Chris Carter
Ethnic Affairs spokesperson

Carter to welcome Sikh holy texts

Labour’s Ethnic Affairs Spokesperson Chris Carter will join the Sikh community tomorrow in Auckland to welcome the holiest texts of the Sikh religion to New Zealand.
The Guru Granth Sahib is a collection of documents compiled by gurus (teachers and leaders) of the Sikh religion between 1469 and 1708. The documents are touring Australia and New Zealand before returning to their home at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India.

Chris Carter said being entrusted with these documents is a tremendous source of pride for New Zealand’s 10,000 Sikhs. Some of the pages are more than half a millennium old, and Sikhs seeing them with their own eyes will feel equivalent to a Christian seeing the first Bible or a Muslim seeing the first Qur’an.

The Guru Grant Sahib’s arrival coincides with celebrations to mark Vaisakhi, the Punjabi New Year.

The documents will be escorted by a 45-strong delegation from Melbourne, and will arrive at Auckland International Airport on NZ124 at 5:25pm tomorrow. The organisers of the tour, the New Zealand Sikh Society Auckland and the Supreme Sikh Council of New Zealand, welcome all media organisations to witness this historic event.

“I would like to congratulate New Zealand’s Sikh community on receiving the Guru Granth Sahib,” Chris Carter said.
“This honour demonstrates how New Zealand is known throughout the world as a country which respects its minority religions, and is a real opportunity for New Zealand’s Sikh community to showcase their ancient culture and religion.”

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