Sikhs Greeted on Vaisakhi in the US Congress

Reflecting the views of his fellow Congressmen, an eminent lawmaker from Indiana has greeted Sikhs across the country and the world over on the occasion on Vaisakhi.

Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me in honouring the Sikh Religious Society of Indiana, its Board of Directors, and congregation, as well as Sikh followers throughout the world, as they celebrate and observe the religious and historic event of Vaisakhi," Congressman Peter Visclosky said in his speech on the floor of the House on Thursday.

Through their words and teachings, these honourable individuals and organisations remind us all of the struggles and accomplishments of the Sikh people throughout the world," he said.

In his speech he also asked the Congressmen to recognise the Sikh Religious Society of Indiana and its Board of Directors as they celebrate one of their most significant religious and historical events, Vaisakhi.

The day will be commemorated on Sunday, April 18, at the Sikh Temple in Crown Point, Indiana. The Sikh Religious Society is a non-profit religious and social organisation that has served the community of Northwest Indiana since 1994.

Each year the Sikh people celebrate Vaisakhi, a festival that commemorates the establishment of the "Order of the Kahlsa" or "Pure Servants of God."

In 1699, Sahib-E-Kamaal, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth guru, initiated the process of the conversion of the people of India into a morally receptive and disciplined army of the pure and courageous, whose main purpose was to overcome religious oppression and considerable human rights violations that were occurring in India at that time," Visclosky said.

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Some key dates in a century of Sikhism in British Columbia

1904: The arrival of the first wave of Sikh immigrants. The census listed 258 Sikhs. Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh Holy book was first brought to Canada by Bhai Arjan Singh. The scriptures were located at a house in Port Moody.

1905: For the next three years, 5,000 Sikhs came to Canada.

1906: A house was rented in Vancouver to start a Gurdwara or Sikh place of worship.

1907: Foundation stone of the Gurdwara for Khalsa Diwan Society was laid at 1866 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver.

1908: On Jan. 19, the first Sikh parade (Nagar Kirtan) took place to celebrate the opening of the Gurdwara on West 2nd Avenue in Vancouver. The first Granthi or priest was Bhai Balwant Singh.

1909: Establishment of Guru Nanak Mining and Trust company and plans to buy 440 acres of land in West Vancouver.

1911: The census for that year listed 2,342 Sikhs, less than half of that in 1908. Only three were women.

1912: Gurdwaras were built in Victoria, Fraser Mills and Abbotsford. Hardial Singh Atwal was the first Sikh born in Canada on Aug. 28. Hardial is the son of Balwant Singh Atwal, the first priest of the 2nd Avenue Gurdwara.

1914: The Komagata Maru, with 376 passengers, mostly Sikhs, under the leadership of Bhai Gurdit Singh, May 23, arrives in Vancouver. The Komagata Maru was escorted out of Vancouver under the guard of the Canadian Navy.

1918: Sikh population in British Columbia dropped to as low as 700. Mayo Lumber Company built a Sikh temple near Duncan at Paldi. This town was named after the village in India.

1919: Immigration restrictions on bringing wives and children under eighteen years old from India were lifted. Sikh women and children started arriving from India.

1925: Khalsa Diwan Society had autonomous branches at Vancouver, Abbotsford, New Westminster, Golden, Duncan, Coombs and Ocean Falls.

1929: Khalsa Diwan Society invited Charles Andrew, a friend of Mahatma Gandhi and Sir Rabindranth Tagore, Nobel laureate, to see firsthand the unfair treatment of the Sikhs.

1944: Survey of Sikhs in Canada showed that there were 1,756; 98% of them lived in British Columbia.

1947: Sikhs were granted franchise to vote and become Canadian citizens.

1949: Indian Prime Minister Nehru visited the Vancouver Sikh temple with his daughter Indira Grandhi.

1950: Narajan Singh Grewal was the first Sikh elected to a city council in Mission, B.C. In 1954 he would again make history when he is elected mayor of Mission.

1951: There were 2,148 Sikhs in Canada.

1969: March 30, foundation stone for the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara at 8000 Ross Street was laid.

1975: Sikh Samachar, a newspaper, was published by the B.C. Sikh societies.

1979: The 500th birthday of Guru Amar Das Ji. Since that year, an annual Khalsa Day parade (Nagar Kirtan) is held in Vancouver.

1980: Federation of Sikh Societies of Canada was the first Sikh organization registered nationally.

1986: Khalsa School, a full-time private school, was established in Vancouver. This school teaches Sikh religion and Punjabi language classes. Khalsa Credit Union was registered on Feb. 19, to provide financial service to the Sikh Community.

1990: On March 15, the solicitor general of Canada announced that the RCMP dress code would be amended to have a turbaned Sikh join the force. Const. Baltej Singh Dhillon of B.C. had the honour of becoming the first baptized Sikh to join the RCMP.

