Gurmat samagam at Vivek Vihar !

Sleeping Sikh student's hair cut in Sainik school hostel

Kapurthala, September 02, 2012

A Class-11 Sikh student studying in a local Sainik School has alleged that someone cut his hair, while he was sleeping in his hostel on Saturday night. 

Harjinder Singh said he found his hair lying aside his bed when he woke up on Sunday morning. "Ten of us are living in a hall in the Patel House hostel. On Saturday night, we all went to sleep by 11.30. When I woke up at 5, I noticed the act," he said.

"It is a shameful act. We were informed by the school authorities about the incidence. My son is under depression," said Arminder Singh Makkar, the father of the victim, who is a resident of Jalandhar.

His mother Manprit Kaur said they should have been informed about the incident immediately. 

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Kapurthala, Paramjeet Singh and SHO Narinder Sharma reached the spot after getting the information.

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

HC panel indicts 64 schools for fee hike

Court-appointed committee finds schools unjustly hiked fee, recommends refund to the parents along with 9 per cent interest

NEW DELHI: A Delhi high courtappointed committee has indicted 64 private schools in the Capital for unjustifiably hiking tuition fees in 2009 and recommended that the amount increased be refunded to parents with 9% interest. 

 

The refund will include arrears, subsequent hikes in fee and development fee. The Delhi government had allowed schools to hike fees by up to 25% to enable them to implement the sixth pay commission report, which recommended upward revision of staff salary. 

The committee looked at the accounts of 200 out of 1,800 city private schools. It found that 64 — including 13 belonging to the Guru Harkishan Public Schools group — effected the fee hike but did not increase teachers' salaries. 

"They capitalised on the government order for unjust enrichment, causing great prejudice to students and parents," the three-member panel said in its interim report submitted to the court. It also slammed the government for having no control over the functioning of these schools. "They enjoyed unbridled freedom in acting in the manner they like." 

The court had ordered the inspection of school accounts on a public interest litigation filed by a parents' body. 

Apart from indicting 64 schools for unjustifiably hiking fees, the panel also found that at least 50 other schools had fudged account statements and concealed receipt books and made it difficult to ascertain the extent by which they hiked the fee. It also flayed the directorate of education for lack of supervisory control. 

Criticising the government, the panel said "if timely inspections were conducted, violation of rules would not have escaped the attention". 

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK

Alexandra Aitken: From party girl to super-Sikh

When it comes to her newfound spirituality, former socialite Alexandra Aitken means business.

 

As the sun rises over the dirt roads of Bani, a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, India, a solitary figure begins her morning prayer. She is barefoot, dressed in long, traditional robes. Her blonde hair, modestly wrapped in a white turban, is knotted on top of her head. On her left wrist, she wears a metal bracelet – the kara – a symbol of her devotion to the Sikh faith. 

The figure is Alexandra Aitken, former “It” girl and daughter of disgraced Tory Cabinet minister Jonathan. It is nearly two years since she gave up partying in London and Los Angeles and married a Sikh warrior from the Punjab. Now, Aitken is known as Uttrang Kaur Khalsa (“victorious return” in Punjabi). She moved to a small house in the holy city of Anandpur Sahib with her husband, Inderjot Singh, a member of the deeply religious Nihang sect. By day, she prays, meditates and practises yoga. By night, she studies religious texts and helps local women scrub the temple floors. 

Since her reinvention, Aitken has shunned tabloid attention. But this week she has been back in the headlines. The former socialite, pictured striding along an Indian road carrying a spear and ceremonial dagger, is rumoured to be living apart from her husband. Reports say she has retreated to an ashram run by a sect of yoga Sikhs, where other guests have not seen her husband in weeks. In July, Singh’s father, Brahmjit, died – but Aitken did not attend the family funeral. 

with thanks : Telegraph UK : LINK : for detailed news.

Gujarat Sikh farmers air their woes in Delhi

A delegation of Sikh farmers from Gujarat met Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, senior vice-president and spokesman of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) on Friday and apprised him of the condition of farmers there.
The delegation brought to Ramoowalia’s notice the Gujarat government’s decision to freeze ownership of the land that they have been cultivating in the state for decades.

Sikhs originally from Punjab and Haryana went to Gujarat in 1965-66 when Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime Minister had given priority to farmers from Punjab to settle in the border areas for security purpose.

“These families have permanent ownership over the land with valid proof, like credit card, subsidy record, ration card and electric bills,” he told reporters.

“However, now the Gujarat government is bent upon snatching their lands under the provisions of an old and abandoned Bombay Act, 1958, saying they are from other states,” Ramoowalia said. 

with thanks : Deccan Herald : LINK : for detailed news.

