Monday, July 13, 2009

Rs.200 mn-worth 'desi ghee' order to Milkfed for SGPC gurdwaras

2009-07-12 15:31:00

Punjab-based milk products supplier Milkfed will supply its Verka brand desi ghee (clarified butter) worth Rs.200 million (Rs.20 crore) to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) run gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The ghee is used for preparing 'kada prasad' and 'langar' served in community kitchens.

The SGPC has signed an agreement in this regard with the semi-government Milkfed, officials said Sunday.

'Milkfed has been supplying ghee to SGPC gurdwaras for the last two decades. The order last year (2008-09) was for Rs.12 crore (Rs.120 mn). The enhanced order is acknowledgement of our consistent quality,' Milkfed managing director V.K. Singh said.

Singh said that Verka ghee was very popular in Punjab and neighbouring states like Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that Milkfed products had captured substantial market share in countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea and Malaysia.

Singh said that export of desi ghee to these countries during the year 2008-09 was worth Rs.160 million (Rs.16 crore), an increase of 20 per cent compared to the previous year. He added that despite global recession, Milkfed was set to increase its ghee export to Rs.180 million (Rs.18 crore) this year.

with thanks : source : http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?a=jhmp54igabh&title=Rs_200_mn_worth_desi_ghee_order_to_Milkfed_for_SGPC_gurdwaras

BBC suspends Brit Sikh star over sex pest claims

July 12th, 2009

LONDON - The BBC has suspended Brit Sikh Hardeep Singh Kohli, the star of the One Show, after he was accused of sexually pestering a female researcher.

According to reports, furious Beeb bosses have axed the comedian from his roving reporter role on the show for six months.

The female researcher lodged her complaint about Harpreet’s behaviour two months ago.

Kohli, 39, who had been regarded as one of the BBC’s rising stars, was hauled in front of bosses who demanded that he apologise to the woman.

A spokeswoman confirmed his removal from the BBC1 show yesterday.

She said: “The producers of The One Show received a complaint regarding Hardeep’s behaviour towards a production colleague. Hardeep was reprimanded and immediately apologised.

“He agreed to take some time away from the show to reflect on his behaviour. This leave of absence has been agreed to be six months.”

The One Show, hosted by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley, has become one of the BBC’s flagship magazine programs, regularly pulling in six million viewers a night.

Kohli - instantly recognisable by his brightly-coloured turbans - had become one of its main attractions.

The Glasgow-born star has appeared in a number of other high-profile shows, most recently a two-part special called Famous, Rich and Homeless, where he lived on the streets for three nights to experience the life of a down and out.

Kohli - who has a 16-year-old daughter and a son, 11 - had a messy split from wife Sharmila two years ago and moved out of the family home in North London into a trendy loft apartment in the centre of the city.

Kohli’s ban only applies to The One Show and not other BBC programs, the corporation said last night. (ANI)

with thanks : source : http://silverscorpio.com/bbc-suspends-brit-sikh-star-over-sex-pest-claims/

SikhsIndia
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A sikh web portal

Sunday, July 12, 2009

But why don't you wear a turban ?



Yes, I wear Turban.
Yes, i wear turban because I am a Sikh.
Yes, i wear turban because I am proud of being a Sikh.


But why don't you wear a TURBAN ?
Why you trim your beard ?
Why you wear a cap instead of Dastar ?
Just think again.


SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A Sikh web portal

Pay hike unjustified.Punjab MLAs need to practice austerity

Pay hike unjustified
Punjab MLAs need to practice austerity

AT a time when Punjab’s finances are in doldrums, the manner in which its legislators, cutting across party lines, have joined together to get their pay and perks enhanced is regrettable. Clearly, if the MLAs’ pay and perks are increased, it will be a drain on the state exchequer. Their argument that instead of reimbursement of their telephone bills, conveyance and other expenditure, they should be paid in cash as part of their salaries is also flawed and should not be entertained. Equally unsustainable is their demand for pay revision in the context of the state government’s decision to implement the Pay Commission’s recommendations for its employees.

Punjab’s legislators are a pampered lot in terms of the perks and allowances they enjoy. Yet, they are unhappy and ask for more. Shockingly, the government pays even their income-tax. This amounts to squandering tax-payers’ money. It is surprising that Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal stands isolated on the issue of revision of pay and his appeal for scrapping subsidies has fallen on deaf ears.

