Washington, October 28, 2010: While reacting to President Obama
itinerary which skips a visit to the Golden Temple, Sikh holiest shrine in
Amritsar, Dr. Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and
Education, said,”This is disappointing that President Obama will not visit
Harmandir Sahib ( Golden Temple). Three months ago I had proposed this visit by
President Obama to the Golden Temple only for spiritual reasons. President Obama has a genuine desire to promote and foster religious understanding and interfaith dialogue. Golden Temple is testimonial and a symbol of religious pluralism and friendship in India. If there is any site dedicated to this philosophy in the world, it is the Golden Temple and it would have been a wonderful convergence of same stream of thought. I deeply regret President Obama missed the opportunity to send the powerful message of global peace and harmony in the South Asian region and in the world. After all he is winner of a Nobel peace prize. He would have been blessed at this spiritual oasis of peace.
Harimandir
Sahib, (Golden Temple) represents a deep spiritual message of the Indian
civilization that each faith and an individual is blessed by God and we must
live respecting each other. Golden Temple is sacred to all Indians and not
just for Sikhs. It represents one of the four great religious traditions
India has given to the world. Over 150,000 people of all faiths, visit this
place and similar number of people are fed daily, representing equality and human dignity. Why would the President of
United States not visit if this is his vision and if this is what he wants to
promote in the world. This
surely would have shown America’s respect for all faiths and traditions. Also
this would have been a wonderful opportunity to show that America is not all
about war and money.
I
was thrilled when I heard this in the news that the visit to the temple was on
the agenda. I am still trying to
figure out as to what happened? What political considerations were weighed in to
skip this visit? Which lobby would
be against this? This visit was in the news for 5 weeks and U.S. Embassy knew
about this perception within India. Even Indian government was under this
impression that he is set to go to Amritsar and I am told that certain ministers
were already assigned to accompany the president to Amritsar. 35 member advance
team had visited Amritsar and according to officials in Amritsar, all necessary
requirements were met. There is no record of a team of this size checking any other site
in India for Obama’s visit. Obviously the message was clear that President Obama
will visit Amritsar. Amritsar civil administration gave full assurances to the
Secret service team and Embassy officials came fully satisfied about the
arrangements according the civil administrator in Amritsar. I also worked closely with the SGPC
officials and Sikh religious leaders to make sure this visit goes smooth.
President Obama would have received hero’s welcome. He would have been seen as a
champion of the minorities and religious diversity. I also worked with the
Punjab Chief Minister’s office and we appreciate that they conveyed the right message to the Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh regarding President Obama’s visit. The doors of the Golden Temple
will remain open to
President Obama for his future
visit and for everyone to be inspired and be blessed."
I
truly want to know whether this decision was taken by President himself or some
aides advised him based on some
domestic compulsions. I have deep
respect for Barack Obama and what he stands for. I understand that he has to keep
everything in mind when he makes any move but this visit would have only
enhanced what he is trying to do in America and in the world. I do not see how
this would have had any negative influence on his political standing. In fact this has now added another
controversy to his political career and shows him weak in the public eye. Perception has been created wrongly or
rightly that political and economic considerations can shift decisions by this
White House. I am sure his handlers
and political advisors did not intend to achieve this. Overall effect is
negative and this visit will be marred with this controversy. I wish this trip a success but with a
reserved heart. This issue
has disappointed me and many other well wishers. Not only Sikhs are disappointed but all
Indians and many Americans as it is evidently seen in the Indian blogs and
American blogs. People are overwhelmingly upset with this decision. The reasons given by the White House is
insufficient and does not specifically address the issue. They have not
addressed that there was a perception out there and the expectations were built
among Sikhs. I am astonished at the choice of President visiting Humayun's tomb
and what would that speak for given all the sensitivity around the trip.
I do know that within White House folks
genuinely tried to navigate this to a positive conclusion and we do appreciate
their efforts. “
Dr.
I.J. Singh, a Sikh writer and a commentator on contemporary Sikh affairs, said,
"It is now confirmed that President Obama has decided to forgo his opportunity
to go to Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar and will instead visit Hamayun’s Tomb in
Delhi. It is not a simple trade off when one realizes what each edifice
represents.
Harmandar
Sahib is a place of worship for millions who visit it every day. It is
open to all irrespective of religion or even no religion. Its volunteers
prepare and feed thousands of people free every day, several times that number
on the high holy days.
Hamayun’s
Tomb is just that – a fine reminder of monarchical profligacy and excesses; the
final resting place of a king, perhaps his lasting achievement in the sands of
time.
Such
are the political realities of the day. What a pity. I expected
something like this. Naturally we are disappointed."
Kanwal
Prakash Singh from Indianapolis, Indiana, a Sikh activist and a writer, said,
“Sikh
Americans and the Sikh world are stunned to read of the reasons for President
Obama not visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India given by his staff in
the New York Times article, "A Question of Appearances: Obama Will Bypass Sikh Temple on Visit to
India" by Lydia Polgreen (NY Times, October 19,
2010).
The
US President's canceling his trip to Amritsar and the visit to the Golden Temple
strictly based on the report in some media circles, if true, that by wearing a
scarf to cover his head, the President may be viewed as being a Muslim is most
unfortunate.
