Monday, July 27, 2020
DSGMC President Manjinder Singh Sirsa's Meeting with Ministry of External Affairs On the Issue of Attempt to Cover Gurdwara Sahib Shaheedi Asthan Bhai Taru into A Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan
President Manjinder Singh Sirsa along
with other office bearers had a meeting with Jt Secretary (PAI) J.P. Singh from Ministry
of External Affairs on
the issue of attempt to cover Gurdwara Sahib Shaheedi Asthan Bhai Taru Ji
into a mosque in Lahore, Pakistan.
Gurdwara Shaheedi Asthan of Bhai Taru Singh ,Lahore,Pakistan
Mr. Manjinder Singh Sirsa took up issue of conversion of
Gurdwara Shaheedi Asthan of Bhai Taru Singh at
Lahore into a mosque. He said that the Ministry assured to take up the
matter with the Pakistan Government at the earliest and ensure that this pious
place will remain Gurudwara as it is.
Ministry assured delegation that no
damage will be allowed to the structure and action will be taken keeping in
mind the sentiments of the Sikh community worldwide.
Ministry also assured that it will ask
Pakistan Government to ensure that no damage is caused to any other religious
place of the Sikhs in future.
Along with Mr.Manjinder Singh Sirsa,
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara committee member Paramjit singh chandhok, Harvinder singh
k.p, Jasmen singh noni and Gurdev singh bhola were also present in Delegation.
News Courtsey,
Mr.Sudeep singh
Honorary Media Advisor
DSGMC
Sunil Munjal:We Must Learn From The Sikh Philosophy Of Reaching Out To Others
Sunil Munjal of hero
enterprise says that the only sikh community in the whole world is a community
that is known all over the world for his service spirit.
Sunil says that Sikh community is doing selfless service in the whole world while celebrating the order
of their gurus. While serving people, this community does not look at anyone's
religion or the color form of anyone. Sikhs always serve from the heart and
follow the teachings of their Gurus.
Presenting this special
report of his interview
news credit NDTV
SGPC to Install Solar Power Plants in 79 Gurdwaras To Bring Down Electricity Expenses
CHANDIGARH, Punjab—To
bring down the electricity expenses, the apex Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhik Committee is going to install solar power plants in 79 historic Sikh
shrines being controlled by it. Notably, donations in most of the Sikh shrines have
come down due to prevailing coronavirus pandemic.
Sharing the development
with media, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said that these solar power
plants will help in bringing down the current electricity expenses almost to
half. “In the first phase, we are going to install these solar power plants in
around six Sikh shrines for the experiment,” he added.
https://www.sikh24.com/2020/07/25/sgpc-to-install-solar-power-plants-in-79-gurdwaras-to-bring-down-electricity-expenses/#.Xx62jVUzbIUKhalsa Aid Australia :Working Genuinely for The Wellbeing of Mankind Amidst Global Pandemic Crisss
have sewed thousands of reusable masks and distributed them for free.To support this remarkable work and to convey their thanks to this wonderful group, Khalsa Aid Australia have supported them with two sewing machines
Mr.Guneet Singh contributing in plasma donation.
Ajinder Singh Bawa donated plasma,Adelaide,Australia
volunteer Geet Inder Singh
Team Adelaide
https://www.facebook.com/KhalsaAidAustralia/Sikh Afghan Nationals Narrate Their Stories of Fear, Suppression and Anxiety Faced in Kabul
A seven-year-old girl
Poonam carrying a doll came out of the lift of ceremonial lounge at Delhi
Airport . She was accompanied by her eight-year-old brother and parents.
One of her eyes has to be operated as it suffered an injury after a Gurdwara in
Kabul's Shor Bazar was attacked by terrorists on March 25.
Ponam's father Balender Singh told ANI how they used to live in the atmosphere of fear and threats back there in Kabul.
Singh said, "26 people from my family were killed by them (terrorists). I used to remain tensed for my children and their safety. My mother and brother are still there and I am extremely worried about them."
"They used to call us Qafir and pressurised us for conversion. We love all religions and want peace," says Balender who now hopes for his children's education.
Another nine-year-old Gorjeet Singh recounted, "I was studying when I saw few men coming towards our room. I slipped inside a blanket to hide. I saw four people getting killed in front of my eyes. I could not even run away as I knew that they would also kill me if they see me."
Each of these eleven belonging from Hindu and Sikh minority including women and children have their own experience of fear and threats from Pakistan- backed Taliban while their stay in Afghanistan's Kabul. Today they have been facilitated in a special flight to India by the Indian government.
