The last Saturday of June saw the Gay Pride March take place in central London, and I was proud to be a part of it. I was on a float, arranged by a South Asian sexual health organisation called the Naz Project, celebrating the unique culture of the Indian subcontinent. I particularly stood out for the fact that I was a keshdhari Sikh man amongst a throng of various races, types and creeds of men and women. I could have said sole Sikh, were it not for the fact that I saw at least two other keshdhari Sikhs within the marchers, and several other non-keshdhari Sikhs. Gay Sikhs exist, and it is now time to acknowledge their presence in the Sikh community.

I have known since the age of twelve that I was gay, and have always found solace in my religion. I have spent much time trying to find out what the Sikh religion says about sexuality, and have so far found nothing about homosexuality in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Some people assume that this is because homosexuality is a "modern, western disease", but in doing so, they are overlooking the hijra culture that has a long history in India, and a number of prominent Indian figures who are believed to have had gay relationships. They include Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who was known to have male and female concubines alongside his numerous wives. I believe that sexuality was ignored because it was not deemed important during the Mughal period, when there were other more pressing issues such as freedom from oppression. In this respect, it would be similar to the absence of major dietary restrictions in Sikhism, with vegetarianism based on personal preference rather than dictated by scripture.

I have been involved with the Naz Project for almost three years now, and during my time there, I have established a youth group, called Masala, for gay and bisexual men from the South Asian community. However, I also found many gay Sikhs who felt isolated from both the gay and Asian communities, and who required a spiritual aspect to their lives. They often felt that they could only be one or the other, either gay or Sikh, that sexuality and spirituality could not be combined, at least not within the South Asian community. I have always felt the opposite to be true, that religion is just as important in one's life as sexuality, and this belief impelled me to create an organisation for the gay Sikh community. The organisation is called Darshan, and is based on Al-Fatiha, the group for gay Muslims. However, there is still an immense stigma attached to homosexuality amongst South Asians, and many people who are interested in coming to Darshan meetings are afraid to do so for a number of reasons. Due to these fears, Darshan has evolved into an Internet group, giving its members easy access to information in a safe and comfortable environment.

Launched in March this year, the group has aroused much controversy, and I have received a mixed response, ranging from strong support to anger and disgust. By establishing Darshan, the issue of homosexuality in Sikhism has been brought to the forefront, and this should hopefully provoke a meaningful discussion on the subject.

As I have already mentioned, I have not found anything in Sikhism that condemns homosexuality. However, one thing that the religion has always preached is supreme tolerance and equality for all. Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself said "manas ki jat sabhe ekhi pechanbo" - "all of mankind is but one". This is true, not only of gender, race and religion, but also of sexual orientation, and the full extent of the Guru's words will not be understood until this call for equality is heeded. I sincerely believe that day will soon arrive, but not without people who are brave enough to stand by their rights, or to defend the rights of others, just as Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji did for the Kashmiri Pundits.

Sikhism is the religion of acceptance, and it is thus now time for the estimated 2 million gay Sikhs worldwide (based on the general consensus in the west of ten percent of all people are gay or bisexual) to be accepted instead of shunned for their sexuality.

Jasbir Singh is a student in London, studying Law. He is also the founder of
the Darshan group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Sikhs, and
the founder of the Masala group for gay and bisexual South Asian men.