SACRAMENTO, Jan. 24, 2013 – On Tuesday, South Asians partnered with African-Americans and other community leaders to spearhead a new united front in America’s civil rights movement. The January 22 event, “Justice Rising: A Rally for Universal Human Dignity,” was hosted in honor of the 84th birth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the intention of building upon his legacy.

Joining six other speakers, internationally recognized South Asian rights activists Bhajan Singh and M. R. Paul issued a clarion call for the urgency of preserving individual freedoms, property rights, and a comprehensive culture of life and liberty. Singh equated the preservation of religious liberty with that of civil liberty.

“Religious liberty is the cornerstone of human dignity,” said Singh, Director of Organization for Minorities of India. “It is the foundation of a free society.” Quoting Dr. King, he declared: “We know that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, so we know the violation of civil liberty is an intolerable threat to religious liberty. If we lose one, we will lose the other.”

Paul gave a stirring call to end the rampant outrage of rape, an acute problem in both New Delhi and Sacramento. Paul, Founding Director of Bhim Rao Ambedkar Sikh Foundation, said, “Rape is an attack on the very body of a person. It is a kind of slavery. The modern slavemaster is a rapist.” He called the civil rights movement to seek a solution to end sex trafficking, noting, “Sacramento is in the top 5 cities in USA with an epidemic of trafficking of child sex slaves.” Calling for unity against the societal scourge of sexual abuse, he said: “We must do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor she who has been robbed.”

The wide range of sponsoring organizations, all of whom echoed an unshakeable dedication to advancing respect for the equal and universal dignity of all human beings, included the Frederick Douglass Foundation of California, Consumers for Choice, Conservative Opportunities Society of California, Cherish California’s Children, Singh of Judah, Alliance Defending Freedom, Life Matters Journal, and Organization for Minorities of India.

Speakers such as Craig DeLuz, a former CA State Assembly candidate, noted that the 21st century’s civil rights movement will involve winning the hearts and minds of individual people. Jada Bernard, an African-American community leader, highlighted the issue of discriminatory policies which have led to disproportionate representation of blacks in the prison system.

Carmon Friedrich, a woman’s rights activist, condemned state interference in family planning, saying: “When we talk about human dignity and individual freedom, we must understand that the men and women in [the Capitol building] behind me are our greatest threat…. The choices I make in my kitchen, in my bedroom, or anywhere in my home are not any business of the men and women behind me. I’m not just going to allow them to keeping robbing our freedom.”

In a post-rally interview, Arvin Valmuci of Organization for Minorities of India remarked, “We witnessed a momentous moment at the Capitol as perhaps the most diverse coalition of activists in California history stood shoulder-to-shoulder to proclaim universal, comprehensive justice. Sikh and other South Asians are among those spearheading the movement to reanimate America’s civil rights movement. The spirit of the Ghadar Party, formed in this very state in 1913 as the genesis of India’s independence movement, was clearly reignited at Tuesday’s event.”

Singh also referenced the Ghadar Party as an inspiration for his activism, mentioning that the South Asian immigrants who came to the USA were roused to action by the passion and beliefs of the American founding fathers.

“Like the Pilgrims who first came to the USA, like Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, like the Ghadar Party, like Dr. King, we are demanding the God-given right to liberty, equality, and fraternity be fully recognized for all people everywhere,” said Singh. “That starts with acknowledging the words of Guru Gobind Singh: ‘All human beings are a reflection of one and the same Lord. Recognise ye the whole human race as one.’ At the Capitol, we joined hands in a solemn pact with those from every walk of life that we will together seek justice, liberty, and life.”

Valmuci thanked U.S. representative Tom McClintock for galvanizing the South Asian community to reinvigorate the civil rights movement. He particularly referenced McClintock’s remarks, made on the U.S. House floor in November 2012, in which the Northern Californian congressman praised the centennial anniversary of the Sikh-American community, saying: “There is no religion more attuned to the principles of the American Declaration of Independence than the Sikh religion…. Individual liberty, personal responsibility, Constitutionally limited government — these are fundamental both to the Sikh Religion and to the American Founding.”