Sikh Forums and Other Promenant Organizations

Sikh Forum

In the modern Sikh history, 1984 was the worst year for Sikh community. Apart from the attack by the Indian army on the Sikh Shrines, thousands of Sikh were massacred following the assassination of Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi. All these happenings demoralized the Sikhs. They were shaken in disbelief and started losing faith in their own country. The intellectual Sikhs of that time felt the responsibility of boosting the moral of the Sikhs by setting up a platform from where their voice could be raised against injustice meted out to them. It was decided that such organization should be apolitical, should not have any political aspiration to contest elections, but should have firm opinion and views to meet the challenges. It should bring back confidence in the mind of shaken Sikhs masses and restore the respect and honour in them. In addition, it should be able to effectively respond to the disinformation and misinformation being spread against Sikhs in Media and by government agencies. With this objective a convention was called on 25th November 1984 at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi. It was unanimously approved by unprecedented large gathering of Singh Sabhas & important Sikhs of Delhi that an organization under the name of National Sikh Forum be established. Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Arora was unanimously elected as its Convener. Other members were Dr. Amrik Singh, Dr. Maheep Singh, Sardar K.S. Duggal & S. Shamsher Singh Wadhwa. The Sikh Forum swung into action & organized series of meetings of Sikhs in various parts of City. To restore confidence, and to infuse reassurance, relief and succour for the families of victims was organized on large scale. The Scholars, Dr. Amrik Singh, Dr. Maheep Singh, S. Gurmukh Singh Jeet and Dr. A.S. Narang not only subscribed well reasoned articles, published in leading dailies and periodicals but, also forcefully put across Sikh point of view and unjust treatment of the community during panel discussions on the visual media. The Civil Society and media appreciated the logical discourses and took up the cause of Sikhs to mitigate their sufferings. Sikh Forum worked in cooperation with other human rights activists like Justice Sikri, Justice V.M. Tarkunde of PUDR and PUCL fame to point out the excesses by State machinery. Nagrik Ekta Manch, came a long way to supplement the efforts of the Forum. Sardar H.S. Phoolka a Supreme Court Senior Advocate worked with missionary zeal to fight long drawn legal battles to get justice for the victims of November 1984. He was ably assisted by Wg. Cdr. R.S. Chhatwal, the Secretary of Sikh Forum, S. Ahal Singh and others in collecting evidence for rehabilitation of the victims. Wg. Cdr. Chhatwal selflessly and dedicatedly steered the affairs of the Forum for 29 years till he breathed his last on 16th November 2013. The cause of the forum has been supported by many other eminent personalities like Justice R.S. Narula , S. Khushwant Singh, Shri Kuldip Nayar, Col. Manohar Singh, Justice Rajinder Sachar, S. Harbhajan Singh Nishkam, Shri N.D. Pancholi, S. Patwant Singh, S. Tirlochan Singh – Ex. M.P., S. Manohar Singh Batra, Sardar D.S. Maini, Ambassador Gurbachan Singh.
The Sikh Forum till date has been observing the Blue Star Day and November 84 Sikh Carnage day, without fail. It is on this occasion that eminent Sikh scholars are invited to deliver lectures and are honoured. It has also been making efforts to get justice for the Sikh victims and also for the recovery of our precious books and other documents which were taken away by the army at the time of Operation Blue Star. Their efforts to get details from the governments regarding such documents from the reference library have made the government agree that such valuable books and documents were taken away from the reference library. When, they had organized a function in 2018, the issue regarding Sikh heritage was discussed by a panel of learned speakers. It was during this function that a concern was expressed for our dying heritage in the form of Sikh literature. It was emphasised that instead of spending wastelessly on fixing gold in Gurdwaras, it was necessary to save our heritage and the youth which was being destroyed by drugs.
The dedicated efforts of Sikh Forum went a long away in re-establishing the dignity and honour of the community to emerge from the ashes of November 84 to its rightful place of honoured dignity at the National Level which the community so richly deserves.
This present management committee of the Forum has 13 members. S. Pushpinder Singh Chopra (9810544074), Dr. Amarjit Singh Narang (9810064259) and S. Partap Singh (9313290538) are the President, Vice President and Secretary of the organization at present. The contact details of the organization are, Address: D-5 Shanti Kunj, Church Road Mata Amritanandamayi Marg, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi -110070. Contact number is 9313290538, 9910143121 and email is thesikhforum84@gmail.com. We have another forum in India, known as Sikh Forum Kolkata.

