National Service Scheme Unit,Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa Colleg(Dev Nagar,University of Delhi)along with Prncipal Dr.Man Mohan Kaur and NSS Programme Officers:Dr Gurdeep Kaur and Dr.Bhagwant Kour
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Sikh temple shooter's death ruled a suicide
MILWAUKEE -- The man who killed six
Sikh worshippers at a Wisconsin temple before fatally shooting himself
had a history of alcohol problems and underwent a noticeable personality
change in the preceding year, according to an investigative report
released Tuesday.
Wade Michael Page's sister told investigators he
had a bloated appearance that made her wonder if he had been drinking
recently, the report said. Kimberly Van Buskirk also said she noticed
her brother become more intense over the past year, as if he had lost
his wit and sense of humor. He took everything literally, she said.
Page,
40, opened fire Aug. 5 before a service was to start at the Sikh Temple
of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee. He killed six people and wounded
four others before he was shot in the abdomen during a firefight with
police. He died after he shot himself in the head.
The Milwaukee County medical examiner's office, which released the
investigative report, officially ruled his death a suicide.
Page's
sister told authorities her brother didn't use drugs but had a history
of alcohol problems. She did not immediately return a phone message left
Tuesday by The Associated Press.
Online court records show Page
had a history of drunken driving and a 1994 arrest in Texas after Page
got drunk and kicked holes in the wall of a bar.
Toxicology reports, which would show whether he had drugs or alcohol in his system during the shooting spree, are still pending.
Oak
Creek Police Chief John Edwards, whose officers responded to the
shooting, said it would be an "excuse" to blame alcohol for what Page
did. Many people drink alcohol, but they don't commit murder, he said.
"He
has those thoughts, and they're there. The alcohol didn't cause that,"
Edwards said. "So whether he had that or not, I don't think that's the
cause or the root of it."
The FBI and local authorities are still
trying to piece together Page's motive in the attack. He had ties to
white supremacy groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center
civil rights group, and had recently broken up with his girlfriend.
In
the days after the shooting, there was speculation that Page targeted
Sikhs because he mistook them for Muslims because of their beards and
turbans. Edwards said Tuesday he didn't think Page was targeting Sikhs
or Muslims, but he declined to explain why, citing the ongoing
investigation.
"There's been no specific group he was after or
disliked more than the other," Edwards said. "It was a group that was
different from him. ... It's a person with hate."
Edwards joined
Oak Creek's mayor and fire chief at a lunch meeting where they discussed
the emergency response to the shooting rampage. Edwards said there was
initial confusion because of language difficulties - dispatchers thought
the Sikhs were reporting "fighting" when they were actually saying
"firing," in reference to gunfire.
One temple member asked why
police took more than 12 hours to release the victims' identities, while
their relatives agonized in uncertainty. Edwards said police had
limited options.
with thanks : sacbee : LINK : for detailed news.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Another Sikh killed in USA
A 43-year-old clean-shaven Sikh was allegedly murdered by unidentified persons at Fresno in California, USA, on Thursday.
The miscreants allegedly killed Kashmir Singh in a bid to loot a convenience store, where he worked as a cashier.
He hailed from Patran town of Patiala district and had migrated to California in 1995.
As the news reached his hometown, a pal of gloom descended on the residence of his brother-in-law Harcharan Singh.
"Earlier, he worked as a truck driver. However, he changed his
profession after recession and started working as cashier at a
convenience store," said Harcharan Singh.
|
He said the assailants had allegedly thrashed Kashmir with iron rods, which proved fatal.
|
He said the assailants had allegedly thrashed Kashmir with iron rods, which proved fatal.
"He was a peace-loving person. He even helped his brothers and a sister to migrate to the USA. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter," he added.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.
Sonia concerned over security of Sikhs abroad: Cong MLA
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is concerned over the security of Sikhs
in the US and has advised the Prime minister and External Affairs
Ministry to take up the matter with the country's administration,
Congress MLA from Patiala (Rural) Brahm Mohindra said.
Speaking at the bhog ceremony (rituals) of Subegh Singh, one of the
six victims of the Oak Creek Gurudwara shooting in the US, at Rattangarh
village here, Mohindra said the UPA government has asked the Obama
administration to ensure security of Sikhs.
