SikhSpectrum.com Quarterly Issue No. 17, August 2004
Research on Sikhism by Dr. Doris Jakobsh
September 20, 2004
President,
University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, Canada
Mr President,
1. We take this opportunity to place on record our appreciation of the decision of your university to introduce instruction in Sikh religion as one of the major world religions. This should go a long way in promoting understanding of this latest system of religious thought which lays emphasis on universal equality, brotherhood of man, love, service and sacrifice, so essential for universal peace and end to strife.
2. You will agree, however, that selection of a wrong teacher cannot only defeat the very purpose of introducing religious instruction, but can lead to disastrous results. Such appears to be the fate of the ambitious project of instruction in Sikh Religion, started with the best of intentions at your University.
3. Our attention has been drawn to the anti-Sikh views of Ms Doris Jakobsh (Instructor in Religion, Renision College) expressed in her Ph D thesis Gender Issues in Sikh Studies, Hermeneutics of Affirmation or Hermeneutics of Suspicion and her subsequent publication Relocating Gender in Sikh History, Transformation, Meaning and Identity, published by Oxford University Press, New Delhi. The enclosed article by Dr S S Sodhi (Canada) and Dr J S Mann, (USA) that appeared in the Abstracts Of Sikh Studies, July-Sept 2004, briefly sums up her views which are the very anti-thesis of the lofty ideals of Sikh religion preached by the Gurus. Her views are tantamount to deliberate distortion and denigration of the Sikh faith, and are bound to create misunderstanding against Sikhs who now constitute a significant minority in Canada, adversely affecting the policy of multiculturalism adopted by the Government.
4. One wonders what kind of teaching is being imparted to her students in the University by Ms Doris Jakobsh with such a prejudiced and hostile frame of mind. Her attitude towards Sikh religion is not surprising, since she worked for seven years to earn her Ph D degree under Dr Harjot Oberoi in University of British Columbia, Vancouver who was himself a student of Hew McLeod. Both are well known as adversaries of Sikhism, and both were removed from Sikh chairs in Canadian Universities for their anti-Sikh activities.
5. In this extremely disturbing situation, you can imagine how deeply hurt the Sikh community feels. We would, therefore, request you to kindly conduct an inquiry against Ms Jakobsh and take suitable action against her for violating the trust reposed in her. Apparently she cannot be entrusted with the task of religious instruction in Sikh religion any longer. If desired, we can suggest a panel of Sikh scholars to participate in the enquiry and subsequent selection of her replacement.
With kindest regards,
Yours sincerely,
Gurdev Singh
President
Institute of Sikh Studies,
Chandigarh, India
II
September 8, 2004
Dr. David Johnston
Vice-Chancellor and President
Waterloo University
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario
N2L 3G1
Dear Dr. Johnston:
Re: Dr. Doris Jakobsh
We are writing to express our deepest concern regarding the anti-Sikh research
done by Dr. Doris Jakobsh, Instructor in Religious Studies, Renison College, Waterloo University. Her book Relocating Gender in Sikh History, Transformation, Meaning and Identity published by Oxford University Press, New Delhi (2003) was carefully read and analysed by visiting scholars from India. See list attached and resolution passed at York University, May 22, 2004.
A summary of her Eurocentric writings is also attached for your ready reference. The Sikh community of North America is of the opinion that her biased interpretation of Sikh religion, Sikh Gurus and their Holy Book, Guru Granth Sahib is causing psychic-spiritual pain and is violating Canadian law amounting to hate literature. She has violated all norms of ethnic research set forth by Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada, August 1993. (See attached.)
Social sensitivity and responsibility, introspection and retrospection, essence and wholism, not approaching the subject of ethnic study with a pre-sorted paradigm, doing retrospection to ascertain if the interpretations of her finding may cause psychic or spiritual discomfort to the people who belong to the culture under study, were sadly missing in her published work.
Furthermore, she approached the Sikh Scriptures (translations, as she cannot read and write Panjabi) from a detached punitive reality and thereby imposed false proposition of Eurocentric twenty-first century paradigm on writings that were done five hundred years ago.
She did not care to seek total immersion into the Sikh culture before rushing to study and hence came up with “half baked” racist statements about Sikh females and other ethnic groups (Bengalis) living in India and Canada.