The Sikh Forum, Kolkata

It may be mentioned here that the Sikh Forum functioning at Kolkata is a separate organization which has been doing an excellent work for promotion of Sikh values in eastern India. This organisation came into being in 2015 with Registration No. S/2L/23705 of 2014-15 and is based at 18/62, Dover Lane, Kolkata-700029. It has a mission to rekindle the spirit of Sikhism amongst Sikh students and to help them to lead a Gurmat inspired Sikh way of life as enshrined in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji by organizing the various activities throughout the year. These activities include Sunday Diwans organized by students, Sunday Schools for teaching Shaba Kirsten, Table, Gurumukhi Language, Urbane Path, Shaba Vicar discussions, Turban Tying and spiritual camps. They have held camps at different places as far as Siliguri, Ranchi etc. Various competitions are organized on National Level and the winners are given suitable prizes. One of these competitions is that of Gurbani Gyan and Lecture on Gurmat subjects. Last year they were among the sponsors of Bhai Mardana Inter School Gurbani Gyan competition.

The Sikh Forum International

Another Sikh Forum was also inspired by the events in 1984 and Lt. General Jagjit Singh Arora played an important role here also. This Sikh forum is known as Sikh Forum International and is based in London. Gen. Arora along with S. Ranjeet Singh OBE gathered some likeminded people and created this forum in 1985. This Forum is doing charity work both in India and England. It has also been honouring the Sikhs who could be role models of Sikhi by giving the “Sikh of the Year Award”. Besides that the forum has liberally contributed to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for the children in London, British Army and the Prince’s Trust. Besides that Forum has been encouraging Sikh Youths to join British Army, Navy, Air Force and the British Police Forces in service of their country. The Forum is well known in Britain and India for its
charitable, social and religious activities. It maintains links with other bodies in the USA, Canada and Europe. The Forum is playing an active role to make Britain a Role Model of multi-cultural and multi-faith society. It is committed to support the Government’s diversity initiative and is always looking to get involved and do more. S. Ranjeet Singh is presently the President of This organization. He is a renowned Sikh leader, who is associated with various social, religious and charitable organizations. One of his wonderful achievements is that he played pivotal role in the Metropolitan Police Service allowing Sikhs to wear turbans, from where he began a dose relationship with many senior officers. This hen resulted in Ranjeet Singh taking a number of senior police officers to the Golden Temple in Amritsar to explain the foundations of Sikhism. Following the 2005 London bombings, he worked with various media organization including the BBC and Sky Flews, to help the public distinguish to Sikhs from certain Muslim communities. In 2009, he helped draft guidelines for Metropolitan Police Officers when searching Sikh persons.

Australian Sikh Forum

In Australia, Sikh Forum is the name given to one of the committees appointed for the management of arrangements and organizing various activities during Australian Sikh Games. This committee has the main function of organizing Sikh forum for one day during the sports event. In this Sikh forum, the national coordinator invites the panel of scholars who discuss various Sikhi related subjects and the public is invited to take the benefits of their learned views and satisfiy their queries on those topics. For example, during the 2018 Sikh Games at Sydney, S. Manjinder Singh was the national coordinator and the topics for discussion in the Sikh forum were both related to the Sikh history as well as the current topics. Sikh history right from the period of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh to the annexation of Punjab by the British was discussed with special emphasis on the lessons we can learn from our history. The current topics were ‘why Sikh youth is going away from the Sikh values, Sikh doctrians and Gurdwaras? And why deras are becoming more attractive?’ Gyani Santokh Singh, a renowned Sikh preacher stationed at Sydney also participated in Sikh forum.

Sikh Council

Sikh Council U.K. is an umbrella organisation for various Gurdwaras, councils, Jathebandis, campaign group, schools and different types of organisations including educational, social and welfare organisations.
This is a membership based organisation and any other organisations of U.K. of the Sikh community existing the last two year can become its member. At present most of the Sikh organisation of U.K. are its members. All the members affiliated to this umbrella organisation constitute the general assembly which meets at least twice a year. It is because of their strength that they are recognized by non-Sikh as well as the Government as the spokes person for the British Sikhs in the United Kingdom and at European Union.

