Judge – border guards can order removal of Sikh turbans

A court has ruled that when border guards ordered British-Sikh Shaminder Puri to remove his turban at Warsaw airport in October 2009 they were “acting within the law”.

Warsaw airport

Judge Jacek Tyszka ruled that though Warsaw airport border guards had violated his dignity when he was passing through controls at the airport, the action was not illegal under Polish law.

“Such an inspection may be unpleasant but it is sometimes necessary,” the judge ruled.

Puri, who was not in court to hear the verdict, told the Gazeta Wyborczanewspaper by telephone yesterday that “I am disappointed by the verdict. Now we must carefully read of the judge's ruling and consider an appeal”.

Shaminder Puri, a fluent speaker of Polish after he studied for a degree in the country 30 years ago, had demanded a public apology from the border guards and media which had covered the case, and 10,000 euro be paid to charity.

with thanks : thenews : link in headline above for detailed news.

Sehajdhari row: Sikh hardliners condemns HC verdict

Amritsar: Radical Sikh organisations on Wednesday condemned the order of Punjab and Haryana High Court, which allowed 'sehajdharis (non-baptised Sikhs) to cast votes in SGPC polls.

"The High Court decision has plunged the Sikh community into fresh crises...Sehajdharis are non-Sikhs, describing them as part of Sikhism is untrue," Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said.

He said due to some political reasons, Sehajdharis were given voting rights in 1959 though there was no such provision in the original Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925.

However, this "anomaly" was corrected in 2003 when a Union government notification debarred Sehajdharis from casting votes in SGPC polls, he said.

with thanks : IBNLive : link in the headline above for detailed news.

SGPC to challenge HC verdict on Sehajdhari Sikhs' voting rights

CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee will be challenging the verdict delivered by Punjab and Haryana high court granting voting rights to Sehajdhari Sikhs, in the Supreme Court.

A day after the Punjab and Haryana high court gave a verdict the SGPC and the SAD went into a huddle to discuss the issue. The matter will also come up for in depth discussion in core committee meeting of SAD scheduled for Thursday evening.

"The SGPC will not take it lying down," saidSukhdev Singh Dhindsa, senior SAD leader.

The newly elected SGPC is also likely to appeal to the Sikh Gurdwara Commission not to issue orders of re-election but to challenge the matter in the Supreme Court. On the flip side, on Wednesday, a delegation of Sehajdhari Sikhs met Sikh Gurdwara Commission chief H S Brar, and handed him over a copy of the HC verdict quashing the notification denying voting rights to them.

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

Gurmat Samagam : Sri Guru Nanak Sewak Jatha

Sikh taxi drivers inspiring artist Dan Connell

HC restores voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs in SGPC Polls

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday restored the voting rights of Sehajdhari (non-baptized) Sikhs in the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC) polls. SGPC is the highest religious body of Sikhs.

With the court orders, the recently constituted body of SGPC would cease to operate and fresh elections will be held to include the Sehajdhari Sikhs in the voters list.

The orders were passed by a full bench comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice MMS Bedi and Justice Muttaci Jeyapaul of Punjab and Haryana high court while allowing a petition filed by the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF) and two others challenging a October 8, 2003 central notification which deprived Sehajdhari Sikhs of their voting rights in the SGPC polls.

with thanks : TOI : link in headline above for detailed news.

HC verdict on Sehajdhari Sikhs' voting rights today

CHANDIGARH: On Tuesday, the Punjab and Haryana high court is likely to pronounce the much-awaited verdict on the voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs in Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC) polls. The verdict holds the possibility of affecting the fate of recently-held SGPC elections.

The case pertains to a petition filed by Sehajdhari Sikh Federation and two others challenging the October 8, 2003 Central notification which deprived Sehajdhari Sikhs of their voting rights in SGPC polls.

The petitioners had mainly challenged the Union government notification "whereby Sahjdhari Sikhs are not being considered as Sikhs in view of the impugned amended Section 49 and Section 92 of the Gurdwara Act".

The petitioners had submitted that the original Act declared Sahjdhari Sikhs as qualified electors for SGPC elections and the apex court had in numerous judgments held that the state cannot regulate the definition of religion.

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

India's heated death penalty debate

At a Delhi Sikh temple, Mukhtar Kaur offers prayers for her son Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar.

For the past 10 years, he has been on death row, convicted of carrying out a bomb attack in 1993 in which nine people were killed.

It has taken this long for the appeals against his sentence to pass through the various courts in the maze that is the Indian judicial system.

"This is like dying every day," she says. "For me and for him."

In May this year, the Indian president rejected his final mercy petition.

But Bhullar has still not been executed as lawyers and civil groups campaigning on his behalf push for clemency on the grounds that he was convicted after the police secured a confession under a now outlawed anti-terror law.

with thanks : BBC news : link in headline for detailed news report :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16160920

The seat of power that is now an official garbage dump

LAHORE - The condition of Lahore’s heritage sites seem to be growing from bad to worse. In a recent discovery Pakistan Today learnt that the baara-dari of Sikh Maharaja Sher Singh, the third son of Ranjit Singh, has become an ‘official’ garbage dump, and what once used to be a symbol of grandeur is now home to drug addicts.

Maharaja Sher Singh was the third son of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh empire. He ruled from 1841 till his death. His Baara-dari or ‘twelve doored’ mansion is situated on the outskirts of Kot Khwaja Saeed locality in Lahore, a few kilometers ahead of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort. It seems to have been neglected for decades.

Apparently, the Lahore Solid Waste Management department has constructed a waste enclosure inside the premises of the historical building and it is suspected that this has been done after demolishing one side of the building.

It is already in a precarious state after the attacks in 1992 in reaction to the Babri Mosque demolition in India. In a recent visit to India, Sayed Asif Hashmi, the Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) chairman had stated that Pakistan was making an all out efforts for the protection and maintenance of Sikh heritage. 

with thanks : pakistantoday : link in headline above for detailed news.

FOUND IT ON THE NET !

West Coast Sikhi Camp :Celebrating Tradition & History

Sikhi Camps: A platform to experience Sikhism.

In every nation, the youth are its future. Such camps played an important role in preserving tradition, history, customs and values among youths and help in transforming them into informed and vibrant members of society.

Topics related to civic, educational and personal development programs will gear them to learn how to become contributing members towards the UN millennium goals.The workshops on tradition and history will train the youth to act responsibly in their roles in life guided by the concept of Miri-Piri (spiritual and temporal),as established by the 6th Guru,Guru Hargobind.This concept established that,the Sikh Nation is for ever free for times to come and owes its allegiance to one God (Akaal Purakh).It will train them to stand for the protection of human-rights and justice for all, provide humanitarian aid to the needy, and provide empowerment through education to all. These camps provide a unique environment that promotes friendship, leadership, and community.

More information can be found at http://wcsikhicamp.com/

With thanks :UNITED SIKHS