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Ishar Singh Bindra
Life Time Achievement Award
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Ishar Singh Bindra was born in 1921 in India. After completing
a very distinguished career as a senior Telecommunications Engineer
in India, he migrated to USA in 1979. Mr. Bindra along with his
sons started an import/export business in the garment industry.
Under the astute management of Mr. Bindra as President, The
Jeetish Group of Industries has evolved into a successful
diversified company with interests in apparel, commodities
and real estate.
Since 1979, when he landed in the United States, the Bindra
family’s life in the United Stated has been a remarkable story
of success. Overcoming the challenges with a heart full of
confidence and shaped by a broader vision that looked to the
future with courage, Mr. Bindra has carved out a unique place
in history for himself and his family.
He is a Founder-Trustee of the Sikh Forum of New York and Senior
Vice President of Hemkunt Foundation, Patron of Sikh Art and
Film Foundation all three are non-profit organizations and
serve the community in religious and social issues. Under
the patronage of Art and Film Foundation a very successful
exhibition on Sikh art and belief was put on at the Rubin
Museum of Art in Manhattan for six months.
In 1999 Mr. Bindra was honored as Humanitarian of The Year by
The Interfaith Nutrition Network a non-profit organization
serving the hungry and homeless in New York. In July 2000 he
was honored with the “Punjab-Ratan” award by the First Lady
Hillary Rodham-Clinton. The World Punjabi organization in its
International Convention in New York, held July 2006 awarded
Mr. Bindra with the “Lifetime Achievement” award for his
service to the community
Mr. Ishar Singh Bindra has endowed a Chair of Sikh Studies at
the Hofstra University in 2000. The Chair has been named after
his wife Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra, Chair of Sikh Studies.
He has also endowed a Prize for “The Guru Nanak Interfaith
Prize” in collaboration with Hofstra University. The award
ceremony will be held every two years at a gala dinner.
In the words of his son, Teji Bindra,“The story of my dad
is not simply a dream of better life. It is a dream of
creating better lives for everyone and about giving back to
the society. It is the story of one man’s determination to
grow and share with the needy. To him, a lot of what he does
is giving back-to education, to understanding God and religion.
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Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa
World known as Mr. SikhNet.com
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Known all over the world as Mr. SikhNet.com, Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa is the main
innovator, founder, and driver of the most popular website on Sikhism, SikhNet.com.
Referred to as the virtual king of all Sikh websites, SikhNet has grown from a small
bulletin board 11 years ago to a comprehensive resource., now averaging from 10,000
to 16,000 visitors a day.
It provides a multitude of items geared towards Sikh interest, such as news, music,
translations of hymns and scriptures, coloring books and copies of prayer books
that are downloadable to PDAs. For the Sikh Diaspora outside of Punjab, between
4,000 and 5,000 people start their day by reading the daily Hukamnama (quotation
from the Sikh scripture of the Guru Granth Sahib) sent straight from the Golden
Temple in India.
Aside from SikhNet, Khalsa has pioneered new web based initiatives to promote Sikhism
in the new digital era, such as starting the first ever online based Sikh youth
based film festival. Khalsa has recently started to actively share his life and
feelings through his new blog of Mr.SikhNet.com. On this blog, Gurumusuk shares
his chal- lenges he overcomes in life, while promoting and maintaining his Sikh
identity and faith.
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Sharat Raju
Writer, Director, Filmmaker
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In his brief career as a filmmaker, Sharat has already earned a reputation for creating
unique films that have explored the intersections of race, identity, spirituality
and violence. His first two films confronted divisions in post-9/11 America through
accessible characters and personal stories
Sharat graduated in 2003 from the American Film Institute Conservatory with an MFA
in directing. His thesis film, “American Made”, earned both of the top two awards
from AFI before it went on to win a total of seventeen awards at nearly forty film
festivals around the world. Accolades in 2004 included Tribeca Film Festival Student
Visionary Award, Aspen Shortsfest Audience Favorite, San Diego Film Festival Best
Short Film, and an award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking from BAFTA.
In 2006, the national broadcast debut of “American Made” on the PBS program Indepen
- dent Lens drew one million viewers – the first fictional portrayal on television
of a Sikh family in post-9/11 America.
As a graduate of the University of Michigan, Sharat has given guest lectures about
the technical merits and thematic elements of both “American Made” and “Divided
We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath” at universities, colleges and high schools.