BHAI GHANAIYAJI SEWA MISSION (REGD.), AHMEDABAD

Happy Gurupurab

ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਸੰਗਤਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਜੁਗੋ ਜੁਗ ਅਟਲ, ਜਾਗਦੀ ਜੋਤ, ਧੰਨ ਧੰਨ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਦੇ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਪੁਰਬ ਦੀ ਲੱਖ ਲੱਖ ਵਧਾਈ ਜੀ ।

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Sikh creates history, offers prayers at US Republican Convention

 

Tampa (Florida): A Sikh priest has scripted history by offering invocation at the Republican National Convention, where he was invited by the party as part of its “healing touch” effort towards the community shocked by the Wisconsin gurdwara massacre.

Ishwar Singh, the head priest of the Sikh Society of Central Florida, offered invocation and brief opening remarks at the start of the convention’s second days’ proceedings here yesterday, immediately after America’s national anthem. “It was a great day for me and the Sikh community,” Singh told PTI after creating history.

This is the first time in the history of Republican national conventions that a Sikh went to the stage to offer invocation.

“It is a great honour for me to be here today as a Sikh and as an American. I am proud that my country cherishes the values of freedom, equality and dignity,” Singh, sporting a white pagri, said in his remarks in front of thousands of Republicans who had gathered from all across the country to nominate Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate.

Singh was invited for the invocation by the Republican party as part of its “healing touch” effort towards the Sikh community which was shocked and shattered by the killing of six worshippers in a gurdwara in Wisconsin on 5 August.

with thanks : Firstpost : LINK : for detailed news.

NSS UNIT,SGND Khalsa College,University of Delhi

National Service Scheme Unit,Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa Colleg(Dev Nagar,University of Delhi)along with Prncipal Dr.Man Mohan Kaur and NSS Programme Officers:Dr Gurdeep Kaur and Dr.Bhagwant Kour

Sikh temple shooter's death ruled a suicide

MILWAUKEE -- The man who killed six Sikh worshippers at a Wisconsin temple before fatally shooting himself had a history of alcohol problems and underwent a noticeable personality change in the preceding year, according to an investigative report released Tuesday.

Wade Michael Page's sister told investigators he had a bloated appearance that made her wonder if he had been drinking recently, the report said. Kimberly Van Buskirk also said she noticed her brother become more intense over the past year, as if he had lost his wit and sense of humor. He took everything literally, she said.

Page, 40, opened fire Aug. 5 before a service was to start at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee. He killed six people and wounded four others before he was shot in the abdomen during a firefight with police. He died after he shot himself in the head. 

The Milwaukee County medical examiner's office, which released the investigative report, officially ruled his death a suicide.

Page's sister told authorities her brother didn't use drugs but had a history of alcohol problems. She did not immediately return a phone message left Tuesday by The Associated Press.

Online court records show Page had a history of drunken driving and a 1994 arrest in Texas after Page got drunk and kicked holes in the wall of a bar.

Toxicology reports, which would show whether he had drugs or alcohol in his system during the shooting spree, are still pending.

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards, whose officers responded to the shooting, said it would be an "excuse" to blame alcohol for what Page did. Many people drink alcohol, but they don't commit murder, he said.

"He has those thoughts, and they're there. The alcohol didn't cause that," Edwards said. "So whether he had that or not, I don't think that's the cause or the root of it."

The FBI and local authorities are still trying to piece together Page's motive in the attack. He had ties to white supremacy groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center civil rights group, and had recently broken up with his girlfriend.

In the days after the shooting, there was speculation that Page targeted Sikhs because he mistook them for Muslims because of their beards and turbans. Edwards said Tuesday he didn't think Page was targeting Sikhs or Muslims, but he declined to explain why, citing the ongoing investigation.

"There's been no specific group he was after or disliked more than the other," Edwards said. "It was a group that was different from him. ... It's a person with hate."

Edwards joined Oak Creek's mayor and fire chief at a lunch meeting where they discussed the emergency response to the shooting rampage. Edwards said there was initial confusion because of language difficulties - dispatchers thought the Sikhs were reporting "fighting" when they were actually saying "firing," in reference to gunfire.

One temple member asked why police took more than 12 hours to release the victims' identities, while their relatives agonized in uncertainty. Edwards said police had limited options.

with thanks : sacbee : LINK : for detailed news.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/28/4764605/sikh-temple-shooters-death-ruled.html#storylink=cpy

Another Sikh killed in USA

A 43-year-old clean-shaven Sikh was allegedly murdered by unidentified persons at Fresno in California, USA, on Thursday. The miscreants allegedly killed Kashmir Singh in a bid to loot a convenience store, where he worked as a cashier. He hailed from Patran town of Patiala district and had migrated to California in 1995.

As the news reached his hometown, a pal of gloom descended on the residence of his brother-in-law Harcharan Singh.

"Earlier, he worked as a truck driver. However, he changed his profession after recession and started working as cashier at a convenience store," said Harcharan Singh.
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He said the assailants had allegedly thrashed Kashmir with iron rods, which proved fatal.

"He was a peace-loving person. He even helped his brothers and a sister to migrate to the USA. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter," he added.

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