It was scary, says Sikh leader in Britain

NEW DELHI: Recalling a terrifying night of plunder, a Sikh community leader in a British town says, "It was scary". 

"The rioting started yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon and shops were looted and cars were set on fire. It continued through the night," Dya Singh, president of Guru Har Rai Gurdwara Sahib, said on phone from West Bromwich town in the West Midlands, England. 

Violence erupted in London over the fatal shooting of a man by police and quickly spread to other cities in Britain. London, which is to stage the Olympic Games, next year saw shops being looted and buildings set afire for four consecutive days. While the British capital became comparatively peaceful Wednesday, unrest gripped other cities. 

West Bromwich, with about 200,000 people, was also affected. A number of Sikhs and Hindus call it home. 

There was no control on the situation, said Dya Singh who quickly added that as day broke, it became "relatively peaceful". 

Dya Singh said people were put on security duty to protect their gurdwara. 

with thanks : Times of India : link above for detailed news.

London riots: residents cautioned over 'vigilantism'

The Metropolitan Police has warned Londoners against forming "vigilante patrol groups".

The caution comes after hundreds of residents in Southall, Enfield, Hackney and Eltham patrolled their areas.

On Tuesday night Sikh men in Southall, many with hockey sticks, stood guard outside a Sikh and a Hindu temple and a mosque following Monday's disorder.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said "vigilantism" could lead to violence and drain Met's resources.

The Met described Monday's disorder as "the worst" in its recent history as violence began in Hackney and spread to Croydon, Clapham, Camden, Lewisham, Peckham, Newham, East Ham, Enfield, Woolwich, Ealing and Colliers Wood.

About 16,000 officers were on duty on Tuesday night - up from 6,000 - and the increased police presence will remain, the government said.

About 300 Sikh men gathered in Southall to protect religious buildings and businesses while about 100 men stood in Church Street, Enfield, vowing to "defend the streets".

with thanks : BBC News : link above for detailed news.

Sikh TV presenter is riot hero

A SIKH TV presenter became an unlikely hero of the Birmingham riots last night - after giving police a lift to arrest four thugs while he filmed them live on his satellite telly channel.

Upinder Randhawa became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter as word spread about his coverage of the riots on Sangat TV, which appears near the bottom of Sky's electronic programme guide

While the major news channels didn't have any live pictures of the Birmingham riots when they flared up last night, they also cut to Upinder's Gonzo-style coverage as he drove around the city in his own satellite van filming the disturbances as they kicked off.

As the riots intensified, Upinder gave a cop a lift in his van to one flashpoint - and filmed as four thugs were arrested in front of him.  

with thanks : link above. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3744364/Sikh-TV-presenter-is-riot-hero.html

HC declines to stay SGPC polls

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday declined to stay the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee elections slated for September 18. 

The court issed notices to the Union of India and the Gurdwara Election Commission returnable by August 16 while declining to stay the SGPC elections. A Full Bench of the High Court comprising Justice M M Kumar, Justice Alok Singh and Justice Gurdev Singh passed the order on a writ petition filed by Harbans Singh Khandola and the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation.

It said the election process, beginning tomorrow, would continue subject to the decision of the writ petition. 

The petitioners contended a large number of Sehajdhari Sikhs were debarred from voting in the SGPC polls by the then NDA government. A notification to this effect was issued by the Home Ministry on October eight, 2003, they said. 

with thanks : link above for detailed news.

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Nominate clean candidates, shun liquor, money: Akal Takht

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh on Wednesday appealed to all political parties to nominate “clean candidates” for the general Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections — to be held on September 18. It also asked the parties to shun liquor and money while campaigning for the polls.

The highest temporal seat of the Sikhs made this appeal keeping in view the fact that malpractices have made inroads into religious body elections as well.

The polls to the House, known as “mini parliament” of the Sikhs, must be conducted free of any voice that is usually witnessed in Assembly and parliamentary polls, said Jathedar. Adding that there is urgent need to protect Sikh tenets and beliefs, he said: “Only baptised Sikhs should be fielded. It must be ensured that they have commitment towards serving panth.” “There must be commitment of high moral values and political parties should field candidates who have the knowledge of Gurbani and Sikh tenets,” stated the Jathedar. He added that those consuming liquor or are using intoxication of any kind — like tobacoo or cigarettes — or who does not behold good moral character, should not be given the ticket.

with thanks : link above for detailed news.

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Pain of European Devotee : Lili Van Heers

“I went to the Gurdwara today and I was shocked to find a huge poster(about 3metre high) of Bhindranwale at the entrance of Gurdwara complex.Even inside,next to the Guru Granth Sahib ,there was a similar poster.That was the place where a painting of Guru Nanak used to hang.I felt sick and immediately left after offering a short prayer.I was thinking: where am I going to worship now? I cannot pray peacefully anywhere except at home.Inside the prayer hall we come to open our heart;to follow the message of Gurus and not to let hatred be stirred up. Politics and religion should not be mixed in the prayer hall”.

Lili Van Heers is a spokeswoman for the Sikh community in Belgium and is an author of a book on Sikhism in Dutch Language entitled: The Sikhism and the Sikhs (2008, Manohar Publishers).