In addition to his work as a writer-director-producer, Sharat has numerous feature
film credits, including as a casting assistant on Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions,
and 8 Mile.“Divided We Fall” is Sharat’s first feature-length film and documentary
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Valarie Kaur
Writer, Filmmaker, and Lecturer
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A third-generation Sikh American born and raised in Clovis, California, Valarie
is a writer, filmmaker, and lecturer in religion and ethics. As a Harvard Presidential
Scholar, she recently received her masters in theological studies at Harvard Divinity
School. For more than five years, she created, wrote, produced, and developed the
first firstmath feature-length documentary film on hate violence in post-g/l 1 America
— “Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath.”
Valarie began the journey to create “Divided We Fall”as an undergraduate at Stanford
University, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in religious studies and international
relations. She also taught courses on philosophy, religion, and created the school’s
first-ever course in Sikh studies. Her honors at Stanford included the Howard Garfield
Award in Religion, the Haas School Public Service Scholar, the Asian American Leadership
Award, the Beinecke Scholarship, and selection as graduation speaker for her class.
She won Stanford’s Golden Medal for her honors thesis on post-9/l 1 America, which
eventually became “Divided We Fall.”
The world premiere of “Divided We Fall” in September 2006 sent Valarie on a packed
international speaking and screening tour which continues today. She has been invited
as an authority on the subject at more than one hundred universities, colleges,
and religious centers across the country. She has been featured in print, radio
and television media including NPR, BBC,and CSPAN.The State of California recently
presented Valarie with an official commendation recognizing her work as a scholar,
activist, and storyteller.
Valarie presently serves as founding director of the Discrimination and National
Security Initiative at the Harvard Pluralism Project. She will continue to study
the intersections of religion and law in post 9/11 America at Yale Law School in
2008.
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Dr. Anmol Singh Mahal
President
California Medical Board (CMA)
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Dr. Anmol Singh Mahal, president of the California Medical Board (CMA), was bestowed
the Excellence in Medicine Award on May 14, 2007 by the California state assembly
in recognition of his contribution to improving access to healthcare.
Mahal was elected president of CMA last year and became the first person from the
subcontinent to head the 35,000-member organization in America's most populous state.
The 56-year-old doctor, a graduate of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
works at Fremont's Washington Hospital and migrated to the US 33 years ago. He completed
a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Stanford University Medical Center.
CMA has earned a national reputation in America as a leader in legal advocacy on
behalf of physicians and patients. In the 1990s, it emerged as a leading advocate
for improving the quality of healthcare.
Recently, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Mahal to the board
of trustees of the Health Professions Educational Foundation. He is a founding member
and past president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin of
North- ern California.
He also serves as a trustee of The Sikh Foundation International, which is headquartered
in Palo Alto, California.
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Ish Amitoj Kaur
Director of Noor Nishan Films
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As Director of Noor Nishan Films, Ish Amitoj Kaur holds a Masters in the Performing
Arts and has extensive experience in the Indian Media — Television and Mumbai Film
industry, and is a Fellow of India’s National School of Drama. Ish would go on to
work on major Punjabi film projects such as “Pinjar”and “Asa Nu Maan Watna Da.”
With her talents focused on media, Ish realized something special while observing
the Sikh Diaspora in the United States. First, Sikh children are affected profoundly
by the media and there is a dire need for their lives to be portrayed as normal
everyday people. Second, the elders in the Sikh community feel concerned that their
life stories need to be portrayed authentically in film and media.
The answer to the questions comes in form of her debut film “Kambdi Kalaai.” The
film “Kambdi Kalaai” focuses on the state of oscillation of human mind, which makes
it difficult to grasp the truth Dedicated to the prominent Sikh writer Dr. Bhai
Vir Singh, “Kambdi Kalaai” is set up in the back ground of New York, the film explores
the characters of Gurmeet and Ida of how faith and human relationship mingle together
to create an everlasting impact on the human psyche.
In conjunction with Ish Amitoj Kaur, Noor Nissan Films is a New Jersey and California
based Production Company. The producer of the film, Gagan Amitoj Kaur is a telecom
professional working in New Jersey. Taranjit Singh is a young and energetic engineer
working in California.
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Ishar Singh Bindra
Life Time Achievement Award
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Ishar Singh Bindra was born in 1921 in India. After completing
a very distinguished career as a senior Telecommunications Engineer
in India, he migrated to USA in 1979. Mr. Bindra along with his
sons started an import/export business in the garment industry.
Under the astute management of Mr. Bindra as President, The
Jeetish Group of Industries has evolved into a successful
diversified company with interests in apparel, commodities
and real estate.
Since 1979, when he landed in the United States, the Bindra
family’s life in the United Stated has been a remarkable story
of success. Overcoming the challenges with a heart full of
confidence and shaped by a broader vision that looked to the
future with courage, Mr. Bindra has carved out a unique place
in history for himself and his family.