What makes matters worse is the role of the officials. It is common knowledge how Punjab boasts of a bloated bureaucracy and a top-heavy police force. It is as if the legislators and officials have ganged up at the exchequer’s cost. If the powers-that-be are interested to stem the rot, streamline governance and work for general well-being, they need to put service before themselves. The government spends heavily on salaries, pensions and loan repayments. Consequently, it has hardly anything left for development. The legislators would do well to strive for generating more revenue instead of appropriating the scarce resources for their own benefit.

with thanks : source : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090711/edit.htm#2

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal

Sikh route to Italy’s cheese empire

TRIENT, ITALY: Far away from the lassi kingdom of Punjab,Indian Sikhs are doing Chak
de Phatte in the province of parmesan.In Italy’s central Emilia- Romagna region,home to the famous cheese, cattlesheds that produce milk for parmesan are managed by Indians,mainly from the 30,000-strong Sikh community.So the joke goes among Italian parmesan makers: “If Sikh workers go on strike, Italy will not produce parmesan.”
Not a chance, their admirers retort. “Sikhs are good,honest guys, they work really
hard without complaining,”said a policeman based in Reggio Emilia, a wealthy city
in Emilia-Romagna, declining to be named as he is not allowed to speak to the media.
“They don’t drink, don’t quarrel,it’s like they don’t exist.” With its abundance of water,endless fields, farms and cattlesheds,Emilia-Romagna is,in a sense, he ‘Punjab of Italy’.And it is famous for its gastronomic specialities, strong socialist sympathies and racing cars — its home to legends like Ferrari, Maserati,
Lamborghini and Ducati.“I’ve been in Italy since 1992.I work very hard, but it’s good
here,” said a 40-year-old man from Punjab’s Sangrur town.“I’m well-paid, and on Sunday I watch football on TV. I’m a supporter of Juventus.” Alongside football, faith is alive too. A nearby town has the second biggest gurudwara of Europe, Gurudwara Singh Sabha, opened in 2000 in the presence of Romano Prodi,then President of the EU. And Emilia-Romagna’s parks often have Sikh children playing cricket, a little-known sport in Italy.But young Italians don’t want to sweat in the farms
and dairies. “Milking cows?” said a young woman in Italian. “No man, it’s a job for immigrants.”

with thanks : source : http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/world/25784-sikh-route-italy-s-cheese-empire.html

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Dr. Ravinder singh Bajaj is now a contributor to sikh blog SIKHSINDIA


SikhsIndia
11th July, 2009

We are pleased to inform that Dr.Ravindar Singh Bajaj, Consultant Paediatrician, is now a contributor to our Sikh Blog : SikhsIndia.

Thanks

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A Sikh web portal

An endearing look at Sikhs everywhere


Shubha Singh, Indo-Asian News Service
Book: Sikhs Unlimited
Author: Khushwant Singh
Price: Rs 495;
Publisher: Rupa

Did Chandigarh lose out to Bangalore as the e-capital of India due to then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao's insistence that since Punjab had the benefit of the Green Revolution the next revolution should go to a southern state?

According to Gurujot Singh Khalsa, one of the pioneers of the off-shoring and back office processing business in India, he started his initial venture in northern India, but real time data transfer between India and the United States could begin only after the first satellite earth station was set up in Bangalore in December 1993.

Khalsa's HealthScribe company was the first commercial subscriber to use its facilities for data transfer. Later, his other company First Ring became the first to do voice transfers, which set off the trend for the call centre business.

This anecdote is related in a book titled Sikhs Unlimited, and Gurujot Khalsa is one of the Sikhs profiled in the book. Punjab lost out to Bangalore as even the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee did not take seriously Khalsa's proposal to jointly set up an earth station in Mohali in 1991, according to him.

The book maps the lives of Sikhs living aboard, celebrating the achievements of the Sikh diaspora that has excelled in diverse fields - from the arts to theatre to entrepreneurship.

The author of the book, Khushwant Singh chose to spend time with his subjects, living in their homes to be able to draw personalised portraits of each of them. The author's style is simple and readable. The book is written as a part travelogue, but it is the portraits of individuals that are interesting rather than the author's own journeys.

He has selected an interesting group of people to write on - they are not just the usual bunch of non-resident celebrities.

The portraits include entertainers like the standup comedian Sodhy Singh Kahlon of the Britain-based comedy troupe called Funjabis; Channi Singh, the King of Bhangra Pop and painters like the twin sisters, Amrit and Rabindra KD Singh, who have adapted the miniature style of paintings to depict contemporary themes.

Fauja Singh began running as a way to fight depression, and now the 92-year old marathon runner is a worldwide icon. He starred in Adidas' Impossible is Nothing campaign in 2004, and has beaten his own record at every new marathon.

Not so well known in India is Harvinder Singh Sahota who invented the Sahota Perfusion Balloon that is used in angioplasty surgeries all over the world. Chirinjeev Singh Kathuria has the knack of floating companies that become huge successes. His company Planetspace plans to send tourists into outer space.

The book brings out the irony of Sikhs wearing turbans being targeted after the 9/11 terrorist strikes, when one of America's largest private security firms Akal Security is owned by a Sikh. Guruteg Singh Khalsa's Akal Security provides security to American airports, court houses, harbours and major corporate offices.

