HAPPY HOLI !!

No foul play suspected in fire that ripped through Sikh temple off Sutherland Avenue

KNOXVILLE — Authorities said there is nothing suspicious about a Friday morning fire that burst through the roof of East Tennessee’s only public Sikh gurdwara.

“This is the only public gurdwara (temple) in East Tennessee and it was the first public gurdwara in East Tennessee,” said Brandon Singh, music coordinator for the Sikh Sangat of East Tennessee.

Singh said the temple served several hundred Sikhs in East Tennessee, from Bristol to Chattanooga. He said 40-45 people regularly attended Sunday services.

Knoxville firefighters learned of the blaze shortly after midnight, according to Knoxville Fire Department spokesman Capt. D.J. Corcoran. A neighbor reported flames at the temple at 704 Washburn Road off Sutherland Avenue.

with thanks : KNOXNEWS : LINK : for detailed news.

Sikh killed in Khyber Pakhtunwa by unidentified assailants

A Sikh herbal merchant was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Khyber Pakhtunwa province of Pakistan.

The victim, Paramjit Singh, 35, was murdered in broad day light on Thursday when he was sitting at his shop. Another person, who came to his aid and tried to nab one of the assailants, was also killed.

The incident has sent shock waves amongst the minority Sikh community in the area.

This is the second murder of a member of the minority community in less than two months, and many victims has fallen prey to the bullets in the recent pasts.

Earlier, two Sikhs were abducted at gun point from Dera Ismail Khan and there is no news about their whereabouts.

Sikhs traders are living in fear because they are being asked to pay jaziya (a tax paid by minority religious group), and those who refuse, are killed.

The area is infested with the gun-toting fundamentalists, including Taliban who roam around in the area freely. There are more than 25000 Sikhs living in the area, and recently had been facing violence, abduction and ransom from the terrorists groups.

Swaran Singh, a member of the provincial assembly and former President of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, informed that he himself went to the place and brought the body back at Peshawar.

He said North West Frontier Province chief Minister Parvez Khattak has taken a personal interest in the killing of the Sikh gentleman and has assured security to the minority community and safety of their properties.

with thanks : Business Standard : LINK

Punjab: SAD caught in poll code breach row

The Congress in Punjab has lodged a complaint to the state Election Commission about its decision to allow the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal organise a "political conference" in Anandpur Sahib on March 16.

PCC president Pratap Singh Bajwa, in his complaint to Chief Electoral Officer V. K. Singh on March 10, had asked the CEO to ban the conference as it violates the model code of conduct. Bajwa said the conference venue is close to the famous gurdwara where lakhs of Sikh devotees pay a visit during Hola Mohalla.

A week-long fair, Hola Mohalla usually takes place mid-March beginning on the first day of Sikh New Year. Bajwa contended that the venue, where the Akali Dal is organising the conference on March 16, is the property of the Akali-dominated Shiromani gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC).

Acting on the Congress' complaint, Singh had asked the Deputy Commissioner, Roopnagar, to submit a report on the issue. Sources said the Deputy Commissioner, in his report, has informed Singh that the rally venue is not part of the gurdwara complex, but a part of the SGPC. The report also said that political rallies were also held previously during Hola Mohalla and elections.

"The rally ground is not part of gurdwara complex, but is owned by the SGPC. Rallies were organised at the same venue during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Hence, the permission to organise a rally can be given," the Deputy Commissioner said in its report.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Amarinder Singh accused the CEO of favouring the ruling Akali Dal and not taking any action on the complaints filed by the Congress and other parties. "He should quit his job if he has no moral courage to respond to the ever-increasing pile of complaints," Amarinder has said.

with thanks : India Today : LINK

Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Ji : SikhsIndia

Gurdwara Baba Buda ji : SikhsIndia

"Fateh Diwas in Delhi" : Fateh Diwas March Past

National Service Scheme students of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College,University of Delhi,Dev Nagar participated in "Delhi Fateh Diwas march past" from Tees Hazari to Red Fort on 9th March 2014  organised by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee ( DSGMC) .

Happy Women's Day !

Beautiful Pic Sachkhand Shri Hazur Sahib

Fateh Diwas in Delhi !

Abandoned Sikh youth reunites with uncle after 20 years

Vadodara: Joy of 21-year-old Vir Singh, abandoned by his father, knew no bounds when he reunited with his paternal uncle after a gap of about 20 years here. 

Vir, the youngest of the three siblings, was left at children's remand home 'Balgokulam' here by his father Biyant Singh when he was about one-and-a-half years old, since his mother had passed away and his father was finding it difficult to take care of him. 

Thereafter, his father went to Chandigarh along with his two elder sons and never got in touch with the remand home.

After Vir turned 18, the remand home's rules did not permit him to stay there any further, superintendent of Balgokulam, Seemaben Yadav said. 

However, being kind to him, the authorities employed him as a guard. 

"He was not entitled to stay in the Balgokulam after attaining the age of 18 years. So, we decided to employ him as a duty guard here as he had no place to go," Yadav said. 

In the meantime, Vir's uncle Santok Singh Tonk, a resident of Khodiyarnagar locality on Waghodiya road here, last week referred to his neighbour about his elder brother Biyant, who had died some time back, and his missing sons.

The neighbour then told him about a youth at the children's remand home, following which Santok Singh and his wife met Yadav claiming that they were Vir's uncle and aunt. 

Santok produced old family photographs and documents to establish the relationship to the remand home authorities, when they asked him to prove his relationship. 

Finally, after the verification, Vir met his uncle and aunt yesterday and was overjoyed meeting his family members. 

"I am very excited and delighted over meeting my uncle and aunty after a gap of 20 years and feel there is someone who are my close relatives and family members. I am sorry to learn about the death of my parents and missing elder brothers," Vir told a news agency today. 

"Though I am a Sikh, I do not know my mother tongue Punjabi, which I have started learning now," he said, adding that he will not give up his job as guard in Balgokulam, which took care of him all these years. 

PTI

with thanks : Zee News : LINK