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NEWS February 28, 2003 The Sikh community showed their gratitude for Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante's active support since the events of September 11th. The Sikh Council of Southern California (SCSC) hosted an appreciation dinner for the Lt. Governor at the prestigious Orange Hill restaurant. The sold-out event hosted approximately 200 guests, and at $500 per person, the dinner was also a successful fundraiser for Bustamante's future campaign for governor of California. According to Bicky Singh, spokesperson for SCSC, Bustamante was one of those few politicians who stepped up to help Sikhs in the aftermath of 9/11. He took part in a rally of 700 to 800 people on October 11, 2001 organized by SCSC which was covered by fourteen news bureaus. Swaran Kaur, the Sikh woman who was stabbed in the head, shared her emotional story about the hate crime. Soon after that rally, Bustamante issued a state-wide directive to stop hate crimes against Sikhs. Bicky Singh said that Bustamante also deserves a lot of credit for supporting the Sikh campaign against the video game Hitman2 last year in which players could shoot turbaned Sikhs in a Gurdwara. Bustamante was the first politician to write a letter against Hitman2 on official letterhead. That letter was used to approach Amazon.com and Buy.com to stop sales of the game. The dinner reception was also attended by Senator Joseph Dunn (D-Garden Grove), who introduced the Lt. Governor as "one of the few honorable politicians in the state of California." Senator Dunn, a key contributor to the Homeland Security Patriot Act, assured the attendees that he would include legislation promoting awareness about the identity of the Sikhs who wear turbans and long beards as part of their proud heritage. Senator Dunn is a leading candidate for the California Attorney General. Sardar Sukhmander Singh, who ran a campaign for Congress from the Modesto area in 2002, made an energetic call to the Sikh youth to be proud of their heritage. He assured them that there is no conflict between being "Good Sikhs and Good Americans." Lt. Governor Bustamante spoke with pride of his well-established relationship with Californian Sikhs. He delivered an inspirational message to continue with their efforts to provide support within their community and to reach out to the American community as a whole. He made the commitment to deliver on two specific promises in the very near future: First, Bustamante said he would "actively recruit Sikh college students in an internship program so as to expose them to a variety of projects within the Sate Government, and second, he would "provide Historic Building status to the Gurudwara in the city of Stockton." An announcement on the Historic Building status is expected on April 13, 2003. The Stockton Gurdwara will become the second building with that status outside India. The first is a Gurdwara in Vancouver. Other political activities concerning Sikhs in California include preparation of a letter by Governor Gray Davis about the Sikh identity which will be distributed to all law inforcement and school districts in the state. And finally, legislation is under way to create a Sikh history month in California. All this activity is part of a grass-roots effort to build political awareness within the Sikh community, said Singh. "We have to do mainstream activities and make them [the greater community] feel a part of us." For additional information on the Sikh Council of Southern California and their activities, contact: Bicky Singh at (714) 473-9635 or email bsingh@fcsinet.com. |