Vaisakhi celebration was organized by the India association with a blend of tradition, culture and a cause for humanity on 8th May at the Indian Gymkhana. The organizers appeal to donate funds to help the people who fled Ukraine. Lord M Sheikh, Joy Morrissey, member of parliament from Beaconsfield and C B Patel Chairman and Editor-In-Chief of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar were the guests of honour.
In the welcome note, Bobby Grewal Chair India Association said, “I have witnessed extreme poverty through my three charity walks. Now we have all witnessed the atrocities of the war being waged against Ukraine. All funds raised tonight will be donated towards Ukraine and also to a voluntary run charity in India for the sick and elderly.”
Lord Sheikh said, “apart from celebrating Vaisakhi and getting together today there is the purpose of raising funds for charity also. I am very much impressed by Bobby Grewal and his desire to help humanity. We Punjabis love to do Seva and it is a very important part of our DNA. Vaisakhi is a harvest festival where the people want to celebrate the success of their crops. In addition, these three important events related to Vaisakhi should be remembered by all of us. First is the rebirth of the Khalsa order by Guru Govind Singh Ji in 1699. The second is the Vaisakhi of 1801 when Maharaja Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Sikh empire and the third is the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.”
Joy Morrissey said, “We're here to celebrate the wonderful work of the charity. India Association has led the way in uniting and providing help to our community not only during the pandemic but in every crisis. During the lockdown, you were there selflessly to provide maximum help to the community. Thank you for serving the community.”
C B Patel said, “At this moment I must recall that Dominik Grieve, a former member of parliament did a fantastic job for the community and he was a great supporter of the Indian Association. I happened to join the India Association in 1987. In my opinion, Vaisakhi is of very important significance. If India is today India, thanks to Khalsa, Sikhism and so many people who paid their toil and blood to the republic of India. No Prime minister from India has celebrated and paid respect to all the Gurus of Sikhism, Khalsa and festivals as Narendra Modi is doing. When Bobby was walking from South India to Ahmedabad, I arranged his meeting with the then chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi. Everywhere Sikhs and Punjabis are playing a very important part whether it is diplomatic service, entrepreneurship, army or Bollywood.”
Vice-Chair Rajan Sehgal welcomed the guests. Munde Punjab De presented energetic Bhangra. Cllr Santokh S Chhokar offered a Vote of thanks.
