In the backdrop of hate crimes against the Sikhs in the USA, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) will take up the issue with the US Ambassador to India, Richard R Verma soon.
Three months ago, an elderly Sikh-American man was brutally injured and called “terrorist” and “Bin laden” in an apparent hate crime case in Chicago.
SGPC Chief Avtaar Singh Makkar on Monday said that a delegation of SGPC would soon meet American Ambassador Verma, as the Ambassador has invited the delegation to discuss the concerns of Sikhs on the issue of hate crimes in United States of America.
He said that the matter of hate crimes against Sikhs is very serious and the September 10 happening was not a single incident but after 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, DC a number of Sikhs have borne the brunt of such crimes.
Talking to media after chairing the meet of interim committee of SGPC, Makkar said that SGPC had written to President Barak Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the American Ambassador on the issue last month.
On the issue of jokes on Sikhs, Makkar said that cracking jokes on a particular community on the basis of identity is not a healthy humor. He said SGPC would take up the issue in Supreme Court.
The apex court is already examining the issue of banning jokes on Sardars for allegedly being racist and subjecting the community for public laughter. The SC is examining whether jokes on Santa-Banta be banned for allegedly being racial and hurting religious sentiments.
Divulging details of the other decisions taken in the meeting, Makkar said that Committee has planned to make the youth aware of the sacrifices of religious leaders of the sect. The committee has purchased 50 vans for screening shows of movies like Chhote Sahibzaade and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in the rural areas through out the state.
The vans with projectors and screens will start operating from the New Year. In another decision, the committee has given three additional increments to 29 employees, who had served sentence in Jodhpur jails for their involvement in militancy and got appointments after being released in 2005-06.