Manbir Singh Chowdhary

In post 9/11 America, where imagery of Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban has sadly, for some members of American society, led to the association of turbans with Islamic fundamentalism - the onus has fallen on the Sikh community to take a more proactive role in humbly disseminating the significance of the Articles of their Faith, their belief in One Creator of humanity, and the egalitarian message of the Sikh Gurus.

Being a member of the Sikh-American community, news of a Sikh colonel in the ranks of the United States Armed Services caught me with a great sense of awe and pride. The powerful imagery of a turbaned Sikh officer, clad in a U.S. Military colonel's uniform undoubtedly serves to promote awareness about Sikhs in mainstream America, and portrays the turban in a positive light.

Colonel G.B. Singh, holds the distinction of being one of the few high ranking Sikh officers in the U.S. Military. He comes across as a man that stands defiant of the odds against him, and unafraid to speak out against commonly accepted thought and practice.

SikhSpectrum.com had the opportunity to talk to the Colonel Singh about life in the U.S. Military and his new book published by Prometheus Books: Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity.

Question: Colonel Singh is it true that you are only one of two high ranking turbaned Sikh officers in the U.S. Armed Services?

I think you are correct. As I recall the other individual is LTC (Retired) Gopal Singh. I believe he was a military intelligence officer.

Question: What exactly is your responsibility, as a Colonel, within the US Army?

By profession, I am a Periodontist. I am a part of the US Army Medical Department.

Question: How many years have you been in the military?

For about 25 years.

Question: Where around the world have you been stationed?

Just about all over. Twice I was stationed in Korea. In the United States, I have traveled and lived in many parts of our country.

Question: Have you ever met the Commander in Chief or visited the Pentagon?

Yes, I have met the President while in Korea. I have visited the PENTAGON on numerous occasions and once worked there.

Question: Have you met any other high-profile leaders of our nation? (And if so, please relate stories.)

Yes, some.

Question: Did you face any adversity during your military career being part of a visible minority?

Yes and it shouldn't be unexpected. In the military career, facing an adversity is quite common and you learn a whole lot of life's lessons facing such adversities.

Question: What inspires you?

Many things and one that particularly stands out are the contents of Guru Granth.

Question: Post 9/11, what should the Sikh-American community be doing in order to promote awareness of itself?

Sikhs must learn the art of public debate. Sikhs must project themselves on the radios, TV screens, and other modes of news delivery. Before they get on these channels, Sikhs must get familiar with public issues being discussed. In other words, get ready by proper training. As a start they should cultivate the habit of reading which is so essential to move higher. Without acquiring reading habits, you simply cannot acquire other skills that are often necessary in public debates.

Question: Is it true that the turbaned Sikhs who serve in high-ranking positions in the U.S. Army do so by way of special exemptions, but are still not allowed to serve in combat units?

Yes you are correct.

Question: Turbaned Sikhs can serve in all military regiments in Britain, and also as police officers. In Canada, a major breakthrough occurred for Sikhs, in 1995, as they won the right to serve in the prestigious Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Canadian Sikhs also serve as fighter pilots in the Royal Canadian Air Force. What is it going to take for similar recognition in the United States?

This is a good question and it only shows how different is the United States from other countries. The US military is altogether a different breed from its inception. Look at the case of African-Americans and see how long it took them to be accepted within the military. What I have seen and experienced in the US military for the last 25 years, I can say: there are changes taking place and I have no doubt positive changes will continue to take shape in future.

Question: Strong opposition to the recruitment of Sikhs in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was based on the argument that Sikhs wearing turbans would violate the traditions of the RCMP and traditional uniform codes. Canadian Sikhs overcame this argument through successful legal challenges and political lobbying. Isn't a similar argument being raised in the US by the Armed Services in preventing turbaned Sikhs from joining combat units and also by the New York Police Administration in preventing turbaned Sikhs from joining the NYPD?

You are correct. Political lobbying is necessary. I am aware of the case in NYPD. As I recall, the Sikh gentleman won his case. We need many more victories.

Question: As a high ranking established figure within the US Army, what have you done to facilitate the full participation of turbaned Sikhs into the combat units of the Armed Services?

As one individual, the best that I can offer is the visibility and I have that. If a question is ever asked to me I am there to answer.

