In an era where so­cial me­dia in­flu­encers of­ten blur the lines be­tween en­dorse­ment and per­sonal con­vic­tions, Har­jin­der Singh Kukreja stands as a shin­ing ex­am­ple of stead­fast ad­her­ence to Sikh prin­ci­ples. His re­fusal to pro­mote al­co­hol and gam­bling, de­spite hav­ing a com­bined fol­low­ing of over three mil­lion on In­sta­gram and Twit­ter, is not just a per­sonal choice but a man­i­fes­ta­tion of the deep-rooted val­ues he holds dear. WSN ed­i­tor Jag­mo­han Singh enu­mer­ates the dan­gers en­velop­ing youth due to such en­dorse­ments and ex­tols the stance of Har­jin­der Singh Kukreja.

Sikhism founded on the tenets of in­tegrity, pu­rity, and self­less ser­vice, is ex­em­pli­fied in Kukre­ja’s con­duct. As a Sikh, the tur­ban he wears is not just a cul­tural sym­bol but a re­minder of his duty to­wards his faith and the com­mu­nity at large. It is this sense of duty that leads him to de­cline nu­mer­ous lu­cra­tive en­dorse­ments from al­co­hol and gam­bling en­ti­ties an­nu­ally. This de­ci­sion, while ad­mirable, goes be­yond per­sonal sac­ri­fice; it rep­re­sents a com­mit­ment to a legacy of truth, sat­is­fac­tion, and self-con­trol.

Kukre­ja’s de­ci­sion is par­tic­u­larly sig­nif­i­cant in a so­cial me­dia land­scape where in­flu­encers are of­ten seen ca­pit­u­lat­ing to the al­lure of easy money, even if it means en­dors­ing prod­ucts that are an­ti­thet­i­cal to their per­sonal or com­mu­nity val­ues. This trend is alarm­ingly ev­i­dent with some Sikh celebri­ties and sports stars, who, de­spite the clear teach­ings of Sikhism against gam­bling and al­co­hol, have cho­sen to en­dorse these in­dus­tries. These en­dorse­ments not only con­tra­dict Sikh ethics but also con­tribute to a wor­ry­ing trend of nor­mal­iza­tion of be­hav­iours that are known to cause so­cial strife and men­tal stress.

In an era where so­cial me­dia in­flu­encers hold sig­nif­i­cant sway over pub­lic opin­ion and be­hav­iour, it’s im­per­a­tive to scru­ti­nize the im­pact of their en­dorse­ments, es­pe­cially when they con­tra­dict the eth­i­cal and re­li­gious prin­ci­ples they rep­re­sent. The Sikh com­mu­nity, known for its strong ad­her­ence to val­ues of in­tegrity, ser­vice, and self-con­trol, finds it­self at a cross­roads with some of its promi­nent mem­bers en­dors­ing prod­ucts and be­hav­iours that are tra­di­tion­ally con­sid­ered taboo or even un­eth­i­cal within Sikhism.

Harb­ha­jan Singh, a revered fig­ure in In­dian cricket, has pre­vi­ously en­dorsed Sea­gram’s Royal Stag whisky, spark­ing a de­bate within the Sikh com­mu­nity. Sikhism ex­plic­itly pro­hibits the con­sump­tion of al­co­hol, view­ing it as a vice that im­pedes one’s spir­i­tual and moral de­vel­op­ment. Harb­ha­jan Singh’s de­ci­sion to en­dorse an al­co­holic bev­er­age met with crit­i­cism from sec­tions of the Sikh com­mu­nity, who viewed it as con­tra­dic­tory to the faith’s teach­ings..

Cit­ing per­sonal choice and a dis­tinc­tion be­tween pro­mo­tion and per­sonal use, he opened a di­a­logue about the role of pub­lic fig­ures in in­flu­enc­ing com­mu­nity stan­dards and the bal­ance be­tween per­sonal lib­erty and com­mu­nity re­spon­si­bil­ity.

Ar­shdeep Singh, a Sikh crick­eter, has en­dorsed Dream11, a plat­form known for its fan­tasy sports leagues that in­volve el­e­ments of gam­bling. His en­dorse­ment brought to the fore the nu­anced de­bate within the Sikh com­mu­nity re­gard­ing the ac­cept­abil­ity of gam­bling.

While some view fan­tasy sports as a harm­less game of skill, oth­ers see it as a slip­pery slope to­wards gam­bling ad­dic­tion and fi­nan­cial ruin. This en­dorse­ment by Ar­shdeep Singh, es­pe­cially given his in­flu­ence among young fans, raises im­por­tant ques­tions about the re­spon­si­bil­ity of pub­lic fig­ures in pro­mot­ing ac­tiv­i­ties that can po­ten­tially be harm­ful and con­trary to the com­mu­ni­ty’s eth­i­cal guide­lines.

Har­naaz Kaur Sandhu, cat­a­pulted to fame af­ter her Miss Uni­verse win, has been as­so­ci­ated with Pari­match, an on­line bet­ting plat­form. Her role as a brand am­bas­sador for a gam­bling ser­vice con­tra­dicts the Sikh pro­hi­bi­tion against gam­bling, which is tra­di­tion­ally viewed as an ac­tiv­ity fos­ter­ing greed and po­ten­tial fi­nan­cial in­sta­bil­ity.

 

The use of a Sikh fig­ure in the brand­ing of  Bag­piper Whisky has been a long­stand­ing topic of con­tro­versy.