Six Sikh worshippers, including four Indian nationals, were killed
when a white supremacist went on a shooting rampage inside the Gurudwara
on August 5.
with thanks : Business standard : LINK
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Navdeep Singh: Sikh's experience gives new meaning to 'white supremacy'
Believers in white supremacy are basically ignorant and
misguided on the values and beauty of humanity and coexistence. In the
wake of the tragic shootings in the Milwaukee-area Sikh temple and
subsequent events, I offer a different perspective of "white supremacy."
I
am an ordinary Sikh living in Waunakee. The aftermath of the shootings
has actually revealed what true white supremacy is. The white members of
my community have cut across their faith allegiances and embraced the
grief of the Sikh community.
In every possible way they lent their
shoulders, their hands, their souls — everything to apply healing balm
to the Sikhs. This includes not only the institutions such as Dane
County government, the police, the churches and the press, but
individuals, too — everybody contributing in their own way. They proved
that the effects of sorrow and grief are diminished if shared.
We
as a Sikh community are indebted to them for their acts of kindness,
humility, tender care and serving. This is what supremacy is and should
be.
For those ignorant believers, here's a word of advice which I
am sure will fall on deaf ears: Bravery is not about holding the gun but
facing it. God bless.
— Navdeep Singh, Waunakew
with thanks : madison : LINK
Saturday, August 25, 2012
How Hate Gets Counted
By
SIMRAN JEET SINGH and PRABHJOT SINGH
The horrific shooting at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee on Aug. 5,
in which a white supremacist, Wade M. Page, killed six people before
fatally shooting himself, elicited an outpouring of sympathy from
American leaders and a greater understanding of the role Sikhs have
played in American life.
But there are two disturbing aspects of the response to the shooting that deserve wider public attention.
First is the notion of “mistaken identity” — the assumption that Mr.
Page, who had long-established ties to radical right-wing groups,
mistook Sikhs for Muslims, his presumed target. The second is the
government’s failure to accurately measure the extent of anti-Sikh
violence in America — a gap that must be remedied.
Whatever the roots of Mr. Page’s hatred, it is wrong to assume that
every attack against a Sikh is really meant for a Muslim. That
assumption overlooks the long history of discrimination and hatred
directed at Sikhs in America.
Indeed, the first documented race riot targeting American Sikhs occurred
in 1907 in Bellingham, Wash. Their distinct religious identity (uncut
hair, turban, beard) has historically marked Sikhs, particularly men, as
targets for discrimination, both in their homeland in South Asia and in
the various communities of the Sikh diaspora. And of course, 9/11
brought about a surge in fear and persecution directed at Sikhs, Muslims
and other minorities with ties to the Middle East and South Asia.
There is also the question of whether white supremacist groups have
specifically targeted American Sikhs. The authorities in Southern
California, where Mr. Page was active in the white-power music scene,
are investigating whether he was involved in the killings of two elderly
Sikh men in Elk Grove, Calif., in March 2011. Just after the temple
shooting, a Sikh man in Oak Creek, Wis., reported that a white man had
pulled up next to him in a pickup truck, shaped his hands like a gun,
and pretended to shoot him six times before stating, “We want to kill
all of you.”
And on Aug. 15, 10 days after the Oak Creek shooting, another member of
the Sikh community there, Dalbir Singh, 56, was killed in the armed
robbery of a local convenience store. (While the police have not
uncovered any evidence to treat the killing as a hate crime, many Sikhs
have wondered if the violence was more than random.)
White supremacist Web sites clearly demonstrate intentional, targeted
anti-Sikh sentiments. For example, the leading neo-Nazi figure Alex
Linder was quoted as saying on a right-wing Web site: “Take your dead
and go back to India and dump their ashes in the Ganges, Sikhs. You
don’t belong here in the country my ancestors fought to found, and
deeded to me and mine, their posterity. Even if you came here legally,
and even if you haven’t done anything wrong personally. Go home, Sikhs.
Go home to India where you belong. This is not your country, it belongs
to white men.”
The “mistaken identity” assumption is directly associated with a second
problem: a lack of data about the extent of anti-Sikh hatred.
