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NOV 3, 2025
November 3, 2025 (Nationwide) – Today, the Sikh Coalition is excited to share a recorded webinar in celebration of Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany’s work and legacy.
Widely known as the father of fiber optics, Dr. Kapany (1926-2020) had a significant impact in the fields of science, technology, art, and more. To mark his birth anniversary on October 31—and to highlight our recent lesson plan about him—Sikh Coalition Senior Education Manager Savleen Singh moderated a conversation with panelists Kiki Kapany, daughter of Satinder and Narinder Kapany and managing trustee of the Sikh Foundation, and Dr. Harpreet Kaur Dhir, adjunct professor and educator.
Below are a few highlights from the webinar:
Kiki Kapany: “I wasn’t raised with Sikh families around at all. To go to the nearest gurdwara you’d have to travel nearly 80, 90 miles. We had friends who lived on the East Bay, but I was in a very American society. I watched my dad and mother—the power behind the man, for sure—they started the [Sikh] Foundation at 30 years old. When I was 30, I wasn’t grounded enough to start anything. If you think about his ability to start the company but also to realize that he needed to keep the strength of who he was. The idea of the Sikh Foundation is to promote educational, cultural, and religious life of the Sikh community in America. […] In a sense, I wonder, did that come about because he kept getting questions about, “why are you wearing a turban?” My sense is that maybe it happened … maybe he felt there is a calling to have a place where people can come to see and understand who he was and in turn have a place where he could ground himself with all the fame just to know he was still centered in his religion, family, and community.”
Dr. Harpreet Kaur Dhir: “[Dr. Kapany] is such an important figure not just in the Sikh community, not just locally, but also globally. He has been overlooked. We need to hear more about him. I took [this opportunity to work on the unit of study] as ‘wow, I get to do this.’ It is important for educators to integrate this unit of study within their curriculum because it goes with whatever he did in his life and he did a lot. He did what we are trying to do in 21st century education now. In 21st century education on a global level, we want to see our students be creative and critical thinkers, be able to communicate, collaborate, and build networks with people, and really become a global citizen and, at the same time, impact your local community. Dr. Kapany’s example is all of that and more.”
Savleen Singh: “This idea of bringing representative stories within the classroom and shaping students to be not only just a creative thinker but a global thinker as well is so important, especially in the landscape that we’re in.”
As a reminder, the Sikh Coalition recently shared this new lesson plan, “Innovative Changemaker,” during the start of back to school season. The lesson plan, appropriate for students in grades 6 through 12, was developed by the Sikh Coalition in collaboration with webinar panelist Dr. Dhir; it includes a slide deck, interactive projects focused on writing and art, suggested readings, and more. Educators and parents can find Innovative Changemaker and all of our lesson plans on our website for free.
As always, the Sikh Coalition urges you to practice your faith fearlessly.
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