Sikhs in Italy

Sikhs in Italyby SEEMA SIROHI


Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-heritage/24556-sikhs-in-italy.html
The Italian hills of Colli Albani stand guard in the distance and the one road nearby leads to Rome.
Inside the small farm shed, a picture of Guru Nanak looks kindly down from three walls out of four, competing with the bric-a-brac cramming the room's beds, one book-shelf, suitcases in line and stacks of DVDs. The adjacent kitchen, which converts to another bedroom at night, has rudimentary cooking utensils, a rickety table, a huge plastic barrel of atta and two refrigerators. A neat row of clothes pegs carries the burden of entire wardrobes.

Harjit Singh, who came to Italy two years ago from India, is making cha for the Punjabi workforce on this lush farm south of Rome.
Tajinder Singh, barely 18, and who landed here just five days earlier after paying an agent Rs 8 lakh, helps with the chores. He doesn't have a job yet, but he has shelter, thanks to his village brethren.
"Everyone comes here to earn money; I too decided to come", he says, smiling shyly. But tears well up when he talks about his family. It's still too raw: the departure, the journey, the touts, the alien languages along the long route of illegal migration.

The two rooms are home to eleven men from Punjab, some legal, others illegal, but all bound by a common will to survive with few resources and many insecurities.
Goldy Singh trundles back after a 14-hour workday, having secured delicate green bean tendrils with ropes and sticks. He opens a drink, shaking mud off his rubber boots and exchanges pleasantries with Satinder, a man of many trades and skills.
Satinder, who connects Italian farmers with the Punjabis, owns two shops in Italy, exports Murano glass to Mumbai, drops names and goes to the West Indies for the World Cup, is one of the few regular links between the isolated workers and the world. The cellphone is another.

There is comfort in brotherhood, as men from the villages of Punjab come together in far-flung communities across Italy, a new favourite destination of immigrants.
More than 50,000 of them, mostly Sikhs, are spread across towns such as Reggio Emilia, Casina, Bergamo and Brescia, a far cry from Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur or Ludhiana, labouring with quiet determination and doing jobs the Italians are unavailable for or unwilling to do. Some make as little as 500 euros a month, exploited by crafty employers. Those who become legal can make up to 1,500 euros.

Last week, at a cultural evening organised in Rome by a Punjabi who's now an official with an Italian workers' union, singers belted out ribald songs before a meal of chicken curry and naan.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556
A prosperous-looking Balbir Singh sat in the audience with his wife and son, recounting how he came 18 years ago after paying an agent Rs 17,000 for a tourist visa. Today the price is anywhere between Rs 6 and 10 lakh.
"I didn't know where or what Italy was, but I hoped to find work", Balbir said, fiddling with his fancy cellphone sporting a Guru Nanak screensaver. Work he did find, first in a circus as a driver, then as a labourer and electrician. Today, he owns a factory making grilles for windows.

The Sikhs are also making wine and cheese. Up in the northern Emilia Romagna region, home to the famed Parma ham, the Punjabi worker, with his intuitive farm skills, has added another "P" to the big two: prosciutto and parmesan. They are curing tonnes of meat into prosciutto and turning gallons of milk into parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of which is essential over pasta. They have reportedly even improved the process.

But come Sunday, and a mini-Punjab sprouts in the twenty-two gurdwaras across Italy, with shabad kirtans and langar, providing an anchor to the thousands of Sikhs who long for the sounds and smells of home.
In the very same communities, in April this year, Vaisakhi was celebrated with abandon and large processions ... a bit of Punjab, with an Italian flavour!
[Courtesy: Outlook India]












source sikhchic.com | The Art and Culture of the Diaspora | Article Detail

 
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Note: from SikhiWiki

Italian Sikhs are a religious minority in Italy. Italy has the second biggest Sikh population in Europe after United Kingdom. They number more than 70,000 (about 0.12 % of total Italian population). There are about 22 gurdwaras across the country - the oldest one being in Reggio Emilia in central Italy where many members of the community are engaged in agriculture.

Falling birth rates and an ageing population are causing concern for demographic experts and for various industry sectors in Italy, and hence the opportunities for young Indian workers look bright. The fact that there is a large community of people from Punjab, settled in northern Italy, is now attracting many more people from the state who initially start off by taking up agricultural jobs.

