France violated Sikh’s right to wear turban says UN

In an important victory for the Sikh community in France, the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has ruled that France has violated the right of a Sikh who had been asked to remove his turban for a photo ID card.

Ranjit Singh, a 76 year old Sikh living in France has not had access to public healthcare any other social benefits since 2005 as he refused to take off his turban for the photo ID card. United Sikhs, a Sikh rights group had filed a communication with the UNHRC on behalf of Ranjit Singh in December 2008.

The UN body has found that France violated Ranjit Singh’s right to wear a turban in accordance to his religion. UNHRC observed in its judgment: “Even if the obligation to remove the turban for the identity photograph might be described as a one-time requirement, it would potentially interfere with the author’s (Ranjit Singh’s) freedom of religion on a continuing basis because he would always appear without his religious head covering in the identity photograph and could therefore be compelled to remove his turban during identity checks.”

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

It's 'Namma Kannada' for these Sikh kids from Rajasthan

These five children meticulously learn the Kannada alphabet as their parents busy themselves each day within the manufacture and sale of cutlery. 

Their teachers at the Government Higher Primary School at KEB Colony here are thrilled that Ankit Singh, Karan Singh, Amrit Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Bharati Kaur - belonging to Sikh families hailing from Rajasthan - are learning the rudiment of the language that they have embraced as their own.

While Ankit, Amrit and Karan are in Class II, Kuldeep and Bharati are students of Class IV. Sumit, another child from Rajasthan, had studied Class I in a Hindi school, but has now joined this Kannada school for Class II. 

They reside at Sunnada Bhatti area of Siya Talab extension in the city, known for the utter lack of basic amenities. 

Livelihood

The Sikh families migrated six years ago to Raichur in search of a livelihood and it has been their home ever since.

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

Holy book pages found in factory, Sikhs protest

Amritsar, Jan 14 (PTI) Over 40 gunny bags containing pages of Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib were found today in a cardboard manufacturing factory sparking protests from members of the community. Several radical Sikh outfits including Damdami Taksal, Shiromani Akali Dal Panch Pardhani and Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee held protests demanding immediate arrest of factory owners. Later, factory owners Ravinder Kumar and Arun Kumar were arrested on charges of hurting religious sentiments of a community, police said. The factory owners told police that they had purchased the bags from Amrtitsar-based Jawahar Publisher and were not aware that the pages were from principal Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib. The Jawahar Publisher used to publish copies of the Guru Granth Sahib but the Punjab government later banned publishing of the holy book by any private publisher. The publishing rights were give to the SGPC, police said. Two workers of Jawahar Publisher were also booked for wilfully hurting sentiments of the Sikh community, police said.

with thanks : IBNLive : link in headline above.

Sikh held after British colleague's body found at his home

London, Jan 13 (IANS) A 49-year-old Sikh mathematics lecturer at Oxford University has been arrested after the body of a British colleague was found at his home.

The body of Steven Rawlings, a 50-year-old astrophysicist, was found at the home of Devinder Sivia in Oxfordshire Wednesday, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Sivia -- who lectures at St John's College -- was arrested from his bungalow in Southmoor Thursday and questioned by officers from Thames Valley Police.

He is a stipendiary lecturer in Mathematics for Sciences at Oxford University. He lectures to undergraduates studying chemistry and physics and has published two books.

Rawling's family, however, said they did not believe that Sivia could have murdered his friend and blamed the death on "a tragic accident".

Linda Davey, the 64-year-old elder sister of Rawling, said he was not the type of man to get into an argument over anything.

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

UN human rights body backs French Sikhs on turbans

A Sikh man in France has won the backing of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in his fight over religious headgear.

It said France was violating Sikhs' religious freedom by forcing them to remove their turbans when having photos taken for passports and ID cards.

Ranjit Singh, 76, said he had turned to the UN because he found the French policy disrespectful and unnecessary.

The ruling is not legally binding. France was asked to respond by March.

