2 US states dedicate April to Sikh awareness, appreciation

AMRITSAR

: Two states in the US, New Jersey and

Delaware

, have passed resolutions to celebrate every April as ‘

Sikh Awareness

and Appreciation Month’.

The move comes close on the heels of the

UT Parliament

celebrating ‘Turban Awareness Day’. The coordinator of

American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee

, Pritpal Singh, called the move “highly appreciable”. “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,” Pritpal told The Times of India on Wednesday

On March 26, the New Jersey state senate and assembly passed a joint resolution designating April of every year as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month’. Two days later, on March 28, Delaware governor John Carney declared April as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month’, during which public would be educated about Sikhism.

New Jersey has 12 gurdwaras and a population of over one lakh Sikh Americans. First Sikh mayor and Sikh attorney general

Ravi Singh Bhalla

and Gurbir Singh Grewal were elected from New Jersey.

He said the New Jersey state assembly had 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 the US.

Stating that Sikhism was the world’s fifth largest religion with nearly seven lakh Sikhs residing in the US, community leader J S Hothi said the month would boost the image of Sikhs as a community which believes in peace.

He said Baisakhi had also been dedicated as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month’.