The Sikh Council, U.K. believe in Sarbat da Bhala and works according to universal Sikh values including-

Respecting religious freedom of all and embracing diversity in an equal and inclusive manner;
Miri Piri concept that promotes personal excellence in spiritual and worldly values;
Democratic representation by leaders that embrace skills and are transparent, accountable and professional;

Decision making that aspires to the Sarbat Khalsa model to promote cooperation, consensus and unity amongst Sikhs.
The Council promotes Sikh values and principles and the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji as interpreter by Guru Khalsa Panth through the institution of Sri Akal Takht Sahib. It represents Sikhs and puts forward their views to local, regional, national, and international decision maker and decision making bodies. It provides collective leadership to the Sikhs.

The functional body of this organisation is its Executive Committee which consists of 51 members of whom thirty are selected by the General Assembly. The selected thirty will then co-opt the remaining twenty one who may or may not be members of the General Assembly. The office bearers include the Secretary General, Administrative Secretary, Treasurer, and spokes person. The other associates who assist in the functioning of the Executive Committee or the various specialist sub-committees like that of finance, media andcommunication, legal affair etc. The Chairs of the specialist sub-committees are appointed by the Executive Committee from amongst its members. Other members are appointed on the basis of skills, experience and expertise and members may or may not be members of the Executive Committee or General Assembly. A Board of Jathedars is established consisting of Amritdhari Sikhs who have achieved distinction in their fields. The Board of Jathedars will serve as an advisory and scrutiny body as well as deal with grievances and disputes. Members of the Board of Jathedars are appointed by the General Assembly.

Network of Sikh Organizations (NSO)

This Network organization was registered in 1997 at London with registered charity number 1064544. This was incited by Lord Inderjit Singh of Wimbledon OBE and his wife Lady Kanwaljit Kaur Singh. It is endorsing body for Sikh schools and has 11 Schools, advisory and inspectorial role, liaises with the education department on regular basis. It also looks after the religious and pastoral needs of the prison chaplaincy which has seven hundred Sikh prisoners, six area manager and nearly 70 chaplaincies to look after. Similarly it takes care of the religious need of Sikh man and woman associated with the British armed forces. There are about 200 Sikhs in British Army, Navy and Air Force. The organization, through media gives thought for the day, articles, talks and newspaper reports regularly to promote the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib
and living according to the Rehat Maryada of 1945. Lord Inderjit Singh’s Speeches in the House of Lords on Sikh teachings related to legislation being discussed, particularly about Sikhism and human rights and equality of all including equality of women with men. The Directors is always in great demand to represent Sikh community on all prestigious national and international events, lectures on different aspects of Sikhism both national and international scenes on a very regular basis. The organization’s contacts are telephone number +442085404148 and email : sikhmessenger@aol.com. Lord Inderjit Singh and Lady Singh can be contacted on telephone numbers – 07716497376 respectively.

Sikh Foundation of Canada

The Sikh Foundation of Canada is a non-profit organization amid at promoting greater understanding and appreciation of Sikh History, Art, Culture and Traditions among Sikh Canadians and the community at large. It was registered in 1999. While making a mention of their mission, it was stated “ We strive to promote our rich history and traditions by:

Sponsoring initiatives, research and programs related to Sikh history, art, culture and traditions and;
Providing scholarships, awards and support to Sikh students to enable them to obtain a post-secondary education and make a contribution to their communities.

Through academic seminars, staging of displays of rare books, coins, photographs, maps, original graphics, an annual film festival and by sponsoring new media art projects and theatre productions, the Foundation promotes initiatives that speak of the Sikh Canadian experience. Since then the organization has also organized various exhibitions.

Their main annual program known as the Centennial Gala, was started in 1997 to commemorate the centenary of Sikh settlement in Canada. Since then it has been privileged to be at the forefront of promoting Sikh heritage and culture by celebrating the participation and excellence achieved by Sikhs and non-Sikhs in all aspects of civil, social and cultural life. The Centennial Gala is the highlight of the year for the Sikh diaspora in Canada, in what has become the most prestigious South Asian event in North America.
In addition to showcasing exceptional art and entertainment connected to Sikh heritage, every year the Sikh Centennial Gala honours both exemplary Sikhs and Non-Sikhs whose accomplishments deserve recognition. In the past, honourees have included the Prime Minister of Canada, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, UN mandated humanitarians, leaders of industry, distinguished entrepreneurs, inspiring athletes and accomplished artists.