Question: In your opinion, what is it going to take for the Armed Services and other law enforcement agencies in the U.S. to realize that Sikhs can excel in their respective fields with their turban and beards?

As you have said and I agree: Political lobbying and successful legal challenges. I can't think of any other ways.

Question: Colonel Singh, you have used your Sikh heritage as a foundation to accomplish your life's goals. What is your advice to young Sikh-Americans who aspire to become Colonels and Generals in the U.S. Military?

In spite of the unparalleled leadership traits of Guru Gobind Singh, we Sikhs lack leaders and leadership skills. Military has been instrumental in developing leaders, especially the US military. My advice to young Sikh-Americans is that they must fill the leadership gaps that exist in our Sikh institutions. And to achieve that goal, US military service can provide the training and plant seeds of growth that are so necessary among Sikhs. Only then we can move forward and develop an adequate political philosophy based upon and consistent with the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. It is a long process. Becoming Colonels and Generals are all wonderful in the process of learning and imparting that knowledge to our youngsters.

Question: Your interest in scholarship. How did this start?

Perhaps I was born with an inquisitive mind. Once I joined the US Army, it provided me an incredible opportunity to learn and excel. One thing that handicapped me early on was my intuitive recognizing the fact that the things I learned in India were mainly false or not entirely true and had to be expunged out of me. As my interest began to grow in scholarship, it was certainly no easy task to unlearn what I had learned in India. In 1979, I was given a copy of the New Testament to read and as I began to read I recognized so many holes in the story of Jesus Christ. I think, in a formal sense, that's where my scholarship began and it diversified to so many avenues of research. Today I pursue active research into the Bible, Koran, Hindu scriptures, Buddha; their true historical values; and their political impacts.

Question: What prompted your interest in Hinduism and Gandhi?

Born and raised in post-British India I always knew Hinduism, at least that's what I thought. In 1982, I was a political science student at the University of Oklahoma and one incident relating to a curriculum dealing with communism opened my deep held ideas of Hinduism to a careful scrutiny. That's how my formal journey in studying Hinduism started. With Gandhi, however, the story is somewhat different. Again while growing in India, Gandhi was our hero and to many others he was a god.

And in February 1983, I saw the film Gandhi which reinforced the story of Gandhi I had learned in India. In March 1983, I read the article, The Gandhi Nobody Knows by Richard Grenier. This article brought about fundamental changes in me especially dealing with asking probing questions and there I started to pay more critical attention to Gandhi while at the same time I was actively pursuing research into Hinduism.

These two areas of research eventually converged. The tragic events of 1984 in India against the Sikhs, painful that they were, were no surprise to me. Just following the attack on Golden Temple and other gurdwaras, Mrs. Indira Gandhi justified her bloody actions by invoking one of Mahatma Gandhi's teachings-that event in itself forced me to conduct a thorough research on our mahatma.

Question: Your new book, Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity has caused quite a stir in South Africa. What happened exactly?

Here is what happened before the book was released in April 2004. In Fall of 2002, AAH Newsletter (publication of African Americans for Humanism) published my article, "Would the Real Gandhi Please Stand Up," and this article was posted on the internet. One active black group in South Africa read this article and became sensitive to the issue of Gandhi's racism against the black people. Unknown to the Johannesburg officials, and it caught them by surprise, the issue erupted in the public arena following the unveiling of Gandhi's statue in central Johannesburg in October 2003.

Question: Your book seeks to expose the truth relating to a man so many revere as a symbol of peace and piety in Western society. The book is filled with surprising revelations about Gandhi, calling him a racist who was pro-apartheid, and anti-black. What sources have you relied upon for such an argument?

During my research of Gandhi, I recognized that there is a huge Gandhi propaganda machine and this machine has filled our libraries with Gandhi stories that we have come to accept them as true. Once I recognized that these "histories" are essentially false, I began to look for authentic sources of information. I was more concerned with what Gandhi had done to the blacks when he lived in South Africa from 1893 to 1914. Luckily for me, I was able to lay my hands on the early authentic documents and from there on I was able to rebuild the true history. This is all explained in details in Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity.

Question: As you know, many people in India also regard Gandhi as a god-like figure. Aren't you concerned about the backlash you might face from activist Hindu groups?