Minorities in Kabul speak of threat, fear, and the constant pressure of
conversion putting their religion at risk.
A septuagenarian named Balwan Kour Singh's sons and sons-in-law were killed in
Kabul. She said, "Although I am feeling good after coming to India but
hope my people out there experience this peace too. I request the government of
India to bring those stuck there in an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.
Moreover, women are given respect over there."
Approximately 700 Hindu and Sikhs Afghan nationals have registered with Embassy of India in Kabul and are seeking immediate transfer to India.
Continued attacks on minorities, on religious places like Gurdwara, abduction, pressuring for conversion propelled Central government into immediate action.
As incidents of human rights violation against the minorities continue in Afghanistan at the behest of external forces, people are making efforts to come to India with hopes of staying in peace.
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
University of Delhi
Surinder Pal Singh Goldy: Devotees With Covid History Made to Remove Mask at Golden Temple
Surinder Pal Singh Goldy,Jalandhar, India
A devotee Surinder Pal Singh Goldy alleged that
the SGPC employees at the Golden Temple asked his family members, who have recently
recovered from COVID-19,
to remove face masks before entering the sanctum sanctorum, a charge that has
been denied by the authorities at the gurdwara.
Surinder Pal Singh
Goldy, a Jalandhar resident who had remained the vice president of Youth Akali
Dal for seven years before quitting party in 2007, said that he and his family
members visited the Golden Temple Sunday 26th July to fulfill the last wish of his father
jathedar Jaimal Singh. “We all were wearing masks. But SGPC employees on duty
at the entry asked us to remove them. We decided not to get into an argument
and removed the masks,” Goldy said.
“We were a group of 14
including my mother and brother who have recovered from Covid-19. First, we
were asked to remove our masks at the entry gate of the Golden Temple by SGPC
employees. But we refused to do so. Then we were again asked to remove the masks
in the parikarma of Golden Temple. This time I told the SGPC employees that two
of us have Covid-19 history. The employee then objected to my brother and
mother visiting the Golden Temple. I again explained that they have recovered
but should wear mask as per the protocol,” Goldy alleged.
He said, “The third
time we were stopped at the entry to the sanctum sanctorum of Golden Temple and
asked to remove mask. They asked us if we didn’t have any faith in the Guru.
This time we couldn’t resist and took off our masks. My brother and mother too
had to remove their masks”.
Goldy asked if the the
SGPC wants to push Sikhs into the well of death. “My family and I are devout
people but Guru Sahib never told us to commit suicide. How can wearing mask put
a question mark on my devotion? How can wearing a mask be against the Sikh
principles,” he asked.
Mukhtiyar Singh,
manager, Golden Temple, however, denied the allegations. “Those must not be our
employees who made devotees remove mask. We have been following instructions”.
When asked why hardly
any devotee is seen with mask on inside the Golden Temple premises during live
telecast in morning and evening, Mukhtiyar Singh said, “It is not like that.
All devotees wear masks. We ask all of them to wear mask.”
SGPC secretary Mahinder
Singh Ahali was not available for comments.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/covid-19-in-punjab-two-with-covid-history-made-to-remove-mask-at-golden-temple-6524714/
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
Univeristy of Delhi
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
Univeristy of Delhi
Nidan Singh Sachdeva :"I don't know what to call Hindustan -- whether it is my mother or my father -- Hindustan is Hindustan."
Speaking to ANI upon his return, emotional Nidan Singh Sachdeva said, "I don't know what to call Hindustan -- whether it is my mother or my father -- Hindustan is Hindustan."
Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, in a tweet, that the Indian
government was "facilitating the return of Hindu and Sikh community
members seeking permanent residency and citizenship in India".
Indian mission in Kabul
also tweeted and said, "#VandeBharatMission The eighth batch of stranded
Indian citizens left Kabul by Kam Air to Delhi today. Travel of some members of
the Hindu and Sikh Community, interested in moving to India, was also
facilitated."
Earlier, the external
affairs ministry had said the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus were given
"short-term" visas to facilitate their "return" to India.
The MEA on Sunday
thanked the Afghanistan government for extending necessary support for the safe
return of 11 people belonging to the Sikh and Hindu minority communities.
India has granted
an appropriate visa and facilitated their travel to India,."We appreciate the efforts of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in extending necessary support for the safe return of these families," the MEA said in a statement.
