LONDON, U.K.: On June 21,1992, the Sikh Sangat (the Sikh community) welcomed Dr Gurpartap Singh Birk, S. Sukhvinder Singh, S. Virinder Singh, S Jasbir Singh Sandhu, and. S Jatinder Singh Ahluwalia. They were arrested in May 1985 in New Orleans, USA, under the charges Of conspiracy to kill an internationally protected person Bhajan Lal (from Haryana, India) during his visit to New Orleans for his eye operation.

Ahluwalia, a New Orleans taxi driver, after two years of incarceration, was quited free and clear on April 9,1987 by Honorable Judge Patrick E. Carr. Among the other four defendants, the maximum charges were on Dr. Birk and he, therefore, was on May 1992 the only one who served the major part of his sentence in an ultra-security U.S. Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and was the last one who was released in March 1992.

Since, at present, these Sikhs are Staying in different parts of the world, their getting together at one place was very difficult. Therefore, it was decided by the Sikh Sangat that Dr. Birk should represent all of them during the operation of the Sadh  the Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hills, NY, had coordinated this welcome program, The sadh Sangat, however, ordered S. Harbhajan Singh Gill (from NY area) and this reporter (from New Orleans), to reach London for this welcome program.

While honoring those five Sikhs, the sadh sangat of USA offered five turbans and $50,000. Dr. Birk thankfully received the five turbans and with great humility he requested the sadh sangat of USA to accept this $50,000 for the benefit of the Khalsa Panth. He said that needs of Khalsa Panth are much more important than our own individual needs! This reporter requested Dr.Birk to use this money during his time of need. He was still looking for a job and, as he desired, he may pay it back after his rehabilitation. Dr, Birk said that he believed that this donation should encourage other Sikhs to donate more for the Khalsa Panth,

From 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Dr.Birk, Gill, and this reporter visited three Gurdwara Sahibs (Sikh temples) in the greater London area, i. e in Slough, Hounslow and South hall. At first this reporter welcomed all the five Sikhs, While appreciating the dedication of S. Harbhajan Singh Gill, he further introduced Gill as the next and the main speaker of this program.

Gill introduced Dr,Birk and the other four defendants to the sadh sangat, Gill told the sadh sangat that during 1982 the atmosphere of Gurdwara Sahib in Richmond Hill, NY, was such that the then management invited and then gave a great honor to Indira Gandhi. Gill said that with the love and cooperation of sadh sangat, Dr. Birk helped a lot to change the atmosphere of the Gurdwara Sahib. After this, as many readers are already aware of, S Jagjit Singh Mangat served Khalsa Panth for many years as the President of the Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill, NY.

Gill told the sadh sangat that at the time of his arrest, Dr.Birk had the caring capacity of $150,000a year. Then for the seven years during his incarceration, his caring capacity dropped to $0.11 an hour! Even from this hard camed money, Dr.Birk used to give charity to the homeless people in USA and to the Disabled American Veterans, Dr.Birk further coordinated the effort to raise $55,000 for the construction of the Gurdwara Sahib New Orleans, which is dedicated to the memory of the Sikh Martyrs.

After this Dr.Birk thanked the sadh sangat for the love and respect he had received from them. He said that after seven years of his incarceration, it was the first time he was sharing his view with the sadh sangat. With a prayer for the victory to our Khalsa Panth, as soon as he finished his speech, the congregation hall resonated with the echo of our Jakarah, Bole So Nihal, Sat Sari Akali.

Again a similar gathering was in Hounslow at 1:00 p.m. and in South hall at 1:45 p.m. Gill had a truck load of information on Dr.Birk, which had to be conveyed in a limited time. Therefore taking a few minutes more by Gill, on one hand, and a humble reminder about the time by all the three Stage secretaries, on the other hand, was understandable!

The sadh sangat was listening to this program with a great interest. In Gurdwara Sahib at Haviuck Road, South all, the sadh sangat insisted and requested the stage secretary for more time to this program. Considering that it was getting late by 2:00 p.m., as the purpose of the program was the preliminary introduction of Dr.Birk to the sadh sangat, this reporter requested the sadh sangat to accept our short and humble visit at least at that time.

On a short notice, all the three Gurdwara committees gave priority to this program. The Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill, NY, is grateful to their magnanimity.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 3, 1992