He is a Founder-Trustee of the Sikh Forum of New York and Senior
Vice President of Hemkunt Foundation, Patron of Sikh Art and
Film Foundation all three are non-profit organizations and
serve the community in religious and social issues. Under
the patronage of Art and Film Foundation a very successful
exhibition on Sikh art and belief was put on at the Rubin
Museum of Art in Manhattan for six months.
In 1999 Mr. Bindra was honored as Humanitarian of The Year by
The Interfaith Nutrition Network a non-profit organization
serving the hungry and homeless in New York. In July 2000 he
was honored with the “Punjab-Ratan” award by the First Lady
Hillary Rodham-Clinton. The World Punjabi organization in its
International Convention in New York, held July 2006 awarded
Mr. Bindra with the “Lifetime Achievement” award for his
service to the community
Mr. Ishar Singh Bindra has endowed a Chair of Sikh Studies at
the Hofstra University in 2000. The Chair has been named after
his wife Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra, Chair of Sikh Studies.
He has also endowed a Prize for “The Guru Nanak Interfaith
Prize” in collaboration with Hofstra University. The award
ceremony will be held every two years at a gala dinner.
In the words of his son, Teji Bindra,“The story of my dad
is not simply a dream of better life. It is a dream of
creating better lives for everyone and about giving back to
the society. It is the story of one man’s determination to
grow and share with the needy. To him, a lot of what he does
is giving back-to education, to understanding God and religion.
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Sant Singh Chatwal
Outstanding Community Leadership Award
Chairman and CEO of Hampshire
Hotels & Resorts, LLC
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Sant Singh Chatwal is the Chairman and CEO of Hampshire Hotels & Resorts, LLC. A
career entrepreneur, Sant Chatwal has built a global business in some of the finest
hotels and restaurants. Hampshire Hotels & Resorts owns hotels in the United States,
Canada, the UK, India and Thailand, with over 3000 rooms in Manhattan alone. The
Bombay Palace chain of internationally renowned gourmet restaurants popularized
Indian cuisine around the world major metropolitan cities including London, Mon-
treal, Toronto, New York, Washington DC, Beverly Hills, Houston and Kuala Lumpur.
Led by Sant Chatwal's insight and vision, Hampshire Hotels is expanding at a fast
pace with new projects around the world. By the fourth quarter of 2008 Hampshire
Hotels & Resorts will open its doors to five new properties, including three new
incarnations of the “Dream” brand in Miami, Cochin and Downtown New York, as well
as Hampshire's first project in Hyderabad, India. In total 2000 rooms will be added
in Bangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. With the introduction
of The Lamb's Club in NY, Hampshire Hotels will mark its first entry into the ultra-luxury
market. By 2009 Hampshire plans to open another 2000 rooms both in India and the
U.S.
In addition, to his providing leadership to Hampshire Hotel & Resorts, Sant Chatwal
is a leading voice among the Indian American community around the world. He is the
Trustee of the William J. Clinton Foundation, a charitable foundation led by President
Clinton to focus on global issues of health, security and economic empowerment.
This includes active involvement in initiatives pertaining to the HIV/AIDS initiative;
Clinton Global Initiative, Urban Enterprise Initiative, Healthier Generation among
others. In April 1999, he became the only Indian in the United States to be honored
with the “Order of the Khalsa” by the Government of India, for his outstanding service
to the Community. In 2001, Sant Chatwal became a founder trustee of the American
India Foundation and accompanied President Clinton on his first humanitarian tour
of India in the aftermath of the Gujarat Earthquake.
Sant Chatwal has worked tirelessly for promoting the rights of immigrants in the
United States. He has devoted considerable resources to worthy political causes,
work- ing closely with the Democratic Party, in particular with Senator Hillary
Rodham Clin- ton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Charles Schumer and
Congressman Joseph Crowley. Sant Chatwal is highly recognized for promoting Indo-US
relations for over 30 years.
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Honorable Senator
Richard G. Lugar
Bhagat Singh Thind Award*
For Human Values, Justice & Harmony
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‘An Outstanding Legislator’
Dick Lugar is an unwavering advocate of U.S. leadership in the world, strong national
security, free-trade and economic growth. He is the longest serving U.S. Senator
in Indiana history. He is the Republican leader on Foreign Relations and Intelligence
Committees and is widely respected by the world leaders. Since 1976, he has been
elected by a two-thirds majority and has also been the author of a wide array of
successful legislative initiatives.
Richard Lugar has been a leader in reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons. In 1991, due to his legislative role, nearly 6,000 nuclear warheads
were deactivated which were once aimed at the United States.
