Just SayingHow Sikhs are fighting bigotry with bread around the world
Yonden Lhatoo’s visit to Hong Kong’s Sikh temple gets him thinking about how this community is winning hearts and minds around the world by providing food for the needy
A colleague at work, who hails from Hong Kong’s Sikh community, took me to their gurdwara, or temple, this week to give me a taste of the charity work it’s doing and to prove there is such a thing as a free lunch.
The Khalsa Diwan in Wan Chai, built in 1901 by Sikhs from the British army, is still going strong. It stands testament to the historic role of their community in the development of this city, starting as some of the first police officers.
The concept of charity for the Sikhs is deeply rooted in tradition, and their age-old “cauldron and sword” philosophy – feeding and protecting the hungry and oppressed – is personified by the temple’s langar, or free kitchen, open to visitors of any colour, background or religious persuasion. The food prepared by volunteers is simple and wholesome vegetarian fare, available throughout the day to anyone who asks for it.
Sikhs around the world are working wonders with this concept of winning hearts and minds through stomachs. It’s such a basic approach. And so effective.
