The Consul General of India, New York organized a panel discussion on the topic “Hate! Violence! Guns! Wake-up Call for Global Peaceful Coexistence” on the occasion of celebration of 350th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji at Boston Public Library, MA on Sunday, January 28, 2018 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm. Many dignitaries and enthusiastic audiences from various organizations and business corporations attended the panel discussion that not only remembered the contributions made by Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji in his life time but also communicated the global relevance of his messages at the present time and contributed to discussion by their thoughtful questions as well.

Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji is the last of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. He is highly regarded by the Sikhs for his enormous role in the development of the Sikh faith. He infused the spirit of both sainthood and army in the minds and hearts of his followers to fight against oppression and restore justice, peace, righteousness (Dharma) and to uplift the state of down-trodden people in this world. His idea was to fight the injustice of forced conversions and to safeguard the life and dignity of locals from Mughal rulers.

Panelists: Professor Alan Douglas, University of Maine; Professor Gary Goldstein, Tufts University; Dr. Bal Ram Singh, University of Massachusetts actively participated in the discussion and enlightened the audiences about how violence, oppression of one group by the other and ideological conflicts between various religious groups are happening in the world and how we can overcome such situations with non-violent and peaceful measures. Panel members expressed that the violence has filled the world with unseen dangers. It is happening on street corners, in concert halls and fairgrounds, in trains and airplanes, and other places. Hence, while stepping out we do not know whether we will come back home safely. The daily occurrences of shoot-outs, bomb blasts, stabs have created a fear in everyone.  They stated that Guru Gobind Singh and Mahatma Gandhi’s messages are always relevant in the contemporary world where oppression on religious minorities and those marginalized continues. On this important occasion the main suggestion by the panel members was when violence against minorities grows and when there are any attempts to divide further the people in those minority groups, need to be vigilant about such divisive politics and defeat the despicable forces by educating people.

Shri. Suresh Sharma Ji from Milan USA, Shri. Sanjay Kaul from World Hindu Council of America, Shri. Kanchan Banerjee & Pawan Roy from GIBV, Smt. Dhanashree Ramachandran from Art of Living, Shri. Amit Dixit from South Asian Arts Council arranged this event meticulously with all their dedicated efforts. Milan USA sponsored a delicious reception after the event for all the participants to meet the panelists in personal and get their responses for their questions or concerns.

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