Misconceptions of the Kirpan
The Kirpan at times can be misunderstood by someone who may not appreciate the Sikh school of thought having not glanced at the philosophy Sikhism they immediately examine the kirpan as a knife blade which could potentially be used as an offensive weapon which is exempted under law. Some see this as a threat to there safety perhaps in schools or other institution's. The goal of this article is examine this perceived threat.
Presently it is common for some elements of xenophobia (fear of things foreign) to exist especially sparked up high in a post 9/11 world and many assume sikhs to be Islamist terrorists based on a misidentifies of the similar skin colour, the turban and beard. To an untrained eye they can not see the difference in turban styles and beard styles worn by sikhs compared to al-queeda one of the biggest different being the Sikhs do not trim mostaches.
Fears
As for the fears of what the kirpan might be to what the kirpan is we need to look into this further. In the past, when Sikh diaspora occurred, many Sikhs did receive elements of racism, however, over time, some acceptance, bridges and tolerance did grow. There were several reported attacks throughout countries after Sikh diaspora.
As for the kirpan being observed by somone as a knife. We need to examine why the fear of knifes where it occurred from. Around 1970s it was common in the west for pretty much everyone to have a swiss knife, boys scouts had swiss knifes and there wasn't much of a problem with the kirpan being carried it was understood as Christian doctrines from jesus also preached the followers to carry a sword this was observed within the christian religion by the older crusaders so the understanding of the relation of arms within religious practice was easy to understand. Similarly in various martial arts it is common for instance a samurai to carry a sword and so forth. The idea of martial arts is a self defensive school of thought which primarily deals with disciplining the mind and thoughts initially.
As for Knife crime just like any crime before being prosecuted in the court of law defendents are innocent until proven guilty. In prosecuting someone for a knife crime, two things are required the means rea and actus rea - which are the intent to commit the crime and the act of the crime itself. If we understand that before any action takes place a though arises about it. Due to high rise recently in gang culture knife crime has risen, much is due to glorification of crime in the media in music industry, video games and movie industry.
When we look at blades they come through out many places in the world, we will see blades used by tailor with scissors and other sharp blades, we see builders, carpenters, people doing diy, repair men, technicians, engineers with very sharp tools carrying toolboxes with sharp knives, we will see cooks & chefs with a whole range of sharp knifes, we will see people eating dinner and lunch with knives present in work environment & school, we will see school children with scalpels in biology lessons, we will see a whole range of sharp objects which could be potentially used as a weapon. Also in sports and on the road we see people carrying a whole range of bats, cricket bats, baseball bats, tennis rackets all these could be used as weapons.
So with all those potential weapons listed we could consider even something like a nail cutter, or various mediums used to inflict harm to another person. However the intention of an object is what causes the crime. Should we therefore seek to put our security and safety before our liberties and freedoms? It might be safe to put cameras everywhere in peoples homes and in bathrooms and make a big brother state. Or force certain practices but don't we create a big brother state or a fascist state in which we forcefully impose our beliefs onto others.
Knife crime
Sikhs have a very low contribution to knife crime aswell, these are present more in other ethnicities. Henceforth if people want to end knife crime perhaps sikhs can get involved there are certain principles in the sikh school of thought alike to martial arts which train the mind not to react in anger, to deal with things with pacifism and when all means fail to defend ourselves, without striking first only answering to defend oneself and without striking women or children.
Some Sikhs do wear small kirpans on chains however panj pyare themselves outline this is not the rehat of guru gobind singh he gave the rehat of being sarbloh and being on a gatra. It's hersy for people to have paper, wood or plastic ones. Also someone who does nitnem fully would have a lower heart rate from all that meditation they should be calm. With any martial art it deals with the mind first so not reacting. If a kid does use a kirpan in an offensive way they should be expelled and loads of Sikhs will have them shamed in the community. The panj pyare could even excommunicate them for such an action hence not being allowed to be a Sikh or even carry the kirpan.
Intention of the Kirpan
Kirpan is derived from the word mercy, kirpan refers to mercy and a Sikhs duty to his creator and to others within his practice. A Sikh is initated with the amrit tradition after reciting 5 banis of nitnem. If a Sikh removes one kakkar from his body the nitnem breaks. Hence a Sikh is supposed to wear the kirpan 24hrs a day. The kirpan represents a Sikh duty to justice, to fight oppression and tyranny. The kirpan practice is known to have been around within the Sikh school of thought and Sikh empire. It was after colonisation certain prohibitions were placed by the british onto the Sikhs these were later protested and the kirpan was unbanned have allowance. As the kirpan is a required part of practice. The kirpan also must be worn on a gatra. Sikhs however used to carry multiple weapons in old times in battles and the kirpans were refrained from use. However today some Sikhs argue the Kirpan is a self-defensive intent in which if someone seeks to harm multiple people or someone the kirpan as mercy is in place to bestow that mercy to stop those who commit crimes to others rather to stand and watch a crime take place. The kirpan for some is just a symbol and for others a practical medium to practice mercy. Many estbalishments have policies in place such as carrying kirpan sheeted worn always under clothing and being around 3inchs.
Potential weapons already around
We have a whole range of diferent objects which could be intended to use as a weapon seen below:
- Picture Gallery
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craft knife in school
Sports bat shown here a baseball bat
Forks and knife in canteens
Swiss knife
kitchen knifes
knifes in school
scalpels in schools also found in dentists and hospital
Builder with toolbelt potential weapons
Baseball bat potential weapon
Pen used as a weapon
Stapler as a weapon
toolbox
