25, October 2019 Censored by the British
BBC
Islamophobia has taken hold in the UK. My brother, Lord
Indarjit of Wimbledon recent broadcast was censored by the BBC. Here is the background of
historical facts that were deemed too sensitive for British Muslims.
It is an
historical fact that the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was martyred by Mughal emperor Jahangir for
refusing to embrace Islam.
Tyranny and
religious persecution of Hindus and Sikhs reached its peak when Aurangzeb
ascended to the throne in Delhi. He had long cherished converting India to
Islam and vigorously started destroying temples and forcing Hindus to embrace
Islam or face death.
Fearing the
imminent destruction of their religion, a group of Kashmiri Brahmins visited
Amarnath, the abode of Hindu Lord Shiva, to invoke his mercy. At Amarnath Lord
Shiva visited the Brahmins in their dream and asked them to go to Guru Tegh
Bahadur and plead for his help in saving the Hindu religion.
Tegh Bahadur agreed
to visit Aurangzeb in Delhi to ask him to stop the persecution and slaughter of
Hindus. He was arrested on the way and brought in chains to Delhi. Aurangzeb demanded
Tegh Bahadur embrace Islam. When Tegh Bahadur refused he was executed with
three of his companions. Many saints, sages and heroes have died for the sake
of their own convictions, but rarely has someone died in defense of another
faith.
Lord Singh, has
been a broadcaster for the BBC in the UK for more than 35 years. It was
therefore most disturbing when a scheduled broadcast, called “Thought for the
Day” was censored by the BBC out of fear of offending Muslim sentiments. The
following is a copy of the censored broadcast.
Thought for the day
28-11-18
Last
weekend was, for Sikhs, a bit like Christmas and Easter rolled into one.
Celebration of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak who taught the need for
responsible living centred on the rights and concerns of others, was followed
next day by the commemoration of the martyrdom of the 9th Guru, Guru
Teg Bahadhur who in 1675 gave his life in the defence of human rights.
The
Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, in his determination to extend Islam to the whole of
the sub-continent, was forcibly converting large numbers of Hindus in Kashmir.
In desperation the Hindu leaders asked Guru Teg Bahadhur to intercede on their
behalf. They said, we know that you and earlier Sikh Gurus have always stood up
for the rights of all people, will you appeal to the Mughal Emperor to stop
this forced conversion?
The
Guru knew that such an appeal would almost certainly cost him his life. But
true to Sikh teachings on freedom of belief he set off for Delhi. The Emperor
refused to change his policy and instead offered rich gifts to the Guru to
convert to Islam. When Guru Teg Bahadhur refused, he was publicly beheaded in
the centre of Delhi. His crime, defending the right to freedom of belief of
those of a different religion to his own.
The
universal right to freedom of belief is emphasised in the UN Declaration of
Human Rights, written in the aftermath of the Second World War. We all applaud
its lofty sentiments, but all too often put these below trade and economic
interest. For example, questions have been recently asked about the selling of
arms to Saudi Arabia in the light of the killing of the prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the on-going
conflict in Yemen.
Guru
Teg Bahadur set the bar high when on a cold winter’s day, he gave his life in
the defence of human rights and gave stark reality to Voltaire’s, famous words:
‘I may not believe in what you say but will defend to the death your right to
say it. Yet, in the Sikh view,
fundamental human rights will continue to be ignored unless those in power and
authority are prepared to put these rights well above the false lure of short
term economic gain.
