Portsmouth Sikhs prepare to celebrate Diwali under lockdown restrictions

Diwali, the festival of lights and new beginnings, is celebrated annually by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, and this year will begin on Saturday, November 14.

What ordinarily would be a day of visiting families, buying traditional sweets and letting off fireworks, will now be spent indoors and over the internet due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Now, Sikhs in Portsmouth are gearing up for a completely different way of celebrating.

For those who celebrate, Diwali is all about new beginnings and the light that overcomes darkness. A particular honour is given to Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity.

Amrik Sing, president of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Sar in Southsea will be spending Diwali indoors this year.

He said: ‘Families will be making Zoom calls with rooms lit up but we won’t be able to give gifts and sweets.

‘Nobody could have predicted the Covid-19 outbreak.

‘If we could have predicted it, we would have been better prepared but it’s a case of doing what we can given the circumstances.’

The bid to ‘save Christmas’ has been one of prime minister Boris Johnson’s motivators for keeping people indoors this November.

But because of this, some Sikh’s believe their festival has been sacrificed at the altar.

Sujrit Singh from Sikh Council UK, says minority religious groups have not been treated equally during lockdown.

He said: ‘We feel very disappointed that the government hasn’t acknowledged or taken into consideration the Sikh celebration of Diwali.

‘Ever since the onset of lockdown there has been poor consultation and the government have chosen those groups who are synonymous of their own views.’

Lockdown is due to end on December 2, so the Sikh celebration of Guru Nanak Gurpurab, the birthday of the founder and first Guru of Sikhism which this year is celebrated on November 30, will be affected too.

Many Gurdwaras, and other religious temples, have spent much of this year making their facilities Covid-19 secure and have been places of service to communities struggling with the pandemic.

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