Thousands at Sikh convention in Wolverhampton
Thousands of Sikhs headed to the Black Country for an annual convention.
More than 10,000 are estimated to have attended the Sikh Federation UK's convention at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Wolverhampton over the weekend.
And in a keynote speech at the event a Sikh leader called for Prime Minister Theresa May to make a full apology in Parliament for a historic massacre before its 100th anniversary.
Unarmed civilians were killed at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919 by soldiers from the British Indian Army.
During a visit to the site in 2013, David Cameron described the massacre as 'a deeply shameful event in British history' – but fell short of an official apology.
At the convention Bhai Amrik Singh said: “While the words of David Cameron in 2013 when he visited Jallianwala Bagh were comforting they fell short of an apology for the shameful massacre of unarmed civilians in Amritsar on April 13, 1919.
“We will focus our efforts in the UK by gaining cross-party support to demand a full apology before the 100th anniversary from Theresa May, assuming she remains Prime Minister.
“We are confident of support from MPs as many know the massacre came within months of the end of the First World War where Sikhs made sacrifices in huge numbers for the freedom of Europe.”
The Federation is leading an ongoing campaign for an independent public inquiry into UK involvement in the 1984 Sikh genocide.
The convention, which ran at the Gurdwara in Sedgley Street from Friday to yesterday (sun), also heard from both new Sikh MPs elected to Westminster in June – Sandwell councillor and new Edgbaston MP Preet Kaur Gill, the first Sikh woman MP, and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the first turban wearing Sikh.
Wolverhampton MPs Pat McFadden and Eleanor Smith also attended and spoke, as did former city MP Rob Marris.
