Indian Prime Minister Calls For A Society Free of Discrimination

November 2, 2009 8:29 a.m. EST

New Delhi, India (AHN) - Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh has called for India to build a society without discrimination or distinction. The Prime Minister was speaking on the anniversary of the birth of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev.

Singh urged in his statement, "A society without discrimination or distinction - the vision of Guru Nanakji is the vision towards which we should strive."

Guru Nanak's birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in the country. All educational institutions and offices remain closes including the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Rakov Kirpal, 34, an IT consultant based in New Delhi says that the day is auspicious for him and his family.

This year the birth anniversary becomes more important as India is also marking this year as the 25th anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which more than 3000 Sikhs were killed. The violence had continued for four days. The rioters killed women and children and vandalized Gurudwaras or Sikh places of worship.

The riots broke out after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

Kirpal, who was only 9 years old at the time of the riots, remembers being at home for almost a month as his school was burnt down in the riots. "My best friend and his father had to cut off their long hair and abandon the turban so that they could not be identified as Sikhs. It was a traumatizing time for all." He said as he reminisced.