Sikh Leaders Urge Boycott of Indian Consulate Sponsored Seminar on Guru Gobind Singh

:dateline:Sikh community leaders are voicing objections to an upcoming seminar about their tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, which is being organized by the Consulate General of India.

�The new strategy by the�Hindutva-ruled Indian State is to systematically steal and twist the legacy of our Gurus, especially Guru Gobind Singh, to serve the purposes of a supremacist agenda,� states Balbir Singh Dhillon, President of West Sacramento Sikh Gurdwara. �Every Sikh who values his Sikhi and cares about stewarding the true message of the Guru Granth Sahib should boycott and protest such events.�

The January 28 event at the Boston Public Library is co-sponsored by the Milan Cultural Association and the Consulate General of India (New York). Titled, �Celebrations of 350th Anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singhji,� the seminar features Dr. Bal Ram Singh (University of Massachusetts), Professor Gary Goldstein (Tufts University), and Professor Alan Douglas (University of Maine). The Boston seminar is scheduled to occur just a little over two months after the Consulate General of India (San Francisco) sponsored a similar seminar at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles.

Bhajan Singh, a community activist, attended that seminar to protest. �These seminars are being organized by the Indian State in collaboration with the Uberoi Foundation, a�Hindutva�front that is trying to prostitute American academia for its own ends,� says Singh. �Bal Ram Singh, for instance, uses grant money from Uberoi to promote Vedanta, hobnob with scammers like Baba Ramdev, and organize �Teach India� programs to indoctrinate American schoolteachers about how to talk about India. He led a letter of American academics inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Butcher of Gujarat, to attend a �Rock Star� reception in San Jose. He�s a�Hindutvastooge.�

At the Los Angeles seminar, when the organizers attempted to honor Indian Consul General Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok by crowning him with a turban, Singh stood up to object. �I protest this activity,� declared Singh. Speaking to Ashok, he continued, �Guru Gobind Singh is a warrior. You are a coward. You have killed so many people near New Delhi. We are suffering. You are coming here representing the government�. You are casteist. You belong to the�Hindutvaforces.�

Avneet Kaur, an activist affiliated with several Sikh students associations, remarks, �Every Sikh who respects their Gurus should attend these seminars solely to protest. US Gurdwaras should follow the example set by those in Canada and boycott all Sikhi-related events sponsored by the Indian State. We should also do our part to stand up and deny the legitimacy of any�Hindutvavadiwho tries to co-opt the precious legacy and teachings of our Gurus.

The event on January 28 begins at�1pm�at�700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.