The Sikh Foundation International

In the year 1967, the famous Sikh scientist, stationed at U.S.A., S. Narinder Singh Kapani, founded and registered The Sikh Foundation on 29th December with a mission to preserve and promote of Sikh heritage. The first task of this organisation was to start a quarterly journal in 1972, entitled as ‘The Sikh Sansar’. This journal focused on many subjects of interest to Sikhs including Sikh Women, Sikh Educational Institutions, the Ghadar Movement, the American Bicentennial, Bhai Vir Singh etc. One special edition, which specially stands out, was on “Sikh Art” published in 1975.

Prof. R.P. Srivastava, Head of Dept. Of Fine Arts, GCW Patiala-Punjab writes in his guest editorial column “For the first time in the history of journalism a systematic attempt is being made to record the significant contributions made by Sikh Artists, Sculptors, Architects and Artisans in the Punjab and elsewhere.”
He further writes, “No concerted effort was over made by any Author or Historian and so far no one has tried to write anything on this aspect of achievement of the Sikhs which has glorified the pages of Sikh history and beautified the Punjab with architectural monuments.”

Thus, the organisation proved instrumental in popularizing Sikh heritage through a number of high quality books written by historians and scholars on Sikh art ranging from textiles to paintings, from ancient manuscripts to contemporary art. Many prominent museums of the world started giving an important place to Sikh art. They include the Victoria and Albert Museum-London, The Smithsonian-Washington D.C., The ROM-Toronto, The Asian Art Museum-San Francisco amongst many others.

The next significant task of the organisation was to hold a conference at Berkeley in 1976, wherein a number of Sikh scholars were invited to find out the means and ways to make the Sikh religion known to the people. It was decided to explore the potential of launching Sikh studies at US University. As the foundation was planning to go ahead with its programme, the situation in Punjab deteriorated after Operation Blue Star as the Sikh genocide followed death of Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The foundation directed its efforts to make the people of USA and other countries know about the ground reality in Punjab. It organized a group of 20 US senators who were willing to make a fact-finding trip to Punjab, but the group was refused visas by the Indian Government. Undeterred and pursuing every opportunity to make the American people aware of Sikhs and the injustices met out to the community, Dr. Kapany confronted the Indian Ambassador on American television about the tragic events.

The Sikh Foundation published full-page advertisements in leading newspapers in major cities across the US educating the public about Sikhs and the heinous crimes committed against the community and its sacred spaces. Dr. Kapany even travelled to Canada to represent to the Canadian House of Representatives on the situation in Punjab. As apart from the loss of thousands of Sikh human life, a great damage was also done to Sikh Reference Library and Toshakhana, it made the organisation all the more determined to preserve Sikh art and culture which are critical part of who we are. Not only does this apply to paintings, manuscripts, sculptures, coins, stamps, but also to our monuments and architectural space, which are in grave peril even today, both in India and Pakistan.

Perhaps these events played a role in encouraging the Kapanys to actively start looking for and collecting Sikh art, which today is renowned, the world over. It includes masterpieces like the portrait of Rani Jind Kaur, illustrated books like Emily Eden’s “Portraits of Princes and people of India”, personal articles of Maharaja Ranjit Singh like his spectacular emerald ring, miniature paintings of the Gurus and much more. This splendid art was shown to the world by organising exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco and holding a conference on Sikh art and literature at the centre for south-Asia studies at UC Berkeley. In 1986 a Punjabi language programme was started at Stanford. In 1997, when Dr. Kapany established ‘Kundan Kaur Kapany Chair’ in Sikh studies at UC Santa Barbara, the dream to introduce Sikh studies in US universities became true. When in the year 1999, when the 300 years of creation of Khalsa was being observed this organisation did a marvellous works by organising an International exhibition under the name ‘Arts of the Sikh Kingdom’ at London and got the exhibition inaugurated by the Prince of Whales. In this exhibition opened on 22 March 1999. Nearly 300 works of art from a sleekly smoothed cannon and turban-shaped helmets of damascened steel to rippling silks, Kashmir shawls, gem-encrusted jewellery, a golden throne, the earliest portraits to the Gurus, and court paintings of Sikh maharajas and noble warriors were displayed. Sikhism at its best excluded no one. The exhibition was brought to the Asian Art Museum (Sept. 1999) under the sponsorship of the Sikh Foundation and its third and final destination became the Royal Ontario Museum (Oct. 2000). Over 5000,000 people have seen this exhibition in London, San Francisco and Toronto. In the literary field also, the organisation has done a wonderful work by getting the valuable books written by the authors. These works provided useful information along with artistic illustrations. Thus, Amrit and Ravindera, the Singh Twins could produce their classical work ‘Bindus Wedding’ in 1999 and Nikky-Gurinder got its works of translating Guru’s verses completed with the title “The name of My Beloved: Verses of the Sikh Guru”. Warriors Saints, the Boy with Long Hair and Baba Ditt’s Turnip were also published during that period. Achievements made by the organisation since the turn of this century till today are also marvellous. The starting of an annual art calendar entering into a partnership with UNESCO for preserving a 16th Century Mosque built by Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib, setting up of The Satinder Kaur Gallery at the Asian Art Museum at San Francisco and contributing some significant art works to Smithsonian institute in Washington D.C. for exhibiting ‘Legacy of the Punjab’ (This exhibit was not only shown in Washington D.C., but also travelled to Santa Barbara in 2008, Fresno in 2012 and Dallas in 2015).