You are correct. Having acknowledged that, I also believe that we all are victims of Gandhi propaganda machine; Hindus (it may come as a surprise to them) being the biggest victims of this machine. So my book should open eyes of everyone including my Hindu brothers and sisters. The Sikhs too must open their eyes and for them in particular I have attached a few words under the heading, "What Gandhi Has Done to the Sikhs & Sikhism: A Plea for Skeptical Inquiry."

Question: The book further states that Gandhi himself was involved in the cover-up of a murder of an American citizen, William Francis Doherty. What evidence do you have to support this assertion?

This issue came to my attention in 1992 literally out of the blue. I was researching Katherine Mayo's Mother India (1927) and how it caused uproar among the caste Hindus. While researching that I came across a sworn deposition of Mrs. Doherty which stated Gandhi's racism against whites in India and how Gandhi's followers murdered her husband in 1921 and then how Gandhi himself tried to cover up that murder. I investigated this matter and many years later reached the conclusion that Mrs. Doherty's deposition to be correct. I have devoted a whole chapter to this murder case in Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity. Plus there is more: I asked myself if Gandhi could be involved in a cover up of one white murder, could there be more? This is all well addressed in my book-much more shocking information.

Question: If predominant belief about Gandhi in the West is truly a misconception and false, as you say it is, what benefit would members of the American Christian clergy draw from writing about his life and promoting his ideals? Why did other American leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. adopt Gandhi's concept of 'Ahimsa' or Non-violence?

Christian clergy hold a special honor: They were the first group of people to promote Gandhi. Of course they had their own motives and I have tried to bring that into focus in my book. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., being raised in the Christian heritage, fell victim when he learned about Gandhi while enrolled at the seminary located outside Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. There is more to the story: Once Reverend King visited India in 1959, he seems to have distanced away from Gandhi. Something happened in India and his visit needs to be critically investigated rather than what the propaganda says. I believe Dr. King's concept of nonviolence has nothing to do with Gandhi. It was an historical accident for two to be connected via nonviolence and this accident has been fully exploited by the Gandhi propaganda machine.

Since the British annexation of Punjab and its absorption in the rest of British India in mid 1800s, two interconnected movements had far-reaching devastating impacts on the Sikhs and Sikhism. The first was the introduction of modern Hinduism in Punjab and the second was the introduction of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a focus of this paper today.

Born just about 400 years after the birth of Guru Nanak, M.K. Gandhi (1869-1948) exercised a tremendous influence on the first-half of the 20th century Sikhs and in the process hijacked them. The Sikhs in the second half of the 20th century couldn't come to grips as to what hit them and still behave as if living in Gandhi's shadows. All you have to do is witness the pathetic state of affairs of Akali Dal, SGPC, and poor leadership abilities of the Sikh "leaders." What went so wrong?

The answer lies underneath once you answer: What Gandhi has done to the Sikhs and Sikhism? To date not a single Sikh scholar has taken a skeptical look into the Gandhi literature. In 1983 circumstances brought me to probe into Gandhi and that inquiry accelerated further with the terrible events of 1984. While investigating Gandhi on the issues of racism against the black people, I couldn't help but notice his imprints on the Sikhs and Sikhism following the 1919 Jalianwallah Bagh tragedy. Sometimes in November/December 1919, Gandhi held a four-hour meeting with the "un-named" Sikhs (I believe our future leaders) inside the Golden Temple premises. From hereon Sikhs fell under his spell and he manipulated them into a series of chaos by injecting Satyagraha tactics into their psyche. Beyond that he controlled who the Sikh leaders would be. In my investigation, early on I reached an uncomfortable conclusion: Both the Akali Dal and the SGPC were formed by Gandhi. Both of these organizations are essentially Gandhian in ideology and practice the tenets of modern Hinduism. Even today, after so many Sikhs have been murdered by the Gandhian State, they haven't changed a bit nor do they have the capabilities to evaluate the matters critically.

I hope, in months to come, I can organize a small group of dedicated Sikhs and hand over to them the original documents in my possession. The purpose here is simple: To conduct a thorough skeptical inquiry into the history especially following Gandhi induction into Punjab in 1919 and the consequences thereafter. Once we have come to grips with the truth, only then can we begin to take measures to reverse the present state of affairs.

Copyright ©2004 Manbir Singh Chowdhary. About the author