She used oppressive assumptions obliterating subjective objective duality to generate a publication while staying a prisoner of McLeodian paradigm. The Research done by other female Sikh writers such as Dr. Gurnam Kaur, Professor and Head of Guru Granth Sahib Studies, Panjabi University, Patiala; Women in Sikhism, by Dr. M. K. Gill, published in The Sikh Courier (1998), Sikhism and Women, edited by Raj Pruthi and Bela Ram Sharma, reviewed by Professor Prabhjot Kaur for Abstract of Sikh Studies, 1998; Women’s Liberation Movement and Gurmat by Professor Prabhjot Kaur, Abstract of Sikh Studies, 1997; Her Story, Sikh Women in History by Alice Basarke, Abstract of Sikh Studies, 1998; The Champion of Woman by Alice Basarke, Abstract of Sikh Studies, October-December, 1998 and Equality of Women in Sikh Ideology and Practice by Valerie Kaur, Abstract of Sikh Studies, July-September 1998 was intentionally excluded from her unscientific, unethical research.
A strong case of incompetent and procedurally incorrect research done by a biased researcher can be easily made before any ethics committee, Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada, Human Rights Commission and in the Courts of law of Canada and India. The myth of academic freedom when applied to Blacks, First Nations and minorities studies had been long exploded under Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The ethical guidelines of both the Canadian and American Psychological Associations include the mandate that the researched subjects/culture suffers no pain and any enduring negative consequences from the research. If such harm occurs, the investigator or the institution for which the investigator works is under an obligation to undo such a harm.
There is another concern the Sikh community has about her teaching and further research. We would like to know what material is being used to cover Sikhism and other religions as a part of her teaching assignments. Is she presenting the wholistic view or just the Eurocentric view covered in her book? We would like to know who reviewed her book before it was published in India by Oxford University Press, Delhi.
Our sources tell us that her thesis proposal was not reviewed by an ethics committee, Department of Asian Studies at University of British Columbia. She did not read the original sources in Panjabi and used a translation of Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Book) to make derogatory statements about our scriptures.
Mr. Kuldip Singh Chhatwal of Cambridge, Ontario (telephone: 519-893-4873) has been asked to follow the hurtful and racist writing of Dr. Jakobsh. He has already been in touch with senior members of your administration on behalf of many Sikh organizations of Ontario.
We earnestly request you to investigate these serious allegations and write to us the action you intend to take.
With kind regards,
Sincerely,
Dr. J. S. Mann, M. D.
F.A.A.O.S., F.I.C.S.
Diplomate American Board of
Orthopedic Surgery
1771 W. Romney # E
Anaheim, CA 9280l
S. S. Sodhi, Ph. D.
Registered Psychologist
Retired Professor, Dalhousie University
Director, CTI, # 437
1657 Barrington Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2A1
P. S. Please be advised that in a recent decision by the Supreme Court of India, it has declared the Holy Book of the Sikhs as a Juristic person. Anybody making derogatory statements about the Holy Scripture can be sued. Commonwealth laws can be reciprocal. (See attached.)
Att.
cc
Dr. Mike Lazaridis, Chancellor, Waterloo University
Dr. Robert Kerton, Dean of Arts, Waterloo University
Dr. John Crossley, Principal, Renison College, Waterloo University
Dr. Robert Harding, Chair, Board of Governors, Waterloo University
Dr. Amit Chakma, Vice-President, Waterloo University
Dr. Mike Sharrat, Dean of Applied Health Sciences, Waterloo University
Dr. Adel Sedra, Dean of Engineering, Waterloo University
Dr. Geoff McBoyle, Dean of Environmental Studies, Waterloo University
Dr. Alan George, Dean of Mathematics, Waterloo University
Dr. George, Dixon, Dean of Science, Waterloo University
Dr. Henry Paetkav, President, Conard Grebel College, Waterloo University
Dr. Michael Higgins, President, St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo, Ontario
Dr. Graham Brown, Principal, St. Paul’s United College, Waterloo, Ontario
President, Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Chairman, Ontario Human Rights Commission, Toronto, Ontario
Various Sikh Temples located in Hamilton, Waterloo, Cambridge and Toronto (about thirty)
Six Sikh Members of Parliament recently elected to the Canadian Parliament.
Minister of Education, Province of Ontario, Toronto
Mr. Mandel Greene, Immigration and Human Rights Lawyer, Toronto
Ombudsman, Province of Ontario, Toronto
Dr. Doris Jakobsh, Instructor in Religion, Renison College, Waterloo University
Hon. Sheila Copps. Ex Deputy Prime Minister, Hamilton, Ontario
Hon. Ujjal Dosanj, Minister of Health, Ottawa, Canada
Hon. Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Mr. Narinder Singh, Famous Sikh Author (Canadian Sikhs), Ottawa, Ontario
Dr. Martha Piper, President, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
III
September 8, 2004
Dr. Martha Piper
Vice-Chancellor and President
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia
Dear Dr. Piper:
Re: Dr. Doris Jakobsh
We are writing to express our deepest concern regarding the anti-Sikh research
done by Dr. Doris Jakobsh at University of British Columbia, Department of Asian Studies. Dr. Oberoi was borrowed from Department of Anthropology to be her supervisor so as to produce a racist Ph. D. thesis, which violated all guidelines set by Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada. At present, she is instructor in Religious Studies, Renison College, Waterloo University. Her book (which grew out of her thesis), Relocating Gender in Sikh History, Transformation, Meaning and Identity published by Oxford University Press, New Delhi (2003) was carefully read and analysed by visiting scholars from India. See list attached and resolution passed at York University, May 22, 2004.
