After celebrating Turban Awareness Day in UK’s Parliament , the states of New Jersey and Delaware have passed resolutions to celebrate every April as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.
"It is highly appreciable and we thank the US administration, the New Jersey state administration, the US Sikh Congressional Caucus Committee, East Coast Coordination Committee and others for joining hands to make this happen", said Pritpal Singh, coordinator American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC) while talking to TOI on Wednesday
On March 26th the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly passed a joint resolution designating April of every year as “Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.” Reportedly on March 28th, Delaware Governor John Carney had declared April as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month’ during which the public would be educated about Sikhism.
He informed that the New Jersey state assembly resolved that the state was enriched by the diversity of its residents and there was a cultivated climate of social tolerance and intellectualism and Sikh community, which originated in Punjab, India, immigrated into the US 100 years ago and played an important role in developing of the US.
Stating that Sikhism was the world’s fifth largest religion with nearly seven lakh Sikhs residing in the America, a US based Sikh intellectual and community leader JS Hothi said, “This will help to boost the image of the Sikhs as separate community which believes in peace and should not be mistaken. We are extremely thankful to New Jersey for showing immense faith and memorializing contributions of Sikhs in the development."
He said the festival of Baisakhi, an annual festival that is held in April 14th to celebrate the creation of the Khalsa Panth, had also been dedicated as “Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month” and that the move would promote public awareness of the Sikh faith, recognizing important contributions of the Sikh community to US.
The author of the New Jersey joint resolution AJR 93, Karanveer Singh Pannu who is a SALDEF SikhLEAD alumni and author of Bullying of Sikh American Children: Through the Eyes of a Sikh American High School Student, said, “This is an incredible victory for the entire Sikh Community, after putting in countless hours at Assemblyman Louis Greenwald’s office this past summer," I am beyond ecstatic that it was voted on today and successfully passed. This is the first step in teaching citizens of our great State of New Jersey that the turban represents the core American values of equality, freedom, and social justice. Not only are Sikh Americans a critical component of American society but our faith follows the same core values that make us a great nation.”
New Jersey is home to over twelve Gurdwaras, the Sikh places of worship, and has roughly 100,000 Sikhs Americans residing within its borders. It also is the first U.S. State to elect a Sikh Mayor, Ravi Singh Bhalla, and appoint a Sikh Attorney General, Gurbir Singh Grewal. The Sikh community of New Jersey has continually taken an active role to help with seva, or selfless community service. For example, as stated in the joint resolutions, Sikh communities in Jersey City, Trenton, and Camden hold regular events that provide free meals to less fortunate Americans in their communities.
The passing of the bill comes at a critical time in the U.S. There has been an unprecedented spike in hate crimes according to the FBI and even New Jersey Mayor Bhalla continues to face threats on a daily basis. “As one of the most diverse states in the nation, New Jersey is enriched by the many cultures that thrive in our state, including the Sikh community,” said Majority Leader Greenwald. “By designating April as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month, we aim to fight back against anti-Sikh bigotry and celebrate the lasting contributions of the Sikh people and the essential role that Sikhs play in NJ’s diverse community.”
According to a study conducted by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) and Stanford University’s Peace and Innovation Lab entitled Turban Myths, 70% of the American public cannot identify a picture of a Sikh man as a Sikh. Moreover, the national survey of public perception showed that there is a bias against the Sikh American articles of faith, including the turban, beard, and uncut hair. According to Kamal Kalsi of Sikh American Veterans Alliance (SAVA), “[t]his joint resolution will begin to educate the community that Sikhs have been a part of the American fabric since the 1800s when the diaspora helped to build our railroads and develop our farming industry. Today, Sikh Americans contribute to all walks of society including service to our nation’s police and military. Service is in our blood.”
The importance of passing this joint resolution and the fact that New Jersey passed the bill with 100 percent consensus shows that the State of New Jersey has a no tolerance for hate and also welcomes the contributions and community service made by their Sikh constituents.
READ: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp?BillNumber=AJR93
READ: https://legiscan.com/NJ/bill/AJR93/2018
READ: Turban Myths https://issuu.com/saldefmedia/docs/turbanmyths_121113
List of all the Organizations that supported this effort:
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Sikh American Veterans Alliance - Kamal Singh Kalsi
Jersey Let’s Share a Meal
Sikh Coalition
Sachkhand Express - Tony Singh Rahil
Camden Community Outreach
Sikhs of New York
New Jersey Gurdwara Management Committee
Sikh Chamber of Commerce
United Sikhs
American Sikh Council
Sikhs of America
Sikh Arts and Film Foundation