Khalsa-Aid: The Great Kumbh of Service

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Khalsa-Aid: The Great Kumbh of Service

Colonel Dr. Dalvinder Singh Grewal​

Seva and Simran are the main pillars of Sikhism. When you see a Sikh engaged in the service of chanting God's Name, your head bows in respect. When he is busy in chanting Name and also doing service for the community, he becomes the most revered. When an organization is seen involved in both Sewa and Simaran, it appears to be charisma altogether. Khalsa Aid is one such a Sikh organization which is totally dedicated to Sewa and Sinaran, which deserves wide appreciation not only among Sikhs alone but by the entire world as it is working on the footsteps of Bhai Ghaniya and much beyond the service of Nightingale.

I have been working for the betterment of the lives of the poor Sikligars, Wanjaras and Satnamis in Central India for over forty years and was finding it too difficult to provide the needed help to the crores of thes neglected tribes. It needed a dedicated organization. It was a pleasant surprise for me when Khalsa Aid under the leadership of Sardar Ravi Singh came forward and started providing houses, schools and other financial assistance to these downtrodden Sikh tribes.My books 'Bhule Visre Sikh Kabile' and its English version "The Forgotten, Sikh Tribes' were on these tribes was published and circulated widely by Khalsa Aid creating a great awareness among the people about the downtrodden tribes.

It was also a blessing to see this institution arranging medical aid, fooding and lodging for millions of farmers every day during the Delhi Morcha. When I was awarded a medal for my insignificant contribution to this organization during Kisan Morcha, I bowed my head in reverence to Khalsa Aid. It was a matter of pride because honor from Sikh Aid was much above the awards and honors which I received from governments and many other organizations.

Earlier, in Kot Dharmu village of Mansa district, artificial seeds, fertilizers and watermelons were continuously destroying crops in the area and news of suicides of over 70 farmers due to hunger and debt spread all over the world and the commercial media spiced up for its advertisement value. no one came to help the poor farmers, not even the government. Khalsa Aid reached there then and through its projects, it constructed over 50 houses and provided 15 buffaloes and sewing machines to provide employment to the widows. It also set up a sewing training center for the needy and got the villagers trained in diary farming.

This organization reaches out with relief material to the people of any nation, not only in India but all over the world, wherever there is a calamity. When Rohingya were hounded out in Myanmar and were badly need for fooding and lodging, Sardar Harpreet Singh of Khalsa Aid arrived with an army of his Sevak Sikhs and earned a name for his service. The organization is also providing food and medicine to the victims of the Russia-Ukraine war. It also helped students from abroad came to study in Ukraine but were stuck due to war and needed help to be evacuated. It provided them financial and material help with due guidance to get out of the war zone safely and helped them reach back to their countries.

Established in 1999, April 4 marked the 23rd anniversary of this international non-governmental organization, to continue its humanitarian work under the guidance of Mr. Ravi Singh and others from the UK. It helped victims in war-torn Syria in 2015, affected by floods in London in 2016, Rohingya in Myanmar-Bangladesh in 2017, Keralites in the catastrophic floods in 2018, victims of COVID 19 world over from 2019 to 2021. It helped farmers in Delhi Morcha in 2020-2021 for over a year, and now the refugees of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War. As an appreciation of their service, two Canadian MPs, Tim Uppal and Prabhmeet Singh Sarkaria, and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown have nominated Khalsa Aid for the Nobel Prize for Humanitarian Services. May God give courage to Sardar Ravi Singh and his group and prolong their life so that they remain engaged in global community service.