SIKHS from across Yorkshire gathered for an annual event to celebrate Vaisakhi.
The Yorkshire Sikh Forum (YSF) event was attended by dignitaries from across Yorkshire to mark the occasion.
Bradford man Simmy Singh Sekhon, spokesperson for the YSF, spoke to the T&A about Vaisakhi and the event.
“Vaisakhi is quite personal to Sikhs,” he said. “It’s the harvest festival of India.”
In a speech he made at the event, which was held at the Sheepscar Bar and Grill in Leeds, he said: “What a great pleasure it is once again to celebrate this colourful and abundant annual event of Vaisakhi hosted by our chairman, Mr Nirmal Singh, MBE, and our general secretary, Mr Hardev Singh Sidhu and our members.
“When preparing for this event, I carefully selected the word ‘abundant’ in association with the celebrations of Vaisakhi this evening.
“This special event represents abundance at harvest festival and can I truly say we all are lucky this evening to have so much abundance of food, drink, good company, and to have an abundant guest list of such high-calibre."
He also addressed the hard work of the YSF.
Mr Singh Sekhon said: “The YSF was established in 1989 by the then Home Secretary, Ann Widdecombe and Kenneth Clark with the assistance of the Government to ensure that Government had connectivity to Sikh leading groups of influential people with whom they could turn to for support.
“They have worked over 35 years where they have participated selflessly and voluntarily without involving politics or religious concern and most of all from their own pocket and assistance from worthy sponsors.
“I would like to say that the Yorkshire Sikh Forum and the Sikh community is truly remarkable.”
Mr Singh Sekhon explained that the YSF was among several Sikh forums set up across the country in 1984.
He said: “It was meant to act as a local point, as an exchange of information, following Government concerns about the attack on the Golden Temple in 1984.”
Operation Blue Star was an Indian Armed Forces operation in June 1984 carried out at the Golden Temple in Amritsar - one of the holiest sites in Sikhism.
“It was quite a disturbing and horrific incident,” said Mr Singh Sekhon.
“The Government wanted to appease people to remain calm, and the Yorkshire Sikh Forum was one of the forums set up. It has stood the fullness of time.”
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