Nanak’s Way<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/strong>What is “Nanak’s Way”?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n“Nanak’s Way” is USI’s shorthand for a practical approach to communal and civic life, inspired by the teachings and institutional innovations associated with Guru Nanak ji. Rather than treating spirituality as solely a matter of private belief, this tradition places significant emphasis on how people actually live together and treat one another in practice(orthopraxy, not orthodoxy). <\/span><\/p>\nFor USI, Nanak’s Way emphasizes equality, honest work, sharing, service, community, humility, compassion, empathy, questioning inherited authority, rejecting social hierarchy, and direct engagement with the everyday problems of ordinary people. It functions, in USI’s usage, as a way of living and organizing community life \u2014 not merely a set of theological propositions to be affirmed.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- What is Sangat?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Sangat<\/em> broadly refers to a community or fellowship of people who come together for a shared spiritual, social, and communal life. For USI, Sangat also provides a useful model for democratic community organization: people meet and act as members of a community rather than as isolated individuals. The underlying principle is simple \u2014 people become stronger when they listen, learn, and work together \u2014 and USI seeks to apply it directly to citizen journalism and civic participation in the interest of oppressed Indians.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- What is Langar?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Langar<\/em> is the community-kitchen tradition associated with Sikh institutions, in which people from every social background eat together at a shared table. Its significance extends well beyond the provision of food: langar deliberately challenges social hierarchy by creating a shared space in which distinctions of status, wealth, and social position are consciously reduced or set aside. For USI, langar represents a broader principle worth generalizing: a genuinely democratic community must actively create spaces in which people can meet one another as equals, rather than assuming such spaces will emerge on their own. There is a need to dismantle centuries-old Savaran apartheid to establish a just society full of compassion and empathy. <\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- What does USI mean by “Nanak’s orthopraxy,” as distinct from orthodoxy of organized religions?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Orthodoxy generally emphasizes correct belief or doctrine. Orthopraxy emphasizes correct or ethical practice<\/em>. USI uses the phrase “Nanak’s orthopraxy” (or Nanak’s way) to foreground the practical dimension of the Nanak tradition: what matters, on this reading, is not simply what a person claims to believe, but how that person actually behaves toward others. Principles such as equality, honest work, sharing, service, and community are understood in this framework as externalities to be demonstrated through conduct rather than through the profession of belief alone. We use the concept to ask, “What does your philosophy or faith make you actually do?” rather than only, “What do you claim to believe?” This interpretation is offered explicitly as USI’s own interpretive framework, and should not be taken as a claim that all Sikh scholars or all strands of Sikh tradition define Guru Nanak’s teachings in precisely these terms; other readings exist within the tradition because Guru Nanak does not belong to Sikhs alone.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Does USI reject religion?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
No. USI does not ask anyone to abandon their religious faith as a condition of participation. USI’s interest lies specifically in developing a pluralistic public sphere in which religious communities can all participate fully, without any single religious identity becoming a prerequisite for full citizenship or belonging. USI draws a clear distinction between religious faith, which it respects, and political domination and hegemonistic caste practices pursued in the name of religion, which it does not.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nSikh Tradition, Resistance, and Militancy<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- How can the Sikh tradition be described as militant without being described as terrorist?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The relevant distinction is between militancy understood as organized resistance to oppression with the agenda of establishing a just and compassionate society, and terrorism is understood as the deliberate targeting of civilians for political or ideological ends for the power elite or as part of identity politics or power grab. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Sikh historical tradition includes periods of armed resistance, particularly under conditions of severe political and religious persecution. Describing an entire religious tradition as uniformly “militant” or “terrorist,” however, collapses this distinction and is historically and analytically inadequate to that history’s actual complexity.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
USI uses the concept of ethical resistance<\/em> to distinguish legitimate resistance to oppression from indiscriminate violence directed at civilians. The governing principle here is that courage and resistance do not, and historically have not, require hatred of another community as such. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Everyone, irrespective of caste and creed, was free to participate in Guru Nanak’s Sangat, contribute to and serve in the langar<\/em> according to ability, and consume according to need. Here, the concept of the other, the defining characteristic of Savaran caste apartheid, is alien to Nanak’s tradition, in contrast to terrorism that creates enemies and the other and unleashes violence against them. Instead, Nanak’s tradition unites us in a just and compassionate society.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Does USI advocate violence?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
No. USI’s citizen-media and civic activities are intended to operate exclusively through lawful democratic participation: journalism, public discussion, civic education, and community organization. Documenting injustice and challenging institutions through democratic and legal means is categorically different from advocating violence against individuals or communities, and USI does not do the latter. When it says it is against Savaran apartheid, that means it wants to dismantle it by bridging, establishing equality and a just society by promoting people-to-people communication and spreading the message of sikh traditions: koi nihen hay ghair ( there is no other)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThe Nanak Media Fellowship Program<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- What is the Nanak Media Fellowship (NMF)?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The Nanak Media Fellowship is USI’s citizen-journalism training and community-media program. Its objective is to equip ordinary citizens with practical skills to document local events, interview people, record video, livestream, verify information, fact-check claims, write and edit reports, create subtitles, translate and dub content, provide voice-over, publish through social media, and report responsibly throughout. Our mission is to defeat corporate-owned media. The basic premise is straightforward: your community can be your newsroom, and your smartphone can be your first reporting tool. We want this to happen.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Who can become a Nanak Media Fellow?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The fellowship is designed to be accessible to people from diverse backgrounds. Generally, applicants must be 18 years or older, have access to a smartphone, be willing to learn, hold a genuine interest in their own community, be willing to undertake online training, and agree to follow responsible journalism standards. No formal educational qualification is required \u2014 a university degree is not a prerequisite for becoming a citizen journalist under this program. Applicants from the Northeast and marginalized groups will receive a free smartphone through donations to USI.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Do I need previous journalism experience to apply?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
