The Story Isn’t Over: History from the Margins

Tarsem Singh Sandhu is a notable figure in the Sikh community for his  advocacy for the right to wear the turban while working as a bus driver  in Wolverhampton, England in the 1960s. He was one of the first Sikh bus drivers in the country to wear a turban and grow his beard and as a result faced discrimination, including a two year suspension by the Wolverhampton Transport Committee. Despite facing opposition,  Sandhu stood firm in his beliefs and refused to remove his turban,  becoming a symbol of strength and resilience for the Sikh community. His  actions paved the way for greater religious freedom in the workplace, ensured a conversation in the House of Lords and forced a change in UK law.00:00 - Introduction00:30 - Quick summary01:26 - When did you come to the UK and what was the reason for it?03:55 - What was the UK like?06:04 - Can you describe the events that took place between your arrival in the UK and becoming a bus driver?12:20 - Why did you decide to drive a bus if things were going well?17:40 - Newspapers at the time reported that you were clean-shaven when you  started your job. Is this true and what was the reason for it?18:37 - What occurred on the first day you went to work wearing a turban?20:34 - How old are you at this point?20:49 - What occurred during the two-year suspension period?21:56 - Why did you choose to move elsewhere after the two years had passed?26:28 - What was the "mad-hatters" counter protest?28:27 - What did other workers think of the agitation and how did that lead into creating the fake Indo-Pak Workers Association?29:23 - Mr Sohan Singh Jolly's declaration of self-immolation34:46 - Before Sohan Singh made the announcement, did you know?37:11 - Once Mr Sohan Singh Jolly declares to self-immolate if the turban ban isn't lifted, what happens?37:59 - Did you know of anyone who started to wear a turban because of the change you had enforced?38:34 - What has happened since the 1970s?43:30 - What do you do today?44:39 - What was Enoch Powell actually like?45:41 - How Enoch Powell helped two of Tarsem Singh Sandhu's cousins47:33 - Slight interruption...49:27 - Have you seen this Daily Mirror cartoon making light of the situation?51:01 - Conclusion51:26 - Wrapping up★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★

★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★00:00 - Teaser00:44 - Overview02:46 - Intro04:54 - What inspired you to write a book about Amrit Kaur?09:13 - What research did you do to bring Amrit Kaur's story to life in your book?13:38 - What can you tell us about Amrit Kaur's early life, education, and everything before Paris?16:43 - What influence did Amrit Kaur's relationship with her parents and her time at boarding school have on her?19:06 - Why is Amrit Kaur in Paris just before the outbreak of WW2?20:29 - How is she caught in Paris?23:17 - How does the information of Amrit Kaur being arrest get out?24:13 - Were there any attempts at securing her freedom?24:54 -  To what extent is it true that Amrit Kaur saved prisoners from Nazi internment camps?27:12 - What was the most interesting or surprising thing you found during your 12 years of research?28:34 - What could you say about Amrit Kaur's lesbian relationship?31:49 - What happens to Amrit Kaur once she's released from the internment camp and how does she end up in America?34:06 - Clearing the confusion between Dame Amrit Kaur and Amrit Kaur of Mandi36:24 - How did you balance the personal and political aspects of Amrit Kaur's story?38:29 - What message do you hope readers take away from the book?40:06 - What challenges did you face whilst researching and writing this book?42:11 - In what way did the research and writing the book impact you?43:42 - Conclusion

★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★00:00 - Teaser 00:59 - Introduction 01:53 - Finding out about the team 03:56 - What is Anhad Magazine? 05:02 - Why invoke the spirit of the Singh Sabha movement? 11:08 - What is the aim of the magazine? 14:01 - What is involved in the translation and transliteration process? 18:19 - Why make a print book in the age of digital media? 21:25 - How have you manage to raise the funds for the project? 22:18 - What has the feedback been like? 26:45 - How did the team behind Anhad Magazine come together? 28:57 - How have you managed to blend the thoughts and ideas of such a large team into the Magazine? 34:09 - What have you all learnt along the way? 42:23 - What was the process behind picking the topic for the 1st edition? 43:13 - What can we expect after the 1st edition?50:30 - Anything we missed out, you wanted to include? 51:29 - When it comes to the Magazine, what does Ramblings disagree with? 01:02:36 - Conclusion

