Gurpurb celebrated in White House and UK parliament

AMRITSARr: White House staff, Sikh Americans and others celebrated Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary in Washington DC, said executive director of Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) Deepinder Singh on Saturday. The SALDEF, he said, worked with the Obama administration to celebrate the birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism.
The celebrations were held on White House grounds."This was an important event because it allowed us to interact with policy-makers and non-Sikhs about our shared values as Americans," said Singh.
The celebration included remarks from Vanita Gupta, head of the civil rights division of the US department of justice. The event also featured actor-designer Waris Ahluwalia and music from Raginder Singh Momi, a renowned violin player.
SALDEF board member Kavneet Singh said, "Guru Nanak Dev's life exemplified his values of the innate equality of all human beings, to fight against injustice and oppression in all forms, to celebrate both the inner-connectedness and diversity we have in society."
According to him, those values seem particularly relevant in the present day, with the world facing issues of religious and social intolerance, inequality and injustice.
Kavneet said the Sikh American community appreciated the White House for hosting celebrations to commemorate the birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru. Besides Gurpurb, the White House event also celebrated achievements of Sikh Americans.
Meanwhile, Guru Nanak's birth anniversary was also celebrated in the parliament house in London on Thursday. On the occasion, tributes were paid to Sir Mota Singh, the first ethnic minority judge who died at the age of 86. According to reports, the event saw representation of various political parties.