Name game: Sikh leaders redefine identity through locality titles

Delhi: Manpreet Kaur ‘Kalka’ is vying for a BJP ticket to contest Delhi’s Chief Minister from the Kalkaji constituency, a seat known for its significant Sikh population. Ahead of the polls, she has adopted the suffix ‘Kalka’ to her name, following in the footsteps of her husband, Harmeet Singh Kalka.

Harmeet, a former Kalkaji MLA, has been using the ‘Kalka’ suffix for years and currently serves as the President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.

As the Delhi Assembly elections approach, Sikh leaders across the city are appending locality names to their identities. This trend has seen leaders like Balbir Singh ‘Vivek Vihar’ and Manjit Singh ‘GK’ adopt their neighbourhoods as part of their public persona.

Balbir Singh, a respected leader from East Delhi, explained that adding ‘Vivek Vihar’ to his name helped him stand out in a community where shared names are common. “There were many Balbir Singhs in my Vivek Vihar area,” he said, noting that the move helped people easily recognise him, especially within the context of politics. “This change has even been reflected on my visiting card as well.”

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Kuldeep Singh ‘Bhogal’ is perhaps an early adopter of this practice. He states, “I was asked by Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal to add ‘Bhogal’ to my name after a warm reception in the area during his visit to meet victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. My family has been living in the Bhogal area of South Delhi for the last 70 years or so. I was born and raised here. Everyone knows me and vice-versa. Certainly, after I added Bhogal with my name, I became more famous and known in political circles.”

An enduring legacy

Manjit Singh, a resident of Greater Kailash, is now widely known as Manjit Singh ‘GK’. He is a formidable Sikh leader of Delhi and has been in the management of Guru Harkrishan Public School, established by his father, the late Jathedar Santokh Singh.

Jathedar Santokh Singh, who came to Delhi from Jalandhar in 1948, established the first Guru Harkrishan School in 1965. Through his efforts, Mata Sundri College was also established. He dominated the politics of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee from 1950 to 1981. On December 22, 1981, he was killed at Vishnu Garden, West Delhi.

Manjit said, “I was very young when my father fell to senseless bullets. However, when I joined politics, I appended GK with my name. Now, I am known as GK. I am happy about that.”

Fighting casteism

For some, adding locality names signifies more than mere recognition; it is seen as a step towards eroding caste distinctions. Punjabi poet Dr Harmit Singh, now known as Harmit Singh Pahar Ganj, explained his perspective: “This practice of discarding traditional surnames and adopting locality names serves to weaken the impact of the caste system within the Sikh community.” Although now residing in East Patel Nagar, he remarked, “I am not ready to shed Pahar Ganj for East Patel Nagar.”

Former Punjab Minister and former Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Commitee SGPC honorary chief secretary Manjit Singh ‘Calcutta’ was a prominent Delhi resident since 1976. Possibly the only Sikh in India known as ‘Calcutta’, he passed away on January 17, 2018. Born on June 13, 1938, ‘Calcutta’ also earned the epithet of ‘Bengali Akali’ for being born and brought up in Calcutta, now called Kolkata.

Jitender Singh Sahni, a social worker and a well-known figure in Sikh circles in Delhi, commented: “I think those who are adding GK, Vivek Vihar or Pahar Ganj are doing great service in fighting the curse of caste. If you are not writing your surname, that shows you don’t believe in casteism.”

A cultural shift in identity

This practice mirrors the tradition in Punjab, where Jat Sikhs often use village names like Kairon, Barnala, or Badal as surnames. However, the adoption of names such as GK, Vivek Vihar, and Bhogal reflects a shift towards identifying with current localities rather than ancestral villages.

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Avtar Singh, a social activist and businessman, became Avtar Singh Jhilmil Colony. “This change made me more recognisable in my area,” he said. “My friends and business partners now refer to me as ‘Jhilmil veer ji’.”

Meanwhile, Manpreet Kaur ‘Kalka’ is certainly the first Sikh lady politician in Delhi to give new identity to her name. As this trend continues, it highlights an evolution in how Sikh leaders in Delhi are choosing to define themselves within their communities through their area of residence.