Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today urged union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to take up the issue of emerging hate crimes with the United States government as well as direct Indian embassies and consulates abroad to spread awareness about the Sikh faith and beliefs to counter hate attacks like the one on a fifty year old Sikh in California recently.
In a statement here, the SAD president said it was shocking that Sikhs were still being subjected to hate crimes in the United States. “This indicates that necessary information about Sikh religion, culture and beliefs has still not percolated into US society. I appeal to Ms Swaraj to ask Embassies and Consulates in the US to engage in spreading awareness about Sikhism by taking the help of the local community to save them from becoming victims of hate crimes”. He said the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) could also be associated with this drive.
Mr Badal also expressed sympathy with fifty year old Surjit Malhi who was attacked multiple times by two men who subjected him to racial slurs and also spray painted his pick-up truck with the sign “Go back to your country” along with a white supremacy Celtic sign. He also urged the Sikh community and SAD workers in California to stand with Malhi and extend needed support to him.
In another request to the External Affairs minister, Mr Badal said it was condemnable that Sikh wrestler Jashkawar Gill aka Jassa Patti was not allowed to compete in a world ranking tournament in Turkey while wearing a ‘patka’ to cover his hair. He said even though international wrestling rules allowed players to wear religious headgear which doesn’t harm their opponents, Jassa was told to wear his hair on the pattern of that done by women competitors.
Mr Badal said as per information emanating from Turkey the United World Wrestling association which organized the tournament said they had not received any complaint from the Indian government. He urged the Union minister to take up this issue with the Turkish government as the religious rights of Jassa Patti had been violated. Mr Badal also urged the Wrestling Federation of India to take up the issue with its Turkish counterparts so that Jassa Patti’s religious beliefs were not impinged upon again.