1991: Three Sikhs were elected to the British Columbia legislature. Manmohan (Moe) Sihota and Ujjal Dosanjh went on to hold various cabinet posts. The other MLA is Harbhajan (Harry) Lalli.

1993: Harbans (Herb) Dhaliwal from Vancouver and Gurbax Singh Mahli were the first Sikhs elected to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. Vancouver's Punjabi Market at 49th Avenue and Main Street was officially recognized with bilingual signs in English and Punjabi.

1995: The B.C. government officially recognized the Vaisakhi Parade and published a brochure.

1996: In September, British Columbia schools started to offer Punjabi language in its regular curriculum from Grades 5 to 12.

1996: There were over a hundred Gurdwaras across Canada. Fifty of them were in B.C. Opening of the Sikh Resource Centre in Vancouver to celebrate the centennial of the Sikhs in Canada on July 28.

1998: The Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar is established. It will over the years stage the biggest Vaisakhi parades outside of India.

1999: A postage stamp was issued to commemorate the contributions that Sikh Canadians had made in the building of Canada.

2000-2010: Today, the number of Sikhs in Canada is approximately 300,000.

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Firefighters join annual Sikh festival

KENT NEWS: Firefighters will help celebrate the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi by taking part in a procession through Gravesend today.Community safety officers will be on hand to offer advice about lighting 
ceremonial candles during the festival, which marks the beginning of the
 harvest season in Punjab, India.

The procession starts from the new Sikh temple complex in Khalsa Avenue at
11.30am.Principal community liaison officer Pirthipal Singh said:"While enjoying
Vaisakhi this year we want people to be safe from fire-related hazards in
the home."

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Oldest Sikh Temple holds Sikh Day New Year parade

Sikhs from Lathrop and Manteca will join other members from all over San Joaquin County in celebrating the annual Sikh Day Parade in Stockton commemorating the Sikh New Year. The parade will be held through downtown Stockton on Sunday, April 18, from noon to 4 p.m. and will end at the Sikh Temple at 1930 S. Grant Street. The celebration is open to the public.

The Stockton Sikh Temple is considered the oldest in the United States. It was built in 1915 by the early Sikh settlers in the San Joaquin Valley who found this area quite similar to their old Punjab region in India. Among the members of this temple are the family and relative of Lathrop Councilman Sonny Dhaliwal whose father is one of the temple’s leaders. Other Dhaliwal family members living in Manteca also belong to this Stockton temple.

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Watford's Sikh community to celebrate

Members of the town’s Sikh community will come together tomorrow to celebrate one of their most important festivals of the year.

They will be joined at the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Temple, in Kings Close, by Mayor Dorothy Thornhill, MP Claire Ward, and Parliamentary candidates Richard Harrington and Sal Brinton.

The Vaisakhi celebrations will take place between 11am and 1pm.

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Sikh pilgrim dies in Pakistan, body repatriated to India

ATTARI (AMRITSAR): Body of Indian national Sikh pilgrim who died in historic Sikh shrine in Panja Sahib at Hasanabdal in Pakistan has been repatriated in the evening to India here Thursday through the land transit route of Attari border.

According to the official at Attari border, Harnek Singh (78) died due to massive heart attack suffered inside the Gurdwara premises. Yesterday morning Harnek complained uneasiness in his chest, whereupon his wife who was with him raised alarm for medical help, but immediate after he was declared dead by the medical officer who was present in the medical camp organized in the preemies of Sikh shrine by Pakistan Authorities.

Official informed that Harnek Singh a Indian national resident of Ludhiana district of Punjab went to Pakistan with his family members along with the group of 1300 Sikhs to Pakistan few days ago on April 11 to Pakistan through three special trains from the International Attari Railway Station to observe Baisakhi festival.

Body of Harnek was brought to India by his wife Nachhatar Kaur besides other family relatives who were with him in pilgrimage to Pakistan.

With thanks : source : Punjabnewsline

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Sikh new year celebration to be held at Harrow High School

DANCE workshops and prayers will mark the Sikh New Year in Harrow this weekend. Vaisakhi will be held at Harrow High School, in Gayton Road, from 5pm to 7pm, and and there will be Bhangra and Gatka dance workshops from 2pm to 4pm.

Tickets are free and will be handed out on a first come first serve basis. To request one email community.development@harrow.gov.uk. Anyone who wants a place on a dance workshop must request one.

With thanks : source : harrowtimes.co.uk

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Thousands expected to be drawn to Surrey Vaisakhi festivities this weekend

Thousands more people are expected to be drawn to Surrey this weekend for Vaisakhi festivities celebrating the birth of the Sikh religion.

An estimated 50,000 people flooded streets surrounding Vancouver's Ross Street Temple last Saturday to observe one of the most important holidays on the Sikh calendar.

Because the Vancouver event was held a week earlier than usual, organizers of the Surrey parade and related events expect more people to be part of festivities here this Saturday (April 17).

