Sikhs seek access to PoK gurdwaras

Sixty-four years after partition, Sikhs of Jammu and Kashmir are trying for the revival of the gurdwaras in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) which have been non-functional since their migration in 1947.

Thanks to the renewed Indo-Pak thaw, the Sikhs are trying hard to revisit the gurdwaras in PoK similar to revered gurdwaras in other cities of Pakistan for pilgrimage.

The Sikhs have kicked off the process by meeting the former prime minister of PoK Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary who advised the Valley recently. “We have urged Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary to use his good offices to help the Sikh community to visit the historical gurdwaras with Pakistani government,” said Jagmohan Singh Raina, chairman of All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee.

PoK and northern areas are dotted with Gurdwaras as several Sikh Gurus visited the places centuries ago. But after raiders’ attack in 1947, Sikhs migrated to Jammu and Kashmir leaving behind their property and religious places.

with thanks : DNAIndia : link above for detailed news.

Victory was always on but sweep lifts their bigger hopes

That the Shiromani Akali Dal would easily win the elections to the “mini-parliament” of the Sikhs, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, was a foregone conclusion. What mattered was the handling of the SGPC polls, the margin of the SAD victory and the trends it might throw up ahead of the Assembly polls, due in five months.

The SAD, with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as its patron and his son and deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal as its president, had any major rival to face, with the Congress neither contesting the elections nor overtly backing candidates. The SAD, which had a tie-up with the Sant Samaj, bagged 157 of the 170 seats while its main rival, the Panthic Morcha of five Sikh organisations, was left trailing way behind.

The euphoric Badals have been hailing the results as a pointer to the outcome of the ensuing Assembly elections, while the Congress has called the SGPC elections a “farce” that will have no impact on the Assembly elections. The SGPC elections, which have always been won by the Akalis (they bagged 134 seats last time), have a total electorate of 56 lakh compared to the 1.8 crore voters registered for the Assembly elections to be held by February.

The SAD had appeared desperate to put up a good show. There were reports of tension and clashes among party workers even during the selection of candidates. Later, a few who had been denied tickets contested as rebel candidates. Despite the unmatched resources with the ruling party, there were areas in which multi-cornered contests led to uncertainties about the outcome.

with thanks : Indian Express : link above for detailed news.

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Vegas police develop educational course on Sikhism

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police say they've finished developing an online course to educate civilians and police officers about the Sikh (SEEK') religion.

The department's counter terrorism center has been working with the Sikh community in southern Nevada since January to create the overview of the faith, its practices and its cultural interactions.

Sikhism developed about 500 years ago in the Punjab region of northern India.

Sikhs in the U.S. have occasionally been the target of anti-Muslim sentiment because of the turbans and beards they wear. The religion is separate from Islam.

Police officials say they hope the online course fosters mutual respect and understanding between the department and the Sikh community.

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Baroness Warsi visits Sikh Holy Shrine

Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) was visited by Baroness Warsi, Britain’s first Asian Cabinet Minister.

Her recent trip to India was for talks on interfaith issues, women’s empowerment as well as UK-India trade matters and bilateral issues.

The trip included a visit to Amritsar where she first went to Harmadar Sahib the sacred Sikh Shrine and then went to  Jallianwala Bagh. She said: “I am delighted to be here for my first visit to India beginning today. It was a great honour to visit the Golden Temple and to meet with the local Sikh community.”

Baroness Warsi also spent some time at the Langar at the Golden temple with local Sikh women volunteering in the kitchen. After visiting Jallianwala Bagh, she added: “Today has also been a deeply emotional experience, as I laid a wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh.” In the evening Baroness Warsi hosted a reception to launch the new BMI route from Amritsar to London-Heathrow. 

The Minister was in New Delhi yesterday (19.09.11) where she called on senior Indian Government Ministers, including Minister for Law and Minority Affairs Salman Khursheed, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Mukul Wasnik and the Chief Minister of Delhi Shiela Dikshit.

The Minister also spoke about her life at the Jamia Islamia University. She said:

with thanks : emgonline : link above for detailed news.

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Sunday is “Turban Day” for Europe’s Sikhs

Thousands of Sikhs will gather across Europe Sunday to proclaim their right to wear their faith’s required turbans — and to voice concerns with legal challenges to such headgear in some parts of Europe.

The turban or dastaar is mandatory for devout Sikh men. They are not allowed to remove it even to wear safety headgear such as motorcycle helmets.

Thousands of turban-wearing Sikhs are expected to gather in European capitals in a simultaneous gathering organized by the Sikh Channel, a Europe-wide TV Station on the SKY platform.

Live broadcast on the Sikh Channel the Turban Awareness Gatherings will take place from Madrid, London, Rome and Brussels.

Sikhs in Italy have complained of difficulties at some Italian airports of being asked to remove their turbans, with many Sikhs refusing to do so and, as a result, missing their flights. Some Italian provinces require Sikhs to remove Turbans for driving licence photographs. Thus, a number of Sikhs have not applied for driving licenses to avoid what they consider the humiliation of being photographed without their turbans.

The British gathering is expected to occur at noon outside of the Houses of Parliament. In Rome, Sikhs will gather at the Piazza Montecitorion.

with thanks  beliefnet : link above.


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Extract: The Punjab Bloodied Partitioned and Cleansed

extracts : 

‘The first batch of raiders arrived around the village in the evening of 6 March. There was no warning, although we had heard that trouble had started in Rawalpindi a day or two earlier. The first attack on the village was from behind, from the north and not the road in the south. Initially only a few hundred took part in the assault but soon others joined them. Their numbers continued to swell all the time. They were beating drums and shouting Allah ho Akbar. Some were on horses but most were on foot. Our elders took positions on the rooftops, giving the impression that we were well-armed, whereas in fact we had only three double-barrelled shotguns and almost no ammunition. The early attacks were mostly cases of brick-throwing which continued sporadically until the 12th when several thousand men encircled Thamali. In the meantime, efforts were afoot to reach some agreement that would terminate the hostilities. On the 12th, finally, an agreement was reached. My father, Subedar Diwan Pal Singh, had retired only six months before the riots. He and retired Superintendent of Police Bal Mukand, a Brahmin, represented our side. The Muslims had Subedar Lal Khan and some other notables representing them. The agreement was that if we surrendered our weapons they would escort us safely to village Pharawan from where we would be able to take the road to Poonch in Kashmir. During the negotiations, the raiders realised that we were poorly armed. So, against all moral and religious principles, the same evening a massive attack took place. Bal Mukand and some other Brahmins had already left for Lal Khan’s village under a secret understanding. One Brahmin, Jagan Nath, was killed because he had a rifle and the Muslims had seen him firing at them. About 10-12 Sikhs from our village had gone to village Kaloha and were saved. ‘The Sikhs decided not to surrender. Some of them even went out and fought in the fields, but it was clear that we were fighting a lost battle. The women were taken to the gurdwara. They brought along their valuable possessions. Then a fire was lit. It had been decided that we will not let the Muslims touch our womenfolk. My grandmother, mother and one of my sisters died in that fire. My brother’s wife, her father, and her infant son and her daughter were also burnt to death.

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