Sikhs & Persians Proudly Parade in Midtown

It’s one thing to extol diversity from a distance—lots of people, especially politicians, do that. But it’s quite another to actually embrace diversity in the streets, particularly when the press isn’t paying much attention, as was recently the case with two of Manhattan’s most colorful yet lesser-known parades.

On Saturday April 26, thousands of brightly clad celebrants came to Madison Avenue for the 37th annual Sikh Day Parade. Organized by the Sikh Cultural Society, the timing of the parade roughly coincides with Vaisakhi, an important spring harvest festival celebrated on April 13.

Sikhism, it will be recalled, originated in the Punjab region of India in the late 15th century, following the birth of Guru Nanak in 1469. While Sikhs share some cultural similarities with other Indians, their religion is distinct from and often contradictory to Hinduism.

It’s unclear how many Sikhs there are in America but 300,000 is a reasonable estimate, with 50,000 residing in New York City, with the largest concentration being in Richmond Hill, Queens.

Sikh men are recognizable by their turbans and uncut beards, both on proud display at the parade. A number of Sikh men dressed in saffron colored bana (a traditional, robe-like attire) also marched barefoot, a startling sight, even on pavement wetted by morning rains.

Among those in the line of march, which ran from East 38th Street to Madison Square Park were members of the Sikh Officers Association, representing Sikhs in law enforcement, and the Corrections Department Desi Society.

Notably absent from the festivities were any recognizable politicians, not even those presently running for city wide offices like Mayor, Comptroller or Public Advocate, nor for the City Council districts the parade traversed, especially open seat of District 2, which is currently held by term-limited Carlina Rivera.

Whatever math is at play here—is the Sikh vote too small to matter outside of Queens?—it will worth recalling in any close races this June and November.

Although Mayor Adams was among the solons who didn’t attend the parade, he did host a Vaisakhi event at Gracie Mansion on Tuesday April 29.

Hizzoner who, whatever else one might say about him, always seems delighted to join any street celebration, was present for the following day’s Persian Day Parade along the same route.

Organized by the Persian Parade Foundation, the event is among the most remarkable, and fascinating, of all parades, as it attempts to reclaim the richness of Persian history and culture from the pariah nation of Iran.

To that end, there was an abundance of spectacularly dressed, glittering female dancers; musicians; red, white and green flag wavers of all ages; declarations of women’s and human rights; and a float imagining the iconic Azadi Tower in Tehran as the Freedom Tower.