Sikh community gets gift-of-life plea at Vaisakhi Parade

The streets of Surrey, B.C., were lined with tens of thousands of people for the city's Vaisakhi Parade Saturday, and amid the the day's food booths and other festivities, one group was trying to reach the South Asian community with a serious message.

Instead of giving things away in the tradition of Vaisakhi, volunteers with the Amar Karma Organ Donation Society spent the day asking people to sign up to give life.

The not-for-profit group is trying to raise awareness among South Asians about the need for organ donation. It is a community in which superstitions about the practice remain.

"It's our preconceived ideas about how organ donations work," said campaign manager Loveen Kaur Gill. "People even think, if I sign up, what will happen in my next birth?"

Gill says the participation rate in the South Asian community is among the lowest in Canada when it comes to registering for organ donation.

with thanks : Yahoo News : LINK : for detailed news story.

Sikh body opposes proposal to make helmets compulsory for women in Delhi : Jagran Post

Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has already given a green signal to the proposal that makes it compulsory for women to wear a helmet while riding on a two-wheeler. Since the Model Code of Conduct is in place in the capital, a go-ahead from the Election Commission has been sought by the Delhi transport department to take into account the recommendations and grievances of the common public in this regard.

After getting permission from the Election Commission, the opinion of the common public in this matter would be duly mulled over upon.

Necessary amendments would be then made in the Delhi Motor Vehicle Act to make it obligatory for every woman to put on helmet while driving or sitting on a two-wheeler.

According to the Central Motor Vehicle Act, all the two-wheeler riders and pillions are obliged to put on helmets while driving. Only Sikhs with uncut hairs do not come under this rule.

In 1993, during the tenure of Sahib Singh-led BJP government in Delhi, Sikh women were given permission to ride on a two-wheeler without a helmet following strong protests from the Sikh community at that time.

Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (DSGPC) president Manjit Singh GK has written a letter to Jung, urging him to allow Sikh women to drive or sit on a two-wheeler without the obligation of wearing a helmet.

In his letter to Jung, GK also referred to amendments made by Sahib Singh Verma-led government in the Delhi Motor Vehicle Act in 1993.

The DSGPC president also urged Jung to allow only elected representatives of the public to make any kind of amendments in this act. He added the basic principles of the Sikh religion does not approve of any kind of cap.

Several Baptist Sikh women wear ‘dumaalas’ (religious turban) on their heads and their heads have to be covered with heavy ‘chunni’  everytime, therefore it is not possible for them to put on helmets, GK wrote in his letter.

GK added that the decision to wear a helmet or not should be left on a Sikh woman’s prerogative.

with thanks : Jagran : LINK

Baisakhi Nagarkirtan in Cremona,Italy

Picture courtesy: Balwinder Bawa and Harpreet Kaur , Cremona,Italy

Subscribe SikhsIndia News Letter. It's Free !

Please log on to www.sikhsindia.blogspot.in

On the Top left there is a subscribe button.

Plz fill your mail ID, click enter.

It will ask to type a code.

Just do that n enter again.

AFTER THAT :

You will get a mail in your mail box.

Plz open it n click on the verification link.

You will be subscribed & its absolutely Free.

Thanks

Team

RWABhagidari

A Tribute to Khushwant Singh

The National Institute of Panjab Studies, Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, is arranging a function wherein Sh. Kuldip Nayar, Sir Mark Tully, Dr. J.S. Neki, Ms. Humra Quraishi and Mr.Ravi Singh will share their reminiscences about S.Khushwant Singh. Mrs. Gursharan Kaur, (wife of Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh) will preside the function.

S. Khushwant Singh was deeply attached to Bhai Sahib Bhai Vir Singhji and dedicated his book ‘Sacred Writings of the Sikhs’ first published by UNESCO in 1960 to Bhai Sahib.

Venue : Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan ,New Delhi

Date  :   Monday, 21st April, 2014 

 Time :  4.00 P.M.

