Pak should allow Sikh pilgrims to enter without visa: Sarna

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Paramjeet Singh Sarna requested the Pakistan government on Tuesday to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit their religious places located in the neighbouring country without passport and visa.

“When a Kashmiri from India is allowed to enter on the basis of a certificate issued by an SDM to visit Pakistan, then why is a Sikh not allowed to visit religious places in Pakistan? We request them to allow us enter without passport or visa,” said Sarna in a press conference. 

Sarna also revealed that he has received a letter from Pakistan government giving DSGMC permission for taking up any renovation work in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Lahore and Babay-de-Bairee in Sialkot. “We had requested the Pakistan government to allow us to take up renovation work in our Gurdwaras there. We managed to get permission now as I received a letter in this regard signed by Deputy Secretary Shrines Evacuee Trust Property Board, Government of Pakistan, Syed Faraz Abbas,” said Sarna.

with thanks : Deccan Herald : link in headline for detailed news.

Sikh house of worship in Sterling Heights vandalized with anti-Muslim graffiti

A Sikh house of worship in Sterling Heights under construction was vandalized with what appears to be anti-Muslim graffiti.

The Sikh building, known as a gurdwara, was defaced sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning, a Sikh advocacy group said today. Some of the graffiti reads: “Don’t Builed” and “Mohmed,” which seems to refer to Islam’s prophet, Mohammed. The graffiti also included a Christian cross, a pistol, and the letters R and A. It’s unclear what the letters refer to.

In the West, Sikh men are sometimes confused for being Muslim because they wear full beards and turbans. Over the past ten years, some Sikhs in the U.S. have been victims of violent bias attacks because they’re wrongly perceived to be Muslim. Based in India, Sikhism arose about 300 years ago and now has about 25 million adherents.

Jasjit Singh of the Sikh American Legal Defense Education Fund, said: “attacks and vandalism against any of the nation’s houses of worship must be condemned by all Americans.”

Singh asked anyone who has information about the incident to call Sterling Heights police at (586) 446-2800. The Sikh house of worship is on Dequindre Rd. just north of 14 Mile.

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

Delhi court stays DSGMC polls, asks govt to prepare new voters’ list

In an indictment of the manner in which the Delhi government hurried into initiating the election process for the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), the Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the poll process after noting that there was an unjustified "turnaround" over preparation of fresh voters' list as well as delimitation of certain constituencies.

As per the government notification, the election process was scheduled to begin on February 16 while the polling had to take place on March 11. The election will be held for 46 wards in the city. The term of the DSGMC is four years. Of the over a million Sikhs living in Delhi, 4.5 lakh are registered as DSGMC voters.

The court was adjudicating a petition by one Harmohan Singh, who had challenged the merger of the two voters' list and holding elections without delimitation.

Justice Vipin Sanghi directed the government to re-start the process of preparing the fresh electoral roll and complete the task within a month. The court also ordered the government, Gurdwara Election Directorate and the incumbent Committee to complete the process of delimitation as there has been an increase in the Sikh population in Delhi in recent years.

Observing that the entire process was "short-circuited" by the stakeholders, Justice Sanghi also restrained the government from issuing any further notification until the process of preparing fresh electoral roll and delimitation was concluded.

with thanks : Indian Express : link in headline above for detailed news.

Gülen Chair Award for research on Sikhs :KU Leuven,Belgium

Sara Cosemans receiving prestigious Gülen Chair for Intercultural Studies for her research on "Sikhs in Haspengouw: Migration and integration from a female perspective".Her thesis was considered best master's thesis on multiculturalism,immigration and minorities at KU Leuven, Belgium.

Sara Cosemans says"Migration and integration have always fascinated me.I have mainly focused on the role of women. The study shows that young women are clearly experiencing a conflict between their traditional background and Western modern society. They are opposed to the older generation and its caste system”.

With thanks:Het Belang van Limburg.

Dr Gurdeep Kaur

Railways to offer Tour of Sikh pilgrimage centres

with thanks : Hindustan Times : link in headline above.

Sarnas, Badals gear up for Delhi gurudwara polls

The stage is being set for another electoral battle — this one in the national capital as the elections of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) are due on March 11. A core committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) will meet in Chandigarh on Sunday to finalise its agenda for the polls.

The Badals’ rival and DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna, who heads the Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi), is also set to kick-start his campaign.

“Corruption in Delhi’s gurdwaras is going to be the SAD-Badal’s agenda to take on the Sarnas in the forthcoming elections. We will fine-tune things on Sunday,” said SAD (Badal) secretary Daljeet Singh Cheema, adding that apart from corruption, DSGMC-run educational institutions running into losses and sale of gurdwara committee-owned land to the Delhi government for building parking places would be the areas of focus for the SAD (Badal).