Bengaluru Sikhs Ensure That Nobody Goes hungry in The City
Sikhs have been
serving food to guest workers and the needy, distributing PPEs, sanitisers to
cops in Bengaluru.
Sikh community has
always been at the forefront of relentlessly helping people to tide over a
crisis. Their altruism comes from the traditon of “seva”, which involves acting
selflessly and helping others without any personal gain or reward.
Sikh Community supplied 200 PPE kits as well as masks and sanitisers to the cops.
And the city’s Sikh
community has imbibed this spirit and have gone out of their way to help
people. Despite the lockdown being lifted in Bengaluru, the needy are still
struggling and searching for food kits. Even on Sunday, a few people walked
into the Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Ulsoor, seeking kits. Ever since the city went
into a complete lockdown from mid-March, volunteers from the Sabha have been
reaching out to people in various areas.
Sardar Harjinder Singh,
the president of the Sabha, said that when the lockdown was first imposed, they
reached out to people living in the slums located of Yeshwanthpur, Mysore Road
and distributed rice and dal items. However, they soon realised that there was
a demand for cooked food. With the gurudwara’s kitchen equipped to cook around
20,000 meals in a day, they soon started serving cooked food to 1,500 to 2,000
people three times a day. Rishipal Singh, assistant manager of the Sabha, said
that though the food served by the gurudwara consists of traditional Punjabi
cuisine, it was tweaked to serve the local palate. “Hence, we started serving
lemon rice, tomato rice and other times to serve the local people. We continued
serving the cooked food till May following which we reverted to supplying the
food kits as there was a great demand for it,” he said. Most of these guest workers didn’t prefer chapatis and hence we started serving them freshly cooked rice, “ he said.
Rishipal said that they
also were able to serve guest workers heading out of the city as they were in
touch with the police. “We were serving mainly food to guest workers at KR
Puram railway station. I still recall a tweet from a Kashmiri student who had
thanked us after reaching her hometown during the lockdown,” he added.
Rishipal said that
maintain physical distancing at the railway station was a big challenge for the
volunteers. “It was really tough and the police had to pitch in but then we
started serving food to the guest workers on the buses that were used to
transport them to the station.
They supplied 200 PPE kits as
well as masks and sanitisers to the cops. “We soon started getting calls from
outside Bengaluru especially from places like Dharwad. Though we could not
physically reach out to them, we decided to build contacts so that the locals
who were in need of essentials could buy it from shops and we could pay these
shops,” he added.
https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/sikhs-ensure-that-nobody-goes-hungry-in-the-city/articleshow/77187336.cmsSunday, July 26, 2020
DSGMC And SAD Delegation To Meet External Affairs Minister On Bhai Taru Singh Gurdwara Issue Of Pakistan
Historical Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh,Lahore,Pakistan
Manjinder Singh Sirsa:DSGMC Will Ensure that Gurudwara is not Converted Into A Mosque.
New Delhi, July 26 : A
delegation of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and the
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will meet External Affairs Ministers Dr. S Jaishanker
tomorrow to apprise him about the issue of attempt to convert a Gurudwara
in name of Bhai Taru Singh into a mosque by vested interest in Pakistan and it
will urge the Minister to take up the issue with Pakistan Government to ensure
Gurudwara Sahib remains safe and secure.
An activist of
Dawat-e-Islami (Beraillwi), who is also a caretaker of Mazar of Muslim prophet
Hazrat Shah Kaku Chesti in Lahore has threatens Sikh community, aims to occupy
gurudwara land.
In a statement released here today, the DSGMC President and National
Spokesman of the SAD, Mr. Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that certain miscreants
had made a video viral yesterday in which they claimed that Gurudwara in the
name of Bhai Taru Singh ji which in infact a place of his supreme sacrifice, is
not a Gurudwara but a Mosque. He said that these elements not only threatened
the Sikh community but also said that they will not allow Sikhs into the place.
He said that the delegation will urge the EAM to take up the matter on fast
track basis so that concern of the Sikh community is solved at the earliest.
He said that this incident has caused widespread anger and anguish among the
Sikh community members residing worldwide and we have urged the Pakistan
Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan to take serious note of the incident and ensure
that such miscreant elements are taught a lesson and Gurudwara Sahib remains
safe and secure. He said that we will ensure that this place which is Gurudwara
remains so.
News Courtsey,
Mr. Sudeep Singh
Honorary Media Advisor
DSGMC
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
University of Delhi
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