'Vaisakhi' Celebrated Worldwide; Sikh Games in Australia

On 19 Apr, in Surrey, Canada, 550K people participated in the Vaisakhi (harvest festival) and Khalsa Sajna Divas (inauguration of the Khalsa) parade from Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar. Parade spokesperson Moninder Singh said, 'This is more than a parade. It is a way for the Sikh community to open its arms to others, share its beliefs, and celebrate the values of human rights and sovereignty.' Gurdwara Singh Sabha Flero in Italy organized a grand Nagar Kirtan (religious procession) in Brescia, a city with a dense Panjabi population. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan province in Canada has permanently declared April as 'Sikh Awareness Month.' The opposition National Democratic Party introduced the Bill so the Sikhs wouldn't have to make an annual request. On 25 Mar, Member of Legislative Assembly Racquel Hilbert had called NDP leader Jagmeet Singh a 'terrorist' in a debate but later apologized. The ruling Saskatchewan Party gave unanimous support to the Bill also to make up for faux pas. In Malaysia, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar—the Sultan of Johor and the current King of Malaysia—made a personal gift of RM 20K (USD 4.5K) to each of the six Gurdwaras in the state. Two Sikhs also gave a total of RM 80K (USD 18K) to be equally divided among the Gurdwaras. Johor state had earlier announced special funding of RM 250K (USD 57K) each to the Gurdwaras in Johor Bahru and Pontian. At a Vaisakhi event on 9 Apr, Johor minister Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi thanked the Sikh community for opening its doors to flood victims in the recent flooding incident. The 37^th annual Australian Sikh Games were held in Sydney on 18-20 Apr drawing 6K athletes, thousands of spectators and cultural enthusiasts from across Australia and beyond. A wide range of sporting events took place including kabaddi, hockey, football, tug of war, cricket, athletics, volleyball, netball, badminton, and wrestling. The events were a forum to showcase Sikh culture (earlier coverage).