★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★00:00 - 5 Minute History: What is the Kissan Protest?04:48 - How did the book come about?06:55 - What was it like visiting and experiencing the protest site first hand?08:51 - In the age of social media, why make a physical photo book?10:12 - How many photos did you take and how did you decide which ones to include?11:12 - Once you’ve taken these photos, how long and what happens  between then, writing the introduction and getting the finished photo  book to sale?13:16 - What has the reception been like since you released the photo book?14:52 - Why did the Guardian not want to use the photos?16:29 - What went into getting the postcards produced?17:56 - Where can people buy the postcards and photo book?18:12 - What are you working on next?21:54 - What is Ramblings favourite photo from the book?27:32 - How I think Hark1karan is respectfully showcasing the community to the world.29:37 - Conclusion

★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★We talk about how Oupkar, in the footsteps of other women before her,  picked her mother to take the traditional role of the father during her  Palla ceremony. We talk about what went behind the decision, family  reaction, Oupkar’s relationship with her mother, growing up in a  single-parent household Oupkar’s advice to others and a whole lot more.00:00 - What is the Palla ceremony?02:35 - Finding out about Oupkar's mother03:38 - What role did your mother play during your Palla ceremony?03:59 - What was the reaction from your family and wider community like?05:04 - Was askign your mum to do the Palla ceremony a way of saying thank you?05:55 - What was your upbringing like?09:56 - How did your change your mums mind and did she have any concerns?  13:14 - What would your advice be to those thinking of doing something similar?  17:09 - Conclusion

★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★00:00 - Teaser00:56 - Introduction01:45 - Early life & upbringing03:46 - Family Background04:47 - Becoming a police officer?05:56 - From collector to collecting?08:35 - Why are antique swords (usually) far superior?10:39 - What do you do as an antique arms and armour collector?14:10 - The restoration of antique arms and armour?17:45 - Origins of the full body armour?20:07 - Indian laws and antique arms and armour22:30 - Dealer or collector?26:23 - Experience on BBC Antiques Roadshow29:57 - Role on BBC Antiques Roadshow31:14 - A general perspective of south asian arms and armour33:17 - Similarities and differences of south asian arms and armour38:57 - Sikh Weapons?42:01 - Dealing with antique guns47:03 - Museums, artifacts and where to draw the line?49:54 - Antique arms and armour fairs51:50 - Funniest experience57:29 - European influence on south asian arms and armour?01:01:58 - Favourite Item: The Articulated Bagh Nakh01:12:19 - History of the articulated Bagh Nakh01:14:58 - Origins of articulated the Bagh Nakh01:16:11 - Made to measure?01:17:31 - Deciphering what’s legitimate?01:20:31 - Pointers for collectors who are just starting?01:22:58 - Social media & how to get in touch01:25:06 - Damascus steel01:29:13 - Anything we missed out?01:29:30 - Conclusion

00:00 - Intro 01:02 - The origins of this project 02:01 - Why was the decision made to make the calendar entirely about women? 02:53 - Idol worship and paintings of Gurus? 06:34 - An artist's perspective of depicting Gurus and other figures from Sikh history? 08:22- Where are the stories coming from? What do the sources tell us about Sikh women in history? 12:19 - Why is it important that the sources are pre-colonial? What has colonialism done to our current understanding of women in Sikh history? 14:01 - What is the mentality behind revising historical narratives? 16:00 - Who has been included in the calendar? 21:23 - What do pre-colonial texts say about the Gurus marrying more than one wife? 24:08 - What do pre-colonial texts say about the marriage rites of the Gurus? 27:25 - Other examples of source material disagreeing with the modern narrative? 33:00 - How do you bring the research to life as accurately as possible? 35:27 - Understanding the ‘soul bride’ metaphor 39:21 - How has the reformation of Sikh philosophy influenced the modern day Sikh community's understanding of itself - including tales of men & women from Sri Dasam Granth? 47:29 - Would it be fair to say that the Divine, beyond duality, is conveyed through duality? 51:55 - What has been the greatest difficulty in creating these pieces of art? 54:31 - Is there anything that has not been included due to modern sensibilities? 55:53 - Which other artists are involved? 56:46 - Can we undo the impact of the Singh Sabha movement or are we heading into a ‘Neo-Pre Colonial’ period? 01:00:27 - Why are certain depictions of Sikh history more accepted than others? 01:04:22 - Perception of the divine and artist Sobha Singh? 01:08:43 - How will art from today impact the community in generations to come? 01:15:23 - Which one is your favourite art piece from the calendar? 01:20:28 - Conclusion 01:20:41 - Bloopers★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★

Featuring Neymar's mascot, Josh Singh. Prince Ripudaman Singh, his Swan Rolls-Royce & matching Roll Royce Cygnett. The Koutoubia Mosque replica in Kapurthala. The first Indian languages school in England. General Allard, Napoleon's wife & cashmere shawls. The Sikh Peanut Prince of Argentina and a Portuguese eye-witness to Guru Arjun Dev Ji’s shaheedi.

★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ You can see a full time stamped breakdown of the conversation below. 00:00 - Teaser 00:20 - Introduction 01:26 - Family history and background 04:59 - What do you remember from October 31st 1984? 08:15 - Would the genocide have taken place even if Indira Gandhi was not assassinated? 14:36 - How did your research help bring to the front a bigger picture? 18:34 - To what extent are the police and the army involved & how did Sikhs who were in these forces act? 21:53 - How and why do things come to a stop towards November 3rd? 23:58 - Was the genocide just targetted to Delhi? 24:09 - What role does the media play in the immediate decade or two in supporting a particular narrative? 29:11 - Do you expect we’ll ever know the true extent of what actually took place? 32:54 - Which high ranking officials were involved? What did they do? Was Sajjan Kumar essentially a sacrificial lamb from the perspective of the state? 39:03 - What role did Gyani Zail Singh  play? 43:28 - Are the British involved? What do arms deals have  to do with 1984?   46:36 - Any idea what documents were removed by the FCO from the National Archives in 2016, could it possibly include the British reconnaissance report from Sri Harmandir Sahib? 48:30 - Has anything new come to light that changes the narrative since you published your book? 53:09 - Truth, Justice & Reconciliation: what do you think should happen? 58:32 - How did the research impact you? 01:03:43 - Conclusion 01:04:36 - Outro 01:04:54 - Next Month’s Podcast Trailer

This is the full podcast 'The Rise & Fall of the Sikh Empire' with Dr. Priya Atwal.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠★ Join the Ramblings of a Sikh YouTube Channel ★ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★⁠⁠ You can find the full video podcast on my YouTube channel and you can see a full time stamped breakdown of the conversation below. 00:00 - Teaser 01:14 - Introduction 03:07 - What is the Punjabi/Sikh relationship with political ideologies such as monarchy, republicanism and democracy? 11:38 - How would you define the socio-political system of the Misl period? 16:43 - You challenge the assumption that Punjabi Queens are un-martial, could you tell us more about this? 31:20 - Relics of Muhammad in the treasury of Maharaja Runjeet Singh? 33:05 - How else is the martial imagery deployed and developed? 44:10 - Would it be fair to say some of the misunderstandings around topics like women is due to a male dominated perspective? 44:28 - What is the socio-economic and cultural landscape like during  Ranjit Singh's reign & does he do anything that drastically changes  things? 46:09 - How big is Punjab during Runjeet Singh's reign? 52:01 - How would you define the way Ranjit Singh engages with the  British EIC, as well as the larger political landscape externally and  internally?   58:10 - How does the Sarvaisddhantattvacudamani (The Crest-Jewel of the  Essence of all Systems of Astronomy) play such a central role in  redefining the Kharak Singh, Sher Singh, Tara Singh and Duleep Singh? 01:14:28 - Previous episode 01:15:27 - In a nutshell, why did the Sukerchakia dynasty fall apart?