No. Previous experience in journalism, video production, or social media is helpful but not essential. The fellowship is specifically designed to train people who may never have worked in professional media before.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Do I need a large social-media following to apply?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
No. A large existing following is not a requirement. A person with a modest audience but deep knowledge of their local community can make an excellent citizen journalist. USI is more interested in a combination of community connection, curiosity, reliability, and willingness to learn than in follower counts.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- How do I apply for the Nanak Media Fellowship?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Applications are submitted via the Nanak Media Fellowship application (Google Forms). Applicants are generally asked for their name, age, state, district, languages spoken, smartphone details, existing digital skills, social-media profiles (if any), community interests, prior media experience (if any), and their reasons for wanting to become a Nanak Media Fellow. A full physical or home address is not required at the initial application stage.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- What languages can Nanak Media Fellows report in?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The program actively encourages reporting in India’s own languages. A fellow can report primarily in the language most appropriate to their local community, and multilingual fellows can additionally contribute through translation, subtitling, dubbing, transcription, voice-over, and cross-language reporting more broadly. The underlying objective is to reduce the outsized role English currently plays as the gateway through which Indian communities become visible to one another.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- What will Nanak Media Fellows actually learn during training?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Training may cover several linked areas: citizen journalism<\/strong> (identifying stories, interviewing, field reporting, source verification); mobile journalism<\/strong> (smartphone photography and videography, audio recording, livestreaming); digital journalism<\/strong> (writing headlines and scripts, editing, publishing); verification<\/strong> (identifying misinformation, checking photographs and video, verifying sources, distinguishing allegation from fact); multilingual media<\/strong> (translation, subtitling, dubbing, voice-over); and digital safety<\/strong> (account security, privacy practices, secure communications, and protecting sensitive sources).<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nLivelihood and Sustainability<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- As a full-time Nanak Media Fellow, how can I earn a livelihood?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
USI’s long-term objective is to help develop a sustainable economic model for citizen journalism rather than one that is indefinitely dependent on donations. A full-time fellow may build several income streams, including YouTube monetization, social-media monetization where platforms make it available, approved local advertising, and sponsorships. We will provide affiliate marketing, digital products, commissioned media work, and other lawful digital media opportunities to our fellows so they can live decent lives. Actual income will depend on audience size, platform eligibility, local market conditions, and the individual fellow’s developed skills; USI cannot guarantee any specific income level but aims to help fellows build genuinely independent digital media livelihoods over time. Furthermore, we can vouch for selected fellows for foreign journalistic assignments, and they can get paid directly. We will also sell our newsfeed and video feed to media outlets worldwide on a very cheap subscription fee.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Can Nanak Media Fellows run their own YouTube channels or social-media accounts?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Yes. Fellows are encouraged to develop their own digital media identities and audiences and may operate their own YouTube channels, Facebook pages, Instagram accounts, and other appropriate platforms. The fellowship provides training and ongoing network support while actively encouraging fellows to build sustainable, individually owned media careers rather than remaining solely dependent on the USI platform itself.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Can I earn money from local advertising as a fellow?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Potentially, yes. Nanak Media Fellows may pursue appropriate approved local advertising and sponsorship opportunities, subject to USI’s applicable editorial guidelines. Any sponsored material must be clearly identified as such, and advertising relationships must never compromise journalistic integrity or independence.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Can I become a part-time Nanak Media Fellow?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Yes. The program is designed to accommodate people who cannot immediately work as full-time citizen journalists. A part-time fellow may continue another job, continue studying, run a business, freelance, or perform community journalism during whatever time is available to them. The core requirements throughout remain commitment, completion of training, and responsible reporting \u2014 not any particular time commitment.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Can a part-time fellow eventually become full-time?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Yes. A part-time fellow who develops sufficient skills, experience, audience, and sustained commitment may transition toward full-time citizen journalism as opportunities and resources allow.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nCitizen Journalism and Ethics<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Is Nanak Media simply another political propaganda network?<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
It should not be, and that is an explicit design goal rather than an incidental hope. USI wants Nanak Media Fellows to develop genuinely independent reporting skills rather than simply reproduce USI’s own political opinions. A citizen journalist trained under this program should be able to distinguish fact from opinion, evidence from allegation, and reporting from propaganda in their own work. The credibility of Nanak Media ultimately depends entirely on the quality and integrity of its reporting, not on its alignment with any particular political position. However, some redlines cannot be crossed. <\/span><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/unitedstatesofindia.livezenlife.com\/unitedstatesofindia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/paytm-qr-219x300.jpg\")
<\/td>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/unitedstatesofindia.livezenlife.com\/unitedstatesofindia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/qr-double-1-300x42.jpg\")
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n