Govt hunts for a non-Sikh to head Punjab & Sind Bank for first time

Punjab & Sind Bank could go where it has never been in its 102-year history.

The Ministry of Finance has sought the guidance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to appoint a non-Sikh as the Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab & Sind Bank. The community bank, which was established in 1908 and nationalised in 1969, has always had a Sikh as its head.

“It is not written anywhere that Punjab & Sind Bank must have a Sikh as its head. But it has always been seen as a community-based bank. And unlike other community-based banks like Corporation Bank and Vijaya Bank, this bank has always been chaired by a person from the Sikh community,” said a senior government official.

“Therefore, we have sought the Prime Minister’s view on the subject before taking a final decision on this matter.”

According to the official, the Ministry could not find an eligible candidate from the Sikh community this time around. GS Vedi, the current CMD who is Sikh, is due to demit office this June. A few non-Sikhs have earlier served as head of the bank, but they have all been short stints in the nature of a temporary additional responsibility.

Punjab & Sind Bank is headquartered in Delhi. It was founded by Bhai Vir Singh, Sir Sunder Singh Majitha and Sardar Tarlochan Singh, and opened its first branch in Amritsar in 1908. Today, it has 917 branches and extension counters spread across the country. As of March 31, 2009, it had assets of Rs 41,363 crore.

with thanks : INDIAN EXPRESS

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Gurdwara Chehrata Sahib : SikhsIndia

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

‘Sikh relics’ found near Gurudwara to be examined

By hema on March 15, 2010

Did the sixth Sikh guru leave behind a few weapons on the outskirts of Kailey village near Ludhiana during his halt during his ‘dharam parchar’ tours of the region in 1621? The recovery of some sharp-edged weapons and a ‘chur’ during digging in the vicinity of the village gurudwara, built in memory of Guru Har Gobind, has raised this question among Sikh intellectuals.

The area’s residents, led by Darshan Singh, chairman of the Budha Gurmat Parchar Trust, have urged members of the gurudwara management committee to get the articles recovered and examined by experts of the archeology department and exhibit them for ‘sangat’, if found to belong to the Guru.

A large number of enthusiasts from the area visited Gurudwara Chhevin Patshai in the village to have a look at the weapons and a ‘chur’ (a large ‘chullah’) that were recovered during digging for expansion of the gurudwara on Thursday.

Kuldeep Singh, the head ‘granthi’, had announced the villagers recovered some weapons and a ‘chur’ during digging yesterday. “Believing Guru Har Gobind and his disciples had made a halt here in a temporary abode during one of his journeys it is thought the weapons belonged to the guru”, he added.

Kuldeep said the articles would be kept in a palanquin after getting them examined by archeological experts.

According to some history books the guru had visited this area in the course of his ‘dharam parchar’ tours sometime in 1621. Though Kailey village does not find any mention, a nearby village, Sidhar, is among the localities where the guru organized mass meetings for preaching the ‘meeri peeri’ concept.

Har Gobind is said to be the first Sikh guru to advocate the necessity of military training and martial arts among his disciples.

Mahesh Sharma

with thanks : source : http://news.ukpha.org/2010/03/%E2%80%98sikh-relics%E2%80%99-found-near-gurudwara-to-be-examined/

SikhsIndia

www.sohnijodi.com www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Prominent Sikh Societies

We have uploaded details of some of the Prominent sikh Societies on our Sikh web portal at www.sohnijodi.com/sikhsocieties.htm Please mail us for any additions or corrections in this list, at the earliest. If your society is not in this list, please feel free to mail us for inclusion.

You can subscribe the blog for regular updates, directly in your mail box.

with best regards,

B S Vohra
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

French govt may lift Sikh turban ban on India's plea

CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: India may have found a novel way of persuading France to lift the ban on Sikh turbans by invoking Europe's deep-seated fear of terrorism.

According to minister of state for external affairs Preneet Kaur, India has taken up the issue of French authorities taking photographs as identity markers and conveyed to Paris that if Sikhs are photographed without turbans, it would create a faulty database.

Kaur said the Indian demand of allowing turbans in France was under active consideration and the matter was likely to be resolved soon.

"The plea that we have taken is that the French government is taking photographs and fingerprints as identity markers. However, if Sikhs are photographed without turbans, then they are accumulating wrong records because normally, a Sikh will always wear a turban," Kaur said.

Kaur, who was in Chandigarh on Saturday, said the fact that a turbaned Sikh — PM Manmohan Singh — was a chief guest in France recently was a strong message by the French government that it was not averse to turbans.

"The matter is being pursued and we are hopeful it will be resolved," she added. In March 2004, the French Parliament had passed a law banning all ostentatious religious symbols and signs in all public places such as schools, hospitals and town halls.

FOR DETAILED NEWS PLZ CLICK THE HEADLINE ABOVE.

With Thanks : Source : Times of India

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

Gurdwara Taran Taran Sahib - 1

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

Gurdwara Taran Taran Sahib - 2

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

Suspicious Fire damages Sacramento Sikh Temple

A charred building and broken windows are all that is left of a Sacramento Sikh temple after a suspicious fire nearly destroyed the house of worship overnight.

