Members of the Sikh community gathered in a small town in regional Victoria on Sunday to mark the completion of one year since the historic installation of the ‘Ik Onkar’ sculpture in a public space in Australia. The sculpture was installed in November 2019 to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. The sculpture was made to order by artist Iqbal Singh Gill from Punjab in India.
The golden artwork stands tall at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo – a Buddhist pilgrimage dedicated towards peace and interfaith harmony that houses symbols from many other faiths besides Sikhism in the sprawling gardens that surround the stupa.
In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Jang Bahadur Singh, the secretary of the Victorian Sikh Gurudwara Council who hosted the anniversary celebrations said only 50 members of the community were allowed to attend the event in consideration with the COVID-19 induced restrictions on public gatherings.
“We had a limited gathering of only 50 members from the community in Melbourne and Bendigo. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Bendigo community which helped us to mark this occasion in line with COVID prompted safety restrictions,” he said.
The installation of the symbol last year made Bendigo the first place in Australia to house ‘Ik Onkar’, a symbol from the Sikh religion that represents divine unity.
The sculpture was made to order by artist Iqbal Singh Gill from Punjab in India.