“Moreover they (the Sarnas) have shut down four schools being run by the committee, and have been using donations in gurdwaras to run a political campaign against us to support the Congress,” Cheema said.

General secretary of SAD (Delhi) and Paramjit’s younger brother Harvinder Singh Sarna, however, dismissed allegations of corruption.

“We are not like the Badals. They are corrupt and have used SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) money in the January 30 assembly elections,” said Harvinder, who was DSGMC president in 2005-06. “Our donation is 10% of what SGPC gets, and our expenditure is manifold.”

with thanks : Hindustan Times : link in headline for detailed news.

PETPB will open Gurdwara Babe Ki Ber for Sikh jathas on Baisakhi: Sarna

AMRITSAR: For the first time, Sikhs of India would be able to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Babe ki Ber, Sialkot, Pakistan. Delhi Sikh Gurdwar Management Committee (DSGMC) presidentParamjit Singh Sarna, who spoke to TOI on Sunday after his return from Pakistan, saidPakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) has agreed, in principal, to renovate and open the complex for Sikh jathas from India.

"It will be a historic occasion, when a Sikh jatha from India will pay obeisance at Gurdwara Babe ki Ber on this Baisakhi," he said.

Gurdwara Babe Di Ber is situated near the banks of Aik stream, along the Sialkot-Pasrur road in Pakistan. During his visit to Sialkot, first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev had stayed outside the town under a Ber tree. The gurdwara holds significance for Sikhs. The Akali movement which started in 1920, by the Kartar Singh Jhabbar-led Singh Sabha, chose Babe ki Ber as the first shrine for reform.

Sarna said DSGMC had also asked PETPB to construct a gurdwara at Chandu di Haveli, which is also known as Lal Haveli. The Haveli is associated with the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev. "It is in a dilapidated condition," he said.

DSGMC has become the first Indian Sikh body to get the management and renovation as well as booking rights of around 200-bed sarai, made with the contribution of Sikhs of Delhi and those in foreign countries, at Gurdwara Tambu Sahib, Nanakana Sahib, Pakistan, he added.

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

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SikhsIndia blog domain is now www.SikhsIndia.blogspot.in instead of www.SikhsIndia.blogspot.com. It seems the ID has been changed automatically after the intervention of Govt. for the control on the social media. Therefore, please note the FRESH DOMAIN though, still for the time being, the blog is opening on both of the Domains.

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Complainant denies filing affidavit in case against dera chief

BATHINDA: In a new turn to the case against Dera Sachha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh wearing clothes similar to that of 10th guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, and hurting sentiments of community members, the complainant on Saturday told the court that he had not submitted any affidavit to police stating that he was not present at Dera Salabatpura in Punjab and did not see the dera chief dressed up like the Sikh guru.

Complainant Rajinder Singh Sidhu, who had been issued summons by court on January 28 to remain present in court on Saturday, told the court that he had not filed any affidavit. Sidhu, who is president of Khalsa Diwan Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Bathinda, moved an application in the court seeking documents submitted by police on his behalf. Sidhu told TOI that the affidavit was filed by police on January 27 in the court, along with statements of two other people. The court has now adjourned the case to February 11.

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

DSGMC - Sarna ji - 1st Feb. 2012 - Part 2 : SikhsIndia

Press conference by DSGMC President Sd. Param jit Singh Sarna ji on DSGMC Elections, Bala Sahib Hospital, Free mediclaim policy for BPL Sikh community of Delhi, Re development of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib. : Video by : SikhsIndia

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Amrit Bani Granth installed at Ravidassia shrine

JALANDHAR: Two years after announcing the founding of Ravidassia religion by Dera Ballan, the Asi-Dharmi community has finally installedAmrit Bani Granth at the Guru Ravidass dham - the biggest and most opulent upcoming shrine of the community - in Buta Mandi area of Jalandhar.

Dera Ballan had announced to found the new religion on January 30, 2010, on the occasion of birth anniversary of Guru Ravidass after the killing of its deputy head Sant Ramanand in May 2009 at a temple in Vienna by some Sikh radicals.

Earlier, the dera gave prime place to Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib and every religious ceremony was performed around it. Guru Ravidass Dham is managed by Sri Guru Ravidass Education and Charitable Trust, which is headed by Seth Satpal Mall, a close confidant of Dera Ballan management, who was an aspirant of Congress ticket in the assembly election but could not get it.

The management had been avoiding installing the Amrit Bani Granth while replacing Bir of Guru Granth Sahib for the last two years even as there was strong demand from a sizeable chunk of the population in Buta Mandi, a stronghold of the community, and radical elements of the community had even been castigating the management.

Ravidass Dham has a grand structure and work on it has been going on for the last few years. Around a year back there has been a vertical divide in the management over its control and also over the issue of replacing Guru Granth Sahib with Amrit Bani.

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