Mr Singh welcomed the decision, telling the BBC: "[The turban] is part of my body. It is my identity and I cannot part with it."

Long battle
with thanks BBC : link in headline above for detailed news.

Proud of being a sikh !

Happy Lohri !

SIKHS Win Turban Case Against France at the UN

"The UN Human Rights Committee has asked France to submit a report by March 15th on measures it is taking to remedy the violation of the religious freedom of 76 year old Ranjit Singh,who was asked to remove his turban for his ID photo" said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS Legal Director, who is in the fore-front of a legal campaign for French Sikhs' right to wear their turban.

Bobigny, France, 12 Jan 2012 – The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has concluded that France had violated the religious freedom of 76 year old Ranjit Singh when he was asked to remove his turban for his ID photograph. This was disclosed today at a media conference, in Bobigny (near Paris), by the UNITED SIKHS legal team, who had filed a communication on behalf of Ranjit Singh to the UNHRC in December 2008.

The media conference was told that the UNHRC observed that "even if the obligation to remove the turban for the identity photograph might be described as a one-time requirement, it would potentially interfere with the author's (Ranjit Singh's) freedom of religion on a continuing basis because he would always appear without his religious head covering in the identity photograph and could therefore be compelled to remove his turban during identity checks."

The Committee said that France had failed to explain how the Sikh turban hindered identification since the wearer's face would be visible and he would be wearing the turban it at all times, therefore, the regulation constituted a violation of article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which was entered into force for France on 4 February 1981. You may read the Committees views in full here. The views were adopted at the 102nd session of the Committee's sitting.

"I had faith that truth and justice would prevail and I patiently waited for this day. I pray that France will now fulfil its obligation and grant me a residence card bearing my photo without baring my head," said Ranjit Singh, who despite his ill-health has had no access to the public health-care system or to social benefits since 2005 because his residence card was refused due to his refusal to remove his turban.

"UNITED SIKHS is heartened by the Committee's observations that France is under an obligation to provide Ranjit Singh with an effective remedy, including a reconsideration of his application for a renewal of his residence permit and a review of the relevant legislative framework and its application in practice. France, the Committee noted, is also under an obligation to take steps to prevent similar violations in the future," said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS Legal Director, who addressed the media conference.

"We now look to France to fulfil its treaty obligations under International law and its moral duty to ensure that the freedom of religion and belief is upheld for everyone who lives within its territory," she added.

"We are very pleased with the views that the Committee adopted and we welcome France's compliance with these findings. We also look forward to a similar resolution for Shingara Singh, whose case is still pending before the Committee," O'Melveny & Myers, a New York law firm engaged by UNITED SIKHS, said in a statement through their attorneys who spoke during a telephone interview. A decision is still awaited for Shingara Singh, whose passport has not been renewed by France because he refused to remove his turban for his ID photograph.

You may read a previous press release on our advocacy for religious freedom here.

Issued by:

Mejindarpal Kaur
Legal Director
International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy ( ICHRA)
UNITED SIKHS
law@unitedsikhs.org
+33 605800605/+44 8701993328

Delegation from Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Religion & Worldview, K.U.Leuven, Belgium

From January 21 to February 19, 2012,a group of 21 European students( Masters and Bachelors)along with Prof.dr.Bert Broeckaert of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies (KU Leuven,Belgium) is to visit India for a India Study Course on Indian Religions.

During their one month stay in India they will study religious richness and cultural Diversity of fascinating sub-continent.They will visit religious & historical places in Delhi,Amritsar,Varanasi,Bodh Gaya,Sikkim/ participate in a wide variety of rituals/attend lectures deliver by local professors and specialists/ join-in discussions with representatives of various traditions to immerse in the world of Sikhism,Hinduism,Buddhism,Jainism,Christianity,Islam,Bhai & Iscon.

This study visit is an overall efforts of Prof. dr.Bert Broeckaert who (since 2002) has been organizing courses on Indian religions for students of the Faculty of Theology,KU Leuven to build insights of number of world religions amongst Europeans to deal with religious and cultural diversity.