Instead of attending services today, members of the Sikh temple on the 7600 block of Rangeview Lane are picking through the charred rubble.

"This is too much damage. I can't believe it," said Sulakhan Singh who attends the temple. "Everything's gone, totally lost."

Singh says the congregation has never received threats or had problems before. So it's especially upsetting for members to hear someone may have targeted their temple. Arson investigators are labeling the fierce blaze that broke out before midnight as suspicious.

"You can't rule out the possibility of a hate crime. We're not saying it's accidental or on purpose, but it is suspicious at this time," said Sacramento Metro Fire Captain Rusty Dupray.

Because the fire involves a religious building and arson may be to blame, the FBI and ATF have been notified and brought into the investigation.

Sacramento Metro Fire investigators collected samples from the debris this morning to check for chemicals or accelerants.

Firefighters say the 911 call came in from the priest who lives at the temple and was startled from sleep by smoke alarms.

The fire damage is estimated at $250,000 leaving Sikh congregation is left without a place of worship.

With thanks : source : http://cbs13.com/local/sikh.temple.fire.2.1556405.html

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti interview

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti, set in a Sikh gurdwara, caused riots - the fallout forced her into hiding. Her new work, Behud, directly addresses the controversy.

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti refuses to have her photograph taken for this paper. She’s not being difficult - the reason for her refusal is simple. She’s the writer responsible for Behzti (Dishonour) which, famously, caused a riot at the Birmingham Rep in 2004.

Incensed by her decision to set her play in a Sikh temple - a gurdwara - and for presenting it as a den of iniquity, rife with patriarchal sexual abuse - hundreds of Sikh protestors gathered on several consecutive nights to voice their anger before attempting to storm the theatre on Saturday December 18.

Windows were smashed, arrests were made, Bhatti - already the subject of violent threats - was forced to go into hiding, and the production’s run was abruptly cancelled.

This shocking, unexpected episode, unparalleled in modern British theatre, became a cause celebre and serves as a chilling illustration of how fragile freedom of speech can be.

Five years on, Bhatti remains understandably wary about being easily identified. And yet the smart, petite Asian woman who meets me in a central London cafe couldn’t be further from the cowed or chastened figure one might have expected. Revisiting the saga for the first time in a national newspaper, the 41-year-old playwright comes across as quiet, thoughtful and, above all, totally defiant.

“I’d do it again,” she says, firmly, almost matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t think twice about it. Behzti was the play I wanted to write. I always believed in what I’d done.”

She has steered clear of media interviews until now, she explains, because she wanted to get on with her life and work, developing projects for TV, film and radio. “I had to do that. I’m a human being, not a controversy.”

She realised Behzti was provocative - up to a point: “I’m from a Sikh background. I knew it would be controversial, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with provoking people.”

For detailed STORY, plz click the headline above.

With thanks : Telegraph.co.uk

SikhsIndia

www.sohnijodi.com www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

SGPC to release new calendar on March 14

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will release a revised Nanakshahi calendar for the next year, beginning from March 14. The radicals have, however, decided to stick to the old one.

The changes proposed by the SGPC had been vehemently opposed by a large section of Sikhs had who favoured the calendar released in 2003.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said they have ordered printing of the new calendar after making the required changes. It will soon be distributed among public.

He said the decision was taken after long discussions and the changes were approved by the Akal Takht.

“We will release the new calendar at a simple but impressive function at the Golden Temple complex on Sunday,” said Makkar.

On the other hand, radical Sikh bodies including Dal Khalsa, Khalsa Action Committee and Shiromani Panthic Council (SPC) have vowed to stick to the old calendar. They had been opposing the move to change the calendar.

for detailed news, plz click the headline above.

with thanks : IndianExpress

www.sohnijodi.com www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Long cherished dream : Guru Granth Sahib Resource Centre

With Akal Purkh’s Grace & with a major grant from the Department of Culture, Government of India. ,Bhai Veer Singh Sahitya Sadan’s long cherished dream of setting up of Guru Granth Sahib Resource Centre has been realized under the able guidance of Director, Dr.Mohinder Singhji. The Resource Centre aims to build a first-rate Digital Library on Sikhism in addition to digitizing and conserving rare Guru Granth Sahib Birs with due maryada(respect). The new four storied building is complete with a big centrally air-conditioned hall on the ground floor. The lift has also become operational.

As we all are well aware that Bhai Vir Singh, the Saint-Poet of India,in whose memory the Sadan was set up 1958, popularized environmental concerns through his writings, especially poetry.

In view of this, Sadan observes March 14th every year as Environment Day by planting trees and ornamental shrubs in the Sadan’s complex and singing of Bhai Vir Singh’s poetry by eminent singers. Fortunately this year;also happens to be the New Year according to the Nanakshahi Calendar and Gurgaddi Divas of seventh Guru Har Rai who was the pioneer in Eco Movement!!

Everbody is requested to join this auspicious occasion on 14th March,Sunday at 11.00 a.m at Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, Gole Market, New Delhi-110001.

Dr. Gurdeep Kaur