BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  ACR 147
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          Date of Hearing:   August 11, 2014

                             ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
                              Richard S. Gordon, Chair
               ACR 147 (Dickinson/Logue) - As Amended:  August 5, 2014
           
          SUBJECT  :   Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month.

           SUMMARY  :   Designates November as California Sikh American  
          Awareness and Appreciation Month and would recognize and  
          acknowledge the significant contributions Californians of Sikh  
          heritage have made to the state.  Specifically,  this resolution   
          makes the following findings:

          1)California and our nation are blessed and enriched by the  
            unparalleled diversity of our residents; and, the Sikhs, who  
            originated in Punjab, India first entered California in 1899  
            legally through the Angel Island Immigration Station in San  
            Francisco, California.

          2)Sikh pioneers initially worked on railroad construction  
            projects, and in lumber mills, but by 1910, these pioneers  
            turned to farming in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Imperial  
            valleys.

          3)In 1912, the first Sikh temple (Gurdwara) in the United  
            States, the Sikh Temple of Stockton, was founded by professor  
            Teja Singh of the Pacific Coast Khalso Diwan Society and now  
            there are more than 100 Gurdwaras in the United States.

          4)The Ghadar Party was organized and formed by Jawala Singh and  
            Wasakha Singh , who migrated to California through Angel  
            Island in 1908, to overthrow the British colonial rulers of  
            the Indian subcontinent; and the Ghadar Party sent 616 of its  
            members to India, of whom 86 percent for Sikhs.

          5)Sikh history and culture is represented in the Asian Art  
            Museum in San Francisco, in the Smithsonian Museum in  
            Washington D.C., in the Community Memorial Museum of Sutter  
            County, and the Museum at the Sikh Temple Stockton.

          6)Sikh farmers contribute abundantly towards production of  
            peaches, raisins, pistachios, and okra, and Sikhs have also  
            excelled in security services, and transportion services, and  
            as doctors, attorneys, engineers, teachers, and other notable  








                                                                  ACR 147
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            capacities including small business owners.

          7)The faithful service of the Sikh American community to this  
            state and country merits appreciation as an integral thread in  
            the fabric of American plurality. 

           FISCAL EFFECT :   None

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          None on file

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800