Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Sikh Light Infantry is best marching contingent
New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) Army's Sikh Light Infantry has been awarded the best marching contingent among the three Services at the Republic Day parade this year while the CRPF contingent bagged the honours in the paramilitary and auxiliary forces category.
"In the Services category, Territorial Army (Sikh LI) has been adjudged the best marching contingent in the Republic Day Parade 2014.
With thanks : PTI News : LINK
Breaking News : 1984 Riots
Delhi govt will form an SIT on 1984 anti-Sikh riots after all discussion; justice will be done: Delhi Assembly Speaker M.S. Dhir.
With thanks : India Today : LINK
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Worshippers escape as lightning hits Sikh temple
IANS
London, Jan 27: Worshippers at a Sikh temple in the British city of Leicester had a lucky escape when its roof collapsed after being struck by lightning.
CCTV footage showed a group of elderly women were singing hymns at the Ramgarhia Sikh Temple in Leicester on Jan 25 afternoon when a bolt of lightning struck, blowing a hole in the roof and sending worshippers fleeing in panic.
The rear wall and roof of the temple collapsed, media reported.
One person who suffered minor injuries was discharged after treatment at a hospital.
Temple president Indy Panesar told Leicester Mercury that it could have been a lot worse as there were 250 people in the prayer room about half an hour before the strike.
"There were about 20 people in the main prayer hall, with some of them being the old women singing,” Leicester Mercury quoted Panesar as saying.
"It is a miracle no one was seriously hurt or killed," Panesar said. He said the temple's holy scriptures were not damaged in the roof fall.
"The scriptures were in the main prayer hall and could have taken a direct hit but did not,” he said.
"One of the women respectfully collected them and we put them in a safe place. That was another amazing piece of good fortune."
with thanks : IANS : LINK
Relics of Guru Gobind Singh to be shifted to Takht Kesgarh Sahib
PATIALA: the Punjab government has finally declared that Nabha is not an "ideal location" to display the over 300-year-old relics of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh and these would be kept at Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib. Residents of Nabha had given several representations in this regard and even fought a lengthy legal battle to convince the state government to display relics of Guru Gobind Singh in their town.
The state government has taken the decision on the basis of the report submitted by the five-member committee, which included officials of the Patiala district administration and department of archaeology and culture, set up to exploring suitability of a site for displaying relics at Nabha.
Acting on a petition filed by Gurmail Singh, who pleaded that sentiments of Nabha residents should be considered while deciding a site to display the relics, the Punjab and Haryana high court had on December last year directed the state government to examine the "suitability of the location of the place as suggested by the petitioner."
The petitioner had pleaded that the relics could be placed either at Gurdwara Sangat Sar Sahib or Gurdwara Deep Baba Ajaypal Singh (Ghorewala Gurdwara). However, the state government has decided that both sites are not suitable to keep the relics.
"The court had ordered us to select an appropriate site in consultation with the people of Nabha. Acting on the order, we had formed a committee that had the deputy commissioner and the director (culture affairs) as its members. After consulting all quarters, the committee has recommended that there is no ideal place in Nabha to display the relics. Hence, these would be shifted to Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib," said S S Channy, principal secretary, department of archaeology and cultural affairs.
Of the total 14 relics, some of those belonging to Guru Gobind Singh were handed over to the state government by Delhi-based descendants of Nabha royals after a court order in 2008. In December 2013, the descendants of Nabha royals had agreed to hand over the rest of the relics to the state government.
with thanks : Times of India : LINK
Sikh businessman sues AAP's Vishwas for 'insulting community'
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas has once again landed in trouble, this time for allegedly insulting the Sikh community.
Sikh businessman Manjit Singh Abrol, 56, has filed the case against Vishwas at the Chembur police station after watching a video that showed Vishwas allegedly making fun of the community during a show some years ago.
"The video is clearly derogatory and has hurt the sentiments of our community," said Abrol.
AAP leaders said complaints against Vishwas are completely "motivated" to prevent him from fighting the elections against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
with thanks : Dailymail : LINK
Monday, January 27, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Delegation from Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Religion & Worldview, K.U.Leuven, Belgium, at Golden Temple, Amritsar
Thanks Dr Gurdeep Kaur & K U Leuven, Belgium
Pentagon to relax rules on personal religious wear — including beards, turbans
The Pentagon on Wednesday is expected to announce widespread changes to rules governing religious items and religion-based physical attributes that service members can maintain while in uniform — including beards, some religious tattoos, and turbans.
NBC News obtained an early draft of the new Department of Defense instruction which states that the military will make every effort to accommodate “individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs” (conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs) of service members.
It goes on to say that unless doing so could have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, health and safety, or any other military requirement, commanders can grant service members special permission to display their religious articles while in uniform.
Requests for religious accommodation can be denied when the “needs of mission accomplishment outweigh the needs of the service member,” the directive will explain.
Earlier this month, a major in the U.S. Army who is a Sikh American took his case to staffers on the Hill, explaining how he and other Sikhs should be able to serve in uniform and still maintain their religious beliefs, including wearing turbans and unshorn hair, including beards.
The new directive will explain that if the articles of faith or physical attributes interfere with the proper function of protective clothing and equipment, the request could be denied. For example, a beard or unshorn hair cannot interfere with gas masks or helmets.
Jewish service members can request permission to wear a yarmulke while in uniform. Muslim service members can request to wear a beard and carry prayer beads. Even Wiccan service members, those who practice "Magick," can seek accommodation — the directive covers all religions recognized by the U.S. military.
The policy will also spell out that service members have the right to observe no religion at all.
According to Defense Department statistics, which are based solely on self-reporting, there are only a handful of Sikh Americans in the military (about 3).
There are nearly 3,700 Muslims, nearly 6,300 Buddhists, and more than 1,500 Wiccans.
The immediate commander can approve some of the religious accommodation, but some will have to be kicked up to higher headquarters.
In some cases wearing something that impacts the uniform (religious apparel), grooming (beards, longer hair), religious tattoos, and some jewelry with religious inscriptions.
The directive stresses that “the importance of uniformity and adhering to standards, of putting unit before self, is more significant and needs to be carefully evaluated when considering each request for accommodation.”
It goes on to say that “it is particularly important to consider the effect on unit cohesion.”
Each individual service member has to re-apply for new permission at each new assignment, transfer of duty stations, and for each deployment.
with thanks : USNEWS : NBCNEWS : LINK
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