By Gurpreet Singh Jawa
The fourth annual Sikh youth seminar recently concluded on Windsor, Ontario, Held under the auspices of the Young Sikh Persons International Organization and ably directed by Sardar Sajjan Singh Bhangoo, this year’s seminar was by far the most successful. Sardar Bhangoo’s family helped in the preparation for the seminar and his daughter, Ruby was integral to the smooth and successful running of it. The seminar was extended this year and ran from June 30 top July 9. There were 18 full time participants ages 1 523 with five others dropping in when their schedules permitted them to,
The participants came from Ontario, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut and North Carolina. The boys and girls were lodged on separate floors in Vanier Hall on the University of Windsor campus. The accommodations were excellent and the cafeteria food, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian was as delectable as it was varied.
As in the past, there were very learned guest speakers, but this year, for the first time, the emphasis was on speeches by the participants themselves. So, each day at least two participants presented a speech or initiated and moderated a discussion on topics related to Sikhism or of concern to them. These were such things as personal religious experience, youth of the West is the hope of the 21st century, the value of Punjabi language and culture arranged marriages, dating, gender gap, and identity crisis. These presentations, and the discussions that followed them, were what made the seminar such an overwhelming success, The participants themselves moderated, there were no adults present, and despite the fact that an incredibly diverse array of views were expressed, not once were voices raised or heated words exchanged. Because of this, all the participants of Sikh leadership in North America that these youth came together and exchanged views so amicably and rationally.
The distinguished guest speakers were Dr. Gurbax Singh Gill, Vikram Singh Khalsa, Bob Buckie, Dr. Darshan Singh, Carl Morgan, and Harkrishan Singh. They spoke on topics of interest to this age group, such as the necessity of Punjabi, the future of Sikhs in the West, human rights, spirituality in Sikhism, the representation of Sikhs in Western society and media and job trends and employment tips. The presence of Carl Morgan the powerful editor of the Windsor Star, was a major coup for Sardar Bhangoo. Mr. Morgan was accompanied by a Reporter, Scott Burnside, who wrote an article on the seminar which appeared in the next day’s Windsor Star.
Also of note was the Sikh Studies Symposium in Detroit which the participants attended. A Sikh professor from Punjab said that if it weren’t for the Sikhs protesting in New York and Washington, all the Sikhs in Punjab would have been finished by now.
A centerpiece of the seminar was the daily Punjabi class, taught by Sardar Bhangoo himself. Of the three seminars and five camps that the author has been privileged to attend, this seminar’s Punjabi class was by far the best. The students were given a working vocabulary and introduced to the conjugation of verb tenses. other activities which the youths participated in were basketball, volleyball, tennis, bowling, a walk on the beach, dinner at two fine restaurants, shopping and humorous skits.
On behalf of all the seminar participants the author would like to openly thank Sardar Bhangoo for providing us all with such a priceless educational and social experience. We all gained a strengthened appreciation for the value of Sikhism and for contact with fellow Sikhs.
Next year’s seminar is tentatively scheduled for the same dates as it was this year. Those who are interested in attending should contact: Sajjan Singh Bhangoo, 3070 Lauzon Road, Windsor, Ontario N8T 2Z8, Canada.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 25, 1989
