Amarjit Singh conferred with 'Sikh of the Year 2010' Award

LONDON: Additional Solicitor General Amarjit Singh chandhiok has been conferred with the prestigious 'Sikh of the Year 2010' Award for his outstanding achievement in his profession and for the betterment of society.

Britain's Secretary of State for the Home Department Theresa May presented the award instituted by the Sikh Forum International to Chandhiok last night at The Great Hall of Lincoln's Inn in the presence of an august gathering including Lord Swraj Paul, Lord Khalid Hameed and Sir Mota Singh QC.

The previous recipients included Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Listing Chandhiok's achievements, the citation said "a significant dimension to Chandhiok's profile is his ability to find time for being a humanitarian. He takes special interest in environmental protection, and care of elders in the society. He has rendered immense help in organising blood donations, arranging special treatments for the lower strata of the society by providing means to run charitable clinics.

With thanks : Tims of india : link in headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Army gets first Sikh enlisted soldier since 1980s

FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- The first Sikh to become an enlisted U.S. Army soldier in nearly three decades said Wednesday he's eager to move on to training as a combat medic and defend his new homeland on the battlefield.

"When the bullets begin flying, it doesn't concern anyone what religion you are. I bleed the same color," said Spec. Simran Lamba, 26, after his graduation ceremony from basic combat training.

Sikhism, a 500-year-old religion founded in India, requires its male followers to wear a turban and beard and keep their hair uncut. Army policies since 1984 had effectively prevented Sikhs from enlisting by barring those items. But Lamba was granted a rare exception because he has skills the Army wants - the Indian languages Hindi and Punjabi.

Before him, two Sikhs joined the Army as medical officers earlier this year. But Lamba is the first enlisted man since the policy barring religious articles of clothing.

Lamba said his black turban, full beard, unshorn hair and religious beliefs posed no problems during his 10 weeks of training.

"I am proud to be a Sikh, I'm proud to be a U.S. citizen, and proud to be a U.S. Army soldier," he said.

During training, he wore a camouflage turban under his Kevlar helmet. He used petroleum jelly to get a tight grip between his beard and gas mask, and was able to keep his hair clean under all conditions, meeting all the military's concerns about training and appearance.

And besides, the Sikhs were founded as a warrior group who were meant to fight against injustice and inequality, Lamba said, so adopting Army values were an easy fit for him.

"The Sikhs are warriors in Indian culture. Once our soldiers heard that, they were all for him," said Lamba's battalion commander, Lt. Col. Bryan Hernandez.

"It's going to be a good thing for our Army and our nation" to have Lamba in the service, Hernandez said. Lamba said he was treated like any other soldier.

The Army installation went to great lengths to educate his fellow soldiers, his commanders and anyone who would come in contact with him in order to make the transition go smoothly, said Maj. Gen. James Milano, Fort Jackson's commander.

"He met all requirements, he went through the training just like everyone else," said Milano.

Two hours before the graduation, Lamba also took his oath of citizenship along with a dozen other soldiers.

The native of New Delhi, India, was granted the honor of carrying a red-white-and-blue unit color flag as the 450 new soldiers paraded in a salute before 3,000 friends and family gathered in the stands.

Donning a uniform allowed him to fulfill a childhood dream of entering the military, Lamba said.

He came to the United States to get a master's degree in industrial engineering at New York University, and thought about enlisting and getting his citizenship. He did some research, and found that the Army's special forces units were allowed to wear beards, so it occurred to him that he might be able to enter the service. Also, he'd read about a Sikh dentist and a Sikh physician who'd entered the Army recently, and he sought their guidance.

"I thought, why not fight for this country? It doesn't matter that I wasn't born here," Lamba said.

After enlisting, it took a 10-month Army review before the service granted him a waiver.

Lamba got some mentoring in advance of taking his big step, said Capt. Kamal Kalsi, a fellow Sikh and emergency room physician now based at Fort Bragg, N.C., who entered the Army in June.

with thanks : lakewyliepilot.com : link in headline above for complete story.

SikhsIndia

Keertan Darbar at Chaand Muhalla, Gandhi nagar, Delhi

SikhsIndia

WASHINGTON NEWS: US Sikhs Decry Turban Screening At Airports

W­AS­H­INGTO­­N: Si­kh ad­v­o­c­ac­y gro­up­s i­n­ t­he US hav­e-d­eman­d­ed­ st­o­p­ t­o­ t­he sc­reen­i­n­g o­f t­urban­s at­ a­i­r­por­ts­, a­r­gui­n­g t­he­ a­ddi­t­i­on­a­l se­a­r­ch of t­he­i­r­ r­e­li­gi­ous he­a­dwe­a­r­ i­s n­ot­ r­e­qui­r­e­d a­s t­he­ t­r­a­v­e­lle­r­s pa­ss t­hr­ough full-body sca­n­n­e­r­s.

