US hotelier pledges $1 million for Delhi Sikh study centre
Friday, 29/05/2015
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
NEW DELHI/NEW YORK: US-based Indian-American hotel magnate Sant Singh Chatwal has pledged to donate $1 million (around `6.4 crore) to help set up a $5-million (`32 crore) Sikh Centre for International Studies at the Gurdwara Rakabganj in New Delhi.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference in New York on Wednesday, during which he launched the project, Chatwal said the money was meant for the centre that was expected to be complete in less than two years.
“The centre will come up on two acres of land owned by the gurdwara. This is a good cause,” he said.
The centre is to be built as part of what the organisers described as a move back to the roots of Sikhism. The project has thus been named ‘Mool’ (origin or essence) . The emphasis will be on showcasing who the Sikhs are and how have they historically and religiously emerged in India.
The project will have a digital library containing original texts from the Guru Granth Sahib and other important historical texts. It will provide research facilities for people wanting to learn about Sikhism and its history. There will be an auditorium that will have the latest state-of-theart seats and screens like in a planetarium. It will use technology like holography and laser to create a near-realistic experience of history for the audience.
Several office-bearers from the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) were present at the event. These included president Manjit Singh GK, general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa and chairman of the DSGMC Dharam Parchar Committee Paramjit Singh Rana.
GK and other officials outlined the details of the project which aims to familiarise young Sikhs with core values and contemporary relevance of Sikhism.
“The message of Guru Granth Sahib is universal. The Sikh holy book provides answers to all the problems the world is facing today, including gender inequality and climate change,” GK said.“Anyone who wants to know or do research about Sikhism and its holy book (Guru Granth Sahib) will get all the answers through the Mool project,” he said.
