Sikhs in New Zealand have quadrupled in number since 2006

Friday, 4 October 2019

A fundamental pillar of the Sikh faith is service: this south Auckland gurdwara has created a fruitful garden for its community.

Sikhism is booming faster than any other major religion in New Zealand, having more than doubled its number of followers here since 2013 – and more than quadrupled since 2006.

But the surge has not come without growing pains, said IT worker Harpreet Singh, who migrated to Auckland in 2014 with his family.

His daughter Japnaam Kaur, 7, was teased at school for wearing her turban. Kids would grab at the fabric and call her a boy, said Singh. They called boy Sikhs girls, because of their long hair, and Singh said he knew children that refused to wear turbans to school out of fear of bullying.

Harpreet Singh, founder of Sikh Aware, and his daughter Japnaam Kaur have lived in New Zealand for four years.

Singh believes this is a result of Sikhs, in their increasing numbers, moving beyond south Auckland where there's a strong Sikh presence. Having identified a need, he founded the charity Sikh Aware last year to educate Kiwis about the religion and advocate on behalf of vulnerable Sikh migrant workers.

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Dr Harpreet Singh, a Sikh historian in Auckland. His family migrated from India in 1912.

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About 41,000 Sikhs now live here, according to the latest census figures. Sikhism has fewer followers in New Zealand than Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. But if all five faiths keep growing (or shrinking) at the same rates they did between 2013 and 2018, Sikhs will overtake Buddhists and Muslims in population by the next census.

Amar Singh is a stalwart of the community garden at the Supreme Sikh Society's south Auckland gurdwara.

Sikh Aware runs awareness sessions at schools and in public places to help demystify turbans. The workplace could also be fraught for Sikhs, Singh said. Like many recent migrants, they were often vulnerable to exploitation by bosses due to limited English and lack of knowledge about their rights.

Sikh articles of faith: kirpan (dagger), kangha (wooden hair comb), kara (iron bracelet).

'They don't know they shouldn't hand their passports over to employers, or give cash back out of their pay – this sort of employee exploitation is rampant,' Singh said.

Fourth generation Kiwi Sikh Dr Harpreet Singh, a historian, said the rise in Sikhs was driven by immigration from India.

Sikhs began arriving in earnest in the '80s. Dr Singh said persecution from the Hindu majority in India – after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards – coincided with our then-Prime Minister David Lange loosening New Zealand's immigration policy, and Sikhs were 'essentially asylum seekers'.

They continued to leave India in droves in the '90s and '00s, motivated by the promise of making more money abroad and ongoing tensions in their homeland, he explained.

But Labour's crackdown on low-skilled migrants and those on student visas, in 2017, had a major impact on Sikh migrants, he said. And Dr Singh doesn't expect the religion will have doubled in size again by 2023, due to 'the main avenues of entering the country being shut'.

Sikhism's growth in New Zealand has had positive repercussions, said Dr Singh. Sikhs' increased visibility – often via efforts to serve their communities – ultimately helps integration and Singh said he'd been heartened to see turbaned Sikhs in the country's police force and parliament.

There are at least 20 gurdwara temples around the country, each featuring kitchens open to the public. At the Supreme Sikh Society's south Auckland gurdwara, 11 acres have been dedicated to growing fruit and vegetables. The society works with community initiatives in the area to educate people about sustainable food production. The society is also building sports fields on its land, for local schools.

Dr Singh said these were natural developments: 'As Sikhism gets bigger, Sikhs have more resources at hand so they'll reach out to help beyond their own communities.'

Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak in the 15th century and preaches equality among races, genders, castes, and religions. Strict adherents are vegetarian, pray daily, and shun alcohol.

The turban is the most visible mark of Sikhism, symbolising spiritual devotion. Sikhs also wear a metal bracelet, a wooden comb, cotton shorts, and a short ceremonial dagger called a kirpan, representing integrity, order, modesty, and bravery respectively.