wfn.org | WSC-AR Commends SGPC Decision to Withdraw Nomination

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

WSC-AR Commends SGPC for Deciding to Withdraw Nomination of Siri Darbar 
Sahib for UNESCO World Heritage Status; Appeals to SGPC to Ensure Immediate 
Withdrawal of Nomination by Government of India

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2005

Contact: Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Secretary General, 614-210-0591, 
contact@worldsikhcouncil.org

World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR)
P.O. Box 3635, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
Phone: 614-210-0591, Fax: 419-535-6794
E-mail: contact@worldsikhcouncil.org
Website: www.worldsikhcouncil.org

The World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR) notes with satisfaction 
media reports that on April 21, 2005 the Executive Committee of the 
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) recommended that the 
proposal to declare Siri Darbar Sahib a UNESCO world heritage site should 
be withdrawn.

The WSC-AR has been advised by UNESCO's World Heritage Centre that only the 
State Party of India (Government of India through its Permanent Delegation 
to UNESCO) has the authority to withdraw this nomination.

Mr. Amolak Singh, Chairperson of WSC-AR remarked "We request the SGPC to 
ask the Government of India for the immediate withdrawal of the nomination 
and its accompanying dossier. We also call upon the SGPC and other Sikh 
organizations in Punjab and the rest of India to act without delay and, 
should the Indian Government hesitate, organize massive peaceful protests 
to ensure that the Government of India withdraws this ill-fated nomination."

Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Secretary General of WSC-AR said, "We call upon the 
Government of India to respect the religious sentiments of one of its 
religious minorities, to immediately withdraw the nomination and dossier 
submitted by it to UNESCO, and to end this interference in the religious 
affairs of the Sikhs. WSC-AR also requests Sikhs all over the world to ask 
the State Party of India to end this misadventure."

WSC-AR calls upon Sikh organizations across the world to urgently contact 
their respective country's UNESCO delegation and request they vote no for 
world heritage status for Siri Darbar Sahib, prior to the July 2005 
potential vote at the meeting of the World Heritage Committee in South
Africa.

The World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR) has reviewed the 
nomination dossier and communicated over the last several months with the 
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is the considered opinion of the WSC-AR 
that the request to nominate Siri Darbar Sahib as a cultural symbol of 
Indian civilization by the Government of India is wrong and ill-advised.

The dossier submitted by the Government of India to UNESCO is misleading, 
has serious flaws, and is strongly objected to by Sikhs around the world.

The WSC-AR has written letters to the Prime Minster of India, President of 
SGPC, and officials at UNESCO as well as the US Mission to UNESCO 
requesting immediate withdrawal of this nomination.

The fundamental argument set forth in the nomination dossier that Siri 
Darbar Sahib represents the cultural heritage and uniqueness of Indian 
civilization is misleading and incorrect. Such claims undermine the 
religious importance of this site and are offensive. The status of Siri 
Darbar Sahib in the Sikh Religion is similar to that of the Kaaba in Islam 
and the Vatican in Roman Catholicism. Kaaba is not a Saudi Arabian cultural 
site but the center of Islam; the Vatican is not an Italian cultural entity 
but the center of the Roman Catholic faith. Neither of these two places is 
on the World Heritage List under Saudi Arabia or Italy. Siri Darbar Sahib 
is the heartthrob of a living faith; it is not an archeological relic or a 
symbol of Indian culture and it is not a cultural tourist site.

Along with Siri Darbar Sahib, the Government of India has also nominated a 
railway project in North-East India for world heritage status. The Bombay 
Railway Station is another place already so designated by UNESCO.

Siri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, as center of the Sikh faith, already has an 
exalted status and any action to place it on any list alongside 
archeological sites or other buildings, complexes, structures, railway 
stations would be an insult to our most cherished shrine and to the entire 
Sikh community.

Two public statements issued earlier by WSC-AR on March 29 and April 10 can 
be accessed at www.worldsikhcouncil.org.

The WSC-AR is a representative and elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and 
institutions in the United States. Its members include 37 Gurdwaras (Sikh 
places of worship) and other Sikh institutions across the nation.

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Member Gurdwaras of WSC-AR:
1. Gurdwara Sahib Fremont, Fremont, CA
2. Guru Nanak Sikh Mission, Livingston, CA
3. Sikh Gurdwara of LA, North Hollywood, CA
4. Sikh Gurdwara Riverside, Riverside, CA
5. Colorado Singh Sabha, Denver, CO
6. Guru Singh Sabha of Augusta, Augusta, GA
7. Sikh Study Circle of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
8. Sikh Religious Society of Chicago, Palatine, IL
9. Sikh Society of South, New Orleans, LA
10. Sikh Gurdwara of Michigan, Rochester Hills, MI
11. Sikh Society of Michigan, Madison Heights, MI
12. Guru Nanak Foundation of Jackson, MS
13. Sikh Gurdwara of North Carolina, Durham, NC
14. Garden State Sikh Association, Bridgewater, NJ
15. Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Delaware Valley, Sewell, NJ
16. Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Glenrock, NJ
17. Sikh Sabha of New Jersey, Lawrenceville, NJ
18. Sikh Cultural Society Inc., Richmond Hills, NY
19. Sikh Cultural & Edu. Society of Western NY, Buffalo, NY
20. Sikh Religious Society of Dayton, Dayton, OH
21. Guru Nanak Found. of Greater Cleveland, Richfield, OH
22. Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Society, Bedford, OH
23. Guru Nanak Religious Soc. of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH
24. Tristate Sikh Cultural Society, Monroeville, PA
25. Mid South Sikh Sabha, Memphis, TN
26. Sikh Center of Gulf Coast, Houston, TX
27. Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Richardson, TX
28. Sikh Gurdwara of North Texas, Garland, TX
29. Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Fairfax, VA
30. Sikh Association of Central Virginia, VA
31. Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin, Brookfield, WI

Other Sikh Institution Members of WSC-AR:
1. Siri Guru Granth Sahib Found., Anaheim, CA
2. Sikhs Serving America, Topeka, KS
3. Sikh Youth Federation of North America, White Plains, NY
4. Sikh Educational & Religious Foundation, Dublin, OH
5. Sikh Youth Federation of USA, Toledo, OH
6. Academy of Guru Granth Studies, Arlington, TX

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