She has dedicated her life to spread awareness on Sikh Religion amongst Belgian Community because there is still a lot of ignorance amongst Europeans on Sikhism. She is often contacted by the press,by different social service organisations whenever they need any information on Sikh community.She also takes an initiative to volunteers herself for local people to arrange a visit to Gurdwaras.Sikh community (living in Belgium ) also seek her help time to time for their many problems relate with religion/religious symbol (e.g. kirpan(dagger) confiscated by the police and subsequent court cases).

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE :

Empowerment &Upliftment of Sikh Youth

Sewak Jatha Dadar - Education Wing held its 5th Annual event in the Darbar Hall of Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha(Dadar,Mumbai).This was for the felicitation of Sikh students securing 75% marks and above in Std Xth examinations for the academic year 2010-11.A total of 91 students were felicitated with Siropas, Trophies and cash gifts. Out of these, the ones requiring financial assistance have been selected for scholarships.

In the meeting an emphasis was put on the fact that all Sikhs should take an oath to speak in their mother tongue(Punjabi)at homes and while talking to other Sikhs .Parents and children were encouraged to develop the habit of reading in order to be well informed on the current events.The concept of having a Study room/Library in our Gurdwaras was also brought forth!






All Gurudwaras in India/Abroad should do similar events as this will surely help in promoting feeling of pride among youth for being a Sikh.

Celebrating Excellence is an appreciative way through which we can impress upon all that the community not only cares but is also geared towards meritocracy.It can have a ripple effect on Sikh youth.

With thanks : Young Sikh Leaders

Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
SGND Khalsa College
University of Delhi
Dev Nagar
New Delhi-110005

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London 2012 Olympics chief allows Sikhs to carry ceremonial dagger

Lord Coe says Sikhs can display their kirpan as 'an article of faith' when attending the Games.

Sikhs attending the London 2012 Olympics will be able to carry a small dagger, known as the kirpan, following reassurances from Lord Coe.

In a letter to the Sikh Federation, the former gold medal-winning athlete and chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, wrote that there would be no ban on a kirpan with a maximum blade length of three inches (eight centimetres).

In Sikhism, the kirpan and kara (bangle) are two of the five articles of faith that baptised Sikhs must carry at all times.

Lord Coe said: "At Games-time, small symbolic ceremonial daggers (an Article of Faith with a maximum blade length of 3 inches) carried for religious reasons will be allowed.

"We have worked closely with the Sikh community and the Metropolitan police on our plans in this area, and published this statement on our website and I would appreciate your help in communicating this to your federation.

"The Sikh community has played a major role from the outset of the bid to host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games here in London."

The group, welcoming the letter, suggested its lobbying activity may have even helped London to triumph over Paris in the race to stage the event.

The Sikh Federation wrote to IOC members to discourage them from supporting the Paris bid because of the French ban on religious symbols in public places, "specifically targeting around 45 of the 115 voting IOC members who are from countries where religion is of paramount importance".

Dabinderjit Singh, a spokesman for Sikh interests in the UK, said: "I think that's what Seb was alluding to in his letter. We played that card quite heavily but didn't publicise it at the time."

He added that while there was a growing awareness about the kirpan as a religious item, there was still work to be done.

He cited the case of Sikh cricket fan Gurdev Singh, who was denied access to Lord's during a test match last weekend between India and England because he was wearing a kirpan. He staged a protest outside the ground.

with thanks : link above for detailed news.

High Court appoints its first Sikh judge

Rabinder Singh QC has become the first Sikh to be made a judge in the High Court, and will wear a turban rather than a traditional judicial wig when he takes up the appointment later this year.

Mr Singh, 47, a founding member of Matrix Chambers, has forged a name for himself as a dogged human rights lawyer.

His elevation comes at a time of concern over the lack of diversity within the judiciary, which tends to remain an overwhelmingly Oxbridge-educated white-man's world. Five new High Court judges were appointed yesterday, four of whom are white men.

The House of Lords constitution committee is investigating diversity within the judiciary. Of the 3,598 judges in England and Wales in 2010, just 20.6 per cent are women and 4.8 per cent from ethnic minorities.

with thanks : link above.

Rahul Gandhi praises Sikhs

New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) Attempting to improve the Congress’s ties with the Sikhs, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi Friday heaped praise on the community, saying they have ‘done the country proud by their achievements’.

Inaugurating a memorial dedicated to Tegh Bahadue, the Sikhs’ ninth Guru, Rahul Gandhi hailed the teachings of the Sikh spiritual gurus and also the contributions of the community.

‘The Sikhs of this country have done the nation proud with their achievements. They have hoisted the flag of India in every part of the world,’ he said in Hindi.

Gandhi also thanked Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, for taking the country on the path of development and progress.

‘The country is thankful to the Sikh community, for the progress and development brought by them. I am very thankful to Prime Minister Mamohnan Singh, who has brought progress and development in the country,’ he said.

He was all praise for Guru Teg Bahadur.

‘We must understand the importance of Guru Teg Bahadur. This country in not the country of any caste or religion, this is a country of every Indian.’

‘These were the teaching of Guru Tegh Bahadur and we must understand the importance of his teachings,’ Gandhi said.

The Congress general secretary added that he goes back to the teachings of ancient gurus of India for guidance.

‘When I think of my work, I go through the teachings of the ancient gurus of India and follow them. The whole country must follow their path for the development of the country,’ he added.

The Congress’s ties with Sikhs were strained after the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984. More recently, many Sikh groups are demanding the release of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a former Khalistan Commando Force militant, who has been given the death penalty in a 1993 car bombing case in Delhi.

with thanks : link above.