Si­kh or­gan­­i­sati­on­­s have sai­d f­eder­al tr­an­­spor­tati­on­­ of­f­i­ci­als plan­­ to alway­s sear­ch tu­r­b­an­­s at ai­r­por­t scr­een­­i­n­­g stati­on­­s even­­ i­f­ wear­er­s pass thr­ou­gh the state-of­-the-ar­t b­ody­ i­magi­n­­g scan­­n­­er­s.

T­he gro­­ups are c­alli­ng o­­n t­hei­r c­o­­nst­i­t­uent­s t­o­­ lo­­bby­ t­he C­o­­ngress and t­he T­r­an­spor­t­at­ion­ Sec­ur­it­y­ Ad­m­in­ist­r­at­ion­ (T­SA) to­­ o­­ver turn wha­t hey­ s­a­i­d­ wa­s­ a­n “unjus­t p­o­­li­cy­”, the New Y­o­­rk­ Ti­mes­ rep­o­­rted­.

Of­f­icial­s f­r­om­ th­e Sikh­ Coal­ition­ U­n­ited Sikh­s an­d th­e Sikh­ Am­er­ican­ L­egal­ Def­en­se an­d Edu­cation­ F­u­n­d said on­ F­r­iday­ th­ey­ m­et w­ith­ r­epr­esen­tatives of­ th­e Depar­tm­en­t of­ H­om­el­an­d Secu­r­ity­ an­d th­e TSA sever­al­ w­eeks ago.

”Al­l­ o­­f u­s jo­­i­ntl­y­ fe­e­l­ the­r­e­ ar­e­ de­fi­ni­te­l­y­ so­­me­ e­l­e­me­nts o­­f r­ac­i­al­ pr­o­­fi­l­i­ng he­r­e­,” sai­d Jasji­t Si­ngh, asso­­c­i­ate­ di­r­e­c­to­­r­ o­­f the­ Leg­al D­efens­e Fund­, a civil­ righ­ts gro­u­p­.

Ha­nsdeep Sing­h, a­ senior­ st­a­f­f­ la­w­y­er­ f­or­ t­he New­ Y­or­k­­ ba­sed Unit­ed Sik­hs, sa­id t­he m­­eet­ing­ in W­a­shing­t­on w­a­s a­r­r­a­ng­ed t­o hea­r­ a­bout­ how­ new­ “a­dva­nced im­­a­g­ing­ t­echnolog­y­” sca­nner­s w­ould a­f­f­ect­ Sik­hs. T­hey­ ha­d hoped t­he devices w­ould elim­­ina­t­e t­he need f­or­ ext­r­a­ scr­eening­ t­ha­t­ t­hey­ sa­y­ t­hey­ w­er­e subject­ed t­o a­t­ a­ir­por­t­s.

B­ut th­e co­m­m­unity rep­res­entatives­ s­aid­ th­ey were to­ld­ th­at th­e turb­ans­ wo­uld­ b­e treat­ed­ “as­ a p­er s­e ano­m­aly”, S­ingh­ s­aid­. Th­ey s­aid­ TS­A o­fficials­ d­eclined­ to­ tell th­em­ wh­eth­er th­e s­canner was­ incap­ab­le o­f s­eeing th­ro­ugh­ a turb­an, wh­ich­ typ­ically h­ad­ layers­ o­f fab­ric.

The­ adv­oc­ac­y­ grou­p­s m­e­t wi­th offi­c­e­r for c­i­v­i­l­ ri­ghts an­d c­i­v­i­l­ l­i­be­rti­e­s M­arg­o Sc­hlan­g­e­r at­ t­h­e­ Dep­a­rtm­ent o­f­ H­o­m­el­a­nd Secu­rity­ an­­d spe­c­i­al­ c­oun­­se­l­l­or t­o t­he­ T­SA admi­n­­i­st­rat­or Kimberly­ Wa­lton­­ th­e­ N­­e­w­ York­ Time­s said. .

Mo­­re than 300 bo­­dy­ s­c­anners­ hav­e been ins­talled at 65 airpo­­rts­ in the US­, ac­c­o­­rding­ to­­ the TS­A webs­ite. An additio­­nal 450 s­c­anners­ are s­et to­­ be ins­talled by­ next y­ear.

TS­A s­po­kes­w­o­m­an S­terl­i­n­g P­ayn­e sa­i­d­: “Remova­l­ of a­l­l­ hea­d­wea­r i­s recommen­­d­ed­, bu­t the ru­l­es a­ccommod­a­te those wi­th rel­i­gi­ou­s, med­i­ca­l­ or other rea­son­­s, for whi­ch ‘the p­a­ssen­­ger wi­shes n­­ot to remove the i­tem.”

“If­ th­e o­­f­f­icer canno­­t reas­o­­nab­ly determine th­at th­e clo­­th­ing o­­r h­ead co­­v­ering is­ f­ree o­­f­ a th­reat item, indiv­iduals­ will b­e ref­erred f­o­­r additio­­nal s­creening,” s­h­e s­aid.

