Thousands of Sikhs gathered at Surrey’s Dasmesh Darbar Sikh temple last weekend to honor members of the Canadian Armed Forces in a poignant ceremony to mark Remembrance Day 2010.
The event, which was organised by Harbinder Singh Sewak, publisher of The Post Group of newspapers, was the first of its kind held in a British Columbia Sikh temple.
“This was a unique and significant event for the Sikh community to show our support for the sacrifices made by the Canadian military family,” said Sewak.
Honorary Colonel Steven Millen of the 442 Squadron was presented with a ‘saropa’, a blessed ceremonial scarf, as well as a ceremonial sword by temple president Gian Singh Gill. Speaking to the congregation, Millen made special note of the contributions of Sikh soldiers in past conflicts such as World War I and II, as well as their ongoing contribution to military service in Canada.
Congregation members also collected and presented $2,500 in donations to military officials.
Speaking afterwards, Lt. Commander Kris Phillips, spokesman for the National Defence Department, said he was greatly pleased at the inaugural event and was hopeful it would help strengthen ties between the Sikh community and Canadian military.
“It is incumbent upon our Canadian institutions to engage in dialogue with all our diverse communities,” said Phillips, who has served in Haiti, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. The Vancouver Regiment Irish Pipes and Drums Society led the military procession into the prayer hall for the ceremony.
After the ceremony, the military representatives joined the congregation for a community meal at the temple’s langar hall.
“It was a simple and sacred way of showing our gratitude to the great men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said temple official, Babar Singh Tumber, one of the 2000 people who attended the ceremony.