Sant Sichewal gave a model of environmental conservation which has been adopted in many villages in Punjab. When he started anti-river pollution campaign and had got river Kali Bein cleaned, he was hailed as the hero of environment by the Time Magazine. Government of India is also inclimed to adopt his model for Clean Ganga Project. He is the member of Punjab Pollution Control Board and Patron of an Environmental Tri-lingual magazine named ‘Nirmal Noor’. He is also a social reformer and in that respect he holds various positions such as Chairman of Ek Onkar Charitable Trust which is engaged in charitable activities for the benefit of needy people.
Nanhi Chhaan Organization
Apart from these Saintly personalities, the efforts are also being made by certain individuals and organizations for improving our environment. For example, Harsimrat Kaur Badal (Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing) had launched a project known as Nanhi Chhaan for improving the environment. Nanhi Chhaan Foundation was setup as a not for profit organisation with the objective of addressing three important issues on the social agenda of the country relating to an adverse gender ratio, environmental degradation and secularism. The objectives of the foundation are to wholesomely address these issues and to restore nature’s balance. We believe that if the gender ratio is not corrected Indian society will likely face unacceptable consequences in the future as will be the case if Mother earth is not protected through the preservation of it’s tree cover. If life and society’s fabric is to be protected it is imperative that we protect our little girls, who grow up to be mothers, and protect tree cover to maintain the planet’s health. Both are universal mothers who need our help and compassion. Since this organisation was launched in Amritsar on 27th August, 2008, the organisation started working for the empowerment of rural women by opening Silaayi centres for them for the purpose of skill development and by distributing plants as Guru’s offering (Prasaad) for the people so that more and more plants be grown for betterment of environment. But, as everything is politicized in our country, the foundation’s works slowed down after the Congress Government came into power in Punjab. The need is that such initiatives should be encouraged and made movements on a big scale without considering as who started it or who is at the helm of affairs of the organisation. We have another organization in Amritsar, known a Dilbir Foundation, which in its own capacity and as an associate of Eco Sikh, is doing good work in this sphere.
Dilbir Foundation Amritsar
Dilbir Foundation is a registered charitable trust established by S. Gunbir Singh in memory of his late father S. Dilbir Singh (1931-2000). The trust is required to fulfil the ideology of S. Dilbir Singh by conserving cultural assets and promoting sustainable lifestyles. The Trust also undertakes such projects which are aimed at improving the quality of education and the environment, particularly in the city of Amritsar. This Not for Profit organisation is funded primarily by Divine Destination and also by various Philanthropists and corporates for achieving the said objects. ‘Divine Destination’ is a tour facilitation company managed by S. Gunbir Singh. The company started as a pilgrim assistance company at Amritsar has now diversified into hand holding of tourists throughout India. The foundation has undertaken so far many social and charitable projects. For example, one of its projects is to promote organic farming and help the farmers by setting up a farmer’s market. A team of volunteer members of the foundation works to deliver the produce of the farmers at the consumer’s door steps. The service to connect the farmers with the consumers is available for farmers from Kapurthala, Taran Tarn, Amritsar, Jalandhar and even Landran near Chandigarh to the consumers in the city. Weekly Organic farmers Markets are set up by the Foundation to connect farmers with citizens deeply concerned with toxins in their food chain. Also daily The Earth Stores have been set up by them at Ludhiana & Amritsar for the purpose. Care is taken that unadulterated, wholesome, farm fresh vegetables, fruit and preservative free processed food prepared by farm families are packaged as well to provide support to marginalised farm economy of Punjab. Apart from this service, the NGO also engages consumers and local farmers in techniques of natural farming like the integrated farm approach and multicropping, in an attempt to revive direct market access as well as export possibilities.
S. Gunbir Singh, an environmentalist and Chairman of WWF-India (Punjab) for decades also chaired the EcoAmritsar program with Eco-Sikhs of USA in developing the concept of a clean & green Amritsar. Various Vision Papers & Plans for Amritsar & Punjab have been presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Narendra Modi, Union Planning & Finance Commissions, state governments as part of the advocacy initiatives of the Foundation. He was also the leading person among those who started celebrating Amritsar Foundation Day from 2013. Since then, this celebration has gained momentum.
The Foundation team has ongoing projects on bio-degradable & sustainable products and connects with schools, colleges, businesses and gurdwaras to take green steps under their hash tagged initiatives #NoMorePoisonInMyFood & #SayNoToPlastic. Tree Plantations including mature banyan trees at key locations in the city, increasing green spaces are major annual programs carried out regularly. Cleanliness drives around holy sites of all faiths, facilitating donation of bus for carrying sangat every night for cleaning sites around Golden Temple, as well as connecting youth with seva, making all Nagar Kirtans garbage free are some of their key areas of work. The group also networks with international forums as well as motivates key institutions such as the SGPC for organic Langar at the Golden Temple, water conservation, and adoption of nature friendly processes.
The organization is promoting biodegradable products to replace plastics made of corn starch, post harvest waste and bagasse. The organization is also promoting the use of traditional leaf plates and environmentally friendly alternatives. Adding on this, Gunbir Singh, President of the organisation, said, “We have come up with a glass made up of sugarcane waste. This is the first time that an alternative to the plastic glass has come up. Single use plastic is dangerous not only for humans but also for animals & the ecology.”
The organisation does extensive work on Interfaith collaboration & diplomacy and represented Sikh Faith from India at the opening of the Grand Shrine of the Shinto Faith at Ise, Japan, for the first time in 2000 years.
The Trust also supports vigorously, any steps for preserving the old monuments. When, in 2015, this organisation had organised a presentation session on ‘Conservation of Sikh Heritage’, renowned conservator Namita Jaspal was invited to elaborate the subject. It may be mentioned here that Namita and her young team later went on to become engaged in the conservation of the Golden Temple since 2013. Presently they are coordinating the conservation of The Sikh Reference Library at Khalsa College for preservation of manuscripts & artefacts of import to the community. The Trust also organises book launches such as those on the ‘Lost Heritage-The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan’ by S. Amardeep Singh. Thus, Dilbir Foundation led by S. Gunbir Singh is making a valuable contribution for improving the environment as well as for preserving our heritage. The contact details of the organisation are Address: 509 Green Avenue, Amritsar: Phone No. : +91 9779140004, Email: df@divinedestination.com Google Connect: @DilbirFoundation @TheEarthStoreTES
Eco Sikhs
Realising the fact that deterioration in the environment was adversely affecting lives of people of the world, Baba Sewa singh of Khadur Sahib Amritsar and Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal of Sultanpur, Kapurthala Punjab organized a two days conference in New Delhi to ponder upon the issue of protecting the environment in all situations. Later on they took the Sikh concept of environment to international platforms and joined two hundred leaders from nine of the world’s major faiths: Baha’ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism and Sikhism to gather in Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom to commit to longterm
practical action for the environment. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Celebration, which was hosted by Prince Philip, founder of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation.
The Celebration at Windsor Castle came a month before the major Copenhagen Climate Change talks in December 2009 and was considered the first major, internationally coordinated commitment by the religions to the environment. The event was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and major secular bodies, including Conservation International, the Forest Stewardship Council, Fair-trade, and the World Wide Fund.
It was in these circumstances that a new organization Eco Sikh came into being with a view to represent the Sikh view point on environment. Dr. Rajwant Singh of USA, a famous environmentalist helped to launch this organization in July 2009 with a view to connect Sikh values, beliefs, and institutions to the most important environmental issues facing our world.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first embodiment of Divine Light in the Sikh tradition, laid the foundation for a sacred vision for the environment when he composed the shabad:
