SGPC Elections: Discrepancies in voter forms, Sikh bodies to meet PM

AMRITSAR: Various factions of Shiromani Akali Dal and other Sikh bodies joined hands to remove discrepancies in the voter forms for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) election.

The President, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (DSGPC), Paramjit Singh Sarna,

said a two-member committee comprising former SGPC Secretary Manjit Singh Calcutta and Kanwarpal Singh of Dal Khalsa would submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in this regard.

He said certain terms in the forms were objectionable to the Sikh community and amounted to violation of the Sikh Rehat Maryada (code of conduct) and the Sikh Gurdwara Act.

Sarna reiterated that various Akali factions would unitedly contest the elections against the SAD (Badal).

The meeting held on Wednesday was attended by Various Akali parties, including the SAD (Longowal), SAD (Delhi), All-India Shiromani Akali Dal, Khalsa Action Committee (KAC), Dal Khalsa and SAD (Panch Pradhani).

DETAILED NEWS CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE LINK IN HEADLINE ABOVE.

with thanks : source : PunjabNewsLine

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Keep away from Sikh religious matters, Badal tells Congress

IANS

June 24 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Thursday asked the Congress party not to interfere in the religious matters of the Sikhs with an eye to the forthcoming Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) general elections.

Addressing a public rally in this town in Patiala district, 110 km from Chandigarh, Badal said the Congress was trying to wrest control of the SGPC, the mini-parliament of Sikhs, through its 'B' team comprising of Delhi State Gurdwara Management Committee president (DSGMC) Paramjit Singh Sarna and Akali Dal-Amritsar president Simaranjit Singh Mann.

'It is not surprising but ironical that the Congress, which claims to be a secular party, is deliberately encroaching upon the jurisdiction of Sikh religious matters by indirectly lending support to Sarna and others in the SGPC elections,' he said.

Badal said the Congress party could not befool the people of Punjab, especially Sikhs, as successive Congress governments at the centre and in the state had betrayed the people of Punjab.

He charged the Congress government in neighbouring Haryana with trying to interfere in SGPC affairs by allowing the setting up of a separate SGPC for that state.

DETAILED NEWS CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE LINK IN HEADLINE ABOVE.

with thanks : source : sify

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l'll contest on all 170 SGPC seats: Sarna

AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) will not hesitate to take support of Congress leaders and workers willing to help during the ensuing Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections. This was stated by Paramjit Singh Sarna, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee here on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference, he said, “Our party is open to have an alliance with like-minded parties and religious groups.”

Sarna announced that his party would contest on all 170 seats of SGPC.

Detailed news can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : Times of India

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Punjabi varsity to prepare compendium on Banda Singh Bahadur

Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh announced to create comprehensive source material on the hallowed Sikh warrior and martyr, Banda Singh Bahadur.

The effort, he said, will constitute compiling of the entire available material related to his multi-faceted life in the form of a compendium. The university plans to prepare a documentary featuring various aspects of life and attainments of the great Sikh hero.

The Syndicate also appreciated the selection of 20 students of B.Tech. course in TV, Film Production and Media Technology of University’s Centre for Advanced Media Studies (CAMS). It was regarded as a rare achievement that the centre has accomplished in just about a year of its establishment.

Detailed news can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : indian express

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Arson attack on Milton Keynes Sikh temple flag pole

A flag pole at a Sikh temple in Buckinghamshire has been set on fire.

The arson attack took place in Leadenhall, Milton Keynes, on Tuesday when two offenders set fire to the fabric-covered base of the flag pole.

The flames quickly went out and while the flag was not damaged the fabric around the pole will need replacing.

Acting Ch Insp Amanda Blake said: "The Sikh flag holds great significance... naturally the members of the temple and the local community are very upset."

"There is no evidence or indication that this incident was driven by racial or religious motivation," she added.

"We will be increasing patrols in the area to offer reassurance and send out a message that this behaviour will not be tolerated in Milton Keynes."

Police want to speak to a cyclist who went past the temple as the offenders ran from the scene.

With Thanks : source : BBC NEWS : Original link in headline above.