Setting up of Chairs in Universities

A unique way of promoting Sikh values is enlightening the people by setting up Chairs in the Universities. This helps in research and interaction with the scholars of other religions. That is why, even SGPC has declared as a part of the 550th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji that it will setup research chairs in the name of Guru at GNDU, Amritsar and in other countries like U.K. and Canada. A chair in the name of Guru Nanak Dev Ji to mark the great occasion has also been setup by the Punjabi University, Lahore in Pakistan. In this respect also The Sikh Foundation International has played a vital role. We have eight chairs of Sikh studies at various US campuses. Four of these chairs have been setup by/with the support of this leading Sikh organisation (The Sikh Foundation). Further, they have proved inspirational for many more chairs setup in the Universities and many more conferences, talks and presentations. To make a mention Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies – UC Riverside (2006), the Ranjit Singh Sabharwal Chair in Sikh & Punjabi Studies-California State University-East Bay (2007), the Sarbjit Singh Aurora Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies at UC Santa Cruz (2010) were set up by various families with the support of the community and the Sikh Foundation. Recently Sikh Studies Program was initiated at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley in 2015. Similarly, the M.S. Kohli Memorial Conference on Sikh Education at Stanford University (March 2015) engaged scholars, museums, schools and Sikh organizations on ways to impact Sikh education. All these achievements in the field of education and promotion of heritage of Sikh religion as made by the organisation were highly appreciated at the time of the 50th Anniversary of the organisation celebrated in May 2017. This celebration from 5th to 7th May started with a glorious gala at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California. On this occasion, a publication ‘Sikh Arts from the Kapany Collection’ co-published with the Smithsonian Institute was released. This milestone publication documents the unrivalled Collection of Sikh Art, put together by Satinder Kaur & Narinder Singh Kapany. Deeply inspired by the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, their collection displays the entire range of Sikh artistic expression over its 500 year history, including beautiful portraits of the Sikh Gurus, illustrated manuscripts, spectacular paintings of Golden Temple, royal arts and treasures of Sikh Maharajas, arms and armaments, coinage, stamps, textiles and contemporary arts. The contact details of this organization are, address: 580 College Ave, FI 1, Palo Alto, California 94306, Contact no. +1 650-496-2222 & Email: Sonia@sikhfoundation.org.

United Sikhs Mission

United Sikhs Mission is an American organisation which had figured in the news relating to the opening of corridor of Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. When S. Navjot Singh Sidhu went to Pakistan at the time of swearing-in-ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the issue of opening of this corridor gained momentum, this organisation offered to meet the expenditure of the entire project. Further, when the Indian cabinet approved it and a hope arose on the agreement between both the Governments, the said organisation again stated that they have the blue print for the corridor ready with them. This US based organisation was earlier known for its main project of sending a Sikh float in the Rose Parade. In 2018, this float had projected Harmandir Sahib. In addition to this project, this organisation had been taking up many health care programmes in Punjab. It runs successful eye camps and gives financial help to the needy patients. Its contact details are address 10656, Cliantro CT Fontana, CA 92337, Phone: +1-909-241-7449.