The
White House's action to cancel his trip based on that would reinforce the
unconscionable stereotype that all those who cover their heads in America are
Muslims rather than Sikhs (for whom covering their heads is a faith-mandated
commandment and tradition). Mr. Obama canceling the trip to Amritsar to avoid an
association with any faith other than his own can lead to further
misunderstanding and perpetuation of unprovoked hostility, harassment and hate
crimes, problems of mistaken identity and discrimination against Sikh Americans
in the U.S.
Sikhs are not Muslims. Covering one's head is associated with humility and
respect for a faith tradition. The recent visits to the Golden Temple by Queen
Elizabeth II, Prime Ministers of Canada and Australia, His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, Christian, Jewish, and Hindu leaders, and others have generated a great
sense of goodwill among the Sikh diaspora around the world. These world leaders never thought that
somehow covering their head in the holiest shrine of the Sikh faith ever
compromised their humanity or spirituality. They, and tens of millions from
diverse faith traditions from every corner of the world, come annually to honor
a world faith, its traditions, and followers and receive spiritual
blessings.
The visits by world
leaders to the Golden Temple has enhanced their stature and admiration in the
global Sikh community and among people of their own nations, many of whom are
well aware of the history, tradition, and the foundation of the Sikh faith as
based on equality, sanctity of all faiths and sacred traditions, and dignity and
justice for all human beings.
Thus, the White House considering canceling the U.S. President's
visit to Darbar Sahib shows a total lack of understanding and will be a serious
setback for the whole issue of honoring and celebrating diversity in America. If
the White House has other reasons to cancel the President's trip to Amritsar and
the Golden Temple, then that is altogether a different matter. We hope that the
President will walk his famous talk. The Sikhs around the world are optimistic
that this grand gesture towards the global Sikh community in American and his
friend, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh (a Sikh), may send the right message.
His canceling the trip due to the reasons being floated by the media is a
terribly shortsighted decision could be a missed opportunity to see one of the
world's most beautiful spiritual heritage centers.
Dr.
Sawraj Singh, Chairman, Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman
Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice, while commenting on this issue,
said, “We were very happy when we first learned that President Obama would go to
Harimandar Sahib. A Canadian Punjabi radio interviewed me and I discussed
this issue on the radio. Many listeners participated in the discussion,
which lasted more than an hour. I said that this would be a good
thing for the Sikh community as well as for the rest of the
World. The listeners also agreed that this was a very good thing for the
Sikh community and other people.
We
all felt let down when we heard that President Obama will not be going to the
Harimandar Sahib. We sincerely hope that he will again reconsider his
decision of not going there and will see the merits of going there.
If
he decides to go there, then the World media will be focused there. This
will provide a good opportunity to the Sikh community to give the right
information about itself and dispel the wrong impressions about the Sikhs.
The rest of the World will also benefit from this, because they will learn about
a philosophy which can be accepted by the whole mankind. Sri Guru Granth
Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, has such spirituality and ideology that can
be accepted by the whole mankind. The message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib is
not limited to any one community, caste, race, nation, country or region and is
for the whole mankind and is universal.
Today,
it is becoming clear that the western capitalistic model of development has
failed, because it is one sided and is limited to economic development
only. It completely lacks any concept of human or social
development. This model has given us an unbalanced
development.
This
development can be called economic only development without any ethical
perspective. Sri Guru Granth Sahib can correct this imbalance and impart
ethical aspect to this economic only Globalization. The alternate model of
development in Sri Guru Granth Sahib emphasizes overall development, along
with economic development, this development includes social, cultural, ethical
aspects as well as the concept of environmental protection.
This
visit can also help to dispel the wrong impressions about the Sikhs. After
the Islamic revolution in Iran, there were attacks on the Sikhs because people
thought they were Iranian Muslims. The Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini
had beard and turban and people thought that those Sikhs were his
followers. Similarly, after the September 11 attacks, some Sikhs became
victims again because people mistook them for the Muslim Arabs. Osama Bin
Laden also had beard and turban.
Many
westerners learned about the Sikhs during the two world wars. Their
impression about the Sikhs was that they are the loyal British soldiers.
People thought that they were martial people and were good fighters. Very
few people knew about their great philosophy, because in their
minds, people did not associate the Sikhs with spirituality or a universal
philosophy. Many westerners continue to think that only Hinduism
represents the eastern spirituality and philosophy. Some have started to
think that Buddhism represents the eastern spirituality and philosophy.
However, the Sikh religion is chronologically the last major religion to emerge
in the east. Therefore, Sri Guru Granth Sahib can be considered zenith of
the eastern spirituality and ideology.
Unfortunately,
many people outside India do not know much about Sri Guru Granth Sahib and its
message of equality, social justice, tolerance, love, peaceful coexistence,
universal concern and universal welfare. Sri Guru Granth Sahib promotes
the principles of pluralism and diversity and does not advocate conversion into
the Sikh religion. Sri Guru Granth Sahib advocates that Hindus should be
good Hindus, Muslims should be good Muslims and Christians should be good
Christians. What really matters is that they become good people. Sri
Guru Granth Sahib advocates a universal community from which nobody should be
excluded. These are the principles which World needs today.
President Obama, by going to Harimandar Sahib, will be promoting these
principles.