“The Leadership Development Program was an amazing experience. It gave me an opportunity to share and build relationships with 16 other individuals who share the same passion as myself for the Sikh community, for the American community and humanity as a whole. I plan to build relationships with all my fellow LDP participants and change the world!”
(Washington, D.C.— October 16, 2012) Over Columbus Day Weekend, SALDEF successfully held its second annual Leadership Development Program (LDP), under its ground-breaking SikhLEAD youth development initiative. From an impressive pool of nearly 100 applicants, SALDEF selected 17 highly talented and accomplished young Sikh Americans from around the country for three days of leadership training, self-exploration, and development in Washington, D.C.
LDP is designed to inspire, train, and support a diverse, motivated, and entrepreneurial group of young Sikh leaders as they prepare for a lifetime of community engagement and leadership. The purpose of this opportunity is to empower Sikh American youth in becoming effective leaders committed to exploring and realizing both their personal potential and that of the Sikh American community.
The attendees were selected from across the country and represented a diverse range of professional fields including, law, medicine, business, journalism, social justice, and academia. Over the course of the weekend, they participated in a series of activities to help identify their passion, recognize their strengths, and build a stronger sense of identity. The program provided training and skills for participants to improve public speaking, explore non-traditional career paths and network with leaders in the community.
“We were greatly impressed with the applications we received this year”, said SALDEF Executive Director Jasjit Singh. “This year’s LDP class is outstanding in both their passion for moving the community forward and their potential to bring real change to their communities. We look forward to seeing the amazing things they will achieve in the coming years, along with the graduates of our inaugural LDP Class.”
SALDEF is indebted to several community leaders and pioneers who provided their valuable time to serve as panelists and guest speakers during the program.. SALDEF would like to give a special thank you to:
- Ms. Valarie Kaur; Founding Director, Groundswell
- Ms. Sona Rai; Director of Media Relations at CreativeFeed
- Ms. Nitasha Sawhney; Equity Partner, GCR and Member, California State Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs
- Dr. G.P. Singh, former CEO, Karta Technologies
- Dr. Jaideep Singh, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies, CSU East Bay
- Mr. J.J. Singh; Legislative Advisor to US Senator Christopher Coons
- Mr. Pavneet Singh; Economic Policy Advisory to the White House
- Dr. Ratanjit Singh Sondhe; Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Leadership Advisor
LDP was funded through generous support of community members across the country and the following sponsors: Comcast, Genworth Financial, and Southwest Airlines. To learn more about how you can support the SikhLEAD initiative, click here.
SALDEF is indebted to several community leaders and pioneers who provided their valuable time to serve as panelists and guest speakers during the program.. SALDEF would like to give a special thank you to:
Growing up in New Orleans, my Sikhism was fostered in a very small bubble. My parents taught me by modeling Sikh values, but the elderly people in the community could not really connect with our generation, especially since many in my generation did not want anything to do with Sikhism. After the first few years of Sikh camps, of the four kids my age, I was the only one who went to the Gurdwara willingly, singing shabads and serving langar. I didn’t mind getting teased for being too religious—I knew what was important to me. The New Orleans education system isn’t the best, so my parents decided to send me to Catholic schools for eight years. Unlike other parents in our Indian community, my parents were not at all afraid of my converting to another religion: Sikhism embraces all faiths—Guru Nanak Dev Ji said that “There are no Hindus, there are no Muslims,” pointing out that we’re all equal brothers and sisters, Waheguru’s children. As I was ostensibly different, I dealt with my share of ignorance and racism. Nevertheless, I shared my beliefs with those who were interested and learned from my classmates as well. In college, I had my first Sikh friends my age. We started a Sikh Students Association (SSA) to cultivate a community for the five or so Sikhs on campus and to educate our college community about Sikhism. This was my first Sikh peer group. Even though we came from all four corners of the country, we all shared the same values, said the same prayers, made the same jokes about Aunties and Uncles at Gurdwaras, and held the same ideas about what it meant to be Sikh. Now I had a Sikh family, and it was awesome! 
However, being Sikh is not always easy. Sikh men are often easily recognizable by their distinguished turbans. To save me from the hatred and incessant harassment my father and uncle endured, both here in America and in India, my parents decided to cut my hair from a young age. In New Orleans, I never felt my Sikhism challenged. But when I go to regions with larger Sikh populations, I feel judged for not keeping my hair. Growing up, I was too religious; now, I’m not religious enough. My friends in my SSA always gently tease me about my penchant for explaining Sikh traditions with the equivalents in the Christian community. But my experience in Catholic school taught me several important lessons. First, I learned how to interact with those who are significantly different from me, introducing me to interfaith coalition building, a critical skill and attitude in our multicultural society. I learned how to explain Sikhism to others, helping me foster my skills as a leader and representative of Sikhism. These skills have translated well during my college experience. At my University, I was invited to give a blessing to the incoming class during the Orientation Week Opening Exercises. I was honored to share my Sikh traditions and teachings with the entire student body composed of people from around the country and around the world. Before I spoke to the 1400 young freshmen, I got very emotional. I imagined a younger version of myself sitting out there, someone else who had grown up all alone in his Sikhi, about to hear me strongly proclaim “Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh,” and then recite “Poota Maata Ki Asees.” As a Sikh leader in my community, I wear my religion on my sleeve proudly. It is my own understanding of Sikhism, but it is definitively mine; and Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught us that our religion is our individual relationship between us and Waheguru. I believe I am making my own mark on my communities, in my own way. I pray and hope that I will continue to grow in my understanding of Sikhism and for now, this is how I live out my values. -Kanwal Matharu, LDP Class of 2012 To learn more about SikhLEAD, please 
September 25th marked 
On August 6, 2012, the day after the shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, newspapers from all over the world covered the horrific incident. The 
At the 10th Annual Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) 
Over 150 students attended a presentation at Berkeley Law School (Boalt) on September 11th for a panel discussion entitled “Why We Don”t Care: Reflections on the Oak Creek Shootings”. The panel was moderated by Boalt Professor Leti Volpp, and was comprised of SALDEF Board Member Kavneet Singh, CAIR-Bay Area Executive Director Zahra Biloo and Karen Korematsu, Co-founder of the Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education. The panel discussion centered around the idea that this Oak Creek tragedy, as well as the numerous other incidents at Mosques across the country during the same week, are perceived as not being a tragedy that impacted all Americans, but only one that impacted “certain” people. In his remarks to the crowd, Mr. Singh congratulated law enforcement for their vigilance and partnership in the immediate aftermath of the massacre in Oak Creek, but called to question why neither Presidential candidates visited Oak Creek, and also why neither of them has touched on the ever important issue of gun control in our country.
Throughout the month of September SALDEF Regional Director, Jaswant Chani, presented to representatives from the 
On Sunday, September 16th, a Know Your Rights Forum was successfully hosted in Riverside, CA for the greater Inland Empire area Sikh sangat. Over 250 members of the local sangat participated in the forum, discussing issues of hate crimes, school bullying, workplace discrimination, and public accommodations. The forum hosted Sergio Diaz, Chief of Police (