A summary of her Eurocentric writings is also attached for your ready reference. The Sikh community of North America is of the opinion that her biased interpretation of Sikh religion, Sikh Gurus and their Holy Book, Guru Granth Sahib, is causing psychic-spiritual pain and is violating Canadian law amounting to hate literature. She has violated all norms of ethnic research set forth by Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada, August 1993. (See attached.)
Social sensitivity and responsibility, introspection and retrospection, essence and wholism, not approaching the subject of ethnic study with a pre-sorted paradigm, doing retrospection to ascertain if the interpretations of her finding may cause psychic or spiritual discomfort to the people who belong to the culture under study, were sadly missing in her published work.
Furthermore, she approached the Sikh Scriptures (translations, as she cannot read and write Panjabi) from a detached punitive reality and thereby imposed false proposition of Eurocentric twenty-first century paradigm on writings that were done five hundred years ago.
She did not care to seek total immersion into the Sikh culture before rushing to study and hence came up with “half baked” racist statements about Sikh females and other ethnic groups (Bengalis) living in India and Canada.
She used oppressive assumptions obliterating subjective objective duality to generate a publication while staying a prisoner of McLeodian paradigm. The Research done by other female Sikh writers such as Dr. Gurnam Kaur, Professor and Head of Guru Granth Sahib Studies, Panjabi University, Patiala; Women in Sikhism, by Dr. M. K. Gill, published in The Sikh Courier (1998); Sikhism and Women, edited by Raj Pruthi and Bela Ram Sharma, reviewed by Professor Prabhjot Kaur for Abstract of Sikh Studies, 1998; Women’s Liberation Movement and Gurmat by Professor Prabhjot Kaur, Abstract of Sikh Studies, 1997; Her Story, Sikh Women in History by Alice Basarke, Abstract of Sikh Studies, 1998; The Champion of Woman by Alice Basarke, Abstract of Sikh Studies, October-December 1998 and Equality of Women in Sikh Ideology and Practice by Valerie Kaur, Abstract of Sikh Studies, July-September 1998 was intentionally excluded from her unscientific, unethical research.
A strong case of incompetent and procedurally incorrect research done by a biased researcher can be easily made before any ethics committee, Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada, Human Rights Commission and in the Courts of law of Canada and India. The myth of academic freedom when applied to Blacks, First Nations and minorities studies had been long exploded under Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The ethical guidelines of both the Canadian and American Psychological Associations include the mandate that the researched subjects/culture suffers no pain and any enduring negative consequences from the research. If such harm occurs, the investigator or the institution for which the investigator works is under an obligation to undo such a harm.
Our sources tell us that her thesis proposal was not reviewed by an ethics committee, Department of Asian Studies at University of British Columbia. She did not read the original sources in Panjabi and used a translation of Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Book) to make derogatory statements about our scriptures.
We earnestly request you to investigate these serious allegations and write to us the action you intend to take.
With kind regards,
Sincerely,
Dr. J. S. Mann, M. D.
F.A.A.O.S., F.I.C.S.
Diplomate American Board of
Orthopedic Surgery
1771 W. Romney # E
Anaheim, CA 9280l
S. S. Sodhi, Ph. D.
Registered Psychologist
Retired Professor, Dalhousie University
Director, CTI, # 437
1657 Barrington Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2A1
P. S. Please be advised that in a recent decision by the Supreme Court of India, it has declared the Holy Book of the Sikhs as a Juristic person. Anybody making derogatory statements about the Holy Scripture can be sued. Commonwealth laws can be reciprocal. (See attached.)
Att.
cc
President, Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Chancellor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Mr. and Mrs. Grewal, Members of Parliament, British Columbia
Mr. Ujjal Dosanj, Minister of Health, Ottawa
Mr. Moh Sohota, Victoria, British Columbia
Mr. Ophal, Judge, Supreme Court, British Columbia
Mr. Vij, Editor, Mehfil Magazine, Vancouver, British Columbia
Editor, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, British Columbia
Human Rights Commission, Province of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Head, Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Mr. H. Oberoi, Professor of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Thirty-five Sikh Temples of British Columbia
Hon. Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, Ottawa
