- SHUMWAY: Mr. Speaker, today I ask that my colleagues join with me in honoring the Sikh nation as it celebrates its annual birthday on April 13. On this day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh began to baptize people in the name of the Sikh faith, today, some 16 million Sikhs in India, most of them in Punjab, join with their counterparts around the world in observing this anniversary.
More than 300,000 Sikhs reside here in the United States. My own congressional district is home to a large Sikh population and, individually and collectively, they have greatly enhanced the communities in which they reside, they are industrious, loyal, and resourceful, contributing greatly to the economy, and to civic causes. Sikhs believe strongly in equality, rejecting the social caste system which has been prevalent in India, They believe in one God, and in serving God through service to their fellow man.
Earlier this year, I reserved a special order to draw attention to the persecution and oppression which Sikhs experience in their homeland, On this, the birthday of the Sikh nation, I again appeal for an end to the violence perpetrated against the Sikhs.
I know that my colleagues will join with me in this appeal, and in extending to the Sikh nation every best wish on this important celebratory occasion.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 13, 1988
