Modi’s outreach to Global Sikh leaders was emotional

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent outreach to Global Sikh leaders was emotional in many respects, says Bhav Dhillon, Hon Consul of India in Auckland, who was part of a 100-strong delegation from all around the world, hosted at the former’s residence on Friday, April 29.

Speaking to Indian Weekender from New Delhi, Mr Dhillon said, “This was Prime Minister Modi’s outreach to the global diaspora, especially Sikhs from all walks of life from different countries of the world who were invited to his residence, which was a great gesture as it was not a formal setting, and the Prime Minister was able to spend more than three hours with the delegation in a very relaxed manner.”

The delegation included some of the prominent and globally well-known Sikh leaders from all around the world, including the likes of Great Britain’s Peter Virdee, Canada’s Indian MP Dr Ruby Kaur Dhalla, Sony TV’s CEO N.P Singh, Darshan Singh Dhaliwal from USA, SP Singh Oberoi from Dubai among others.

Prime Minister Modi had used the opportunity to acknowledge and laud the Sikh community’s role and contribution to India’s progress, development and nation-building, along with recollecting his personal connection with Sikhism.

“Going to Gurudwaras, spending time in service, getting langar, and staying at the homes of Sikh families. This has been a very natural part of my life,” Prime Minister Modi said.

Donning a maroon-coloured turban, Modi also revered the role of esteemed Sikh Gurus and said, “Our Gurus have taught us courage and service. The people of India went to different parts of the world without any resources and achieved success through their labour. This is the spirit of New India today.”

The warmth received at this meeting with the Prime Minister of the country, especially in getting his undivided attention in a relaxed environment at his residence, had indeed left a big impact on those in attendance at the meeting.

While other global Sikh leaders were delighted with the fact of seeing PM Modi’s commitment to connecting with the Sikh community, Hon Consul of India in New Zealand Bhav Dhillon expressed satisfaction in the fact that Sikhs and the broader Indian diaspora in New Zealand also found representation in this high-powered delegation.

“It was my absolute privilege to be able to represent our Sikh community and the broader Indian diaspora of New Zealand in this all-important meeting with the Prime Minister of India,” Mr Dhillon said.

“It’s not every day that we get to see Sikh diaspora leaders from all around the world being invited to the Indian Prime Minister’s residence, and I am deeply satisfied in the fact that our communities from New Zealand were also represented in the room,” Mr Dhillon added.

Notably, Prime Minister Modi has met members of the Sikh community at frequent intervals for some time, including recently delivering an address from the Red Fort at an event to commemorate the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur.

PM Modi’s long due visit to NZ discussed

However, for Mr Dhillon one of the major achievements of this opportunity of meeting with Prime Minister Modi as part of the global Sikh delegation was in reminding him of the fact that it has been around 36 years since the last Indian Prime Minister had visited New Zealand and such a visit was long due.

“We all know how important a Prime Minister level bilateral visit is to boost the bilateral ties between our two countries, and Prime Minister Modi’s visit to New Zealand is long due and awaited within our broader diaspora communities.

It is important to note that New Zealand was not included in the itinerary of Indian Prime Minister Modi’s two previous trips to the Oceania region, where he visited to Australia and Fiji.

“PM Modi engaged on this topic and showed great interest in planning a visit to NZ,” Mr Dhillon said excitedly and assured that he will continue to work on this potential visit as it is a long-standing demand of our diaspora communities.