Vaisakhi Reception at St James's PalaceDate: Thursday, 24 April, 2008
While Sikhs are rightly known for their soldiering skills, you are only slightly less-known for your skills as “stewards of the soil”. As Harbinder Singh was mentioning, of course this is the festival of Vaisakhi celebrates harvest at man’s connection with the soil, man’s relationship to nature, which you probably know I feel very strongly in this regard that we are losing our sense of harmony with nature, and the world around us, which is helping us to cause even greater problems as far as the survival of this planet is concerned. But I have long been fascinated by these farming traditions and, therefore, I could not be more delighted with my Bhumi Vardaan Foundation, which I started two years ago in Punjab, is promoting organic farming and the conversion of farming land to an organic system across the Punjab. We now have some 2,600 hectares either converted or under conversion and the farmers receiving a premium. I am enormously proud of being able to make a small contribution in this area to this remarkable part of the world.
So Ladies and Gentlemen, nothing could give my wife, nor I greater pleasure than to be with you today, and I can only salute the Sikh Community, particularly on this special occasion of Vaisakhi.