S­O­URCE-HT : taken from : punjabnews.org

SikhsIndia

I will visit Golden Temple next time: Obama

He may have missed visiting the Golden Temple this time, but US President Barack Obama has assured that he will do so on his next trip to India.

Obama told this to Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal during the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence in New Delhi Sunday evening.

According to Badal, Obama said he would visit the Golden Temple in Punjab the next time he comes to India.

with thanks : thaindian : link in headline for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

But Prez strikes right notes on turbans, Golden Temple

US President Barack Obama has promised to have a close look at the issue of disrespect shown to Sikh religious symbols like the turban during security check up and will find some way to ensure that religious sentiments of the community as well as security concerns of the US officials were taken care of.

The President said this to SAD member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal at the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday.

with thanks : IndianExpress : link in headline for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Sohnijodi - A Sikh web portal

Sohnijodi - A sikh web portal with almost ONE LAKH hits per month is a complete Sikh portal with details on Sikhism, Gurdwara pics, Vids of various Historical Gurdwaras & a lot more. With over TEN THOUSAND visits in October, it is a fast upcoming Sikh web Portal. Matrimonial section on this web portal was not in operation for the last few months. It is being revived again & now you can add your matrimonial profile at a very very nominal price i.e. just to cover the costs of the portal. Please log on to the Sikh web portal www.sohnijodi.com. You can also Advertise on this Web Portal at a very nominal cost.

With best regards

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Raise headgear issue with Obama, Sukhbir Badal urges PM

Chandigarh, Nov 7 (IANS) Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal Sunday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up with visiting President Barack Obama the frisking of headgear of all turban-wearing individuals, including Sikhs, during airport checks in the US.

The US federal transportation agency recently issued directions for the mandatory searching of the headgear during airport security checks.

'Sukhbir Singh Badal has urged the prime minister to take up this matter with the US president Barack Obama. The prime minister is himself a Sikh and understands the sensitivity of this whole issue,' the state government spokesperson said.

'Wearing a turban is an integral part of the Sikh religion. Such guidelines making the frisking of turbans necessary, will interfere with Sikh principles and hurt the psyche of Sikhs. Such orders should be immediately withdrawn,' the spokesman added.

with thanks : SIFY : link in headline above for detailed news.

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Sikhs disappointed, Obama told

CHANDIGARH: The cancellation of US president Barack Obama's visit to Amritsar came as a disappointment to the Sikh community, especially in the wake of speculations that he had been advised against wearing a headgear, which could give an impression of his being a Muslim. The community, which was hoping that his visit may help dispel that very confusion about Sikhs being mistaken for Muslims, and thus being made victims of racial profiling, had expressed its disappointment through various forums. On Sunday, a Punjab MP did manage to convey the sentiments directly to the US president..........................................................................................

The Akali MP, who, during the dinner, happened to be sharing the table with US ambassador to India, Timothy J Roemer, along with Montek Singh Ahluwalia, also managed to convey Sikhs' sentiments on the "humiliation and embarrassment at being asked to remove turbans at US airports for security checks".

With thanks : Times of India : link in headline above for detailed news.

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City of Golden Temple celebrates Diwali

AMRITSAR: Diwali was celebrated with great religious fervor in the holy city of Amritsar. Thousands of devotees thronged at Golden Temple for a holy dip in the sarovar. The holiest of holy shrine of Sikhs was tasefully decorated with colorful lights.

On the occasion , Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh , in a message to Sikh panth, cautioned to keep an eye on elements that were bent upon brining disgrace to rich Sikh values and creating unwarranted controversies implicating not only the Sikh religious institutions but also Sikh guru's. He said Sikhs had been successful in establishing their distinct identity in the world in small span of time .

With thanks : timesofindia : link in headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Sikh devotees hold Prayer at Indo-Pak border

DERA BABA NANAK: To get the free corridor from border town of Dera Baba Nanak to Gurdwara Kartar Pur Sahib in Pakistan, hundreds of devotees under the banner of Kartarpur sahib Ravi Darshan abhilashi Santha, organized its 117th monthly prayer at International border Indo Pak border here Saturday.

Earlier, Sikh devoteesled by Jathedar Kuldip Singh Wadala gathered at Gurudwara Darbar Sahib where from they reached at Indo Pak International border and offered their prayer urging the governments of both countries to provide corridor.

It is worth mentioning Guru Nanak Dev stayed at Dera Baba Nanak nearly 18 years and departed for his heavenly adobe at Katrarpur in Pakistan where a gurudwara was constructed and it went to Pakistan during the partition in 1947.

The prominent among Jasvir Singh Zafarwal , Gurinder Singh Bajwa, Avtar Singh USA and Kulbir Singh Sandhu.

with thanks : Punjabnewsline : link in headline.

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