Many Indians have now also become entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector and set up units such as dairy farms. Indians are also engaged in machine tools jobs and other semi-skilled jobs while others have taken up jobs in Indian restaurants. There’s a fairly large community of people from Kerala in Italy who work in hospitals as nurses and in other healthcare jobs. While the Keralites have their own association, there are many Gurdwaras in Italy which have been set up by the people from Punjab. Officially there are around 60,000 people of Indian origin living in Italy and about another 40,000 non-resident Indians.

Italy’s largest Gurdwara is located in the north-eastern city of Castel Gomberto in Vicenza province. It is a symbol of the economic well-being of the Sikh community in the province - there are around 3,000 Sikhs in Vicenza and the numbers are growing. The Gurdwara has large premises and has a modern kitchen and langar hall. The prayer hall on the first floor, where the Guru Granth Sahib is kept, can accommodate 1,000 people.

The oldest Gurdwara is in Reggio Emilia in central Italy where there is a large community of people from Punjab engaged in agriculture. Most Indians have integrated very well into Italian mainstream life, and local authorities in Italy are by and large happy with their contribution to the economy. They have also been found to be generally very industrious, hard working, and law-abiding.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556

More about migration and immigration to Italy Now, Indian agricultural workers flock to Italy- The Global Indian Takeover-Features-The Economic Times

Largest Gurdwara

Italy's largest gurdwara has opened in the northeastern city of Castel Gomberto in Vicenza province, a sign of the growing Sikh community in the country and their economic well-being.
The new building of Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara was purchased by the community in the countryside, where many of the community members live. There are some 3,000 Sikhs in Vicenza and their number is growing.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556
The gurdwara was inaugurated on November 9. Nearly 3,000 people took part in the inaugural ceremony, which was addressed by Giani Puran Singh.
The gurdwara has large premises and has a modern kitchen and langar hall. The prayer hall on the first floor, where the Guru Granth Sahib is kept, can accommodate 1,000 people.
There are some 60,000-70,000 Sikhs in Italy and their number is growing. There are about 15 gurdwaras across the country - the oldest one being in Reggio Emilia in central Italy where many members of the community are engaged in agriculture.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556

However, as the community members become more accustomed to the Italian way of life, they are moving into industrial clusters in the northeast, particularly Vicenza province.
Harbant Singh, president of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Vicenza, is widely credited as being the brainchild behind setting up the new gurdwara.
He thanked the community for its support and dedication in establishing an important religious institution. He also thanked the Indian embassy in Rome and the Indian government for supporting the immigrants in their settlement in Italy.
He said that the introduction of Alitalia flights from Milan to New Delhi, in addition to the Milan-Mumbai flights, had greatly helped the community in reaching their hometowns more easily and directly from northern Italy and acknowledged the positive role the embassy had played in this regard.
The gurdwara committee members also thanked the embassy for taking up with the Italian government the problems faced by visa seekers from the community.
Meanwhile, several members of the community expressed their happiness at the "positive image" enjoyed by them in Italy as hard-working and honest people.



Source NRI Sikhs in Italy

Nagar Kirtan at Reggio Emilia Gurdwara

Gatka in Brescia Italy -- BTW Gatka is very big in Italy

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556

Gurdwaras in Italy

This is from Wikipedia and is only a partial list. I will come up with a more complete account eventually.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556

Italy

• Gurudwara Shri Guru Nanak Darbar, Rome
• Gurdwara Singh Sabha,Rome Italy
• Shri Guru Hargobind Sahib Sewa Society, Italy
• Gurdwara Singh Sabha Reggio Emilia
• Shri Guru Ravidass Temple,Vernon
• Gurudwara Shri Guru Ravidass Darbar,Bergamo
• Shri Guru Ravidass Temple,Vicenza
• Gurudwara shri guru kalgidhar singh sabha Vescovato Cremona
• Gurudwara Shri Singh Sabha Pasiano Pordenone
• Gurudawara Ravidas Sabha Sabaudia Rome

AAD ji..I guess you are Italian ??
THANKS a million for these informative posts..I have a few relatives in Italy..long lost and forgotten.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24556
It was in Italy that I first met a real Gentleman..the Late Dr Kharrak Singh of the IOSS Chandigarh..He was workign for the FAO then and based in Rome...I still remember the ITALIAN FOOD !! ( names forgotten)..just the absolutle heavenly taste only lingers in my brain...as if it was just yesterday..and not in 1970....