Malaysian Punjabi Party Gets First Woman President

KUALA LUMPUR - An ethnic Indian Sikh has been elected as the first woman President of Parti Punjabi Malaysia party, the 24-year-old political group that was formed to take care of the interest of the Sikh community in the country.

Susheel Kaur, 59, whose father Jeswant Singh founded the party in 1986, became its first woman President, elected unopposed by more than 50 delegates at the party’s biennial general meeting here.

Multi-ethnic Malaysia has a sizeable Indian population comprising about eight per cent of the total population.� Though a majority are Hindus, there are more than 100,000 Sikhs who came here for trade and business several years ago.

Susheel Kaur, a senior consultant who majored in social impact studies, felt that she was not cut out to be a politician but stressed that she felt responsible for the party which was founded by her father.

She took over the reins from her cousin, Gurdeep Perkash Singh, who led the party for the last six years. She had served as the party’s secretary for 10 years.

With a PhD in population geography from Punjab University, Chandigarh, she believed that her academic qualification and working experience would assist her in formulating a new direction for the party.

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with thanks : source : IndiaJournal

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U-turn on 'humiliating' turban airport security searches for sikhs

Sikhs travelling through Britain's aiports will no longer undergo 'humiliating' searches of their turbans following fierce criticism of the policy.

Just two months ago security staff were told they could pat down and unravel a sikh's turban if the metal detector bleeped as they walked through.

But these powers - given under European legislation - were branded as unaccpetable by the religion's leaders in Britain and the Department of Transport has had to act quickly.

'It is considered very offensive to remove or touch a Sikh's turban, especially in public,' said Dr Indarjit Singh CBE, advisor to the Commission for Racial Equality.

'It's the equivalent of asking someone to undergo a strip search in public in western culture.

'Different things are considered insulting in different cultures - there are different ways of upsetting people, and we should try to keep that to a minimum.'

A spokesperson for Birmingham International Airport said: 'On Thursday the Department for Transport advised all UK airports to continue using the previous methods of screening religious headwear, which eliminates the need to carry out hand searches. We have reacted accordingly.'

Sikhs who set off alarms at airport body scanners will now have their turban scanned by a hand held wand, and will only be subjected to searches by hand if metal is detected in the turban.

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with thanks : source : dailymail

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SRK wouldn't have qualified for this role

CHANDIGARH: Even if the czars of Bollywood, the Khan trio of Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir, wanted to land this role, they would not have qualified for it!

Unlike the other stars performing in the make-believe world of films, Gurpreet Singh, the 6ft tall and handsome Sikh who enacts the role of the legendary Sikh general Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, would not only “not drink or smoke and maintain complete ‘Sikh Swarup' — the 5 Ks of Sikh identity in his real life — but would also refrain from accepting any such role in future which could bring a blot to the name of the great Sikh general.” When translated in black and white, this rules out any role, which involves enacting the role of a drunkard, raping a woman, or any other ‘debased' act.

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with thanks : source : Times of India

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The Great General

A new film celebrates the life and exploits of Sikh general Baba Banda Bahadur Singh

In the early 18th century, Sikh warrior Baba Banda Bahadur Singh set forth from Nanded in Maharashtra to Punjab, where governor Wazir Khan had unleashed a rule of tyranny and brutality. He was accompanied by 25 soldiers and a hukamnama (edict) from his master, the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. Banda Bahadur’s strategies and courage, still celebrated in song and lore, won the battle of Sirhind, the Mughal provincial capital which was second only to Delhi in importance. Now, Banda Bahadur’s exploits will be celebrated in Cinevision writer-director Harjinder Singh Ricky’s feature film called Baba Banda Bahadar Singh. The film, being produced by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), was released at a press conference at the Government Art Gallery and Museum, Sector 10, on Wednesday.

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with thanks : source : Indian Express

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Celebration of martyrdom day of Guru Arjun Dev ji in Liege Gurudwara,Belgium

PM asks Sikh community in Canada to remain united

On Board PM's Special Aircraft, Jun 29 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the five lakh (rpt) five lakh strong Sikh community in Canada to remain united and not to allow the "divisive" politics of the Indian subcontinent to derail their cohesiveness.

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with thanks : source : PTI News

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Manmohan Singh apologizes 'on behalf of government" for 1984 anti-Sikh disturbances

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday apologized 'on behalf of the Government of India' for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying that it should have never happened.

Addressing a function organized by Punjabi Canadian lawmakers in Toronto, Dr. Singh said: "I promise you that after going back home I will set up some mechanism to deliberate on all these issues that have been raised here or that have been raised elsewhere in the Indo-Canadian communities."

"With regard to the events of 1984, these are horrible crimes. They should have never happened. I have on behalf of the Government of India apologized on behalf of the nation for what had happened in 1984," he added.

The Prime Minister further said that there are "visible weakness" in the country's judicial system.

"There are concerns that those who perpetrated these crimes must be brought to book, there are visible weakness in Indian judicial system, just as weakness in the Canadian legal system. We are trying to address those issues," Dr. Singh said.

"One cannot offer any compensation to those who have lost there near and dear one in these tragic circumstances, but our government in the first UPA opened up all cases of so-called compensation," he added.

He also said that the government is looking for more options to provide relief to the victims and their relatives.

"I don't see there can be adequate compensation at all, but we have opened up what more can be done to provide relief to the victims and their relatives, so that they can once again lead a life of dignity and self respect," Dr. Singh said.

"Communities and nation, it is futile on my part to say to forget past. The past is there, we cannot get away our past, but the challenge is how to move ahead in the world, which is increasingly globalised, which is increasingly becoming an integrated one world," he added.

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with thanks : source : ONEINDIA

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