Centre says no to separate Sikh Marriage Act, SAD to meet PM

Chandigarh In a major blow to the Sikh community, the Centre has ruled out any amendments to the Anand Karaj (Marriage) Act of 1909 and said providing a separate Act for the Sikhs would invite similar demands from other communities.

“There may not be any justification for secluding Sikhs from the rest of the categories (covered by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955) as such a step would invite similar demands from other religious denominations. It is against the directive principles in Article 44 of the Constitution which aims at bringing in a Uniform Civil Code,” Law Minister Salman Khurshid said in reply to a query by Shiromani Akali Dal MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa in Rajya Sabha.

The Centre’s move to enact a separate Act for Sikh marriages drew criticism from different quarters with various Sikh bodies terming it as “anti-Sikh”, while SAD said it will take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and raise it in Parliament.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal reacted strongly to the government’s decision and called it a “breach of trust” by the Centre, as the former law minister M Veerappa Moily had assured the draft bill for Sikh Marriage Act was ready and would be sent for Cabinet approval soon before being placed in Parliament.

The marriages performed under Sikh religious rights are registered either under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act.

The proposal was that under the Special Marriage Act, which was to be amended, provision for the registration of marriages performed according to the Anand Marriage Act of 1909 shall also be incorporated.

with thanks : expressindia : link above for detailed news.

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New York law to ensure freedom to Sikhs practicing religious beliefs

Sikhs in the US will be allowed to wear turbans and grow beards in federal agencies like the police department and transit authority after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wednesday signed into law a bill that will ensure freedom for employees to practice religious beliefs at workplace.

The 'Workplace Religious Freedom' bill was initiated by civil rights group Sikh Coalition and sponsored by Queens Democrat Council member Mark Weprin.

In signing the law, Bloomberg said employers must make a "reasonable accommodation" for an employee's religious practices unless following such practises creates an "undue hardship."

The undue hardship is now defined as requiring "significant expense or difficulty."

"This bill sends the message that people should not have to choose between serving our city and adhering to their religious beliefs. All Americans should receive the full embrace of our country’s constitutional freedoms," Weprin said.

Sikh Coalition's programme director and co-founder Amardeep Singh said the law would ensure that religious minorities like Sikhs and Muslims in the US are not discriminated against by their employers for practising their religion.

with thanks : DNA india : link above for detailed news.

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FYI the SGPC is busy,no asssistance provide in Amritsar for we poor Indonesia Sikhs

Sardar ji,

FYI the SGPC is busy,no asssistance provide in Amritsar for we poor Indonesia Sikhs. What was written in our faith( Karma) we happily accepted and now wish to try in N.Delhi. Our Gurmat school project will be completed anyway with or without SGPC donation.

www:gurudwaragurunanak.org "Jithey niche semalien,Thithey Nader teri bakshish"(SGGS ang 14). I am at present in N.Delhi after giving up in my request for assistance from SGPC unheeded,and neglected.


Gurfateh
Balwant singh

Lokayukta orders probe against Badal

The Punjab Lokayukta on Monday ordered a probe against Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and former MLA of the Akali Dal Bibi Jagir Kaur to ascertain charges of misuse of public land in the state.

Bibi Jagir Kaur, the former chief of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee, has been accused of misusing 12 acres of public land at Begowal village allegedly for her personal use. A complaint in this regard was filed by Punjab Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. The Congress MLA has also accused Badal of aiding the SGPC chief in her alleged illegal pursuit. 

Elections in the state are around the corner and this probe is likely to embarrass the ruling combine.

Khaira claims the land, valued at about Rs 100 crore, belongs to the village panchayat. He has alleged that Jagir Kaur got a society registered in which her daughter and son-in-law are president and secretary respectively.


with thanks : deccanherald : link above for detailed news.

Please answer !

Do you think that the members of various Gurdwara committees are capable enough for that seat ?

Do you think that members of various Gurdwara committees have done anything for the Sikhism ?

Factual replies please, may be for or against. Please post your reply at : http://www.facebook.com/pages/SikhsIndia/251420214892987?sk=wall

SGPC Elections 2011: Non-keshdharis attempting to vote would be arrested, Election Cheif

Chandigarh (August 28, 2011): Chief Commissioner of Gurdwara Elections, Justice H S Brar (retd), is reported to have that non-keshdharis attempting to vote in the SGPC elections will be arrested.