The F.B.I.
currently classifies nearly all hate violence against American Sikhs as
instances of anti-Islamic or anti-Muslim hate crimes. As a result, we
do not have official statistics on the extent of hate crimes in which
Sikhs are targeted, despite a long history of such violence.
with thanks : nytimes : LINK : for detailed news.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Lt. Brian Murphy, heroic Brooklyn-born cop who was shot nine times while trying to stop Wisconsin Sikh temple massacre, released from hospital
The heroic Brooklyn-born cop who was shot nine times while trying to stop the Wisconsin Sikh temple massacre is out of the hospital.
Lt. Brian Murphy, a 21-year veteran of the Oak Creek, Wisc., police department, was released Wednesday, capping a miraculous recovery following the Aug. 5 tragedy that saw six worshipers killed.
The tough-as-nails officer was originally in critical condition after being struck in the neck by Michael Wade Page, a neo-Nazi.
His daughter, Erika, who lives in South Korea, took to Twitter to express her pride and relief.
“finally able to talk to my dad for the first time since the shooting,” the daughter posted Thursday. “he’s doing well and he sounds like batman. more proof he’s a superhero.”
Murphy, who moved to the Milwaukee area to be closer to his wife’s family, was the first to respond to reports of shots fired at the temple. Seconds after climbing out his cruiser, he was hit by a spray of bullets.
Despite being badly wounded, he waved off officers running to his rescue and directed them to tend to the injured worshippers.
His fellow Oak Creek police officers said that Murphy maintained his distinct New York accent. Murphy’s brother Terry just retired from the NYPD Intelligence Division.
with thanks : nydailynews : LINK for detailed news.
CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL for remembering WISCONSIN HATE CRIME VICTIMS.
Maria Cantwell calls for DOJ to track hate crimes against Sikh Americans
Sen. Maria Cantwell has joined with 18 other U.S. senators urging the
Department of Justice to track hate crimes against Sikh Americans.
Cantwell said she signed on to the bipartisan letter Thursday. Earlier in August, white supremacist Wade Michael Page shot and killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
"Until we have a more comprehensive understanding of the
number and type of hate crimes committed against Sikhs, our law
enforcement agencies will not be able to allocate the appropriate level
of personnel and other resources to prevent and respond to these
crimes," the letter said. "Moreover, the collection of this information
will likely encourage members of the Sikh community to report hate
crimes to law enforcement officials."
The Sikh Coalition had been asking for federal law enforcement to
track hate crimes against Sikh Americans. The Justice Department tracks
crimes committed against Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and
atheists, but lumps Sikhs in with "other religions."
This is a good first step, and an important show of support for the
Sikh American community from our leadership in Washington, D.C. I said
in a Tuesday column that the silence after the Sikh shooting was deafening, especially in light of the scrutiny around the shootings in Aurora, Colo. First lady Michelle Obama is also meeting with families of the victims.
with thanks : seattletimes : LINK for detailed news.
Michelle Obama Visting Sikh Shooting Victims' Families
OAK CREEK, Wis. — Mandeep Singh Khattra and his family
received Michelle Obama with an embrace Thursday as the first lady
consoled relatives of worshippers gunned down earlier this month at a
Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.
Obama spent nearly 90 minutes visiting with the Khattras and other families of Sikh worshippers who were killed or injured in the shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. She expressed her sympathies, offered support and listened to many stories about victims.
Relatives of the victims said afterward that Obama asked informed questions that showed she had read up on the plight of those killed and injured.
She especially seemed to know the story of Satwant Singh Kaleka, the temple president who tried to stab the gunman with a butter knife in an effort to stall him so women and children in the temple would have time to hide.
"The thing she kept repeating was, `Your father was a true hero,'" said Amardeep Kaleka.
The visits with worshippers were private, and she took no questions during a public appearance with the Oak Creek mayor and a temple official at a nearby high school. She offered sympathies to them in hushed tones, then went into a classroom for private visits with each of the families.
Six Sikhs were killed and three others injured when a gunman with ties to a white supremacist group strode opened fire at the temple. The gunman also shot Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy nine times at close range before killing himself.
Murphy was released from the hospital Wednesday. As a sign of their deep gratitude, temple members gave his family a $10,000 check along with a large banner signed by well-wishers, said Inderjeet Singh Dhillon, a temple official.
with thanks : Huffington Post : LINK for detailed news.
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