In 1996, Senator Lugar led the successful opposition to replacing the school lunch
program with block grants in the welfare reform bill. He also has been a strong
advocate of literacy and school reform efforts. He has aggressively promoted the
research-based "Success for All" reform plan, which has boosted reading skills academic
achievement in schools throughout the nation. He authored and passed the S-CHIP
Improvement Act of 1999, which facilitated sign-ups for the Children's Health Insurance
Program.
In 1985, Senator Lugar authored the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which became
arguably the most successful soil erosion control program in history. As the co-author
of the 1998 Tropical Forest Conservation Act and the 1989 Global Environmental Protection
Assistance Act, he has been an active advocate of debt-for-nature swaps. Recently
he has led intitiative in support of Climate Change issues.
Senator Lugar was the co-author of the 1996 Nunn-Lugar-Domenici program, which has
facilitated the training of first responders in more than 120 cities for the possibility
of an attack by nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.
Richard Lugar, and his wife Charlene, were married September 8, 1956, and have four
sons and seven grandchildren.
*Bhagat Singh Thind - During World War I,
Bhagat Singh Thind fought as part of the U.S. Army but was denied the citizenship
on account of his ethnicity. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court but
he lost it. This was one of the earliest battles for civil rights by the Asians
and his case had impacted the rights of all Asians until the 1940's when the new
laws were enacted. Bhagat Singh Thind is a shining example of bravery, steadfastness
and formidable spirit.This former soldier went on to obtain a Ph.D. from Berkeley
and lectured throughout the country on interfaith understanding and human values.
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Honorable Congressman
John Lewis
Guru Teg Bahadur Award*
For Civil Liberty, Religious Freedom & Equality
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“the conscience of the U.S. Congress.”- Nancy Pelosi, Honorable Speaker
“John Lewis is a genuine American hero.”- Roll Call magazine
John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties,
and building what he calls "The Beloved Community” in America. He has displayed
highest ethical standards and moral principles.
He was born the son of sharecroppers on February 21, 1940, outside of Troy, Alabama.
He attended segregated public schools in Alabama. As a young boy, he was inspired
by the activism surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. and decided to become a part of the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1961, he volunteered to participate in the Freedom Rides, which challenged segregation
at interstate bus terminals across the South. During the height of the Movement,
from 1963 to 1966, Lewis was named Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC), which he helped form.By 1963, he was dubbed one of the Big Six
leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.
At the age of 23 he was the architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March
on Washington in August 1963. Many Civil Rights leaders, and John Lewis led over
600 peaceful, orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama
on March 7, 1965. They intended to march from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate
the need for voting rights in the state. The marchers were attacked by Alabama state
troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as "Bloody Sunday." Despite
more than 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, he has remained a devoted
advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence.
In 1986 he was elected to US House of Representatives from Georgia's Fifth Congressional
District John Lewis holds a B.A. in Religion and Philosophy from Fisk University,
and he is a graduate of the American Baptist Theological Seminary both in Tennessee.
He authored his biography with writer Michael D'Orso, entitled Walking With The
Wind: A Memoir of the Movement (June, 1998). John Lewis is married to Lillian Miles
and they have one son, John Miles.
*Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75 C.E.), the ninth
Guru of the Sikhs, who gave his life for the concept of religious freedom for all.
This happened long before the United Nations’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948) guaranteed everyone’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
It was also much before the establishment of Western democracies. The Guru carried
the conviction – more than four hundred years ago, when religious intolerance and
persecution were common all over the world – that every individual must have the
freedom to worship the faith of his or her choice. His famous quote 'Fear None,
Frighten None' has inspired Sikhs for generation to work for justice, peace and
harmony.
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Virginia Tech
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On April 16, 2007, a school shooting rampage occurred on the University campus of
Virginia Tech, making it the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history. The massacre
at Virginia Tech unfolded as two attacks about two hours apart in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Shooter Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded many more before committing suicide.
As many leaders at the Virgina Tech campus stood up to create social harmony and
peace in this tragedy, several were among the South Asian community. The following
is a listing of three of the honorees at this year’s SCORE American Heritage Dinner
Reception:
Ajitpal Singh Raina, is President of the Indian Students Association, who
was actively seen on CNN in the shooting aftermath.
Karen Singh Grewal,as seen on multiple media outlets including CNN’S Larry
King Live, was one of Cho’s suitemates in his dormitory.
Adeel Khan, Student Body Class President of 2009, was actively interviewed
on multiple media outlets on his perceptions of the school shootings and how the
University came together in its tragic time.
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