Sikh Resource Society

Sikh Resource Society, located at 1280, Wynnetka Street, Palatime IL in USA is another organization which figured in news by participating in Johnson Country Old Settleras Fair. The Sikh Resource Society, Schaumburg, IL represented by S. Davinder Singh (IL Representative) and Ishwinder Singh Chattha (Kansas Representative), in conjunction with the many volunteers of the Gurdwara Nanak Darwar Sahib, Olathe, KS set up an exhibit and a food stall at one of the largest county fairs in the nation. The ‘Old Settlers Fair’ is held in Johnson County once a year and this year around 200000 people attended it over a period of three days from Sept 7th – 9th, 2017.

Sikh Resource Society is a not for profit organisation dedicated to providing Sikh resources for anyone interested in learning more about Sikhi. The organisation collects and creates resources for the basic understanding of the Sikh faith, Sikh ideology, Gurbani and philosophy. This society is located in the Midwest and offers services such as free tours for public/private schools, colleges and universities as well as individual tours to those that would like to understand better their global Sikh neighbour. The Sikh Resource Society also has speakers who are willing to give a presentation on the Sikh faith.

Tours are mainly held at the Palatine Gurdwara Sahib that is located at 1280 Winnetka Street, Palatine, IL; on a campus spread over fourteen acres of land at a prime location in Chicago’s metropolitan area. The Palatine Gurdwara is the oldest Gurdwara in the Midwest, started in 1972. IN a seven day a week religious program, devotees visit the Gurdwara Sahib to make prayers, listen to the Sikh religious hymns (kirtan), and discourses on spirituality. Tours are conducted at a nearby Gurdwara, including Palatine (Sikh Religious Society – Palatine Gurdwara), Wheaton (Illinois Sikh Community Centre), Devon (Devon Gurdwara Sahib), and other Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) in the region.

The organisation activities are looked after by a Board of Directors who are elected or appointed. Presently S. Pradeep Singh is the President of the organisation whereas Irwinpreet Singh is the Executive Secretary. The Trustees look after their portfolios like religious affairs, social welfare, Langar, library and Gurmat School run by the organisation. The contact details of this organization are, address: 1280 Winnetka St. Palatine, IL 60067, contact no. 8473581117, Email: contactus@srcchicago.org.

Sikh Relief

Sikh Relief is a registered charity in England and Wales, Registration No. 1125370. Originally, this organisation was started for the help of the prisoners and was known as Sikh Organisation for Prisoner Welfare (SOPW). The various projects taken at that time were related to the welfare of prisoners and their families. Later on the scope of charity was expanded and the organisation becoming “Sikh Relief”, focussed upon the help and assistance to the poor, needy and destitute all over the world, predominantly in India. Thus, the organisation has since then worked on disaster relief work, medical aid for poor and needy, children education, supporting the environment, promoting and maintaining Sikh values and welfare of Sikh political prisoners and their families. Their services at the time of Jammu & Kashmir flood disaster were prominently noticed when they not only provided necessary items including medicines to the needy persons, but also helped them in household and home repairs and rebuilding. Sikh Relief has also done considerable work in the ‘learn to earn’ project called ‘Kirat Kamai Project’. They have accomplished the task of sourcing raw material from Mumbai, Maharashtra and had it delivered to the six ‘Learn to Earn’ Centres currently training the first batch of 200 lady apprentices. The ladies of the Madhya Pradesh Sikligar community are being schooled in the arts of tailoring and sewing for garments. The course lasts six months and upon completion each graduate receives a sewing machine and is able to immediately begin earning to help feed and house their family. The delivery of materials has ensured that the students of the first batch will be able to complete the course satisfactorily. It may be mentioned here that an article published by outlook India in February 2018 had criticised this organisation describing it an indirect support for terror. In response to that, the organisation had explained their position. It seems that the observations made against Sikh Relief are mainly because of the fact that one of the objects of the organisation is to help the Sikh Prisoners. However, there are many other objects of the organisation which are purely humanitarian. Further, even in the cases of many prisoners, the help may be on humanitarian grounds as all the prisoners cannot be treated as terrorists. In our humble view, any organisation should be judged on totality of circumstances and if any segment of the society is being benefited by their acts, the same should also be considered. We hope that the organisations will not indulge in any act of omission or commission which will be against the law of any country or against humanity.

