Sikhs Seethe Over a Snub by Clintons

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Clinton campaign's abrupt cancellation of scheduled appearances here is leaving members of the Sikh community dismayed and demanding an explanation.

Traditional food, elaborate costumes, and ritual sword fighting were on display as thousands of Sikhs celebrated a religious festival here yesterday, but the expected guest of honor, Senator Clinton, was a no-show. Mrs. Clinton also scuttled a fund-raising breakfast at a nearby fairgrounds where Sikh leaders had hoped to raise $1 million for her presidential campaign.

Some organizers cited "security reasons" for the candidate's sudden withdrawal. An advertisement in a Sikh newspaper said the fund-raiser, which was also to have featured President Clinton as a guest, had been postponed "due to the advice of the Secret Service." Others involved said some of those planning the fund-raiser failed either the campaign's vetting process or a Secret Service review.

Whatever prompted the late change, many of those who attended yesterday's festival and parade were upset, underscoring the risks of a backlash against Mrs. Clinton as her campaign tightens its standards in an effort to avoid another fund-raising scandal.

"We don't know what the reason is," a trucking company owner who helped arrange the celebration, Tejpal Singh of Bakersfield, said. "They just tell us last night. … Everybody's shocked. They want to see her."

Mr. Singh said he was informed a week or two ago that Mrs. Clinton planned to spend about 30 minutes at the festival, which marks the birthday of one of the founders of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Mrs. Clinton's campaign offered no public explanation for the change of plans, though a spokesman seemed to confirm that she had been expected to visit with Sikhs in Bakersfield yesterday.

"Unfortunately, we had to postpone our trip to Bakersfield and look forward to returning soon," the spokesman, Blake Zeff, said in a statement e-mailed to The New York Sun. "Senator Clinton is very proud of her support in the Sikh community," he added.

One of the planners of the fund-raiser, Bob Virk, sounded bitter about the campaign's decision.

"I'll take $1 million from our Sikh people and give it to people who are going to work with us … not somebody who says they're going to work with you and deserts you at the end," Mr. Virk told the Sun. About $500,000 raised so far for the breakfast will have to be refunded, he added.

Mr. Virk said he had no "direct answer" from Mrs. Clinton's campaign about the reason she was not attending. He said he did not believe the visit was put off for "security reasons" as some Sikh planners said they were told. "We're a minority group. We wear turbans. … They don't want to see Hillary Clinton with people wearing turbans and stuff," he said. "I don't think it was right to commit yourself to come to this program, and then not going."

Some Sikhs said they suspected Mrs. Clinton's campaign grew skittish about the visit in the wake of negative publicity over her fund-raising in the Chinese immigrant community. News organizations found that some donations came from recent migrants who seemed to lack the means to give large checks.

The local Democratic Party chairwoman, Candi Easter, said she was informed that the security issue was the fact that an organizer of the event had recently traveled to Pakistan. Mr. Virk said he was that traveler.

"This is all B.S.," Mr. Virk said. He said he visited a religious site in Pakistan for two days during a recent trip that was mainly to India. "I'm a clean slate. … I have a liquor license and a license from the state lottery."

A spokesman for the Secret Service, James Mackin, said the agency has a policy of not commenting on the schedules of candidates and others under protection.

A source familiar with Mrs. Clinton's travels, who asked not to be named, indicated that the decision to scratch Bakersfield from the schedule was made independently of the Secret Service.

Mrs. Clinton's aides did not respond to specific questions about whether donations would be refunded or about what the senator was doing yesterday morning during the time originally set aside for the Sikh visit.

On Saturday, the former first lady attended a fund-raiser and an environmental forum in Los Angeles. She was also to speak at fund-raisers yesterday afternoon in San Francisco and at the Portola Valley, Calif. home of a prominent real estate developer, Walter Shorenstein. Geographically, Bakersfield, which is located about 90 miles north of Los Angeles in the San Joaquin Valley, would have been a logical stop for her yesterday morning.

Mr. Virk complained that the talk of a security problem was contributing to perceptions that Sikhs are suspect. "I'd like to hear from Hillary Clinton giving an explanation. Now, it's our reputations on the line," he said. "We're Americans and we're here to stay forever."

Indeed, American flags were on prominent display yesterday as several thousand Sikhs, some of them barefoot, paraded near a Bakersfield temple. Women in saris swept the streets ahead of the crowd and a float which carried a religious text. Sikh adherents handed out free bananas, Doritos, water, and pizza to marchers as well as non-Sikh onlookers who spilled out of the nearby subdivisions to catch a glimpse of the parade. Many of the Sikh men carried ceremonial daggers, often hidden under their clothes. Some who led the parade brandished swords. However, participants said the ritual weapons did not justify Mrs. Clinton's absence.