The Sikhs and Their Fighting Spirit

By Preveena Balakrishnan

September 2022 FEATURE
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The Queen Street Mahamariamman Temple gopuram in the 1970s with two Sikh statues at the lower tier. Photo by: Sikh Gurudwaras in Malaysia & Singapore, Saran Singh Sidhu AMN,PNM,FRNS.
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THE ARULMIGU SRI MAHAMARIAMMAN Temple, along Queen Street in George Town, apparently used to house two statues of Sikhs on their gopuram, the ornate entrance tower of a Hindu temple. The three-tier gopuram is otherwise richly decorated with depictions of Hindu deities. It led me to think, what did the Sikhs do to gain such a venerated position on the gopuram of Penang’s oldest Hindu temple?The Sikhs, many of whom were strapping and hardworking farmers, came from different clans known...

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References
  • David, Adrian. 2021. “Sikh armed forces veterans’ contributions immeasurable.” News Straits Times. December 25. Accessed July 2, 2022. https://www.nst. com.my/news/nation/2021/12/757754/sikh-armedforces- veterans-contributions-immeasurable.
  • Kaur, Manvir. 1986. “The image of the Sikhs in Malaysia.” studentsrepo.um.edu.my.
  • Lapo-Dhalliwal, Malkiat Singh, and Mukthiar Kaur Rattian- Sandhu. 1971. Sikhs in Malaysia Series Volume One. Penang.
  • Toh, Terence. 2021. “Historian Ranjit Singh Malhi’s new book details the Malaysian Sikh community experience.” The Star. Apr 13. Accessed Aug 2nd , 2022. https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/ culture/2021/04/13/historian-ranjit-singh-malhi039snew- book-details-the-malaysian-sikh-communityexperience.
Preveena Balakrishnan

specialises in ethnoscapes and intangible cultural heritage valuations.


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