the ‘shahid’ into a hero.

The Guru Granth Sahib tells us not to worship or follow human beings. Our Guru points to God, not to himself as many Sant Babas do. So remember the sacrifices made, but our main effort should go into living a Godly life.

And finally, fighting against people because they do not agree with you is not part of the Sikh dharm, it is not the duty of a sant-sipahi. Throwing bricks through Gurdwara windows or breaking the legs of an old man is the work of thugs !

517.The Man in Blue – Sikhí VI

If you go back to my previous column you will notice that I have not given any specific reasons for having uncut hair, steel bangle, cotton boxer short or wooden comb. This is because authors of books about Sikhí all give different reasons for wearing these 4 Ks, which do not seem to be based on authentic pronouncements of Guru. The Kirpan of course stands for the fight against injustice.

To me the main reason for wearing my 5 Ks is because Guru asked me to offer my head and wear the 5 Ks and the turban. I also see the value of being a visible Sikh. It reminds me that I have committed myself to Guru’s path, and is a signal to others that here goes a Sikh who promised to serve all.

Many religious traditions have rules about not cutting or shaving all body hair, part of the body hair and also of course about having bold heads or shaving part of the head. To me all these have in common that they are signs of commitment.

Rings or bangles are often symbols of unity, unity within marriage, within a group, with God or with God and all humanity.

Guru’s fighters often wore a number of heavy steel bangles from their elbow to their hand to protect the sword arm.

Cotton boxer shorts are very comfortable when worn underneath a traditional long wide shirt (chola), underneath an Indian style pijama or any wide type of trousers. Cotton clothes keep you warm in winter and cool in summer and absorb perspiration, which avoids prickly heat (rash) during the monsoon time.

The wooden comb is useful to comb your hair and pulls out less of it than modern western combs. If you tie you hair in a topknot, as many Sikhs do, you can stick the comb in your topknot, which helps to stabilise it.

The outer five Ks and the turban should go together with a Sikh way of life. The way of life is often associated with the five qualities. They are: Sat (Truth), Santokh (Contentment), Diá (Compassion), Nimratáh (Humility) and Piár (Love).

God is Truth, and Her/His followers should strive to live in Truth. We should be ‘content’, we should accept what is given to us and not constantly look for more, more, more. We should have compassion and care for the poor, the discriminated, the ill etc and we should also be willing to forgive those that have hurt us.

Humility is very important for a Sikh, and even more for an amritdhari (initiated) Sikh. It is so easy to become proud of the fact that you wear the 5 Ks and have given up habits that most people take for granted. Pride leads to ego and where there is ME there God is not !

Just like God is Truth, God is also Love, real Love, unconditional Love. We who claim to be God’s followers should try and nurture this Love, also when those we try to truly Love do not respond with even ordinary human love.

If you thought walking in God’s will would be easy I have to disappoint you, God puts many challenges on our way, but also gives us the strength to overcome them.

BBC News – Manmohan Singh and the politics of decency

Tuesday, 12 June 2012. Not so long ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was lauded for his calm demeanour and for practising a politics of decency and reconciliation.

His supporters would say that these qualities stood India in good stead: they cite the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks when Mr Singh refused to indulge in war mongering against Pakistan and ratchet up the tension.

Even his critics would concede that during his government’s fruitful first term in office, the diarchy – the technocrat, politics-averse Mr Singh running the government and the dynast Sonia Gandhi running the party – looked like a smart arrangement.

Politics is a fickle business, and three years into the Congress-led government’s second dismal term in office, Mr Singh’s strengths – and the Delhi diarchy – appear to have become liabilities.

They are being blamed for what critics call a paralysis gripping Mr Singh’s government, bogged down by charges of graft and inaction and saddled with an economy which seems to have stalled. “Mr Singh has plainly run out of steam,” the Economist magazine says.

The latest salvo has come from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, which cut its outlook on India in April.

In an unexceptional report warning that India could be the first Bric nation to lose its investment grade status, the agency’s economists say Mr Singh “often appears to have limited ability to influence his cabinet colleagues and proceed with the liberalisation policy he favours”. It doesn’t forget to remind that Mr Singh is an “unelected” prime minister who “lacks a political base of his own,” and that political power is held by Mrs Gandhi who holds no cabinet position.

Last week, Mr Singh’s former media advisor and journalist Harish Khare launched an unusual broadside against his former boss, hinting that the prime minister’s innate decency may be a handicap. “Manmohan Singh is not corrupt, but he is definitely guilty,” Mr Khare wrote in The Hindu newspaper. “He can be easily charged – along with his political partner Mrs Sonia Gandhi – of pursing a politics of decency and of elevating reconciliation to a matter of state policy.”

