Washington, DC — On Saturday, April 16, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) presented the inaugural Dalip Singh Saund Excellence in Public Service Award to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Justice, R. Alexander Acosta. The award was presented at a SALDEF-sponsored concert at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC with the critically-acclaimed Dya Singh World Music Group from Australia. The concert and the award presentation were attended by over 100 Sikh and non-Sikh community members. “We are very pleased with the support that the community has provided SALDEF for almost ten years and wanted to celebrate with an evening of music and reflection,” said SALDEF Chair Gagandeep Kaur. “We are also proud to honor Mr. Acosta with this inaugural public service award because his staff has done tremendous outreach to the Sikh American community and responded so well to our concerns.” In his acceptance comments Mr. Acosta said: “SALDEF and the Civil Rights Division have worked together many times in the past several years. I am humbled and honored by your presentation tonight.” With Mr. Acosta’s support and SALDEF’s initiative, the DOJ was able to produce an excellent and much-needed poster titled Common Sikh American Head Coverings to present accurate information to government officials. Mr. Acosta also commended SALDEF’s Board, staff and volunteers for “everything that you do for the Sikh community through the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund.” Furthermore, with SALDEF’s assistance Mr. Acosta and his staff have visited with the Sikh American community and attended Gurdwara events all over the country over the last eight months. In fact, on Sunday, April 17, Shaarik Zafar, a prosecutor focusing on post-9/11 issues under Mr. Acosta, was hosted by SALDEF at the Richmond Hill Gurdwara in New York City. For his efforts, Mr. Acosta was recognized with this award bearing Congressman Dalip Singh Saund’s name. Mr. Saund was born in Punjab in 1899, and became the first Asian American elected to the United States Congress in 1956. The award for public service was named for Congressman Saund because despite his extensive education (he earned a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley in 1924) his first job was as a foreman on a cotton-picking ranch, due to prejudice and discrimination against Sikh Americans and other immigrants. By channeling his frustrations into a lifelong commitment to public service, Mr. Saund was able to conquer the obstacles that lay before him. On December 16, 1949, Mr. Saund became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1952, he ran and won the position of judge. After serving in that capacity for four years, Mr. Saund was elected to the House of Representatives from the 29th congressional district of California. During his three consecutive terms as a distinguished member of the House of Representatives, he supported agricultural interests in his own congressional district, as well as the rights of Native Americans and Mexican immigrants. Mr. Saund also fought for legislation to provide equal rights for all men and women. Additionally, Dya Singh and his group have also engaged in pioneering efforts by developing a unique form of “world music” that has been recognized for its innovation. He has twice been awarded “Instrumentalist of the Year” by the South Australian Music Industry Awards. In the year 2000, Dya Singh was awarded “Male Artist of the Year” by the Australian World Music Organization. Dya Singh has also been very supportive of SALDEF’s work on behalf of the Sikh American community and has thanked us repeatedly for training airport officials and screeners about Sikhs and Sikhism.
