Calgary proclaims April 2022 as Sikh Heritage Month, land proclamation made in Punjabi

Tuesday marked a historic moment in Calgary City Hall after the mayor proclaimed “April 2022 as Sikh Heritage Month.”

Mayor Jyoti Gondek opened the council meeting with the momentous announcement and ended her opening with a land acknowledgment made in Punjabi.

Councillor Raj Dhaliwal emphasized Gondek’s points that the Sikh communities’ ties to Calgary, the province, and the country were crucial.

“Sikhs have contributed immensely to the prosperity of the city, to the culture, heritage, and making this city even a better place to live. It’s the diversity of the city that makes us so strong,” he said.

Dhaliwal explained one of the three golden principles in the Sikh faith is “always earn by living with honesty and put your labor into the right work.”

Dhaliwal says Sikh people in the province demonstrated that resilience through the pandemic, as many stood on the front line or volunteered their time to help those in need.

For example, the councillor mentioned the Dashmesh Culture Centre that started the ‘No Hungry Tummy’ program, which delivered thousands of hot meals during the COVID-19 crisis.

Dhaliwal said the proclamation made for “a great day for Calgary” and referenced the first Sikh person “to step into Calgary.”

“Sardar Harnam Singh Hari in 1906 when he moved to Calgary from British Columbia,” he said. “In a way, he set the precedent and expectations for all the Sikhs who followed him after that into this great city and this great province over the last 100 years.”

The City of Calgary has officially proclaimed April 2022 as Sikh Heritage Month. I was honoured to be part of this day; it is amazing to see the joy and pride brought to Sikhs in Calgary. Congratulations to @DashmeshC for taking the lead on this! #yyccc #yyc pic.twitter.com/bnqlS4b0uO

— Raj Dhaliwal (@RajDhaliwal_YYC) April 13, 2022

Calgary has celebrated and recognized other diverse communities in the city, Gondek said, like Holi, Chaitra Navratri, Ramadan, and Easter. The mayor added that these acknowledgments demonstrate “what a diverse city Calgary is.”

“We are in fact the third most diverse city in this nation. So it gives me a lot of pleasure to celebrate the Sikh religion and history as well as the contributions that have been made by Sikh Canadians across Canada,” she said.

“Sikhs have been making Alberta their homes since the early 1900s, with this province having the third-largest Sikh population in Canada.”

The proclamation comes ahead of a significant month for Sikh people as Vaisakhi, an important celebration nears.

Calgary’s annual Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan parade will be taking place this year on May 14. It is the second-largest annual parade in the province.