Millionaire US hotelier rejects idea of Khalistan
Monday, 27/07/2015
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MARYLAND (WASHINGTON): Former deputy speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Baldev Singh (78) wants the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to focus on Punjab and make the foreign visits productive by replicating the development ideas from the US in Punjab.
Baldev Singh at his plush home in Clarksville, Washington.
Baldev, a native of Majat village near Landran in SAS district and a multi-millionaire who owns hotels and has a major share in a hospitality company, is also critical the way demand for Khalistan is being raised by a section of people.
“Where do they want to build Khalistan? Can they build a separate country like Japan or European countries?” he questioned, adding that there are no such resources in Punjab. Baldev owns two Hilton hotels in Chicago and Pennsylvania, and a Marriot and a Double Tree hotel in Washington.
He became MLA of Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 1967 on a SAD ticket from Kharar. Before that he had met Gurcharan Singh Tohra in jail during a morcha of the Akali Dal demanding Punjabi-speaking areas.
Baldev came from a humble family, worked as an art and craft teacher at Government School in Sector 23, then did law from Panjab University.
“I never supported Khalistan. During the days when we were managing the Richmond Hill gurdwara we never let anyone raise the issue but now things have changed drastically,” he said.
After getting elected as MLA he became deputy speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha for over two years till 1969. He established links with the US embassy, got work visa for the US and landed in New York in October 1970. Being a law graduate he got a job in an insurance company as a manager and later started his business of petrol pumps, truck stations and finally got into hotel business. He is also a silent partner in a hospitality company.
“The Akali Dal needs to go beyond the Panthic issues and focus on development in Punjab,” he suggested.
Referring to the theory of sociologist Meslow, Baldev said when Sikhs and Punjabis landed in the US, they struggled for shelter and food and subsequently got into image building and recognition and then sought command to land into politics.
“Due to their limited knowledge and education, they can’t mingle with other communities, but find gurdwara and Sikh politics a fertile ground for them,” Baldev said.
He is also critical of the way Sikhs fight with each other. “People in other religions do have differences but the violent manner we fight with each other brings a bad name to our community,” Baldev told HT, adding that Akalis were gradually turning fundamentalists, which they never were in the past.
ABOUT RICHMOND HILL GURDWARA
One of the oldest gurdwaras in the US in Richmond Hill area actually was a Baptist church building converted into a gurdwara, which was purchased by the Sikh community in 1973 by paying 65,000 US dollars to Christians.
“They (Christians) demanded 3.5 lakh dollars but the gurdwara could not arrange this much money and they sold the place at our offer,” said Baldev, who remained associated with the gurdwara as vice-president and general secretary for years.
“A major fire broke out in 1992 in which the old building was destroyed and we rebuilt the gurdwara, purchasing houses in the surrounding,” Baldev said.
Richmond Hill Gurdwara is the second oldest in the US after the one in Sacramento, California.