“Express News Service” report adds that Justice Brar, while speaking to the media, said: “We have received complaints that some non-keshdahri Sikhs have been included in the electoral rolls. Besides arresting non-keshdharis attempting to vote, we shall also initiate action against the officials concerned.’’ Around some 60 complaints have been received till date, he added.

He said that 19 elections observers have been deployed in Punjab — all senior Haryana cadre IAS officers of the rank of secretary. In Amritsar and Ludhiana districts, two observers per district have been posted, as these have more SGPC seats.

In Haryana, seven election observers have been posted — senior IAS officers in the rank of secretary, this time from Punjab. On one seat each in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, one observer each has been posted. They are Punjab cadre officers.

“The cut-off date of getting late votes made will be September 2. By this date, applications can be given to concerned deputy commissioners. On the same day, they will have to decide whether the vote can be made or not. Now, by September 17, the commissioner of gurdwara elections will have to decide on the applications rejected by the DCs,” he is reported to have added.

with thanks : link above.

Three-day-long procession begins from Akal Takht

Amritsar, Aug 28 (PTI) The three-day-long colourful Nagar Kirtan, a Sikh religious procession, began here from the highest Sikh Temporal seat Akal Takht marking the 305th year of compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib.Earlier, Jatehdar Akal Takht Gyani Gurbachan Singh performed Ardas or prayer as per Sikh rituals in the presence of nearly 50,000 Sikh devotees before the beginning of the procession in the marbled periphery of the Golden Temple. There was a big cavalcade with the Nagar Kirtan when it was passing through the city's streets and was accorded rousing welcome at various places in the city.Gyani Gurbachan Singh on this occasion said that tenth Singh Guru Gobind Singh had compiled the Guru Granth Sahib after inserting religious discourse scripted by ninth Sikh master Guru Teg Bahdur. He said that on August 30 at Talwandi Sabo a great religious day would be observed to mark the 305th anniversary of the compilation of the Sikh religious scripture.

with thanks : IBNLive : link above for detailed news.

Sikh temple celebrates 100 years

When the Gur Sikh Temple opened in Abbotsford in 1911, there were only 2,300 Sikhs in all of British Columbia.

On Sunday, at least that many people showed up for a parade celebrating its 100 years of serving the community.

The gurdwara, believed to be the oldest still-standing Sikh temple in North America, opened the doors to its archives on the main floor so people could see photographs from the community's long history.

Pioneers working in B.C.'s forestry and farming industries began building the temple in 1908, using lumber donated by a local mill. At that time, Sikhs in Canada were nearly all men because immigration policies restricted their wives and children from joining them in the country.

"This temple is a great gift to the Sikh community," said Gurdev Sidhu, 71, as he stood chatting with friends outside the simple white, three-storey building.

"I came into this country in 1969 and settled in Mission. At that time, we struggled to get more people, to provide more services, and we've come a long way."

Free samosas and water bottles were handed out as the parade wound its way from the temple down South Fraser Way to Rotary Stadium, where speakers continued the celebration.

with thanks : Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sikh+temple+celebrates+years/5321678/story.html#ixzz1WQ7cuM1I

Golden Temple tales chart course of Sikh history

Going back more than two centuries, nearly 80 historical artefacts are on display in central  London at the world's first major exhibition on the Golden Temple of Amritsar, north India.

They include some of the earliest-known paintings and photographs of the temple, along with film footage and eye witness accounts from western travellers.

The 10-week show, organised by the UK Punjab Heritage Association, has already attracted thousands of visitors, including many from across the world.

The exhibition traces the temple's history, from the 1800s up until the middle of the 20th Century - described as the "golden era" of the temple and the height of Sikh empire.

On the ground floor of the Brunei gallery at the School of Oriental and African Studies, in the Bloomsbury area, an accurate to-scale Perspex model of the temple, as it once stood, is displayed on a table.

It shows trees surrounding the shrine, along with tall buildings, known as "bungas", where intellectuals would meet and debate.

with thanks : BBC news : plz check link above to view the detailed news.

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