One day last year, Narinder Singh Warraich, an immigrant from the Indian state of Punjab, was driving past the famous Hagley Park in Christchurch, when he saw some young boys teasing, bullying, and passing racist slurs towards an elderly Indian men, with a beard and a turban.

“What struck me, was their ignorance of the Sikh culture. They saw a man with a beard and a turban, and immediately thought he was a Muslim. And as if that wasn’t enough, they thought somehow he must be related to the infamous terrorist Osama Bin Laden, prompting them to chant Osama’s brother, Osama’s brother,” said Warraich, while explaining the motivations behind initiating the first-ever Canterbury Turban Day in 2018.

That’s also the reason, Warraich and his Canterbury Punjabi Social, Sports, and Cultural Group [he is the President] decided to organise the event in the city-centre, and not in some Gurudwara.

“We wanted everyone, who is coming to the central city on a Sunday, to go back with some awareness about the Sikh faith,” he added. “…creating awareness about the Sikh faith…” “Now with the Garden City terrorised by the worst-ever terror attacks on New Zealand soil early this year, our event assumes even more importance. And we are very glad that over 200 people – of various ethnicities – attended the event on Sunday, with newly-elected central ward City Councillor Jake McLellan and multiple-times City Councillor Jimmy Chen, among them. Throughout the day, we not only showed how to tie a turban, but also explained the significance, and origins of the five articles of faith of Sikhism,” Warraich concluded.

-Gaurav Sharma