TORONTO: “It is a privilege to speak today on behalf of USAHA, the United Sikh and Hindu Association of North America. Hindus and Sikhs may follow different religions and traditions, but we share something very precious. We share languages, food, music, family traditions, festivals, values and, above all, a spirit of community and service,” Sikh leader Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal said.
He said, “When our ancestors came to Canada, they came not only as Hindus or Sikhs, but as Indians, Punjabis and South Asians. Canada has given us the freedom to practise our faith and raise our children with pride in our heritage. Today, Hindu and Sikh communities are among the most contributing communities to Canada’s multicultural society,” he said.
“We are really proud that we were born in the world’s oldest multicultural country, India, and we are living in the world’s youngest multicultural country, Canada,” Dhaliwal said.
“Our first Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, said with the significant utterance that there is no Hindu, no Muslim. A man is a man first, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian afterwards,” he said.
He added, “He strictly condemned caste, colour, creed and gender, and we are really proud of our youth in Canada. They will break those barriers of caste, colour, creed and gender, and they will make new bridges between the communities. We are really proud of our youth.”
Switching to Punjabi, Dhaliwal said, “Whatever I have learned about Hindu and Sikh dharma, I have learned from the walls of my school. Written there were ‘Sabhe Sanjhiwal Sadaein’, ‘Koi Na Disai Bahra Jio’, ‘Manas Ki Jaat Sabhai Ekai Pehchanbo’ and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’,” saying that all of them convey the same message of equality.
Dhaliwal said, “If the newborn child is taught first of all that you are a human being, then the conflicts that are going on today in the name of religions, castes and languages can end.”
He said, “We are very fortunate that we were born in India. India is our motherland and the world’s largest democracy.” He added that today they were living in Canada, which he described as one of the world’s large democracies in terms of area, and said, “We should be proud of our relations with both countries.”
Dhaliwal further said that in the region surrounding India, governments in several countries are changed through swords, sticks or guns. In contrast, he said, “In our country, people change governments by pressing the button of their vote.” He added, “We are very fortunate that there is democracy in our country and we are living in democracy here as well.”
He said people should leave behind such footsteps that when their children walk in them, they should feel proud that these were the footsteps of their elders.
Dhaliwal said, “We should teach our children the message of equality, so that in the future, we can bring down those people who defame the name of religion by talking in its name.” He added that this would be possible only if people followed the teachings given by our Gurus.
He then appealed to the gathering to once again extend their heartfelt respect to Dr Mohan Bhagwat. “Dr Mohan Bhagwat has brought bundles of love from India, and we should give him twice as many bundles of love in return. This will be his true respect,” Dhaliwal said.
Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal is a former president of Vancouver’s Khalsa Diwan Society (KDS) and currently serves as its General Secretary. He also chairs the core committee of the United Sikhs and Hindus Association of North America (USAHA), an initiative focused on Hindu-Sikh unity and communal harmony.
