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Summary of Question:	Choosing Sides: India Or Sikhi? - 2
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Wednesday, 7/02/2003 6:09 PM MDT

SATNAAM

DKK jee, i m in USA...not India...and the place i m at, one hardly finds Sikhs. But thanks for your response jee. It was helpful. Due to fanatical and political propaganda i was made to feel that i can't be Sikh and Indian at the same time.

GURU FATEH

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REPLY
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Sat Naam. I could not tell from your post. Of course you cannot NOT be Indian. Guru made you Indian in this round. But if you live in America, then you are Indian-American. Especially if you are first generation of this (e.g., born here or moved here at a young age), then you are in many ways, equally Indian and American (in terms of culture and thinking). So it can be confusing, but I think in the long run it will make you stronger, and give you an ability to step outside of either culture to see it clearly. This is a real gift, but one that is hard to recognize initially. I learned so much about the USA when I left it to live abroad. It is that kind of 'vision' that your upbringing gives you. Both India and America need that, because the SIkh community here is NOT just Indian-born, and the Sikh community in India is only very recently willing to acknowledge that SIkhs are everywhere and not just Indian. But the birthplace of Sikhi is India, and this is all of our heritage, no matter what our nationality.
I hope you can be in a position to find and be with sangat soon. Guru ang sang,
-DKK