Sikh Americans are ecstatic that Obama will visit the Golden Temple. Avatar Singh, chief of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee that is responsible for Sikh places of worship in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh ,will welcome Obama. Other senior leaders, led by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, are also expected to receive the American President and the First Lady.
Sources said that in the few hours the Obamas will be in Amritsar, they will also visit an organic farm. The first lady is very interested in the subject, and has a miniature organic farm on the White House's South Lawn.
"It's really a dream come true moment," said Potomac, Maryland-based dentist Dr Rajwant Singh, chairman, Sikh Council on Religion and Education and executive director, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation. "This is absolutely a joyous moment for Sikhs not just in America, but all over the world," added Singh, was in the forefront of urging Obama to visit the Golden Temple. "I have been receiving scores of e-mails and calls from not only all across America but from also people in Punjab and Delhi and everywhere — even from Australia and the Middle East!"
He said it all had begun when "The President mentioned to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the state dinner in November about the Guru Nanak birthday celebrations the White House had hosted. This was such a complete surprise and such a wonderful and great gesture."
It was then, Singh said, "That's when I thought that this could work (urging Obama to visit the Golden Temple). That if I just plug this idea and somehow keep pushing this, it might work. And by god's grace it did."
Singh had started to work on it with Paul Monteiro, White House associate director for public engagement. Monteiro's portfolio includes reaching out to ethnic minorities and he is a regular feature at Sikh American events. He helped organise the Guru Nanak birth anniversary celebration at the White House.
In early July, Singh continued, he had written to the White House that if the President could visit the Golden Temple, it would "be a wonderful gesture since it's a symbol of interfaith understanding." He had pointed out that "the foundation stone of the temple was laid by a Muslim saint and the temple itself was constructed by Hindus and Sikhs and visited by people of all faiths from all over the world. I also mentioned that Punjab shares 370 miles of border with Pakistan and it will be a powerful message by the President to South Asia if he visits the temple."
If Obama visits the temple, Singh had added, "Americans will come to know about Sikhs and what Sikhism is all about. This will hopefully help to remove some of the misunderstanding and misperceptions about Sikhs in America and many of the difficulties Sikhs have faced and continue to face due to everything from racial profiling to mistaken identity and harassment at airports and other security barriers."
Complete story can be viewed with thanks at link in headline above or from : source : http://www.indiaabroad-digital.com/indiaabroad/20101015?pg=9#pg9
Submitted by : Dr. Rajwant Singh - Young sikh Leaders - with President Obama.
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