Washington: Guru Nanak's birth anniversary
was celebrated on Monday for the first time in the White House,
with musicians from the Golden Temple holding a celestial
performance attended by Sikh leaders from across the country.
Organised by the White House Office of Public Engagement,
the event comes months after the first Diwali was celebrated
in the White House with President Barack Obama presiding over
the festival of lights.
The 540th Guruparab was celebrated here ahead of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's state visit to the US next week.
Director of Office of Public Engagement Christina M Tchen
congratulated the Sikh community and thanked Sikh bodies for
their assistance in organising the event.
Amid religious hymns by musicians from the Golden Temple,
Sikh leaders spoke about Guru Nanak and about the issues of
the Sikh community in America.
"We greatly appreciate the recognition of this important
day... it was pleasure to see officials speak so highly of the
Sikh community and our identity," said Harpret Singh Sandhu,
ex-city councilman, Richmond, California.
Singh, the legal director of United Sikh, said American
Sikhs must be pro-active in advocating their rights and press
government to address issues of "employment discrimination,
bullying in schools, hate and bias crimes, and religious and
racial profiling at airports and borders".
Singh said United Sikhs would be having meetings with
high level administration officials, seeking help in allowing
the community practice their faith and carry articles of
religious faith including 'kirpan'.
Harbans Singh, a Sikh community leader from New York
stated: "We appreciate the White House's outreach to the Sikh
Americans and recognition of this important day for the Sikh
community".
Gurdial Singh, president of Gurdwara Ravidass of New
York, stated: "President Obama has brought new hope for the
equal protection of civil liberties for all Americans, and we
are thankful of his support for the Sikh community".
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 16, 2009, 23:04