September 2008
Mr. Bindra immigrated to the United States in 1979 after earning an M.B.A. from the University of Himachal Pradesh and co-founded Jeetish Group, an import company, along with his father and brother. Through the years, Jeetish diversified into other businesses, all under the Jeetish umbrella, with interests in apparel, export/import and real estate.
He also co-founded the Sikh Temple on Long Island in 1987. In 1999 he was the convener of Sri Hem Kunt Foundation’s international conference to mark the 300th anniversary of the Sikh Khalsa. In July 2000, Mr. Bindra was the convener for the International Punjabi Society’s convention in New York City, the largest gathering of its kind by the Indian community in the United States.
He is the founder and president of the Sikh Organization of New York (SONY), and has led two successful delegations to the New York state government on behalf of the Sikh American community. His efforts resulted in Baisakhi, the Khalsa New Year, being recognized as a “Sikh American Day” by the state government, and in the introduction of a New York State Assembly resolution for the freedom of state police and other state employees to wear turbans.
With his father and the Bindra family, Mr. Bindra endowed the Sardarni Kuljit Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies at Hofstra University, named for his mother. The chair was established to promote the academic study of Sikh religion, culture and history. The endowment supports the appointment of a faculty member in Sikh Studies, helps build the University Library's holdings in Sikhism, provides scholarship assistance to students interested in Sikh religion and culture, and funds annual conferences and lectures directed toward the academic community as well as the general public.
http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Colleges/HCLAS/REL/SIKH/sikh_about.html
The Bindra family has also established “The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize” at Hofstra, an international prize to be awarded to an individual or organization that promotes harmony and peaceful coexistence among various religions. Mr. Bindra was honored in 2006 at Hofstra University’s Saltzman Community Services Center gala fundraiser and was named to the Board of Trustees of the university in 2007.
SONY, in collaboration with the International Punjabi Society and Hofstra University hosted its First Annual Sikh Festival at Hofstra University, Long Island, NY in 2004. The films focused on Sikh issues and culture and provided a forum for independent directors and artists to screen and discuss their work.
“The Sikh Art & Film Foundation” was formed in 2006 and in cooperation with the Rubin Museum of Art in New York and the Sikh Foundation in California, it hosted the first Sikh Art Exhibition” I See No Stranger” in the tri-state area in 2007. The exhibition brought together works of art that identify core Sikh beliefs and explored the plurality of Sikh cultural traditions.
http://www.rmanyc.org/media/docs/press/stranger.pdf.
With continued growth, in 2007, the Sikh Art & Film Foundation instituted the Annual Sikh Heritage Awards Gala in addition to the Annual Sikh Film Festival. http://www.sikharts.com. The awards for 2008 are been given to Dr. Stuart Rabinowitz-President Hofstra University, Mr. Ajay Banga-CEO CitiAsia Pacific and Susan Stronge-Senior curator V&A. The Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs & SALDEF are also been honored for their community service.
Mr Bindra also joined the Sikh Foundations Board of Trustees in 2007.
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Dalai Lama Named Recipient of
Hofstra's Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has been selected as the first
recipient of Hofstra's international Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize
http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Colleges/HCLAS/REL/nanak/index.html
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