"I think there will be more people out this year, because the Vancouver parade was held last weekend. Last year, it was held on the same day," said Pary Dulai, lead organizer of Saturday's Vaisakhi parade, said.

This is Dulai's fourth year as chief planner of Surrey's Vaisakhi festivities. A full day of action is promised, including nighttime fireworks (starting at 9 p.m.) and carnival rides on the grounds of Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar Temple, 12885 85th Ave.

The parade follows the same circular path through Newton as last year, along 128th Street, 76th Avenue, 124th Street and 82nd Avenue. The main stage area is located at 7750 128th St.

More businesses and organizations were keen to get involved in the parade this year, Dulai said.

"The Cloverdale Rodeo will have a float in it, for example, and horses," he said. "There are 20 parade entrants. It's more of a procession, though, with people joining in."

Every year in April, millions of Sikhs around the world celebrate the birth of the Sikh identity.

In Surrey, the parade and related events not only celebrate the Sikh faith, they embrace diversity and multiculturalism.

with thanks : source : vancouversun.com

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Sikhs to celebrate with parade Saturday in Carteret

Hundreds of Sikhs are expected to participate in the borough's fourth annual Sikh Day parade on Saturday, one of the town's most attended events, according to borough officials.

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that grew out of northern India about 500 years ago and now has approximately 26 million followers worldwide.Hardyal Singh Johal, chairman of the borough's Planning Board, said he was the first Sikh ever to move into Carteret, back in the early 1970s.

"This is like the birthday of our community," Johal said. "This is basically the most important day of the year for us. There is nothing better for us than this day." Saturday's event will begin at 11:30 a.m. with a ceremonial raising of the Sikh flag — named the Nishan Sahib — outside Borough Hall on Cooke Avenue. That will be followed by the parade.

Police Capt. Dennis McFadden said the approximately 1-mile parade will begin at Borough Hall, then proceed south on Pershing Avenue, turn right onto Washington Avenue and left onto Cyprus Street before ending at Carteret Park at the corner of Cyprus Street and Carteret Avenue.

The parade, Johal said, is expected to last about 45 minutes, adding that freshly-cooked vegetarian food will be served at the event. He expects at least 1,000 people from Carteret and other neighboring communities to join in the festivities.

Mayor Daniel Reiman estimated that more than 1,500 Sikhs live in Carteret.

"This is certainly an important event for the Sikh community and for those in the Sikh faith," he said. "This certainly gives us the opportunity to highlight their contributions to our local community and society in general."

Woodbridge-based Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar, located on Port Reading Avenue, is sponsoring the parade.

with thanks : source : mycentraljercy.com

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Carter to welcome Sikh holy texts

Friday, 16 April 2010,
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Chris Carter

Ethnic Affairs spokesperson

Labour’s Ethnic Affairs Spokesperson Chris Carter will join the Sikh community tomorrow in Auckland to welcome the holiest texts of the Sikh religion to New Zealand.

The Guru Granth Sahib is a collection of documents compiled by gurus (teachers and leaders) of the Sikh religion between 1469 and 1708. The documents are touring Australia and New Zealand before returning to their home at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India.

Chris Carter said being entrusted with these documents is a tremendous source of pride for New Zealand’s 10,000 Sikhs. Some of the pages are more than half a millennium old, and Sikhs seeing them with their own eyes will feel equivalent to a Christian seeing the first Bible or a Muslim seeing the first Qur’an.

The Guru Grant Sahib’s arrival coincides with celebrations to mark Vaisakhi, the Punjabi New Year. The documents will be escorted by a 45-strong delegation from Melbourne, and will arrive at Auckland International Airport on NZ124 at 5:25pm tomorrow. The organisers of the tour, the New Zealand Sikh Society Auckland and the Supreme Sikh Council of New Zealand, welcome all media organisations to witness this historic event.

“I would like to congratulate New Zealand’s Sikh community on receiving the Guru Granth Sahib,” Chris Carter said. “This honour demonstrates how New Zealand is known throughout the world as a country which respects its minority religions, and is a real opportunity for New Zealand’s Sikh community to showcase their ancient culture and religion.”

With thanks : scoop.co.nz

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Sikhs celebrate Baisakhi at Nankana Sahib

Pak SGPC rejects amendments in Nanakshahi Calendar

The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) on Wednesday rejected the recent amendments in the Nanakshahi calendar by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Akal Takht. The announcement was made before at least 10,000 Sikhs at Nankana Sahib Gurdwara near Lahore in Pakistan, who had gathered to celebrate Baisakhi. American Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee head Dr Pritpal Singh told The Indian Express from Pakistan that they had already rejected the changes made and PSGPC also followed. “There had been strong resentments against the SGPC for bringing changes in the calendar adopted by majority of the Sikhs since 2003. Now, PSGPC chief Sham Singh has also rejected the amendments and they will continue to observe the gurpurabs according to the older calendar,” he said.

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