The word ujadd in the Punjabi language generally means uncultivated, uncivilized, or rustic, etc. However, today, Punjabis have evolved a new philosophy called “Ujaddwad.” This philosophy opposes the established values, manners and conduct. It also opposes the healthy elements in our culture. The essence of this phenomenon is to look down upon intellectuals and intellectualism. Therefore, it can be called anti-intellectualism. Anybody who does not subscribe to the consumerist philosophy that the real purpose of life is to make maximum money in minimum time and enjoy your money completely (live it up), is frowned upon and his knowledge is considered only bookish and is not practical. He could be the victim of false idealism or he is lost and is wandering without a clear purpose in life.
In the end, this philosophy opposes intellectualism, intellectuals and the path of knowledge. Even though we cannot give the Punjabis full marks for inventing this philosophy because this actually is a distorted form of the western consumerist culture, yet the Punjabis have taken it to new heights. The ultimate goal of western consumerist culture is to deprive people of true knowledge and limit their existence from human beings to mere consumers. The level of acceptance which consumerism has been able to reach in Punjab and among the Punjabis is unparalleled in the whole world. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is that in Punjab and among the Punjabis, this is promoted as the philosophy of the leading community there, the Jatts. The ordinary Punjabi calls it Jattwad (Jatt Chauvinism). By associating this philosophy with the Jatts, it gets a degree of acceptance as well as it becomes somewhat respectable. This also gives the impression that it is not an alien philosophy and has evolved locally. Such an impression makes the struggle against it more difficult.
I know two very dedicated scholars in the Jatt Sikh community who tried to make us aware of the emerging phenomenon of Jattwad more than a decade ago. I not only read their writings, but also had extensive discussion with them. They mostly saw it as internal phenomenon of the Jatt Sikh community and felt that the main cause for this was the moving away of the community from its Sikh heritage. After living in America for a long time and visiting many other countries and getting a wider perspective, I am more inclined to see this phenomenon as a distorted form of the western consumer culture rather than an internal phenomenon of the community. Therefore I used the term Ujaddwad rather than Jattwad in my writings. Even though we see its influence more in the Jatts, yet it can be seen in all the Punjabis. I see it as a movement against true knowledge. The words associated with knowledge are used more in a derogatory sense rather than to show respect.
For example, a girl related to us, goes to a well-known university in the Vancouver-area. She told me that there were some Gianis in her class. The word Giani means a knowledgeable person. However, she was using it for those boys who are maintaining their traditional Sikh form. When we started looking for a match for our son, we painfully became aware of the deep division in the Jatt Sikh community between a small minority whose children still maintain their traditional Sikh form and the vast majority whose children have become clean shaven. The latter group uses the term Gursikh to describe the former. The word Guru is derived from two Sanskrit words: Gu meaning darkness and Ru meaning light. Guru is someone who brings you to the light of knowledge from the darkness of ignorance. Therefore, the word Guru, like the word Giani, is associated with knowledge. Again, it is not being used in a respectable manner, but in a derogatory sense. It implies that these people are less modern; less sophisticated, and are more traditional, orthodox or conservative. The word Paarha in Punjabi means a well-educated person. This is also used to make fun rather than respect a person. I do not know of any other community who uses the words associated with knowledge in a derogatory sense and to poke fun.
The biggest tragedy is that the Punjabi intellectuals have been almost completely ineffective in combating the tide of anti intellectualism. Worse than this is the fact that some of them, who can be called pseudo intellectuals, are consciously or subconsciously siding into ignorance in the struggle between knowledge and ignorance. They do this by directly or indirectly supporting the west. By doing this they are inciting Ujaddwad (anti intellectualism) because in reality, ujjadwad is a distorted form of consumerism. All sincere intellectuals, writers and thinkers should support knowledge in the struggle between knowledge and ignorance. Praising western consumerism in any form is supporting ignorance. When we praise the modern western philosophy, western way of life, politics or infrastructure we are praising the western consumer culture because all of these are manifestations of their underlying culture. By praising western consumerism they are not adding anything to the knowledge or awareness of the Punjabis. They do not have to convince people who are already convinced that west is the best.
The Punjabis are completely tilted to the west and have no doubt about western superiority and our own inferiority. Intellectuals have a moral obligation of not being carried away by the current of the majority. They should have the courage to swim against the current. They should not go with the flow but should make people aware of the forces and trends which are working behind the visible reality. We should expose the real ugly face of the western capitalism and make people aware of its underlying motives. The western capitalist s and their consumerist culture want to culturally enslave people and deprive them of their original culture, value system, family structure and social relations. Instead of a deep rooted culture we are only left with a work ethic based Upton instant gratification. This phenomenon of dehumanizing people and making them mere consumers incites anti intellectualism. True intellectuals will always oppose this phenomenon and those who support this (conversion from humans to consumers), are pseudo- intellectuals.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at[email protected].
