Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, February 9: Former Punjab Pradesh Congress Chief Mr. Partap Singh Bajwa, condemned the discrimination against the Sikhs on foreign shores and slammed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for having failed to launch a global awareness campaign on Sikh religion and its outer symbols.
Referring to the humiliation meted out to a well-known Indian-American designer and actor Mr. Waris Ahluwalia who was told to remove his turban for security check while boarding a flight from Mexico city airport to New York, he said that this amounted to racial discrimination as a turban is an integral part of the Sikh identity. He was stopped from boarding the flight without such strict security check.
Mr Bajwa said that the Sikhs were being confused with Muslims as many of them too wear headgears like the turbans. The basic issue is of creating awareness about the distinct Sikh identity and this awareness programme should have been undertaken by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee which has totally failed to play any role.
He pointed out that the Sikhs and their shrines have come under increasing racist attacks in the recent years. Several Sikh organizations abroad on their own had launched awareness campaigns on Sikh religion. However, it is the duty of the SGPC which has huge resources at its command. Mr. Bajwa asserted that the real problem is the inefficient leadership which has no interest on such sensitive issues. These resources were being diverted to serve the political ends of the Akali Dal.
He reminded the SGPC leadership that propagating religion and creating awareness about the Sikh faith were among their basic responsibilities.
