US Congress recognizes Stockton Sikh Temple’s centennial
Wednesday, 14/11/2012
http://punjabnewsline.com/news/US-Congress-recognizes-Stockton-Sikh-Temple___s-centennial.html
STOCKTON: Another remarkable moment has been written in the history of American Sikhs. One hundred year old Sikh temple or Gurdwara in Stockton has been recognized by a Northern California Congressman by formally acknowledging it in Congressional Record.
Rep Tom McClintock in his statement while comparing the ancestors to pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1620, seeking better future for their descendants, said, “It is the very same story of pilgrims like Baba Vasakha Singh and Baba Jawala Singh Thathian who founded the Stockton Gurdwara Sahib a century ago, and all those who have followed since.”
The members of the Sikh community in North America who were settled in the Central Valley established the Stockton Gurdwara in 1912. They also formed the Ghadar Party, which influenced the Indian struggle for Independence and also launched the country’s first Punjabi newspaper.
There are over 6,50,000 Sikhs in United States, of these 2,50,000 are in the Golden State. McClintock representative of a district east of Sacramento said “no religion is more attuned to the principles of the American Declaration of Independence than the Sikh religion.”
His statement comes in the wake of Sikhs in US pressing for better understanding post September 2011 attack, as they have been targets of hate crimes ever since.
Meanwhile, a state legislative resolution recognized the Gurdwara’s centennial and detailed its historic significance. The resolution was passed in September.
The resolution said the Sikh American Community “continues to peacefully overcome attacks on its identity and practices … whether in the form of school harassment, employment discrimination, or murder.”
