Current Events
Sikh-Americans Celebrate Obama
by T.W. FARNAM
What was the opening musical act of the Sikh Inaugural Ball held to celebrate the swearing-in of the first African-American president in the capital of the U.S.?
Well, bagpipes, of course.
Susi Taylor-Neumann, 19 years old, of Adelaide, Australia, blew "Waltzing Matilda" and more traditional Scottish songs for the heavily male and typically older crowd - and proved to be a big hit. The itinerant musician said she got the gig on the online classified-ad site Craigslist.org.
While the celebrities walking on red carpets all over town may have gotten more attention, the restaurant just a few blocks from the White House was brimming with enthusiasm.
"Sikhs came out in large numbers to vote for Barack Obama, so of course we are here celebrating as well," said Gurveen Kaur, the organizer of the event along with her husband, Lakhinder Singh. "We are a minority you know, and he's seen the same struggle as all of us."
Several people at the event drew a comparison between Barack Obama and Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh prime minister of India, a country where only 2% of the people belong to the Sikh Religion. Sikhs practice a monotheistic religion and are most prominent in the Punjab region of India.
Several singers took the stage and the Singhs raffled off a television and auctioned an Obama painting between acts. Nearly everyone in the joint took to the dance floor for Bhangra dancing and songs with heavy bass lines and hooks from Obama's speeches.
[Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal]
January 21, 2009
Conversation about this article
1: Bakhsish Singh (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), January 21, 2009, 7:00 PM.
It's good to see Obama becoming President of U.S.A.; everyone has high hopes on him. But we as Sikhs have to work hard so that our contributions are recognized. We are doing Bhangra and all; true, we should celeberate, but think about it: Obama in his inaugural address mentioned Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus, but not SIKHS, who came to the U.S. well over a century ago, and are still to be recognized. Our work is cut out for us ... work that no one else can do for us.
2: Pritam Singh Grewal (Canada), January 21, 2009, 9:00 PM.
Obama's spectacular rise to the Presidentship of America reminds one of the following saying from Shabad Guru, Granth Sahib: 'Neecho ooch karay mera Gobind kahoo tay na daray ... Bhagat Ravidas, p 1106 - My Lord of the Universe turns the lowly into the high and is not afraid of anyone!'
3: Suzy Kaur (Oxford, England), January 22, 2009, 9:59 AM.
Bakshish Singh, the line in his speech that you refer to was a reference to Thomas Jefferson who fought against the name of Jesus Christ being inserted into the constitution of Virginia. "... the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it's protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination." Therefore, Obama was referencing Thomas Jefferson and re-emphasising the fact that America is not an exclusivist Christian country. It specifically made echoing references to that speech, reaching back through the ages to emphasize how deeply-rooted the ideas Obama holds to are in the American constitution. It was a re-affirmation of Thomas Jefferson. To take it as a snub to Sikhs (or Buddhists, or anyone else) is simply wrong.
4: Harman Singh (Philadelphia, U.S.A.), January 22, 2009, 8:35 PM.
Thanks for the above reference, Suzy. I was a little bummed out too when I didn't hear him mention Sikhs in his speech. Another example of how misunderstanding and fear stem out of ignorance. Thanks for educating us all!
5: Tejwant (U.S.A.), January 23, 2009, 4:15 PM.
More nuggets about Jefferson's views about religions can be found here: http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1650.htm