Local Sikhs celebrate awareness month with events, outreach

Apr. 17—After he graduated from culinary school in Hartford, Gurpreet Singh spent three years driving through Connecticut searching for a welcoming spot for a member of the Sikh community to start his own Punjabi restaurant.

He found it in 2018 at the corner of Main and Broadway in Norwich, in the historic Wauregan Apartments. The Royal Punjabi opened in 2018 and flies the yellow Sikh flag with the Khanda emblem signifying the Sikh faith.

Gurpreet Singh, whose family immigrated from the Punjab region in northern India to Storrs when he was 15, knew that Norwich welcomed Sikhs, thanks to dogged public outreach by Norwich Sikh community leader Swaranjit Singh Khalsa. Even before opening The Royal Punjabi, Gurpreet Singh had brought Punjabi food to Norwich's annual Rotary Celebrate Diversity event.

"When you move to another city or another place, the major fear for any minorities is how people are going to treat you there," Gurpreet Singh said. "Because of all the awareness and all the recognition the city of Norwich has given to Sikh people, it makes us comfortable to move here, especially when you have kids."

Taped to the front counter at The Royal Punjabi is a small flier titled, "Who are the Sikhs?" giving statistics and facts about the world's fifth largest religion, with more than 25 million adherents worldwide. The flier states there are more than 500,000 Sikhs in the United States. Starting in 2020, the U.S. Census allowed Sikhs to identify themselves with the notation "Sikh," rather than just Asian.

While many people mistake Sikhs for Muslims, because Sikhs wear the Dastaar, or turban, the Sikh Coalition flier stated: "In America, 99% of the people you see wearing a turban are Sikhs."

April is Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month, when Sikhs celebrate a key religious holiday, Vaisakhi. The holiday marks the April, 1699 creation by Guru Gobind Singh of the Sikh Khalsa, a collective of men and women dedicated to the faith as its leaders. Vaisakhi celebrates the founding of Sikh religion and the wheat harvest in the agricultural region of Punjab.

Sikhism itself dates to the 15th century, when Guru Nanak, the first of 10 Sikh gurus, laid out the basic tenets of belief, philosophies of life, such as devotion to one God, equality among castes and between men and women and defense against injustice.

Sikhs have been embroiled in political strife for centuries, with their homeland of Punjab split between India and Pakistan. The Indian side has divided into different states. Turmoil has turned violent, including a 1984 attack on a holy temple by Indian forces called Sikh Genocide, a term India disputes. Conditions there have led to increased migration, including to the United States, Singh Khalsa said.

Articles of faith

Initiated Sikhs refrain from cutting their hair as a symbol of spirituality, devotion to God and retaining the natural human condition. The Dastaar contains their unshorn locks for men and women.

Initiated Sikhs wear five physical articles of faith: the Dastaar turban; a wooden comb as a symbol of cleanliness; a round bracelet, a reminder that God is infinite; the Kirpan, a 3-to-6-inch symbolic version of the curved three-foot sword Sikhs wore historically; and long underwear as a sign of modesty.

Like other religions, not every Sikh is a strict adherent to the orthodox doctrines, and not all wear the five articles of faith.

All men bear the name Singh, meaning lion, and all women carry the name Kaur, meaning princess.

And faithful Sikhs pledge to contribute 10% of their incomes to community service.

Sikh Awareness events

This past Friday was National Sikh Day/Vaisakhi Day, and April 29 is Sikh Declaration of Independence Day.

Vaisakhi is celebrated with parades, worship, educational programs and food ― lots of food. The Sikh faith teaches equality and service to fellow human beings in need. Sikh temples, called Gurdwaras, offer free food, called Langar, to visitors of any ethnicity or religion year-round.

In Connecticut, Gurdwaras in Southington, Hamden, Norwalk, South Windsor and Windsor Locks hold services from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays.

Guntas Kaur, Singh Khalsa's wife, said Langar is an example of the dedication to equality and service. Bucking traditions in India, Sikhs invited people of all castes to sit together on the floor and share Langar meals. After the meal, everyone says prayers in their own way, she said.

As part of Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month, Singh Khalsa spoke to two groups on Thursday last week. He gave a presentation on Sikh religion and culture to the Adventures in Lifelong Learning class at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich and to 14 police recruits from departments throughout the state.

Singh Khalsa explained the Sikh articles of faith and how they might come into play when officers interact with Sikhs. "If you stop me and ask if I am carrying a weapon, I will say, 'no,'" he said, but he will explain the Kirpan. He said Sikhs usually keep the Kirpan concealed, and it will set off metal detectors.

The Dastaar is a long piece of cloth intricately wrapped into a turban. It's a long piece of cloth wrapped and tied around the head, not a hat, and cannot be removed easily at security checkpoints at airports or courthouses.

A 'micro-minority' in Connecticut

The largest concentrations of Sikhs in America are in New York, New Jersey and California. The first Sikhs to immigrate to the U.S. came in the late 1890s to work on the railroads in California. Keeping their agriculture roots, many Sikh Americans turned to farming.

"The largest peach, pistachio, okra and raisin farms are all owned by Sikh farmers in California," the flier posted at Royal Punjabi restaurant says.

The Norwich area has about 20 Sikh families. Singh Khalsa said there are about 1,000 Sikh families in Connecticut.

"We are a micro-minority of Connecticut population," Singh Khalsa said. "But when you are micro-minority, government should also provide some safeguards. ... There are a lot of needs that (Sikh residents) have, and we need to work on those needs, especially when they are scattered all over Connecticut."

