WASHINGTON, Nov 26: Days after a Hindu temple in Canada was attacked by alleged Khalistani activists, Indian-Americans in Silicon Valley held a ‘Hindu Sikh Unity Interfaith’ event honouring the sacrifice of Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur.
Hosted by Gurudwara Sant Nagar in Sacramento over the weekend, the event was attended by more than 200 members of Hindu, Sikh and other communities.
Prominent among those who attended the event were Elk Grove City Mayor Bobby Singh-Allen, Commissioner of City of Elk Grove Bhavin Parikh, Council member of City of Rocklin Jill Gayaldo, Vice Mayor of Elk Grove Rod Brewer, and member of Interfaith Council of Sacramento Akram Keval.
“Religious intolerance is plaguing our society. A few are dividing us and we must reject it. We gathered here to celebrate oneness. It is just the beginning, we have to show a better way. An attack on one is an attack on all of us,” said Singh-Allen.
In his keynote address, Narinderpal Hundal of Sant Sagar Gurdwara said, “We should all uphold the message of unity that Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib gave by sacrificing himself to protect religion, and by obeying his command, maintain mutual brotherhood and love, and try to further propagate this mission.”
Parikh said the guru’s sacrifice has a message that hate doesn’t have any place in this world. He said Sikhism teaches equality, humility and respect.
“We all need to learn to appreciate and embrace other cultures and learn from them,” he added.
Rewa Kaul, a Kashmir Pandit born in Srinagar and a resident of Bay Area, talked about how Guru Tegh Bahadur’s sacrifice defended the religious freedom of Kashmiri Pandits and Hindus who faced brutal oppression and were forced to convert to Islam under Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. She reminded the attendees to stay united. (PTI)
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