NEW YORK: A sea of Sikhs surged up Broadway in Manhattan here on Saturday, April 22 as waves of Sikh immigrants from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Chicago, Washington and as far as Canada and California came to participate in the Second Annual Sikh Parade.

Lead by the panjpiaras and a float with the Holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the estimated 12,000 Sikhs marched down Broadway, many in their three piece suits, the women and children sporting colorful dresses, which shimmered in the bright and sunny day.

A very large contingent of the Sikh Cultural Society followed the float. Thousands of Sikhs has come to participate as a group to represent the largest Gurdwara on the east coast.

This was the Gurdwara which had worked tirelessly to make the parade an annual feature and to organize various aspects of it. The president of the society S. Jagjit Singh Mangat and the Vice President S. Rabinder Singh Bhamra had taken the lead in this effort, to which society officials, members and all the Sikhs in the area had responded magnificently. Talking to WSN both, Mangat and Bhamra credited the team spirit of all the Sikhs for the success of the parade.

A float of the Golden Temple in Amritsar came next. The rendering of this holy Sikh Gurdwara which had been brutally attacked by the Indian army in June 1984, was so well executed that many an eye misted. The Darshani Deohri had been added to the float this year, which made it better.

Marching with them were contingents of the Singh Sabha of New York and Sikh Centre.

Members and leaders of the World Sikh Organization a delegation of the Guru Ram Das Ashram and the Columbia Sikh Students Association marched behind the float.

Sikhs who had come from far and wide also came together in this group. Present were the delegations of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, The Sikhs of Greater Chicago, Sikh Study Circle of New Hampshire, and groups from New Orleans North Carolina, and Buffalo.

Next came a float with the legend, “We Are All Equal and Children of One God,” which had a painting of Guru Nanak Dev Ji the founder of Sikhism.

The Sikhs of New Jersey from the Garden State Sikh Association -and the Sri Guru Singh Sabha of Paramus, marched after the float.

A float on “Punjab The Food Basket Of India,” with a revolving stand showing scenes of a Sikh as a farmer, a Sikh as a soldier, young Sikhs performing Bhangra and Sikh girls participating in Giddha underscored the cultural threads which weave the Sikh Society.

The Mid-Hudson Sikh Cultural Society, the Guru Nanak Taxi Association and the Sikh Forum Long Island, marched after the float and one of the six bands taking part in the parade came at the end of it.

The parade had started from 38th street and so many people had participated in it that the last float left 38th Street when the parade’s leaders were on the twenty third street.

It passed the Herald Square, in front of the famous Macy’s department store where a reviewing stand was built.

Many of the participants carried banners saying “Religion is Kindness” and langar was provided to all the participants and many bystanders by volunteers of the Sikhs from Kabul (Afghanistan) and the Guru Nanak Taxi Association as in the last year’s parade.

Soft drinks and fruits were distributed to all in and around the parade.

Clad in Safron Turbans and T-Shirts, Sikh Youths of New York and New Jersey had provided the essential sewa of manning all the interceptions which helped to make the parade the most disciplined and smooth.

At the Union Square on fourteenth street where the parade ended, many sat down to listen to the dignitaries who included S. Didar Singh Bains, the former President of World Sikh Organization who was also an “Honored Guest” at the parade, Brig: Iqbal Singh of CURCIL, S. Gurcharan Singh Dhillon the President of WSO, Surinder Pal Singh Kalra, Lakhbir Singh Cheema, Gumam Singh Parma and Rajwant Singh.

Dr. Gurinder Singh Grewal President of World Sikh News and Ronald Kuby the Lawyer representing Sukhminder Singh and Ranjit Singh Gill in their extradition case also addressed the gathering at the Union Square.

A video was made of the parade and will be available soon.

Article extracted from this publication >>  April 28, 1989