Issues include understanding the Sikh religion and allowing accommodations in schools and workplaces. Lack of awareness is especially a concern in small towns if only one or a few Sikh families reside there, Singh Khalsa said.

Local Sikhs have varying occupations. Singh Khalsa, 38, whose parents run a construction company in Punjab, came to the United States in 2007 to earn his master's degree in computer science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He met and married Guntas Kaur, who grew up in Maryland. They moved to Punjab for a time before returning to the United States to start a business.

They landed in Norwich, where they bought Norwichtown Shell gasoline station on West Town Street and started American Property Group LLC, a residential housing development company. He recently sold Norwichtown Shell to another Sikh owner.

Singh Khalsa founded the Sikh Art Gallery at 7 Clinic Drive, Norwich, in 2021, with a collection of Sikh art from around the world, books and pamphlets, artifacts and displays of Sikh symbolism and history.

Singh Khalsa and Guntas Kaur have two daughters, a 7-year-old at the Thomas Mahan School in Norwich and a 5-month-old baby.

Guntas Kaur said she had her first encounter with racism in Norwich while working at the Shell station. A woman was having trouble with the station's car wash. Guntas Kaur said she shouted instructions, but the woman countered with, "Go back to your own country." Guntas Kaur was shaken, but another customer overheard and chastised the woman in Guntas' defense.

"I hope that we can get together as a community and just kind of be inclusive of everyone, no bullying," Guntas Kaur said. "It doesn't matter what religion and what you look like. I have two daughters, and I want them to grow up and be welcomed."

Gurpreet Singh and his wife, Parminder Kaur, met in person seven days before they were married in Punjab eight years ago, a marriage arranged by her uncle, although he told her she could back out. Gurpreet Singh was in the United States, and she was in Punjab. They talked for a year on the phone. A week before the wedding, he arrived.

"I saw him, and there is no chance I can say, 'no,'" Parminder Kaur said. "He is very good, very loving."

The couple has a 6-year-old son at the John B. Stanton School in Norwich and a 2-year-old daughter.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Royal Punjabi offered free takeout meals twice a week to anyone. Every day still, the restaurant offers free food to downtown homeless residents or anyone who cannot afford a meal, Gurpreet Singh's Langar offering.

Feeling safe in Norwich

Gurpreet Singh wears a Dastaar, but does cut his hair and trim his beard. Parminder Kaur, 33, has long hair, but does cut it and does not wear a Dastaar. She said she believes in Sikhism but is not orthodox. Both said they have always felt welcome in Norwich.

"I feel safe, good for the kids," Parminder Kaur said. "I don't think there's any problems. My kids are being treated good. That was my biggest fear when we moved here."

Manny Singh, 49, moved to Connecticut in 1999 and Norwich in 2002. He worked at the Norwichtown Shell, owned by his sister at the time. Manny Singh now works as a security officer at Backus Hospital and at the Coast Guard Academy in New London.

He and his wife, Neeku Adia, have three children, ages 5, 7 and 10, all at Stanton School in Norwich. His wife teaches in the Norwich school system.

Manny Singh does not have long hair. He said he had to cut his hair when he was a kid, because he had chicken pox. Later, he had to keep it short as a wrestling athlete in high school and college in India. He said he talks to police and Coast Guard officials about Sikh culture and religion.

Manny Singh said local Sikhs would love to establish a Gurdwara temple in the area to avoid the hour-long drive to Hamden or Southington.

"We have a growing community," he said.

Sikh advocacy

Singh Khalsa, 38, has been a vocal Sikh advocate for a decade. He served from 2016 to 2021 on the Norwich planning commission. He was elected to the Board of Education in 2019 and to the City Council in 2021, the first Sikh City Council member in Connecticut.

The Sikh Art Gallery has become a meeting and event space for numerous ethnic and civic groups and provides free tours to school groups.

While Singh was on the Board of Education, he persuaded the school board and administration to change the school policy prohibiting dangerous weapons to provide an exemption for religious articles, such as the Sikh Kirpan worn by devout students. The 3-inch ceremonial daggers are not sharp, and the sheath is banded to prevent the dagger from being removed, he said.

"If an accommodation is requested for a religious artifact or an article of faith (such as a Kirpan carried only by an initiated Sikh)," the policy, amended in 2021, now states, "it will be considered on a case-by-case basis by administration."

Singh Khalsa now wants to form a Sikh motorcycle club to further raise awareness and presence. But while Connecticut does not have a mandatory helmet law, riders must wear a helmet to take classes and get their licenses. Singh Khalsa is working with state legislators to allow Sikhs to wear Dastaars rather than helmets.

He told the police recruits Thursday, the Sikh Motorcycle Club of Connecticut is "on its way."

c.bessette@theday.com

SIKH AWARENESS EVENTS IN CONNECTICUT

Singh Khalsa invited police to tour the five Gurdwaras in Connecticut to learn their layout and entrances in case of emergencies. He explained that Sikh homes have a copy of the 1,400-page holy scripture book, and homeowners might risk their lives to retrieve it in a fire, he said.

On Sunday, April 16, a Sikh Day parade and celebration was held in Southington, with turban contests, demonstrations, music, Sikh education information and food.

In Norwich on Tuesday, the Sikh Art Gallery at 7 Clinic Drive will host a community chat about the Sikh religion from 9 to 10 a.m. On April 23, members of the local Sikh community will provide the monthly free community meal at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 248 Broadway.

A Sikh Freedom March was held April 8 in Washington, D.C. and on April 29, a Sikh Day parade will be held in New York City.