The song of the British Sikhs couldn't have been written 30 years ago. Itfinds at least one Sikh success story for every letter of the alphabet. From Afor Amar, discovered at age 18 for a $5 million contract with Warner's, all theway to Babylon Zoo, the group fronted by Jas Mann that struck gold with thesingle Spaceman.
The song progresses through Bally Sagoo. Then Cornershop with Tejinder Singhwho got to the top of the charts last year with Brimful of Asha. Daljit Dhaliwalon TV in American homes. Pick up bits of the song here and there; GurinderChadha with the film Bhaji on the Beach, Harpal Singh signed by Leeds Unitedfootball club, Piara Singh Khabra, MP, Judge Mota Singh, Peter Singh "whotaught Elvis to shake his Pelvis", Reuben Singh, the Sikh with Attitude(the fashion outlets until he sold them recently), and yes, the Singhseverywhere.
The song by journalists Amit Roy and Suman Bhuchar was produced for anexhibition of Sikh art at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The 300,000 BritishSikhs are celebrating the 300 years of the Khalsa, and their three generationsof success in Britain. And how! A meeting at Parliament that Tony Blair isexpected to attend, a grand ball with other ministers, meetings at Birmingham'sInternational Convention Centre, a Sikh Olympics at the Alexandra stadium inBirmingham.
The price to pay for migration and the lifestyle it has brought has oftenbeen the family, says Kailash Puri, author of a score of novels based on Sikhexperiences in Britain. The young aren't marrying the way parents want, and toomany don't stay married. "The divorce rate among Sikhs isfrightening," she says. A Sikh millionaire put it quite simply at a meetingof the International Punjabi Society. "We've made our money cominghere," he said. "But we've lost our families."
The cars, the lights, the processions planned this Baisakhi are what theoutsider will see. Within gurudwaras it's too often a story of infighting, ofmuscling for position and wrangling over money. Scores of these disputes are nowin the courts. And the gurudwaras are split along lines Sikhism never intended.Southall now has three big gurudwaras: one dominated by the Jat Sikhs, one forthe Ramgarhias of the carpenter caste, another for Ravidassias of the Chamaarcaste.
That split has created divisions deeper than going to different gurudwaras.Approved marriages-and many still are-take place within caste limits."Always the question comes up, what kind of Sikh you are," saysNarinder Singh Banga.
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