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Dr. (Mrs.) Gurdeep Kaur

Dr. (Mrs.) Gurdeep Kaur is an Associate Professor, in the Department of Political Science, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College,University of Delhi, Dev Nagar,Delhi,India. 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 Carolina;, '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, 'Sikhism & Ecological Balance' in the International Conf. on Interdisciplinary Theological Perspective on Ecology & Economy in Limerick,Ireland,'Sikhism :Interreligious Witness and Religious Pluralism'in the International Conf. "From World Mission to Inter religious Witness:Visioning Ecumenics in the 21st Century" in Dublin,Ireland.

She also Participated as Delegate in the ‘9th World Punjabi Conference’ at Lahore Pakistan, January30-February 1,2004. She also gave a Seminar on 'Successful Conflict Resolution:The Sikhs in India in the 1980s' in the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies in Katholieke University,Leuven, Belgium in April 2010.

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Include peace corridor in Indo-Pak talks: Sikhs

CHANDIGARH: Ahead of secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, the global Sikh community has now raised the long pending issue of Kartarpur Sahib corridor, with the hope that this religious and emotional issue would act as a balm to soothe sore relations between the two nations.

While the demand for a corridor to the historical Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib — which is located barely 1.5km inside the Pakistan territory from the Indian border near Dera Baba Nanak — has been a long pending one with various Sikh organizations appealing to the two countries from time to time, the United Sikh Mission (USM), a California based NGO, recently approached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi to raise the issue with the neighbouring country in the coming days.

“We have received a very encouraging response from both Rahul Gandhi and the Prime Minister, and it seems that the Sikh community’s ardent wish may finally come true now,” Rashpal Singh Dhindsa, USM chairman, told TOI from California. Naming the project as a ‘peace corridor’, thereby giving an emotional hue to the issue, he added, “The one (corridor) which would bring lasting peace between the two countries.”

“It would be great if the issue is taken up during the upcoming secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan as it would bring remarkable results, especially since the solution to the problem is at hand and very doable,” said Punjab MLA Jassi Khangura, who was an NRI from UK till recently — before he shifted to India and contested elections successfully. “All it requires is a reasonable amount of will power on both the sides,” added Jassi, who receives similar requests from Sikhs in UK and elsewhere during his frequent visits abroad.

The gurdwara holds a special place in the heart of Sikhs as it was here that the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev, spent his last years. While Hindus and Muslims then had built their respective shrines at the place, a gurdwara was constructed later by the Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh.

DETAILED NEWS CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE LINK IN HEADLINE ABOVE.

With thanks : source : Times of India

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Sikh's turban ban not racism: New Zealand club

Members of a New Zealand club which denied a Sikh man's entry because he was wearing a turban say the issue has nothing to do with racism and they are ready to defend their rules in court.

The Sikh Council of New Zealand is seeking action from Human Rights Commission against the south Auckland's Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club after volunteer worker Karnail Singh was barred entry because his turban breached its no-headwear policy.

The issue was not one of racism, said Con Linton, a member since the late 1960s. He said the 3,500-member club has members belonging to different culture including Asian, Iraqi, Pacific Island, Pakeha and Maori.

"You could possibly stereotype us and say we are rednecks with people who do not like turbans but that would be democracy at its worst. Where it (the headwear policy) originated I don't know but people have never found it hard to conform with - until lately," he said.

Several club members said that it "has access to barristers and solicitors like anyone else" and will fight any moves to enforce changes, The New Zealand Herald reported.

"To me it would appear the feeling is quite clear that we are a private club with its own rules much like many other clubs throughout the country," said Peter Kelly, a member for 43 years.

"But if there is an enforcement on this particular issue on the Manurewa Cossie club, it surely will have repercussions on other clubs and some of their rules in general. "I think we would fight - why wouldn't we ?"

Kelly, 75, said the turban issue was raised at the club's annual meeting on last Sunday, where only five of the 304 people voted to amend the policy of excluding religious headwear.

"I daresay that if I went down to the Sikh temple I would take my shoes off ... that is one of their conditions I believe, so if it is I would just comply," he was quoted as saying. "All we are saying is just comply with the rules of the cossie club."

Detailed news can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : Hindustan times

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A Sikh Face in Ireland

An Exhibition at Chester Beatty Library,Dublin Castle,Ireland exploring the Sikh presence on the island of Ireland
This exhibition is produced and supported by the Forum on Migration and Communication(FOMACS).It includes photographic portraits and life stories of Sikhs,an animated film on the wearing of the Sikh turban,and a photographic and sound installation featuring contemporary Sikh muscians.(www.fomacs.org)