Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has assured all support to Sikh entrepreneurs and business leaders who are willing to set up industries in the state, particularly in the interiors. Addressing a large gathering of leading Sikh business leaders from different sectors at the launch of a coffee table book “Sikh Business Leaders of India” organized at Bella-Monde Hotel, NH8 Delhi- Jaipur Expy, Delhi on March 30, Khattar assured potential investors full cooperation of the state government including “single window clearance deemed clearance within 45 days”.
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He stated that 4 industrial zones have been demarcated in the state and those who “invest in the Zones C & D or the interiors (where land is cheaper) will be offered incentives of Rs. 4000 per month for four years for every labour they employ. Addressing the gathering, which included 40 of the 51 Sikh business leaders profiled in the book, written by Dr. Prabhleen Singh and by published Outlook Group, Khattar recalled the Sikh leaders’ contribution and role in the growth of not just Haryana “which has been the karam shetra” of Sikhs” but the whole country and the world. This was very evident during the COVID pandemic when the Sikh community and business leaders contributed funds, facility and effort to reach out help to those requiring medicine and care.
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Dr Charan Singh, Chairman of Punjab & Sind Bank, stressed that though the Sikh community constitutes just a small percentage of India’s population but their contribution to society has been immense as the Sikh business leaders practice a “sustainable model of growth” that ensure that while they seek business growth, they also apportion a part of their earnings for welfare of fellow human beings.
Author Dr Singh, who is the Administrative Officer of Punjabi University, Patiala, said his book features 51 Sikh personalities, including young and budding entrepreneurs, who have been true to their spiritual learning while fulfilling their professional ambitions and meeting family commitments. The business leaders in the book are not just limited to Haryana and Punjab but spread across the country right from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala. “It is an effort to reveal the lives of leading Sikh entrepreneurs and CEOs of top ranking companies and organisations of the country who have not sacrificed their identity and commitment to society despite their meteoric rise,” states Singh, who has authored other acclaimed books about Sikhs like the ‘Prominent Sikhs of India;’ ‘Prominent Sikhs of the USA’; ‘Shining Sikh Youth of India’.
Dr Singh hopes that “the book of bright and illuminating Sikh leaders will act as guiding stars for other Sikhs and people so that they also combat the hurdles and challenges of life and soar successfully, while retaining the ways of the Almighty.”
Tarlochan Singh, Padam Bhushan awardee and former Member of Parliament, stated that contribution of Sikhism in the foundation of the nation is commendable. In his ‘Forward’ to the book, he has very clearly outlined the ways of livelihood of Sri Guru Nanak, Guru Angad Dev and Guru Amardas. He emphasizes that working for one’s livelihood is a part of Sikhism. Sri Guru Nanak Dev was a farmer for 18 years in the last phase of his life at Kartarpur. Makhan Shah Lubana and Lakhi Shah Vanjara, the devoted Sikhs of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur, taught us that spiritual growth and professional rise should go hand in hand.
