HAPPY DEEPAWALI

A little flicker of light in endless darkness makes a difference..HAPPY DEEPAWALI wishes to all !

Happy Diwali : Data Bandi Chor Diwas Diyaan Lakh Lakh Wadhaiyaan hovan ji !

Auction of Sikh Empire’s artifacts in Britain

London: An 1805 report, first-hand accounts, a book and and a few paintings throwing light on the life of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, under whom the Sikh empire expanded to its maximum, will go under the hammer at Mullock’s auction house here on Nov 5.

One of the highlights of the auction will be an early edition of the “History of the Sikhs” by Joseph Davy Cunningham which was published in 1853. It is considered the first extensive work on the Sikhs by a European, said a statement here Monday.

Other items on sale will be a first-hand account of the Sikhs by John Malcolm (1813), an 1803 account by the Marquis of Wellesley, portraits of Ranjit Singh and Gulab Singh, a rare 19th century British cast model, a fine engraving of the Nihangs dating to 1844, an early drawing of Ranjit Singh, an illustrated book on the Sikh court of Lahore by a Russian traveller, and the earliest European view of the Golden Temple dating to 1836.

“This is one of earliest accounts of Ranjit Singh, he would have been at the tender age of 25, a young ambitious man who was set to rule a vast empire. He was clearly an obstacle to the British expanding their territory in India,” specialist Richard Westwood-Brookes said of the 1803 account. 

“This sale is very unique as it sheds light on the Sikh empire and religion from the eyes of the British and European explorers of the 19th century,” he added.

with thanks : Mizo News : LINK

Zee TV - Dance India Dance - Season 4 - with Choreographers Feroz Khan & Muddassar Khan : Indiblogger

Dance India Dance - Season 4 : with Indiblogger : What an event. Great fun & enjoyment. The new judges of the Dance India Dance - Season 4, Choreographers Feroz Khan & Mudassar Khan were really friendly. The Indiblogger team really co - operative. It was all fun & enjoyment. Never expected this much from Indiblogger. But Thanks to the entire Indiblogger Team for this fun filled evening.

And than it was the SKIT. So many entries & so many groups. It was our turn & i proved the metal, i proved that i am a true Punjabi. I spoke in my true spirit, in my own Punjabi language to save a girl from eve teasers.

My performance was so strong that everyone started clapping & shouting. My husband sitting in front was also laughing loudly. The judges the Choreographers, both Feroz Khan & Mudassar Khan were clapping. They appreciated me in true Punjabi style. 

Now it was the results time. My heart was beating loudly. And than it was announced that we were the winners. Both the judges again appreciated me and my True Punjabi style. It was joy n fun every where. Great time. Great enjoyment. Never expected this much from Indiblogger.

We ran towards the stage & both the Judges of the great Dance India Dance, Season 4 team joined us. We were given our prizes and than Choreographers Feroz Khan & Mudassar khan taught us various dancing Steps. Never expected that we will learn our first dancing steps from the Judges of the Dance India Dance Season 4 team. And after that everyone present there just DANCED, DANCED & DANCED. I can never forget such a fun filled event. Thanks Dance India Dance - Season 4. Thanks Indiblogger.

Sikh clergy should look hard at itself over sentencing of priest

Ajai Singh, the son of former Akal Takht chief, will now serve 90 days in jail, followed by 18 months probation. He was visiting Canada earlier this year when the incident was first reported to police on February 9.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.

UK drive to get Sikhs on organ donor list

A new drive has been launched to overcome the extreme shortage of British Sikhs on the organ donation list of the UK.

Members of the Asian community are more likely to need a transplant but wait longer than the general population in Britain for a match.

According to official figures, only around two per cent of organ donors each year are Asian but the community makes up nearly a fifth of those needing a transplant.

The National Health Service (NHS) has kicked off a targeted campaign across the country, starting with the Sikh community, to urge them to join its Organ Donor Register.

A series of TV programmes titled "Organ Donation: Let's Make a Difference" will air from next week in collaboration with Sikh community channel Sangat TV and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust's organ donation committee.

"We believe organ donation fits with the Sikh faith and that there is a real need in this community for more donors. If more people registered. more lives could be saved and members of the community might not face waiting longer than others when they need a transplant," said John Bleasdale, clinical lead for organ donation at the NHS Trust.

The TV shows, in a mix of Punjabi and English, feature a man, Satnam Kang, who is waiting for a kidney transplant and talks about the difficulties of being on dialysis at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

with thanks : Indian Express : LINK : for detailed news.

SAD to contest in 12 seats in Delhi polls

Eyeing a pan-India footprint after its huge success in the recent Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has apparently decided to contest alone in 12 seats in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

The decision to start legwork in 12 constituencies was taken after the Akalis failed to reach a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP, its alliance partner in Punjab.

In line with this, the Akalis will contest these seats even if the BJP fields candidates for these seats.

The 12 constituencies chosen by the SAD are Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar, Moti Nagar, Timarpur, Adarsh Nagar, Greater Kailash, Kalkaji, Parparganj, Shadara, Shakur Basti and Vishvas Nagar.

