Sukhdeep Singh: The Pride Turban And The Importance Of Visibility Of Queer Sikhs

         
                                      Sukhdeep Singh

It is not often that you come across openly queer Sikhs in the media. Growing up as a gay Sikh man, the lack of visibility of queer Sikhs cast doubts in my mind about the various identities that I held – of being gay and Sikh. Was it possible to be both? Would I be accepted in the queer community with my Sikh identity, or would I have to give up on one for the other? As I was trying to understand and accept my sexuality, these questions kept disturbing me.

The Rainbow Turban Attracted Quite An Attention In the Bengaluru Pride And I got Clicked By a Few Photographers.

This struggle of mine with my Sikh and gay identities could have been easier, had I found openly queer Sikhs around, who could have reassured me and helped me overcome my insecurities. Thus, I decided to be more visible and made it a point to attend the pride marches.

After attending the pride march for 4 years in Bengaluru (where I had moved after completing my education),in the year 2014, I decided to do something unique that would merge my two identities into one.

I thought of giving my turban a shade of the rainbow. And so, as I wrapped the 6-metre long cloth on my head, I put a small piece of cloth of different colours of the rainbow (which I had) on each layer of the turban. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I will be able to tie the turban properly with so much of extra cloth, and it did take a few tries and an hour and a half long effort. 

The rainbow Turban attracted quite an attention in the Bengaluru Pride that year, and I got clicked by a few photographers. One of the photos was even shared on Reddit and became a topic of discussion. 

That year, I visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar wearing the rainbow turban, where it got many a curious look (though I doubt anyone understood its significance).

Sukhdeep Singh is a Facebook addict who works as a software engineer by day and transforms into a writer at night. He is also the founder and editor of Gaylaxy magazine.

https://feminisminindia.com/2019/06/14/a-brief-history-of-the-pride-turban-and-the-importance-of-visibility-of-queer-sikhs/?fbclid=IwAR1_Cp2SSjgWRyxQq96v_yaCIXXw776Tj3vcoJHJ_qAipjaDJnRAGIifR5Y

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Dr. Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
University of Delhi