Sikh Council of Religion and Education (SCORE)

Dr. Rajwant Singh, a prominent Sikh personality of USA, has been participating in Sikh Community Affairs since when he was in Dental School in year 1980. He has been associated with many organizations and was the first Sikh leader who was invited to the White House in 1993 by President Clinton. One of the organizations with which he is associated as the founder and the Chairman is the Sikh Council of Religion and Education (SCORE). This organization was founded in 1998, and based in Washington, it serves as a think tank and represents Sikhs in various forums and venues. It is dedicated to creating awareness of the Sikh religion and the Sikh people; promoting the positive role of Sikhs in America as well as globally; and upholding the values of religious freedom, civil rights, human dignity, justice, and nature preservation from the perspective of Sikhism. SCORE’s mission is to represent the Sikh viewpoint in public forums, interfaith discussions and throughout governmental agencies to promote community understanding and a just society for all. Inspired by the Sikh values, SCORE pursues harmony and mutual respect among different religious communities and people through interfaith dialogue and joint work in an increasingly diverse society.
This council is active not only in USA, but also in other countries. In India, it is active in communities with Sikh minorities to encourage their participation in society and the preservation of Sikh identity. The council also advocates for solidarity between faiths through interreligious dialogue.

Unique Service of Preparing Directories

While dealing with the subject of strengthening the Sikh community in foreign countries, the role of two dedicated Sikhs who started bringing out Directories for providing information to the people of Sikh community about others and linking them through the columns of the Directories, cannot be ignored. The first person in this regard is S. Nirpal Singh Shergil. A journalist from Ludhiana, who went to U.K. in 1996 where he not only studied, but also did his business and acted as overseas special correspondent for Ajeet Newspaper. He became popular when he brought out his first international Directory of prominent Indians, especially Punjabis, settled in various parts of the world. The 20th Edition of this Directory titled as “Indian Abroad and Punjab Impact” was released during this year. This edition is a special Canada edition. Regarding this edition, S. Shergil has elaborated its coverage in the editorial in the following words –

“The enhanced 20th edition of this international annual gives the readers direct access to thousands of well-established NRIs, Gurdwaras, Sikh organisations, and Punjabi NRIs worldwide. The listings range from businesses, media, law, immigration, education, health services, organisations and religious and cultural institutions. Details of Indian diplomatic missions throughout the world along with addresses of foreign missions in New Delhi and International telephone codes have also been added.

Additionally, this informative reference guide has investigative and analytical articles from established writers specialising in the Indian Diaspora including articles on subjects such as the significant development and growth of Punjabi newspapers as global Punjabi media since the establishment of the Ghadar newspaper, development of Punjabi businesses all over the world and the dominating role in various fields by Punjabi NRIs not only in their newly adopted countries but also in their motherland, India. This international directory of NRIs has been compiled to help promote and develop their businesses in India and abroad.”
As S. N.S. Shergil is a renowned journalist, and with his publications including special souvenirs and his lectures, particularly on Sikh related issues like importance of turban (he is worldwide campaigner for the Sikh turban), he has become an organisation in himself.

The Sikh Group

The Sikh Group consists of three established and trusted global brands ‘The Sikh Directory’, ‘The Sikh Awards’ and ‘The Sikh 100’. The first edition of The Sikh Directory was published in 2006 and is the first directory of Sikh businesses and Sikh organizations in the world. The world’s first Sikh awards ceremony took place on the 10th October 2010 (10-10-10), at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. Recognition is given to the special contribution Sikhs make around the world in a variety of categories. Ceremonies have been held in London, Delhi, Toronto and the 9th annual awards were held in Kenya. The Sikh 100, profiles the most powerful, influential and contemporary people of Sikh heritage from around the world and crosses all sectors. The Founder, Navdeep Singh has been recognized across the world on all platforms and has the support of global brands, business leaders and politician’s. In 2014, the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh awarded him for his significant contribution to the Sikh community.The aim of The Sikh Group is to promote the Sikh faith and great personalities of the community so the next generation are encouraged to aim high, be passionate and excel in all aspects of their lives.

