Opening Remarks – Prem Singh Vinning, President WSO Canada
June 3, 2010
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Honourable Guests; Ladies and gentlemen:
It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you to the 25th Parliamentary Dinner organized by the World Sikh Organization of Canada.
For the benefit of our guests let me briefly touch on who Sikhs are and what WSO does.
The Sikh religion was revealed and taught through Guru Nanak in the form of Ten Gurus (1469 -1708), and now through Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Scripture) and the community of Sikhs. We are a world wide community of 25 million.
15 Million of us live in Punjab Five million of us live in other parts of India. Five Million of us live outside of India, of which Canada is home to over 500,000 of us.
Sikhism is a dutiful way of life for achieving peace by doing service to society. Guru Nanak teaches us a three prong life to achieve this goal.
Kirat Karna : earning an honest living
Naam Japna: remembering God
Wand Chhakna: sharing what we have with others
The WSO Canada is a non-profit umbrella organization founded in 1984 with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of the Sikh Diaspora, as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights for all individuals, irrespective of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and social and economic status.
Through a National Assembly of 31 Executive Members, WSO strives to reflect the Canadian Sikh community from coast to coast. To fulfill our mandate we draw no financial support from any level of government. Instead the Sikh community is our inspirational and financial resource.
June is a month of remembrance in the Sikh community as we remember innocents lives lost across the world to violence. The first week off June brings back the memories of the Indian army assault on Darbar Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple ) and 38 other Sikh shrines in 1984. Sikhs mourn the loss of thousands of innocent lives during that tragic episode. It was a devastating historical event in which thousands of Sikh pilgrims – women, children, the elderly and infirm – were brutally killed by the Indian army. The orchestrated death and desecration that took place is permanently etched in the psyche of the Sikh community.
We also recall the massacre of innocents in June 1989 at Tiannamen Square in China where hundreds of pro-democracy protestors were attacked and killed only for peacefully exercising their freedom of speech.
And of course, who can forget the tragic events of June 23, 1985 when 329 innocent lives were lost in the Air India bombing, the single greatest act of terrorism in Canadian history. This year of course marks the 25th anniversary of that sad day as the victims families, Canadian Sikhs and all Canadians in general continue to wait for justice.
In memory of all the innocent lives lost, we would request all of our guests to rise for a moment of silence.
Thank you.
With respect to the loss of innocent lives, our guest speaker today, has indepth knowledge of the massacre of Sikhs on the streets of Delhi in November 1984. I am sure you will find his address illuminating and thought provoking.
In closing, on behalf of the National Executive of WSO I would like to thank each and every one of you for attending. Enjoy the evening.
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