According to the Rehat Maryada - A Guide to the Sikh Way
of Life, published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee (SGPC), in Amritsar, "A Sikh should use white,
yellow,
blue or grey colours for turbans or clothes. There is no hard and
fast rule about colours. There is no injunction against any
colour. Yellow, blue, and white or grey have found great favour
in Sikh traditions" (SGPC, 94).
A spokesperson of the World Sikh Organization (WSO), in
Ottawa, indicated in a telephone interview with the IRBDC, that
the colours of the turban have no religious or formal
significance. The source pointed out, however, that colours
have
cultural interpretations. Thus, saffron and royal blue are the
colours of the state of Punjab and are sometimes associated
with
Khalistani militancy, red and gold denote happiness and wealth
and are often worn at weddings, and white is the colour of
mourning (WSO 23 May 1991).
According to John Spellman, professor of Asian Studies at
the University of Windsor and consultant on Sikhism for the Human
Rights Commission of Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba, some
organizations might adopt some colours, but there is no
significance to the colours themselves (Spellman 23 May 1991).
Milton Israel, head of Asian Studies at the University of
Toronto, told the IRBDC in a telephone interview, that saffron,
for example, has no traditional symbol but has been used recently
as some kind of political statement in Punjab (Israel 23 May
1991).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee (SGPC). Rehat Maryada - A Guide to the Sikh Way of
Life. The SGPC, which was constituted by the Punjab government
under the Sikh Gurdwara Act, is an elected body of Sikhs
that controls the Sikh temples in Punjab. A copy of this document
is available at the IRB Documentation Centre in Montreal.
World Sikh Organization (WSO). 23 May
1991. Telephone Interview with a spokesperson.
John Spellman, professor of Asian
Studies at the University of Windsor and consultant on Sikhism for
the Human Rights Commission of Ontario, British Columbia and
Manitoba. 23 May 1991. Telephone Interview.
Milton Israel, head of Asian Studies at
the University of Toronto. 23 May 1991. Telephone Interview.