On Sunday, August 12, prominent leaders from West Windsor and Plainsboro attended a memorial service to remember of the victims of the August 5 shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. Among those in attendance were Plainsboro Deputy Mayor Neil Lewis, Township Committee member Narun Nabi, West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, and West Windsor Council President Kamal Khanna. As elected officials and others reflected on the tragedy, their message to a crowd of close to 300 Sikh worshipers was peace, solidarity, and faith in America.
Lewis called the Wisconsin shooting “an affront to American principles and an affront to the community in which we all hope to live in peace and security.”
“The people of Plainsboro and its government have committed to ensure that all of our residents and all people who share time and space together with an interest in peace and helping others will be able to sustain one another in this time of loss and tragedy. You should know that the government stands with you, and we feel your loss,” Lewis said.
His fellow Plainsboro Committeeman, Narun Nabi, said he had no words to condemn the killings in Wisconsin, which he called “a despicable act by a crazy person, and a hate crime.”
Nabi said the way to combat hate is to recognize and promote diversity in the U.S.”We must unite because this kind of hate crime is un-American. American people are peace-loving people and this nation has begun to diversify, so we need to make more awareness of diversity,” he said.
As an example Nabi pointed out the diversity of the four government representatives from West Windsor and Plainsboro (himself, Lewis, Khanna, and Hsueh).
“You see in the representation of our community that we are very diversified, so we have to spread the word that all communities — Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jewish — are all peace-loving people,” Nabi told the crowd.
State Senator Linda Greenstein, a resident of Plainsboro, also attended the memorial and spoke about the need for better gun control. Two officers from the Robbinsville Police Department attended the service in patrol uniforms but followed Sikh customs by covering their heads, walking the gurdwara’s center aisle, and bowing in front of elevated platform holding the Guru Granth Sahib — the religious text of Sikhism. One of the officers was Scott Kivet, a Plainsboro fire commissioner and resident of Grover’s Mill Road (WW-P News, February 17).
In his speech Kivet urged the Sikh community to always feel compelled to call the police whenever they observe something suspicious. He explained the routine “business checks” that police in the area make, but he said the best surveillance comes from individuals in the community.
After expressing his condolences and letting the crowd know that Robbinsville Police were continuously briefed on details of the Wisconsin shooting, Kivet ended with a simple message: “help us help you.”
Mayor Hsueh said the Wisconsin shooting led him to look back on his 20 years in West Windsor government and some racial tension that he has felt.
“When I first heard about the incident, even though the news media did not really talk about the reason for the shootings, what came to my mind was that it must be a hate crime. It’s really sad, but a lot of people really need to understand how we define American culture,” the mayor said.
“This country is very proud to be diversified, and diversity is a strength of American culture. In my 20 years involved in local politics, I have heard racial remarks myself, direct towards me, both openly and behind closed doors. I always keep that in mind — this is something that we all have to overcome together,” Hsueh said.
Hsueh told worshipers to never think that Sikhism is a religion only belonging to India — their faith is embraced all over the world.
“In this country we need to respect one another in terms of our differences. The only thing here is don’t hesitate or let this incident discourage you. We all need to move forward and do something to turn this country into something more than what it is now — think about how this country changes and evolves every day,” he said.
The mayor referenced the influx of immigration from Asia. “Before the 1960’s you and I would have probably had difficulty coming to this country. The Asian Exclusion Act started in 1882 and was reinforced in 1924. Finally, after the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s President Lyndon Johnson signed the civil rights acts, and that changed the whole landscape of this country,” he said.
Hsueh told the crowd that about 50 years ago, for the first time in the U.S. Asians were treated the same as immigrants from Europe, and that is why immigrants have settled in so many communities.
“In West Windsor and Plainsboro the communities really reflects all of the changes in this country, and we are very proud of our community,” he said.
Khanna began his comments by saying “Sat Sri Akaal” — part of the Sikh refrain “Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal” which translates to “Blessed are thee who say, The Immortal God is truth from before time till after.”
Khanna spoke about his strong bond with people of Punjabi descent. He was born, raised, and educated in Punjab, and Khanna told the crowd he graduated from the very first class of the Punjabi University in Patiala. Khanna said his heart goes out to the innocent victims of the Wisconsin tragedy, who shared his Indian heritage.
“I migrated to the U.S. 47 years ago, and at that time there were only 25,000 immigrants from India in this country, and now we are four to five million. Why did it grow so fast? Not because the U.S. is the number one economic power in the world, and not because we wanted a better economic future for us and our children. It was because we were welcomed to America by the immigrants that came before us. Remember, America is a land of immigrants only — some came before us and some come after us,” Khanna said.
Khanna added that the Wisconsin shooting was an isolated case that should not change any person’s views of America. “Our adopted country is the best in the world: no where else is there freedom of worship, freedom of speech, and freedom of participating in the government as there is in the United States,” he said.
For Khanna, advice for the future can be found in the teachings of the ten Sikh Gurus.
“Love, tolerance, and forgiveness are the biggest weapons we can use against hatred. This is what our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin showed in dealing with this tragedy. We should be proud of that,” he said.
Prakash Sachdev, a member of the Plainsboro Planning Board, delivered a strong message to his fellow worshipers. He says when he heard the news about the shootings in Wisconsin, “it shook me.”
“I felt as if somebody has attacked our family, our values, and our culture. But the reality is that was not the case. What it was was a man blind in his views, full of hatred for which we are not to be blamed,” Sachdev said.
In his comments Sachdev acknowledged that isolated incidents do happen. But he and Khanna said Sikhs and other Indians are immigrants “who came to this country with open hearts.”
“We have spread all over the United States. We have integrated in the communities, we have built up the societies, we have built up the economic structure of this country, and there is nothing which we will not do to make sure that along with the progress of America, we also progress,” Sachdev said.
He reminded Sikhs that the U.S. is not a place with many people who hate them. “As a matter of fact, most people love us,” he said.
“A few incidents like this will happen, but we should not take this as a common routine which we have to deal with,” Sachdev said.
“Once in a while some crazy person will come along and do things like this. But we should follow the teachings of our gurus — they showed love to everybody, whether it was a Muslim or a Christian or anybody at that time, Gurus never discriminated against anyone, so we should continue by following Gurus’ teachings of forgiveness.”
