“We stand with you,” says the ad crowdfunded by the Californian Sikh community. 

By Aiden Jewelle Gonzales

While everyone might be talking about Tom Brady‘s historic 7th Super Bowl win, it’s a different historical event in the making that has captured the hearts and minds of the Californian Sikh community. To bring the world’s attention to what they called the “largest protest in history,” the community, spearheaded by Indian-American banker Raj Sodhi-Layne and her friends, crowdfunded USD 11,123 in a day to air a 30-second Super Bowl ad on CBS in California. 

Beginning with Martin Luther King Jr.‘s quote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” the ad goes on to highlight the ongoing farmers’ protests in India against the three Farmers Bills that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. Involving over 250 million people nationwide with over 160 deaths to its name, the protests have suffered from limited worldwide media coverage despite having gone on for six months, a fact the ad hopes to change. “An industry that feeds you is an industry worth fighting for,” the ad continues, ending with messages of support from celebrities like Rihanna and one from the mayor of Fresno, Jerry Dyer, on whose advisory council Raj serves. “Coming to you from the agricultural capital of the world — Fresno County…we understand the importance of farming and agriculture,” Dyer said, “…our brothers and sisters in India, we stand with you.”

Watch the full ad here. 

Image taken from India Times.