Delegation will stay in Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib,Delhi & in Goden Temple,Amritsar for four days.

KU Leuven Students in Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in 2009

Prize for Masters Thesis on Sikhs : Sara Cosemans,KU Leuven Student

Sara Cosemans received the award for her research "Sikhs in Haspengouw: Migration and integration from a female perspective"
She is a student of history who did her master thesis about the Sikh community in Hesbaye. It earned her the first prize at the Gülen Chair for Intercultural Studies (GCIS)& reaches out for the best master's thesis about multiculturalism,immigration and minorities at the KU Leuven,Belgium.

Sara said "When I heard about a thesis topic was about Sikhs,I was immediately approached - I was studying history after an exchange year in Guatemala and was sensitive to the backgrounds of migration. In Sint truiden-, where I live, you have the biggest and most traditional Sikh community in Belgium, but we really know very little about them. It is also very difficult to establish contacts. Luckily I have a friend whose parents Sikhs employing and housing, and she gave me in contact with people.In Haspengouw you have a group of some 1,500 registered Sikhs - from three waves of migration - and you can talk the successful integration without assimilation. Sikhs look obviously very distinctive and recognizable, but generally speak Dutch well and almost all have a home and even your own fruit farm. A number of young people studying at university successfully. I've mainly worked on the basis of interviews and also I have a lot of information collected online through Facebook by joining a number of groups. The title of my thesis refers not only to the fact that I primarily studied the position of women , but also on the fact that I did as a female researcher.It would be much harder for a man to penetrate the female part of the community. I mainly talked with women but also men, in order to determine how both groups influence each other's identity. "

"I am very honored to receive the prize and especially pleased with the publication by Acco .With the prize money - $ 1,500 ; I would like to study abroad and it will certainly come in handy. And hopefully I can continue with a PhD study ... "

Photo 1: Young girl wearing a chunni(a scarf)


Photo 2: Photo taken during a protest by the Sikhs in Louvain against the visit of Minister Kamal Nath.


Photo 3: Photo taken during the life of St.Truiden(2011) an initiative of the Cancer Foundation.


Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
University of Milan
Milan,Italy

Associate Professor
SGND Khalsa College
University of Delhi
Delhi,India

"Manas Kee Jaat Sabhe Eke Pehchaanbo"

Recognize the Human Race as One
The celebration of the Birthday/ Prakash Utsav of the Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh serves as a reminder to all governments, civil servants, humanitarian-aid activists and educationalists in the world to Recognize the Human Race as One.

The prakash utsav(birthday)of the 10th Sikh Guru,Guru Gobind Singh marks the birth of a father, a son, a husband, a great warrior,a strategist,a just human rights activists,a scholar,a linguist, an institution builder. He reminds every human being to stand up for human rights and justice. Even in the 16th century,in Guru Gobind Singh's army,the concept of humanitarian aid existed,where one was allowed to provide medical-aid to both the sides of the army. He also sent Sikhs far and wide to learn from other cultures and religions.Thus,he spread the message of empowerment through education and Interfaith-dialogue,created an environment and a culture to co-exist with all human and just races.He inspired humanity to stand up for a righteous cause and to the defense of the defenseless ,to provide humanitarian aid to the needy .

UNITED SIKHS Organisation takes inspiration & tailored its programs from Gurus actions ,such as the International Civil Human Rights Advocacy, Humanitarian Aid and Community Empowerment and Education. UNITED SIKHS projects have been run for centuries on the guidelines of Sikh Gurus. Their slogan, Recognize the Human Race As One, is coined by Guru Gobind Singh himself.

UNITED SIKHS volunteers continue to provide selfless service globally to make this world a better place. Their motto in life :
"Lets join hands and follow the path set by our Guru so that justice, peace and prosperity prevails for all times to come".

With thanks :UNITED SIKHS