Sat Sri Akal Charitable Trust

The Sikh Group is not the only organization which honours the Sikh achievers is different fields every year. There are some other organizations also which are doing these types of honours. Sat Sri Akal Trust is one of such organizations. It is a team of volunteers which are engaged in such social causes and activities which impact the lives of Sikhs around the world. Their mission is to do such philanthropic works which lead to upliftment of all in the society. This organisation was registered in 2009 at Mumbai vide Registration No. E-25474. The main two events of this trust are the annual competitions for the coveted titles such as Mr. Singh (India) and Ms. Kaur (International). When the annual function is organized to give prizes to the winners, the achievers Sikhs in different fields are also honoured. This is known as Sikh achievers Award Function, which was last held in Feb. 2018, wherein various persons from different parts of the world were invited and honoured for their distinguished achievements as Sikhs. The trust also organizes eye donation camps and medical camps at multiple locations. For example, a medical camp was organized by them in
Nanded on the occasion of the 300th year of Khalsa Sajna Diwas and in Bidar on the 500th Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The trust is managed by a board of trustees. S. K.P. Singh (9820604061) and S. Puran Singh Banga (9821025762) are the President and the Secretary of the organisation. The contact details of the organization are, address: B-1008, Sheth Heights, Behind Ashish theatre, Off. RC Marg, Chembur, Mumbai 400074, Telephone no. +91 9821025762 and e-mail is satstiakal.org@gmail.com.

To conclude this chapter, one more organization must be mentioned, because, it is this organization which has helped various organizations in financing their prestigious projects. The name of this organization is Munshi Bishan Singh Kochhar (MBSK) Foundation.

Munsi Bishan Singh Kochar Foundation, USA

The Munshi Bishan Singh Kochhar (MBSK) Foundation is named after a village school headmaster Bishan Singh Kochhar, who led the only primary school in the village of Turkwal, near Rawalpindi (in undivided India and today’s Pakistan) from 1901 to 1926. As a token of respect shown to him by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike, he was addressed by the honorific title, “Munshi Ji.”

The organisation was created to provide humanitarian aid for the underprivileged, provide funds to social welfare agencies to benefit the underprivileged, promote education of the underprivileged, including funding of educational grants, promote the study of the religion and religious history of the Sikhs and promote the writing and publication of works which foster or preserve the literature, history, religion and religious practices of the Sikhs.

The unique feature of this organisation is that it has funded various important programmes and organisations. These programmes includes co-publishing with UNESCO, The Sacred Writings of the Sikhs, a compilation of translated passages from the holy book, creating films like ‘One Light’ and ‘Roots and Wings’ to promote interfaith dialogue, for the education of orphans of farmers who committed suicide, through Baba Nanak Education Society, introducing teaching aids in Primary school in Punjab through Nishkam Sikh Welfare Trust, getting the brochures prepared by Sikh Coalition and funding of grants for working families to prevent homelessness through The Bridge Fund in NYC. It is, therefore evident that various organisation like Baba Nanak Education Society, Chandigarh, Bridge Fund New York, Nishkam Sikh Welfare Council, New Delhi, SELDEF, Sikh Coalition and Sikh Research Institutes have all benefited from the funds provided by this generous organisation. Baba Nanak Education Society based at Chandigarh is an India based welfare agency dedicated to the care of widows and orphans of farmers who have committed suicide in the Punjab because of increasing debt at the hands of money-lenders failed crops and increasingly poor soil. This is a registered society vide Registration No. 3260 (dated 30.10.2001). The chief functionary of this organisation is S. Inderjit Singh Jaijee. The foundation also helped individuals like Angad Singh in promoting his films and Surat Sikh Conference, New York city, which provide an opportunity for Sikh students and young professionals to come together to gain knowledge, discuss, and take action on the principles that define their value system. The President of organisation is S. Pritipal Singh Kochar. The contact details are, address MBSK Foundation Inc. 104, East 30th Street New York, NY 10016, USA, Phone: 212-979-2246.

Virdee Foundation

Virdee Foundation is a UK based non profit organization with its primary goal to help women and children who are in danger of suffering mental, physical or sexual abuse. The foundation was the patron for the UK’s first National Sikh Memorial established in honour of those Sikhs who bravery fought during the First World War. Over the years, The Virdee Foundation has played an active role raising funds and contributing a considerable amount to a range of charities. The various projects with which this foundation has remained associated include the construction of a community school, providing financial help to Bharuch Welfare Hospital in Gujarat, building St. Paul’s Children Care Centre in Nairobi and considerable donations to various charities like the Princess Trust, Mencap, British Red Cross Chile, Amir Khan’s Glove Community Centre, Chief Khalsa Diwan and Rays of Sunshine Children Charity. The main person of this organisation is S. Peter Singh Virdee. The contact details of the organisation are address Virdee Foundation, 11 Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 2ND, U.K., Phone No. 0207-629-3366.

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