Kanwal Prakash Singh | Indianapolis, Indiana Posted: 11:36 AM | September 26, 2011

Moving Forward From 9/11

I had survived through the Partition of India 64 years ago, and we escaped with our lives on the morning of September 12 1947. The communal madness killed more than two million people and dislocated about 15 million on the Indian subcontinent. That was long ago, but the agonizing images of 9/11 are manifest before our minds eye as if it took place yesterday. The scars run deep and our emotions are painfully raw. We must move forward.

The memories of the fateful morning of September 11, 2001, and the tragedy it brought to more than 3,000 innocent people from about 93 nationalities and diverse faiths, is forever etched in the hearts and minds of Americans and other people worldwide.

Those who perished were peacefully pursuing their dreams and responsibilies came to a devastating end, leaving behind a long trail of tears and anguish for the nation and the world. This was a deed of calculated terror unlike anything this country had experienced during her proud history and journey as a force for great good to the world.

It left us shocked, devastated, suspicious and angry with those who had successfully perpetrated this crime against human decency, and that too in the name of a major world religion. Many innocent Sikhs, Muslims, Arab Americans and Southeast Asians suffered and became victims of ignorance and mistaken identity during the last ten years.

This year, as I watched the solemn 10th anniversary commemoration at Ground Zero in New York City, along with the painful reading of the names of all those who perished on 9/11, I heard the words of comfort and resilience: “Freedom of speech, freedom from want, freedom of religion, and freedom from fear.”

We heard words of praise, lessons of great wisdom from sacred texts, and an incredibly beautiful rendition of our National Anthem. We saw images of Americans holding high the photographs of their loved ones who perished in New York, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and in Pennsylvania.

We saw the faces of children reading the names of fellow Americans, offering a testimony of their own grief, and threading Americans as one proud family. There were emotions of joy, sorrow, somber reflection, and thanksgiving. This was an American moment at its finest. I felt that I was related to every name that was read and experienced every emotion that was expressed.

But we must move forward.

An America at peace with all her citizens - communities, cultures, faiths – and striving to make a more prosperous and perfect union must be our legacy to the memories of those who perished on 9/11, and in all the nine-elevens of the journey giving shape to the human civilization.

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 was a solemn day of reflection. It should also be a day to begin a new renaissance of the American resolve and commitment to respect the rich diversity of people and cultures all around us, triumph over the vestiges of prejudice, indignities, and inhumanity at home and around the world.

In an increasingly troubled world, America remaining a beacon of hope to the tired and huddled masses is a tall order. We also know that America is no ordinary place under the heavens and it is up to each of us to step up to this challenge. God’s Grace shines upon this land from sea to shining sea, and Americans have the pioneering spirit to make the impossible happen.

Sikh Americans stand shoulder to shoulder as we strive to make the unimagined greatness of this land a lasting reality. That must be our living tribute to our fellow citizens and members of the human family that we lost on 9/11.