Sikhs in Singapore initiate professorship in Sikh studies, celebrate Baisakhi

Sikhs in Singapore observed the harvest festival of Baisakhi with the launch of the first Sikh professorship in the city-state and Southeast Asia as an initiative to raise the number of women in community leadership roles.

The Central Sikh Gurdwara Board (CSGB) on Thursday signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National University of Singapore (NUS) on a visiting professorship in Sikh studies aimed at promoting academic scholarship in this field both in Singapore and abroad.

This is the first Sikh professorship to be set up in Singapore and the whole of Southeast Asia. The CSGB said it aims to raise S$1.2 million for an endowment fund to support the visiting professorship. Donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the government.

Senior Minister of State for Defence, Heng Chee How, joined the Sikh community in their Baisakhi celebrations and witnessed the signing of the MoU.

Besides, a panel of 21 Sikh women from diverse backgrounds -- the EnKaur Working Committee -- will study the factors that have prevented a higher representation of women in Sikh organisations and initiatives, including at the leadership levels in Singapore, reported Friday weekly Tabla!

The Sikh community members lit up the vicinity of Gurdwara Pardesi Khalsa Dharmak Diwan (PKDD), making it a colourful celebration after two years when congregations were restricted to control the spread of the coronavirus.