By Samachar Digital News
Chandigarh 16th
May:- Six intrepid Sikh motorbike
enthusiasts, from Sikh Motorcycle Club(BC), Canada, have successfully completed
a world tour on motorcycles. The ambitious journey was undertaken by them from
Canada to Punjab which passed through 22 countries. It is pertinent to mention
that Sikh Motorcycle Club, Canada was founded in 2003 in , British Columbia,
Canada, after a lot of struggle and a protracted legal battle, initiated by
Avtar Singh Dhillon with the support of community members. This had to be done
in order to get permission for Sikhs to wear turbans while riding motorbikes.
The club since then has come of age and now is an example of preservation and
propagation of the Sikh identity – a part of which is donning of turbans in accordance.
The riders along-with 4 members of
the club interacted with the media at Press club here, to share details about
the epic journey, which has already earned the club a name in Book of records,
London.
Azad Singh Sidhu, who was part of the
expedition said that we undertook the long and challenging road journey from
Canada to Punjab on motorbikes to showcase to the world what Sikhism stands for
and make the international community aware about the Sikh identity. The idea
was also to remove any confusion that people in different parts of the world
may have, which at times leads to equation of Sikhs to members of the Arab
world.
The riders got legal clearances, did
the heavy paper work needed for the world road trip, and kicked off by first
crossing Canada and USA by road. The group then took a flight to England. From
here on, the bikers hit the road with the aim of reaching India(Punjab) in less
than 40 days. The arduous ride which started on April 3 culminated in Punjab on
May 11.
Jatinder Singh Chauhan, another
adventurous Sikh motorcyclist said that Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s’s 550th birth
anniversary celebration is on and this was the best time to undertake this
ride. The underlying message of the voyage was to recognize the entire human
race as one, which was the main teaching of Guru Sahib.
Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a Sikh
motorcyclist said that we
want the entire world to know about who Sikhs are, and their contribution to
helping those in need. In keeping with this objective, we collected donations
during our journey. The amount will be handed over to Khalsa Aid International.
Pravjit Singh Takhar, another Sikh
motorcyclist said that the tour took us through countries and cities across
Europe before we entered Turkey from where we traveled via Iran to enter
Pakistan. In Pakistan, we went to Nanakana Sahib - Guru Nanak Ji’s birthplace.
We then crossed the border through Wagah and finished the International leg of
the tour at the Golden Temple, Amritsar.
Sukhvir Singh Mlait, a Sikh
motorcycle rider said that the team then embarked on the Punjab segment of the
ride from Amritsar. We went to Sultanpur Lodhi via Goindwal Sahib and
Khadhoor Sahib to complete the tour. All these places are associated with Guru
Maharaj.
The ride from Khadoor Sahib to
Sultanpur Lodhi was unique. Baba Sewa Singh, the well known environmentalist
called this part ‘Chetna march’ and as many as 550 motorcyclists joined the 6
riders from Canada in keeping with the 550th anniversary of
Guru Nanak. Not just this Baba Sewa Singh got 6 tree saplings planted by the
riders from Canada as part of his overall initiative of planting 550 trees.
Jasmeet Pal Singh, a team member who
completed the both physically and mentally grueling bike ride said that an
important message that we want to sound through this endeavour is that of a
drug free Punjab.
Members of Sikh Motorcycle Club,
Canada-Amandeep Singh Garcha,Racchpal Singh Dhaliwal, Gurpreet Singh
Tung and Jaspal Singh Bagga were also present at the media interaction.
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