Explaining the reason behind the move, a party leader said, “The BJP is not able to decide on sharing seats with the SAD. With little time to go for the elections, the leadership has asked us to contest from the seats having a big chunk of Punjabi and Sikh population independently.”

The reason for the parting of ways in Delhi was the deadlock over Rajouri Garden and Tilak Nagar seats. The BJP wanted the Akalis to chose from one of these.

The development does not bode well for both the allies. According to SAD sources, the party can barely hope to get one seat while the BJP could lose the seats where SAD puts up candidates. Sources said its Delhi unit is going to start holding poll meetings in the 12 constituencies from Tuesday.

The announcement of BJP’s Delhi state unit president Harshvardhan as chief ministerial candidate in place of unit president Vijay Goel has the BJP men in Delhi in a state of flux.

In the 2008 Assembly elections, the SAD had contested four seats - Rajouri Garden, Adarsh Nagar, Jangpura and Shahdara - but lost all of them.

Of these two were fought on the SAD symbol and two were fought on the BJP symbol.

SAD Spokesman Daljeet Singh Cheema said, “Our talks with the BJP are going on and the final decision is yet to be taken.

“We hope things will work. The Delhi unit of the party had a meeting with SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and they have apprised him of the situation.”

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal had been maintaining from day one that his party would contest the Delhi Assembly elections in alliance with the BJP.

with thanks : Indian Express : LINK

California Sikh student kicked off bus for refusing to remove kirpan

A Sikh college student in California was kicked off a bus for wearing his faith.

20-year-old Harsimram Singh said an Amtrak bus driver alerted the police after spotting him with the kirpan, a curved ceremonial knife that baptized Sikhs are required to carry at all times.

According to the New York Daily News, cops told him to store the kirpan in the luggage compartment or find another way to travel. Singh chose to stick to his religion.

The University of California - Davis student said that he has been riding Amtrak for two years, sometimes with the same driver, and has never had an issue before.

Singh said that he often wears his kirpan around campus and has traveled before with it on Amtrak, but this was the first time he's encountered any sort of problem.

Amtrak's policy is that knives and weapons should be stored in checked luggage. The Transportation Safety Agency enforces the same rules on airplanes, the report added.

with thanks : Business Standard : LINK

UN raps France for asking Sikh to remove turban for Id photo

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has concluded that the religious freedom of 57-year-old Shingara Mann Singh was violated when he was asked by French authorities to remove his turban for his passport photograph.

A French citizen since 1989, Shingara couldn’t renew his passport in 2005 because the authorities insisted that he remove the turban for his ID photograph, which he refused to do. A legal team of the NGO United Sikhs  took up his case in French courts and then engaged O’Melveny & Myers LLP to file a petition with the UNHRC in December 2008.

The UNHRC, in a statement dated September 26, 2013 but made public last week, said France had failed to explain why the restriction imposed on Shingara was necessary. The international rights body found that the restrictions resulted in a potential obstruction to his fundamental right to freedom of religion when he was required to appear in ID photos without the religious headwear that he always wore, as he might thereafter be forced to take off his turban in public when going through ID checkpoints.

The UNHRC also observed that France had not explained why wearing a turban covering the upper portion of the head and forehead(leaving the face clearly visible) makes it more difficult to identify the wearer, or why a bare-headed ID photograph in Shingara’s case would make it easier to ascertain his identity or to prevent fraud or forgery given that he always wore a turban in public.

“This is the third turban case that the United Sikhs legal team has won at the UN since these cases were filed against France in 2008. This shows the international community recognises that wearing a turban is not only a Sikh’s religious duty but also a part of his identity,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, international legal director of the NGO.

with thanks : newindianexpress : LINK

Army Enlisted Sikh Soldier Earns Rare Promotion

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina, United States

Simranpreet Lamba, the Army’s only enlisted Sikh soldier, was promoted to corporal, making him the first Sikh to earn that rank in more than 30 years, according to the News Tribune.

“I kind of think all my hard work has paid off,” said Lamba, whose enlistment in 2009 triggered a ten-month review in which Army officials considered whether he could serve while sporting a turban, uncut hair and a beard.

He is one of a handful of Sikhs serving in the Army across the active-duty and Reserve forces, according to the New York-based Sikh Coalition. Two of the others are in the medical field as officers, one a dentist and one a doctor.

Lamba, 29, hopes his promotion will show “there’s nothing about being Sikh, about our turban and our beard that can stop us from excelling in the Army,” he said.

He enlisted through a military program that recruits foreigners with special skills and offers them a path to citizenship. Lamba, who has become a naturalized U.S. citizen, speaks Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.

He moved to America from New Delhi in 2006 and found his way to the Army after he earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering from New York University.

The Indian American said he always wanted to serve his country in uniform. Enlisting let him fulfill that dream.

His promotion from specialist to corporal was a lateral move, but it signifies that he’s doing well and is on a path to becoming a sergeant. He’d be the first Sikh sergeant in decades if he earned that rank.

with thanks : Indiawest : LINK

Happy Gurupurab !