Sikhs in US express joy after historic win of Biden, Harris

By Reena Bhardwaj
Washington [US], November 8 : Sikhs across the United States have expressed joy as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris became the President-elect and Vice President-elect respectively on Saturday.
Dr Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) and founder of EcoSikh, said, "We are pleased with the results of these hard-fought elections. Finally, the nation can come together and move towards reconciliation during this very difficult time."
He said that America needed a leader who would be serious about solving the biggest health challenge of the novel coronavirus and set a positive tone in the country and the world. "Joe Biden is such a person and it is a big plus to have Kamala Harris as the Vice-President to guide this nation towards the right direction. We are proud that Harris is the first woman VP, first Black woman, first Asian American, and first Indian American to be elected to the highest office in America. Those are a lot of glass ceilings shattered with this election."
Singh highlighted Biden's promise wherein he said that he will be the President for all Americans regardless of whether they voted for him or not.
"This is exactly the kind of leadership that is needed to create a sense of togetherness as the nation is facing a major spike in COVID-19 cases and the resulting economic downturn," he said.
Gurwin Singh Ahuja, the co-founder of the National Sikh Campaign, said: "We would like to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and the first woman and Indian American Vice President Kamala Harris. A core value of Sikhism is woman's empowerment and we are encouraged to see a woman elected to the highest office in the United States. We look forward to President-Elect Biden and his administration set the right tone towards healing the soul of our nation. Our leadership must provide understanding and reconciliation in our deeply divided country." He added, "We look forward to working with Biden transition team and administration on the important issues facing the Sikh community."
Dr Singh also believes that Biden has always supported issues of concern to the Sikh community and he feels confident that with the former Vice President in the White House, Sikhs and other communities will be welcomed.
Biden on Saturday became the President-elect of the United States after victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania which took him past the electoral college threshold of 270 votes.
The Democratic presidential candidate defeated President Donald Trump in a closely contested election and will be the 46th president of the United States.
Harris became the Vice President-elect of the United States and will become the first female and first black and South Asian Vice President of the nation.