The author has done his homework well to portray engaging personalities and little known facts.

with thanks : source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=8648fcf0-08c8-4470-80ee-277bc7f48825

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A Sikh portal

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Where are the Dharam Parchar Committees formed by SGPC & DSGMC


Those, who paid gold coins for Sikh heads in mughal rules, could not finish the sikhs. And today, we are loosing Sikhi, by paying money from our own pockets at the Barber shops. Trimmed beards, caps on head, tambaku & whisky in mouth have become so common in Sikhs that even the movie makers project Sikhs as trimmers and not as bearded. The efforts of our Dharam Parchar Committees are not visible. The leaders are playing political games. The preachers are charging huge sums for Keertan Samagams and we are happy on getting Saropas in the Live relay of those programmes on various TV channels, BUT SHOCKING, nobody cares to count the rising percentage of Trimmers in such Keertan samagams. May i ask from the sikh community that where are the Dharam Parchar committees formed by SGPC & DSGMC.

SikhsIndia
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www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Contribute News, Pics, Vids related to sikhs


SikhsIndia
7th July, 2009

Wahe Guru ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru ji ki Fateh,

www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com is a Sikh Blog offering Latest News, Pics, Vids related to Sikhs from any where in the world. The news items as well articles are collected from various sources with due acknowledgement to the concerned persons. This is purely an information blog, to inform interested parties of religious trends as emerged in print & electronic media. It's purely a service to the Sikh Community.Please contribute latest News, pics, vids related to sikhs from anywhere in the world. You can also contribute news articles about any sikh personality with pics & vids.We will be pleased to upload it with your name. Please promote our blog in your area. You can add our link on your websites as well web blogs of your area.

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Monday, July 6, 2009

Jarnail Singh, the journalist - sacked


Shoe-throw sack after 3 months

New Delhi : Jarnail Singh, the journalist who lobbed a shoe at home minister P. Chidambaram in frustration at inaction against the 1984 anti-Sikh rioters, has been sacked by his newspaper nearly three months later.

In a notice sent to the journalist, the management of Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagaran described his conduct at the April 7 news conference as “an act unimaginable on the part of a journalist and subversive of basic rule of discipline”.

Jarnail, a special correspondent who covered military affairs and states including Punjab, was shocked that the newspaper should react in such a manner so long after the incident. He had lobbed his sneaker in the direction of the home minister but did not mean to harm him.

“As a journalist, I regret what I have done. It was not proper for a journalist to act in that manner. I was emotionally overtaken and exasperated, just like so many Sikhs are,” he said today.

“But I thought the chapter was closed because of the way the home minister had reacted and had accepted that not enough people (who were behind the killing of Sikhs in 1984) had been punished,” Jarnail said.

After the incident, the management of the newspaper had advised him “to take rest at home”, he said. That was followed up with two show-cause notices.

At the April 7 news conference, Jarnail had asked Chidambaram about the CBI “clean chit” to Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 riots case. He felt the home minister had ducked the question.

“Now I feel that I am being victimised, punished for raising my voice against the injustice of 1984 and the CBI’s and the government’s unwillingness to prosecute those who were responsible for it”, Jarnail said. He said he was even more resolute now.

Sikh political parties had offered Jarnail tickets to contest the Lok Sabha elections but he had refused.

Following Jarnail’s outburst at the April 7 news conference, the Congress high command reconsidered its decision to nominate Tytler and Sajjan as candidates for the general election. Neither was eventually fielded.

with thanks : source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090703/jsp/frontpage/story_11190977.jsp

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Dr. (Mrs.) Gurdeep Kaur is now a contributor to blog SikhsIndia


SikhsIndia
5th July, 2009

We are pleased to inform that Dr. (Mrs.) Gurdeep Kaur is now a contributor to our blog SikhsIndia. Dr. (Mrs.) Gurdeep Kaur is an Associate Professor,(reader), in the Department of Political Science, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College,University of Delhi, Dev Nagar,Delhi. She has done her PH.D from Dept. of Political Science, Univ. of Delhi, with title of Thesis , The Concept of State in Sikhism with Special Reference to Guru Granth Sahib. Currently She is Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Theology, Katholieke University,Leuven, Belgium.

She already has three popular books to her credit. Out of which two books on Sikhism are Political Ideas of the Sikh Gurus and Political Ethics of Guru Granth Sahib.

Her Recent Publications/Papers/Conferences include : 'State in Sikhism’; 'Khalsa, political Implications', with Sunita Puri in Encyclopedia of Hinduism 1999, Univ. of South Carolin;, 'Contribution of Sanskrit to Sikh Scripture; The Nature of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Kingdom; Relevance of Sikh Scriptures in the present context', presented at World Punjabi Conference,United Kingdom, London, 'Environment and Sikhism' , ‘Welfare State Perspective in Sikhism’ In XIXth IPSA ,World Congress, Durban, South Africa, 'Women in Sikhism’, ; Ethics in Religious Scriptures & its Contemporary Relevance 'presented at International Conf. 'Parliament of the World Religions', Barcelona, Spain.

She also Participated as Delegate in the ‘9th World Punjabi Conference’ at Lahore Pakistan, January30-February 1,2004. In August 09,she is going to Limerick, Ireland to present a paper on Sikhism & Ecological Balance in the International Conf. on Interdisciplinary Theological Perspective on Ecology & Economy.

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal