Dasvand
Surrey, BC (December 16, 2024): The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is deeply concerned and disappointed by the display of the exhibition "Darshana: A Glimpse Into the Hindu Civilization" at the Museum of Surrey. Hosted with the support of the Province of British Columbia, the Hindutva-inspired exhibition makes deeply inappropriate and offensive claims about the Sikh faith (“Sikhi”), attempting to subsume Sikhi under Hinduism and erase the distinct Sikh identity.
The exhibition refers to Sikhi as a mere “tradition” of Hinduism and incorrectly claims the Sikh scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, as a “sacred text” of Hinduism. Furthermore, the Sikh figure of Ik Oankar (One Creator) is displayed alongside Hindu symbols, which is both inaccurate and disrespectful to Sikhs. The exhibition also claims Buddhism and Jainism as other branches of Hinduism.
This exhibition is organized by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), a branch of the extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) network. The RSS has a well-documented history of targeting minority communities in India, including Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, and Dalits. The RSS promotes an exclusionary and supremacist Hindutva ideology that seeks to erase India’s diverse religious and cultural minorities to establish a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu State).
On the HSS USA’s official website, its founders' troubling views are clearly stated. According to the website, RSS founder Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar openly advocated that “all Sikhs should register themselves as Hindus”.
Golowalkar also, alarmingly, praised Nazi Germany, stating: “Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole.” Golwalkar’s photograph is prominently displayed at all HSS events, underscoring the extremist ideology at the heart of the organization.
It is important to recognize that the RSS and its affiliates, such as the HSS, claim to represent Hinduism. However, Hinduism is a diverse and ancient faith practiced by over a billion people worldwide. The RSS’s politicization of Hinduism into Hindutva marginalizes and endangers religious minorities.
In March 2023, WSO and the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) released a detailed report titled "The RSS Network in Canada." The report highlighted the RSS’s supremacist ideology, its global influence, and its growing presence in Canada. The RSS has been linked to major incidents of violence in India, including the 2002 Gujarat massacre, which claimed the lives of thousands of Muslims. WSO and NCCM have called for the Canadian government to designate the RSS as a banned entity in Canada.
Gurpreet Kaur, WSO President for British Columbia, stated:
"We are deeply disappointed that the Darshana exhibition has been displayed at the Museum of Surrey with the support of the Province of British Columbia. This exhibition, organized by a Hindutva-linked organization, falsely claims that Sikhs are Hindus and that Sikhi is merely a branch of Hinduism. This is a direct example of the extremist Hindutva agenda, which seeks to erase minority communities in India to create a Hindu Rashtra. That this offensive exhibit was displayed in Surrey, home to a significant Sikh population, is even more concerning. The exhibition is deeply hurtful and must be removed immediately. We demand transparency and accountability as to how such an offensive exhibition was approved.”
WSO urges the immediate removal of the Darshana exhibition and calls on the Province of British Columbia and the Museum of Surrey to provide a public explanation and apology to the Sikh community.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs, as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights of all individuals.