Sikhs adopt Thai names to gel with local populace in Thailand

AMRITSAR: Younger generation of Sikhs living in Thailand has started adopting Thai names along with their existing names for the sake of their national identity and keep themselves on government records and at the same time remaining attached with their roots.
Bangkok-based Charanjit Singh Kalra, who has a Thai name Prasert Sakchiraphong Chan, told TOI on Wednesday that the trend to have such names emerged after the community realized that the local population had difficulty in understanding and pronouncing Sikh names.“It would often cause confusions on several occasions so Sikhs started keeping Thai as well as Sikh names here,” said Chan.
Sikhs had started migrating to Thailand as far back as 1890 and by 1911 there was a sizeable community in Thailand. Pattaya-born Chan informed that majority of Sikhs in Thailand are concentrated in Bangkok, besides pockets of their population are spread in Pattaya, Phuket, Hatyai, Ubo, Udorn, Pattani, Chang Mi and Chiang Rai.
He said 70% of Sikhs in the country now have Thai names and speak Thai language. “People from the first generation of immigrants use Punjabi names, but the present generation has both Sikh and Thai names,” he said.
Even Sikh women have adopted Thai names for convenience. Devinder Kaur Rajni, whose Thai name is Rachnee Sakchiranphong, said Sikhs’ Thai names are registered in schools, passports and other government documentation whereas within the community they often address each other with Sikh names.
Rachnee informed that Punjabi names are taken according to Sikh Rehat Maryada (Sikh code of religious conduct) while the Thai names are adopted as par the person’s own or parents’ choice.
“Some also consult Thai saints for making choice of name or some take help from books to understand meaning of their name,” she added. Chan informed that Thai names help in interacting with officials. “With our Thai names they take us as Thai nationals and not tourists,” he said, adding that his two sons Karamjeet Singh and Rajveer Singh have Thai names — Rachanon Sakchiraphong and Rachaphon Sakchiraphong — while his daughter Ramanpreet Kaur’s Thai name is Kulisara Sakchiraphong.
Citing more examples, he said a Sikh named Paramjeet prefers having a Thai name Premchit, Ghambir would call himself Khamphee, Sachdeva would become Sachthep, Chawla as Srishawla and Sethi as Sethichaiyen.