Professor Harminder Singh Dua CBE FRCS was born in Jalandhar, Punjab. He is an Indian-British medical doctor and researcher. He recently became the 453rd High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in an installation ceremony at the Gurudwara in New Basford. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to eye healthcare, health education and ophthalmology.
He is the chair and professor of ophthalmology at University of Nottingham and is the head of the Division of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Prof Dua is also the co-editor in chief with Arun Singh of the British Journal of Ophthalmology. He was president of EuCornea, the European society of Cornea and Ocular surface disease specialists. He has over 200 research publications, 20 published letters, and 14 book chapters to his credit.
In an exclusive interview for our Vaisakhi special feature, Prof Dua spoke to us about the importance of Sikh community, its cultural heritage and more.
Q - During the pandemic and even before that, the Sikh community has always been the first to come forward and help people irrespective of their ethnicity and nationality. What do you think makes them so humble such that they're always committed to community service?
Service to the community, meaning service to all people regardless of social status, caste, religion, ethnicity, nationality, age or gender, is at the core of the Sikh religion. The first Guru of the Sikhs is Guru Nanak Dev ji. At the age of 12, his father, an established businessman in the village, gave Guru Nanak some rupees with the advice to use it to make an honest deal. Guru Nanak Dev bought some food and distributed it among a group of holy men who had not eaten for a long time. His simple message was, what deal could be more honest than this? He conveyed such honest and practical messages through his deeds. The people who followed him became known as Sikhs, which means a disciple or follower. This tradition of ‘Langar’ serving a simple but delicious and nutritious meal to everyone and anyone, cooked and served by one’s own hands and followed up by cleaning the utensils making them ready for the next serving, represents Service, Sharing and giving of time, labour and wealth, Equality and Humility. Langar is served in all Gurudwaras (Sikh Temples) at least once a day, every day. The holiest place of worship of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple (Shri Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, Punjab, India, houses the largest kitchen in the world and serves over 50,000 meals every day, with the number doubling during festivals and special occasions. All Sikhs live this practical and tangible example of worship and service in their formative years. Not surprising that humility and service come through naturally.
Q - As the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, what according to you should be our approach towards life as the Asian community in the post-Covid era?
We are still in the ‘Covid era” and likely to be here for a while. What the pandemic has brought home to all is that we are in it together. We are only as strong as our weakest member. No one is safe until all are safe in the community, in the locality, in our nation and in the world. As Asians we are all part of the same community ‘regardless of social status, caste, religion, ethnicity, nationality, age or gender’ as the Sikh Gurus have taught us. We have to look out for each other and do what we can within our means. We can make a huge contribution, individually and through our families, by following the national health and social advice; take the jab and follow the rules to contain the virus. Help our neighbours with the help they need. Follow the basic tenants of our individual religion and faith , they are all the same, in my opinion. For Sikhs they are “Naam japo, Kirat Karo, Vand Chhako” – Remember God, Do good, Share and Eat. Something I have often said to whoever cares to listen is that “the more wealth you have, the more you will leave behind”.
Q - Why is Vaisakhi important? What should our younger generations imbibe from our culture to keep the spirit alive?
Vaisakhi is the day the Sikhs, in their present form and attire, were born. Sikhism started with the disciples of Guru Nanak Dev ji but on Vaisakhi day, 13th or 14th of April, 1699 the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh ji baptised Sikhs to the Khalsa panth (the community of the pure). He consolidated the concept of the ‘Saint-Soldier’ (Sant-Sipahi) implying that Sikhs should pursue the religious and spiritual philosophy of Sikhism but also be prepared to use necessary force to defend the rights of the innocent when perpetrators of tyranny and persecution cannot be overcome by non-violent means. Vaisakhi was celebrated as the harvest-festival and the new-year day of the Sikhs long before the Khalsa panth was created. Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji chose Vaisakhi day to initiate the Khalsa panth, giving it a huge added importance.
Traditionally, Sikhs have always carried the charisma of strength, protection, service and hard work. Only 2% of India’s over one billion population are Sikhs. India has the largest standing volunteer armed forces in the world, over 15% of them are Sikhs. In parts of Punjab, an age old tradition in Hindu families, to make the first born male child a Sikh, to serve and protect the nation, is still followed. They are not just warriors, there isn’t a profession or vocation where Sikhs have not excelled.
Sikhs have a presence, they stand out literally and figuratively. An anecdote illustrates the point. A man parked his car outside a busy restaurant and asked his son to step out and check if there was a table available for the family to have dinner. There were about 40 people in the restaurant of which three were Sikhs. The son came back to his dad and said “it's full of Sikhs”. This visibility together with the reputation of Sikhism brings responsibilities. It happened with me, as a young lad in medical school, I was waiting in a crowded bus stop, when a middle aged lady in distress ran to me for help, ignoring all the older and bigger men around me.
Our younger generation should be made aware of the values and richness of our culture and religion. They should derive pride and confidence from what Sikhs have contributed and hold their heads high in whatever they do. Their parents, relatives and teachers can help by pointing out role models and adapting the teaching of religion and culture to align with their modern way of thinking. A young Sikh couple visiting from Australia said, “the Gurudwara is the best vegetarian restaurant in town, and it's free!” my response was, “so let’s go there more often and listen to the recitation of the Shabads (hymns) in the background, with English translations on the screens.
Q - How different will this year's Vaisakhi be from other years for you and the community?
This year’s Vaisakhi will indeed be different and special. Our effort should focus on ensuring that we and our community are there for next year’s Vaisakhi and for many more years to come. We will be shaping the ‘new normal’ and have to learn to adapt to that and enjoy life and living within those norms so that all around us, especially the vulnerable, can also do the same. Vaisakhi itself will be celebrated though not in the traditional way of visiting the Gurudwaras but by invoking the God that resides in every home and every heart. We will celebrate Vaisakhi in our homes, secure and proud in the knowledge that we are giving God’s most precious gift to many in our community, Life itself.
This period of three weeks or so is significant in that we have Holi, Easter, the start of Ramadan and Vaisakhi all coming together. As High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, to mark Vaisakhi, I have organised an interfaith meeting in my local Gurudwara, Singh Sabha, in Nottingham. Leaders from the community, of Sikh, Islam, Hindu, Jew and Christian faiths will give a small talk each on an aspect of their respective religion. The event will be on the 17th of April at 11am and can be watched live or later, via a Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/kirtanandkathlive/
Q - Please share a message for the readers of Asian Voice on the occasion of Vaisakhi that might give them hope and perspective to navigate through such difficult times.
My message is embodied in my theme for my term in office as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, 2021-2022. Community, Religion and Environment encapsulated in one word - CARE. Care for those we serve, Care for those who serve us. A community is not a collection of silos of ethnicities, but a seamless cohesion of individuals of different ethnicities. God is at the core of all religions, there is only One God. You can’t live clean in a dirty house. Our Environment is crying out for our care, give it.
