Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee contributes towards Campaign for Sikh Identity in USA

Manjit Singh G K, DSGMC President with Dr. Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and Senior Advisor to the Washington based National Sikh Campaign

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee President Manjit Singh GK announced a contribution of $10,000 towards an awareness campaign to educate Americans about Sikhism and Sikh Identity. 

Manjit Singh GK, President  & Manjinder Singh Sirsa, General  Secy. of DSGMC, appeared with Dr. Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and Senior Advisor to the Washington based National Sikh Campaign, in New Delhi in a press meet and endorsed an American Sikh plan to reach out to millions of fellow Americans. This awareness initiative is being spearheaded by newly formed National Sikh Campaign (NSC) based in Washington. NSC has engaged AKPD, a high profile media consultancy founded by President Obama’s top political strategists David Axelrod and David Plouffe, which has managed Obama’s senate election and two presidential campaigns. APKD has submitted a plan to launch a presidential style nationwide media campaign on Sikhs.

Sikhs in the United States have faced numerous incidents of violence, discrimination and prejudice since 9/11 due to ignorance about Sikhism. A country- wide survey and polling was conducted by Hart Research Associates headed by Geoffrey Garrin, Hillary Clinton’s former top political strategist. The purpose of this most comprehensive study about Sikhs in America was to identify the problem of ignorance and confusion about Sikh identity and suggest remedies for them. The findings of this national research was released last month which concluded that 60% of Americans knew nothing about Sikhs and only 3% of them have interacted with Sikhs. Over 48% identified them as either Arabs or Muslims. 54% of the Americans were neutral towards Sikhs and 16% were cool. However, upon learning about the Sikhs, Americans warmed up to them across demographics. AKPD will prepare ads based on these findings and these ads will be vetted by experts before national media campaign is launched.

Manjit Singh GK said, “We feel that DSGMC has the moral responsibility to support such innovative strategies to fight ignorance and prejudice against Sikhs and to educate all non-Sikhs about Sikh religion and its traditions. We are satisfied with this approach and this will help in changing the perception of the Sikhs in USA.  We stand behind any plan to make our community strong in America.”

Dr. Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and Senior Advisor to the National Sikh Campaign, said, “We are grateful to DSGMC for this kind gesture and it sends a strong message to the entire American Sikh community that Sikhs in India care for them. This is the most significant step taken by the Sikh community in the United States and this kind of high level media campaign is critical for our community’s standing. There is no substitute for media strategy and it is imperative that all Sikhs join in this effort. We appeal to all Sikhs to contribute generously to make sure our coming generations do not face the negative environment.”

Gurwin Singh Ahuja, Co-Founder of NSC, said, “DSGMC’s support is big boost to this effort and we are highly encouraged by this contribution. We are confident that this campaign will produce the desired results for the community.”

With thanks : Media DSGMC 

National Seminar in SGND Khalsa College on "Guru Granth Sahib in 21st Century: Traditions & Modernity"

"Guru Granth Sahib in 21st Century" :National Seminar in SGND Khalsa College,University of Delhi

NEW TEAM OF DSGMC

With Thanks : Media DSGMC

Britain reconsiders idea of Sikh unit in army !

with thanks : Hindustan Times dated 25th Feb., 2015

Best wishes for the International Turban day

Best wishes for the International Turban day. Hope we can teach the coming generations about the value of a Sikh Turban.

Man who ran over Sikh man in New York indicted on hate crime charges

“The defendant is accused of an unprovoked attack that allegedly began with the defendant driving by the victim and his friends and calling him a terrorist and ordering him to leave the country,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a news release. “After an exchange of words, the defendant allegedly struck the victim intentionally with his vehicle and dragged him along the street.”NEW YORK: A man who racially abused a Sikh man in Queens, New York, Sandeep Singh, 29, and then ran him over with his truck last July 30, has been indicted on hate crime charges, after he was charged with attempted murder and felony assault.

A Queens County grand jury returned an indictment against Joseph Caleca, 55, of Setauket, on Wednesday, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office, reported CBS.

with thanks : americanbazaronline : LINK : for detailed news.

SGPC chief elected head of Patna Sahib panel

AMRITSAR: Paramjit Singh Sarna-led SAD (Delhi) suffered a huge blow as SAD (Badal) wrested the control of Takht Patna Sahib Management Board on Friday. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Avtar Singh Makkar has been elected as the board president. Both Akali groups will also have a faceoff in the executive committee elections of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) next week.

Makkar was elected with majority votes from 15 members of the board. SAD (Badal) president Sukhbir Singh Badal had sent DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK and general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa as his special 'envoys' to Patna for the elections. Both of them had paraded their loyalist board members in the recent past at Chandigarh.

with thanks : TOI : LINK : for detailed news.

Exhibit on Sikhs in Texas

The Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) at the University of Texas in San Antonio will host an exhibit “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab” from February 21, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

Developed by the Smithsonian Institution and sponsored by the Sikh Heritage Foundation, it “features a collection of traditional Sikh art, information on the culture’s history and beliefs, artifacts such as ceremonial weapons and armor, and a model of the Golden Temple.” March 21 will be “Sikh Family Day,” offering hands-on opportunities to learn about the Sikhs and their traditions.

Religious statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, commended ITC for sharing the rich Sikh heritage with the rest of the world through this Sikhism focused exhibition. Sikhs had made remarkable contributions to the world, nation and society and these needed to be highlighted, Zed added.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that world needed to have a broader and more inclusive outlook about religion and urged major museums/art-galleries of the world to organize more such exhibitions.

with thanks : eturbonews : LINK : for detai;led news.

US Sikhs hire Obama’s poll gurus to fix community’s public image

If they could help an obscure politician win a senate seat and then the White House, twice, they surely have what it takes to help a beleaguered community find acceptance.

AKPD, a media consultancy founded by President Barack Obama’s top campaign managers, has been hired by US Sikhs to re-introduce the community to Americans.

Though Sikhs have been around for a long time, they have felt threatened, and have been attacked, by those who know either little or nothing about them, specially since 9/11.

A country-wide survey commissioned to identify the problem and suggest remedies — whose findings were released on Tuesday — came to basically two conclusions.

One, Americans don’t know anything about Sikhs and were, therefore, cool towards them. Two, when informed about the community, its religion, they warmed up to it.

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

RPS Butter Fly Valves