For the second year in a row, the Town of Halton Hills is honouring the Sikh community by raising a flag to celebrate Sikh Heritage Month.
During the event Friday afternoon, Mayor Ann Lawlor repeated her familiar refrain on the need to celebrate diversity in the community.
“I recognize and appreciate the tenets of the Sikh faith - that is equity, service and tolerance of others. And I think that healthy communities are built on those pillars,” Lawlor said.
The flag at Town Hall carries the sacredness, but not the exact appearance of a Nishan Sahib. The Nishan Sahib is a consecrated flag that flies above gurdwaras, which are Sikh houses of worship. The flag at Town Hall will be there until April 30.
April is Sikh Heritage Month, which was proclaimed in Ontario in 2013 when now NDP Leader, then MPP, Jagmeet Singh tabled Bill 52.
The month was chosen because that's when one of the gurus of the Sikh religion, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the Khalsa Panth. This is an order into which Sikhs are initiated, obligating them to certain codes of conduct.
This can include behaviours like honesty and forthrightness, but also visible markers of faith. Those markers are called the five Ks. They are kesh (uncut hair), kara (bracelet), kachera (undergarment), kangha (comb) and kirpan (dagger).
“The kirpan reminds a Sikh about their solemn duty to protect the innocent and to promote justice for all,” Nanki Kaur said in her remarks to the gathered crowd.
“Whether in big roles or small, Sikh Canadians have contributed to it all. Whether in philanthropy, through their charity work of blood and food drives, by groups like Khalsa Aid or in the economy, by working hard to run their businesses, create jobs and also in politics.”