The logo, fea­tur­ing a car­i­ca­ture of a Sikh, for many, un­com­fort­ably blurs the line be­tween cul­tural rep­re­sen­ta­tion and re­li­gious in­sen­si­tiv­ity. While some see it as a harm­less, even iconic, el­e­ment of brand­ing, oth­ers view it as dis­re­spect­ful, ar­gu­ing that it re­in­forces stereo­types and dis­re­spects the Sikh tenets that strictly pro­hibit al­co­hol con­sump­tion.

This is­sue en­cap­su­lates the broader con­cerns about how re­li­gious im­agery is used in com­mer­cial con­texts and the im­pact such rep­re­sen­ta­tions have on pub­lic per­cep­tion of a re­li­gious com­mu­nity.

There has been a trou­bling trend in mar­ket­ing, par­tic­u­larly in Bol­ly­wood and the liquor in­dus­try, where the Sikh iden­tity is of­ten stereo­typ­i­cally used to pro­mote al­co­hol. This mis­use of Sikh sym­bols and per­son­al­i­ties in al­co­hol brand­ing is not only dis­re­spect­ful but also con­tributes to a dis­torted im­age of Sikhs. This stereo­typ­ing re­quires both so­cial and le­gal re­dress to pro­tect the dig­nity of the Sikh com­mu­nity and its val­ues.

This brings the par­a­digm of faith, per­sonal choice, and pub­lic in­flu­ence in the dig­i­tal era into de­bate. They serve as a re­minder of the nu­anced con­ver­sa­tions needed around the re­spon­si­bil­i­ties that come with in­flu­ence, es­pe­cially when that in­flu­ence ex­tends to im­pres­sion­able au­di­ences and con­cerns that mat­ter deeply en­twined with cul­tural and re­li­gious ethics.

The rise of on­line gam­bling, for in­stance, en­dorsed by fig­ures in sports and en­ter­tain­ment like cricket stars and Miss In­dia, is be­com­ing a new ad­dic­tion. The fall­out from this is al­ready ev­i­dent, with fam­i­lies ex­pe­ri­enc­ing fi­nan­cial and psy­cho­log­i­cal strains. The in­flu­ence that these per­son­al­i­ties wield is im­mense, and their choices send a mixed mes­sage to the Sikh com­mu­nity, es­pe­cially the youth.

Kukre­ja’s ap­proach as a so­cial me­dia in­flu­encer is a stark con­trast to this wor­ry­ing trend. His con­tent, which beau­ti­fully in­te­grates Sikh doc­trines with con­tem­po­rary is­sues -his em­pha­sis on keep­ing un­shorn hair, his kids ty­ing the full tur­ban and not the small head­gear Patka, is a tes­ta­ment to his com­mit­ment to his faith.

Kukre­ja’s ap­proach as a so­cial me­dia in­flu­encer is a stark con­trast to this wor­ry­ing trend. His con­tent, which beau­ti­fully in­te­grates Sikh doc­trines with con­tem­po­rary is­sues -his em­pha­sis on keep­ing un­shorn hair, his kids ty­ing the full tur­ban and not the small head­gear Patka, is a tes­ta­ment to his com­mit­ment to his faith. His dig­i­tal pres­ence does not merely en­ter­tain but ed­u­cates and in­spires, un­der­scor­ing the re­spon­si­bil­ity in­flu­encers have to­wards their au­di­ence, par­tic­u­larly the younger gen­er­a­tion.

His fam­ily life, shared with his wife Harki­rat Kaur Kukreja, and their chil­dren, fur­ther am­pli­fies this mes­sage. Their por­trayal of fam­ily val­ues, ex­plo­ration, and eth­i­cal con­duct of­fers a whole­some and much-needed nar­ra­tive in the dig­i­tal space, which is of­ten rife with ma­te­ri­al­ism and su­per­fi­cial­ity.

Har­jin­der Singh Kukre­ja’s un­wa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to Sikh val­ues in his role as a so­cial me­dia in­flu­encer is not just com­mend­able; it is a clar­ion call to all those who wield in­flu­ence in the dig­i­tal world. His ex­am­ple chal­lenges them to in­tro­spect on the im­pact of their en­dorse­ments and to choose paths that are in har­mony with eth­i­cal liv­ing and so­ci­etal well-be­ing.

The choice made by Kukreja and his fam­ily re­flects the core Sikh value of liv­ing a truth­ful life while earn­ing an hon­est liv­ing. While he may look ubiq­ui­tous on so­cial me­dia, he is neck-deep in his work do­main as well, ful­fill­ing all his fam­ily and so­cial re­spon­si­bil­i­ties.

We be­lieve that by up­hold­ing these prin­ci­ples in his so­cial me­dia en­deav­ours, he not only ho­n­ours his faith but also sets a high moral stan­dard for in­flu­encers across all spec­trums.

Har­jin­der Singh Kukre­ja’s un­wa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to Sikh val­ues in his role as a so­cial me­dia in­flu­encer is not just com­mend­able; it is a clar­ion call to all those who wield in­flu­ence in the dig­i­tal world. His ex­am­ple chal­lenges them to in­tro­spect on the im­pact of their en­dorse­ments and to choose paths that are in har­mony with eth­i­cal liv­ing and so­ci­etal well-be­ing. As we nav­i­gate this com­plex and ever-evolv­ing dig­i­tal land­scape, may his ded­i­ca­tion to truth, in­tegrity, and ser­vice guide our choices, en­sur­ing they align not just with per­sonal gains but with the greater good of so­ci­ety at large.