SD. B S Kohli ( Mumbai ), speaking at BABA BANDA SINGH BAHADUR ENGINEERING COLLEGE, FATEHGARH SAHIB

Plz view the links below :

1.
Turbans a major hit on Global Fashion Circuit : LINK
2.
Indian and Pakistani faithful celebrate Sikh New Year : LINK

What a combination of Politics & Punjabi song

Cops foil AISC’s attempt to occupy site near Har-Ki-Pauri

HARIDWAR: The All India Sikh Conference's plan to forcibly occupy the site of Gurdwara Shri Gyan Godari Saheb near the Har-Ki-Pauri on Monday did not materialise as the police sealed all points of entry into the state and detained AISC president Sardar Gurcharan Singh Babbar along with hundreds of his supporters from Delhi and neighboring areas.

The group was stopped by the police when it attempted to enter into the state from Badiwala border at about 11.30am, Babbar said in a press release. The release also said the group was moving peacefully towards Har-Ki-Pauri when it was detained by the police. Haridwar SP Surjit Singh Panwar said there were over 100 people in the group.

In view the AISC threat, the area near Har-ki-Paudi, where the 450-year-old gurdwara stood, was cordoned off since early Monday morning. Heavy police force was deployed there under a deputy superintendent of police to ward off any trouble. Panwar told TOI that the Sikh leaders were persuaded not to foment trouble as the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls was in force.

Members of the Sikh community have been agitating for the possession of the gurdwara site for the past four years. Despite several rounds of talks between the Uttarakhand administration and the members of the community, no conclusion has been reached.

The purohit community was opposed to the idea of construction of a gurdwara in the vicinity of Har-Ki-Pauri. The episode threatened to create communal disturbance in the area. Meanwhile, Babbar ruefully said if a temple and gurdwara can co-exist elsewhere, why not in Haridwar?

with thanks : Times of India  :  LINK

Hair Sampling Bill Poses Threat to Sikh Operators in USA

On October 30, 2013, Congressman Eric “Rick” Crawford (R-AR) introduced the Drug Free Commercial Driver Act of 2013 (H.R. 3403). It has been co-sponsored by Representatives Tom Cotton (R-AR), Tim Griffin (R-AR), Reid Ribble (R-WI), Steve Womack (R-AR), Jeff Miller (R-FL), Sean Duffy, (R-WI), and Randy Weber (R-TX). As stands, the bill has been assigned to the Highways and Transit subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee.

This bill would allow Employers to force a Sikh operator to provide a hair sample, thereby preventing Sikhs from seeking employment as operators due to their inability to cut their hair for any purpose.Once again,Sikhs would have to choose between employment, and their faith.

United Sikhs have vigorously been tracking this bill, reaching out to other organizations, and creating dialogue with the appropriate staffers on this bill to educate them on the tenants of the Sikh faith and how detrimental this would be to our community.

 Last year,United Sikhs wrote a legal demand letter to a trucking company in Arizona which refused to hire an elderly Sikh unless he submitted a freshly cut sample of his hair for drug testing. The company refused to accept urinalysis, or other means of testing which are commonly used in the trucking industry. After failing to get a response to their letter, United Sikhs filed a complaint with the EEOC who are currently investigating the matter.

If this proposed bill goes through, it will unfold disastrous consequences for Sikh truck drivers. It will essentially give the trucking industry a free hand to impetuously reject Sikh applicants .

Devout Sikhs should not be forced to choose between employment, and their faith. 

 While this bill has not yet been brought to a vote,  United Sikhs urge community to sign this petition  to your elected officials, especially constituents of those officials who have sponsored, or co-sponsored the bill, and request them not to proceed with it. The officials should be informed of the detrimental effect of this bill on the Sikh community, and that overall, it stands in stark contrast to the free exercise clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

With thanks :

www.unitedsikhs.org

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50846/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=13648

Baisakhi Celebration and Gatka demonstration in Hoepertingen ,Belgium

    
























Photo's Courtsy of Louke Manpreet Kaur Bamps