UK’s viral shame: When hyper image hijacks Sikhi

Undated videos from the UK showing young Sikh boys in 'baana' (sacred robes) — some fighting violently inside a gurdwara, others mocking the Mool Mantar (the opening lines of Sri Guru Granth Sahib), and threatening with a knife — have gone viral.

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Faces blurred or not, the real exposure is not of the boys themselves — even in their apology video alongside elders — but of what we as a community have allowed to decay beneath the surface.

This is not simply a matter of youth behaviour spiralling out of control. This is the outcome of something deeper, something far more troubling: a growing obsession with external identity divorced from spiritual discipline. 'Baana' without bani (the Divine Shabad) has become performance, a uniform without character. And that is where the danger lies.

'Baana' no shortcut to spirituality

Guru Sahib gave us ‘baana’ as an expression of disciplined living — not as a badge of superiority, nor as a licence for aggression or violence.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib is direct and unflinching on such pretence:

ਕਮਰਬੰਦੁ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਕਾ ਧਨੁ ਜੋਬਨੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਨਾਮੁ ॥੨॥ (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ang 16)

Tie the waistband of contentment, and let Akal Purakh be your strength and youth.

This is the measure of spirituality, not robes, not rhetoric.

 Decay: From reverence to aggression

We see similar patterns in Punjab too. Men in ‘cholas’ (flowing garbs) roaming in gurdwaras, presenting themselves as torchbearers of “satkar” (reverence), often resort to physical intimidation and aggression.

The sacred space of Guru Sahib is then turned into a theatre of control and power. This ghettoisation, especially social, has narrowed Sikh identity into a handful of visible markers.

And when these markers are lifted above Sikh principles, the result is predictable: hypocrisy, rage and a total disconnect from Gurmat.

Guru Sahib warns us of this collapse in no uncertain terms:

ਕਰਤੂਤਿ ਪਸੂ ਕੀ ਮਾਨਸ ਜਾਤਿ ॥ ਲੋਕ ਪਚਾਰਾ ਕਰੈ ਦਿਨੁ ਰਾਤਿ ॥ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭੇਖ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਮਲੁ ਮਾਇਆ ॥ ਛਪਸਿ ਨਾਹਿ ਕਛੁ ਕਰੈ ਛਪਾਇਆ ॥ (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ang 267)

Actions like an animal, human in form. Promotes himself day and night. Wears religious garb, but inside is filth.

 The cost of ghettoised religiosity

The isolation of Sikh youth into tightly controlled cultural bubbles, whether in the UK or in Punjab, has created spaces where introspection is rare and image is everything.

Gurbani is not understood. Sacred words become passwords for inclusion into a group, not tools for internal transformation.

ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਕ੍ਰੋਧੁ ਮਹਾ ਅਹੰਕਾਰਾ ॥ ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਹਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਿਸਥਾਰਾ ॥ ਕਰਿ ਇਸਨਾਨੁ ਤਨਿ ਚਕ੍ਰ ਬਣਾਏ ॥ ਅੰਤਰ ਕੀ ਮਲੁ ਕਬ ਹੀ ਨ ਜਾਏ ॥੧॥ (Ang 1348)

The mind filled with anger and ego, yet it engages in elaborate rituals. Bathes, draws religious marks, yet inner filth remains.

This is what we are now witnessing on camera: outward conformity masking inner emptiness.

Young boys mimicking religion, without being given its substance. And we, as a community, are responsible.

The overemphasis on appearance has made Sikh spirituality inaccessible to many youth who feel they cannot belong unless they conform externally.

The way forward

True Panthic leadership must not ignore this moment. What we’re witnessing is not a scandal to brush under the rug. It’s a signpost. A generation is slipping: dressed as Sikhs, but unanchored by Sikh values. It is not ‘baana’ that has failed. It is the community that has handed it over without the baani that gives it meaning.

As Guru Sahib says:

ਪੰਚ ਮਜਮੀ ਜੋ ਪੰਚਨ ਰਾਖੈ ॥ ਮਿਥਿਆ ਰਸਨਾ ਨਿਤ ਉਠਿ ਭਾਖੈ ॥ ਚਕ੍ਰ ਬਣਾਇ ਕਰੈ ਪਾਖੰਡ ॥ ਝੁਰਿ ਝੁਰਿ ਪਚੈ ਜੈਸੇ ਤ੍ਰਿਅ ਰੰਡ ॥੧॥ ਹਰਿ ਕੇ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨਾ ਸਭ ਝੂਠੁ ॥ ਬਿਨੁ ਗੁਰ ਪੂਰੇ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਨ ਪਾਈਐ ਸਾਚੀ ਦਰਗਹਿ ਸਾਕਤ ਮੂਠੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥(Ang 1151)

One who clings to lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego while performing outward rituals lives in deception, burning within like a widow in longing. Without remembrance of the Divine and the guidance of the True Guru, all such displays are false and fruitless.

Until bani is once again at the centre — taught, lived, and spoken of with honesty — this crisis will keep playing out, one viral video after another, each followed by a performance of apology.

Vaheguru Mehar Kare.

(The writer is a senior journalist currently serving as Communications and Advocacy Director at UNITED SIKHS (UK), a nonprofit organisation registered in England and Wales.)