‘Cost of confrontation’

Mr Khare blames Mr Singh for not having the pluck to take on cunning civil society activists and rogue corporate interests who are trying to discredit his government; he also criticises him for not using his considerable intellectual heft to challenge government auditors who the government believes have exaggerated the revenue losses due to sale of telecom licences.

“Manmohan Singh is guilty of pursuing the noble quest for reconciliation at the expense of another maxim of statecraft: those who spurn the public authority’s hand of reconciliation must be made to learn the cost of confrontation,” concludes Mr Khare.

Over the weekend, senior journalist Barkha Dutt bemoaned Mr Singh’s “loss of personality”, alluding to how the prime minister took on his government’s key Communist allies during his first term while pushing ahead with the civilian nuclear deal with the US. “The PM’s strongest trait – an indisputable personal decency – has now come to be conflated with his biggest weakness – a timidity of style that prevents robust decision-making. While even today his sharpest critics do not question the PM’s personal integrity, decency is no longer acceptable as a substitute for inaction,” she wrote.

The taciturn and inscrutable Mr Singh – an “antidote to the comedic stereotype of the brash and irate Sikh”, as historian Patrick French once described him – hardly gives interviews. So we really don’t know how he feels about being called a timid and overly decent man who avoids confrontation at the cost of credibility. We also don’t know whether India’s Deng Xiaoping has lost his appetite for economic reforms in the ongoing political battle between reformists and populists, which the latter are clearly winning.

But a rare interview by Mr Singh from 1996 may offer some clues to the problems facing the prime minister today. Reflecting on his years as the finance minister in PV Narasimha Rao’s minority government, Mr Singh told journalist Vir Sanghvi that the liberalisation process he initiated in 1991 ground to a halt after “politics took over on December 6, 1992″, the day Hindu fanatics demolished the Babri mosque. “After that it was just politics that was on everybody’s mind. And an important matter like cutting the fiscal deficit did not receive much importance as it should have been.”

India’s politics is possibly looking as divisive and broken today. The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency, Theodore Roosevelt once said. If the critics are to be believed, it isn’t working in India these days. India needs temperate leaders, and most people believe Mr Singh is one. But temperate leaders needn’t be weak.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18340413

516.The Man in Blue – Sikhí V

Vaisakhi 1699, the Khalsa uniform : the Turban and the Five Ks. In 1699 Guru Gobind Rai, the tenth Sikh Guru, asked his Sikhs to come to Anandpur Sahib for the Vaisakhí festival. On the day he stood before the sangat, holding a sword, asking the Sikhs to offer their head.

The first five who came forward are called the Panj Piaré, the five beloved ones. They were the first members of the Khalsa, the order of initiated Sikhs who are totally committed to the Sikh way of life. They initiated Guru Gobind Rai and many more followed. Since then Khalsa men are known as Singh (=Lion) and Khalsa women as Kaur (=Princess). Guru Gobind Rai became Gobind Singh.

This took place during the reign of one of the more intolerant Mughal Emperors, who then ruled most of India. Being a Khalsa involved physical fighting against the oppressors, to achieve freedom of worship for all.

Guru stipulated that the sword was only to be used as a last resort, after all other means had failed. Guru wanted his Khalsa to be Sant-Sipahi (Saint-Soldiers), who do not fight for material gain or out of anger, but who fight against injustice.

As visible signs of their commitment the members of the Khalsa are to wear the turban and the Five Ks.

The 5 Ks are :

• Kesh (uncut hair, no cutting, trimming or shaving)
• Kara (a steel bracelet)
• Kangha (a wooden comb)
• Kacchera (cotton boxer short)
• Kirpan (small steel sword)
  The kirpan stands for the fight against injustice referred to above

The Five Ks symbolise dedication to a life of devotion and submission to the Guru. For an initiated Sikh or Khalsa the fact that the Guru has asked the Sikhs to wear the Five Ks is sufficient reason and no more needs be said.

The Khalsa cannot be anonymous. Her/His religion is known to all. She/He stands out among people, and any unseemly behaviour on her/his part would be noted as unbecoming for a follower of the Gurus.

Anybody seeing somebody wearing the Five Ks and the Turban should know that they can go to her/him for help. If you wear the Khalsa uniform you are a visible Sikh. Unfortunately many Sikh ladies, even initiated ones, choose not to wear a turban, and are therefore not easily recognisable as Sikhs.

The Turban (Pag, Pagri, Dastár) was both in the Muslim and the Hindu community a sign of high worldly or spiritual status. Just like the names Singh and Kaur, that before were only used by those of high caste, the Sikh turban is a symbol of the elevation of the low-caste to the same status as those of high-caste.