Formation 1984 President Mukhbir Singh | Type Civil rights law | |
Motto "To work for the promotion of the ideals of universal brotherhood, peace, justice, freedom of worship and speech, respect for cultural diversity and human dignity for all, without any distinction" Headquarters Ottawa, Ontario (Canadian Branch)
New York, NY (American Branch) | ||
The World Sikh Organization (WSO) is a non-profit organization whose 1984 founding goal was "to provide an effective, credible voice to represent Sikh interests on the world stage", after Operation Blue Star. Its stated goal is "to promote and protect the interests of the Sikh Diaspora", and "promote and advocate for" human rights. Mukhbir Singh currently serves as President of the organization.
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History
The World Sikh Organization (WSO) was formed after an international gathering of Sikhs on July 28, 1984 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY which included several thousand people from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and several countries in the far east. The organisation was formed with two branches, WSO-Canada and WSO-America, and headquarters in Ottawa and New York. In January 1985, a bilingual newspaper, the World Sikh News, was launched from Stockton, California in order to "project the voice of Sikhs across the world" and highlight "Sikh participation in America’s 'social and cultural life'". The World Sikh News was a supporter of the WSO but was not officially linked with the organization in any way and operated independently.
The WSO has drawn widespread support and is involved in various community issues including the right to wear turbans, right to wear kirpans, support for same-sex marriage, and Gurdwara management. WSO officials are chosen through a mix of elections and nominations and meetings are generally held in gurdwaras.
Activities
The World Sikh Organization has advocated increased religious freedoms. It helped Baltej Singh Dhillon to fight discrimination and wear a turban in his role as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It has also helped Sikhs in Canada in court cases involving the wearing of kirpans. In addition it has supported other groups in asserting their rights, including Orthodox Jewish men wearing the yarmulke, Muslim women wearing the niqab, and a Scottish high school student wearing a kilt to his graduation ceremony.
WSO has been involved as an intervener in several prominent human rights cases at both the provincial level and at the Supreme Court of Canada, including Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem [2004] 2 S.C.R. 551 regarding the right of Jewish residents to build succah huts on their condominium balconies and Multani v. Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, [2006] 1 S.C.R. 256, 2006 SCC 6 in which the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the right of Sikh students to wear kirpans to school.
During Justice John Major's Inquiry into the Air India bombing, the WSO applied for and was granted intervener status, and applied for leave to call witnesses who would testify about the role of Indian intelligence agents in the Sikh community in Canada and information the Government of India may have had about the bombing. In its final submissions to the Inquiry, the WSO expressed its disappointment with the proceedings, including suggestions that there was "inadequate protection of witnesses" from intimidation.
Terry Milewski reported in a 2006 documentary for the CBC that a minority within Canada's Sikh community was gaining political influence even while publicly supporting terrorist acts in the struggle for an independent Sikh state. In response, the WSO sued the CBC for "defamation, slander and libel", alleging that Milewski linked it to terrorism and damaged the reputation of the WSO within the Sikh community. Canadian MP Ujjal Dosanjh and reporter Terry Milewski were also named in the suit for their alleged remarks in the 2007 documentary "Samosa Politics". However, no error in the documentary was ever shown and, in December 2015, the WSO unconditionally abandoned "any and all claims" made in its lawsuit against Milewski, Dosanjh and the CBC.
There are WSO chapters in every major Canadian city. WSO works with other interfaith and human rights organizations to promote awareness and education about human rights issues, in addition to providing education about the Sikh faith.