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London Mayor meets with Sikh
organizations at City Hall
WSN Network
LONDON:
Representatives
from a number of Sikh organisations have presented the Mayor of
London with a shield during a visit to City Hall, for the work he
has done in support of the Sikh community. The meeting with the
Mayor was organised to discuss issues of concern to London's Sikh
community, and included Dabinderjit Singh, Amrik Singh, Harpartaap
Singh and Sukwinder Singh from the Sikh Federation; Narinderjit
Singh from the National Council of Gurdwaras; and Balvinder Kaur
from the Sikh Women's Alliance.
 The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone,
who visited Amritsar during last year's delegation to promote London
in India, said: 'This meeting was an opportunity to discuss a range
of issues that are of concern to London's Sikh community, such as
the right to practise one's religion, Sikh identity and cultural
activities. We also discussed the opportunities offered by the
Olympic Games for the Sikh community, including employment, training
and skills, as well as the sporting and cultural benefits.
'Sikhism is the
fourth largest religion in the UK and 104,000 Sikhs live in the
capital, making a significant contribution to London life. It is
important that the Sikh and other communities are properly
represented at every level of government and it is essential that
members of the Sikh community exercise their right to vote. Sikh
organisations have a key role to play in promoting registration,
whilst monitoring can help us assess progress made in terms of
employment and representation. This is why the Greater London
Authority gives the opportunity for employees to describe their
ethnic as well as religious group as being Sikh on recruitment and
monitoring forms. I am committed to ensuring that the Sikh community
– as with others – is able to participate fully and benefit from
London's continuing success.'
The Mayor of
London backs the annual celebration of the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi
in Trafalgar Square, which this year takes place on Sunday 4 May. He
has backed the separate recognition and monitoring of Sikhs, the
Sikh Identity Conference in 2006 and the first World Sikh Summit in
September 2007. The Mayor has also backed campaigns to defend the
freedom of religious and cultural expression, and most recently in
the case of a 14-year-old Welsh school girl who has been excluded
from school for wearing a Kara.
5
March 2008
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