Fauja Singh, Britain’s most popular Sikh

He replaced David Beckham as Adidas’s new poster boy. On the Adidas billboards, spread across London, he was sitting cross-legged; as if cooling his heals after a day’s work out, peeping over Londoners, tired and overworked, telling them the secrets of his unfailing energy.

Fauja Singh, Britain’s most popular Sikh is 98 now, the oldest runner in London Marathon.

He is threatening to break his own world record of 5.40 hours in the 90 plus age bracket that he set previously. While running Marathon races in London, New York and Toronto, he raised thousands of pounds for various charities promoting Sikh culture around the world. He has also raised money for B.L.I.S.S., a charity dedicated to the care for premature babies. He describes it as the ‘oldest running for the youngest.

Fauja’s jogging skills were developed on an Indian farm in Punjab, and then at the magical age of 81, when he moved to the UK, his love for the sport became more “serious”.

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100-year old Sikh marathoner's biography released in Britain

"Turbaned Tornado", a biography of 100-year-old UK-based marathon runner of Indian descent Fauja Singh, was release in Britain's House of Lords.

The 114-page book, penned by journalist-cum-writer Khushwant Singh, captures Fauja Singh's zest for life and his invincible spirit. Lord Anthony Young of Norwood Green formally released the biography of Fauja Singh, a world record holder marathoner in his age bracket, last evening.

The book traces the runner's roots and tries to capture his life's journey, understanding the impact of Fauja on the world around him.

For Fauja "impossible is Nothing", Khushwant Singh told the gathering.

Khushwant Singh, also the author of best-selling Sikhs Unlimited, a travelogue from UK to USA, featuring extraordinary Sikhs, told the gathering that he first met the world's half marathon runner in 2005 "when I was working on my first book, Sikhs Unlimited."

with thanks : Indian Express : link above.

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Kartarpur Sikh Pasage: Pak yes to corridor

Islamabad, Pakistan: Pakistan has offered to set up a special corridor for Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, barely 3 km from the border, a senior official has said.

Pakistan is ready for talks with India to create such a special corridor for a safe passage for pilgrims, Syed Asif Hashmi, chief of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) that is responsible for maintaining shrines of minority communities in Pakistan, told reporters at Hasanabdal on Friday.

Organisations representing Punjabi Sikhs have been demanding the establishment of a passport and visa-free passage between Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal district.

According to Sikh history, Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent 17 years at the site where Gurdwara Kartarpur is situated.

Hashmi also said the ETPB has spent more than Rs 400 million for the upkeep, maintenance and improvement of facilities at gurdwaras to make visits by Sikh pilgrims comfortable.

A 500-gallon water tank has been constructed at Nankana Sahib and 20 washrooms have been established at Dera Sahib, Kartarpur and Sacha Saoda.

Work on Dewan Hall in Kartarpura temple will begin during the next fiscal year, he said. More than 100 Indian Sikhs have arrived for a visit to Gurdwara Punja Sahib to participate in religious rituals. They are on a 10-day pilgrimage in connection with a function marking the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

ETPB Deputy Secretary (Shrines) Syed Faraz Abbas said the Sikhs are being provided foolproof security during their stay in Pakistan.

with thanks : sikhsangat : link above.

1984 riot case: Sajjan's aide pleades innocence

New Delhi: A former MLA, facing trial along with Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case relating to killing of six persons in Delhi Cantonment area, on Friday claimed innocence before a city court saying it was a conspiracy to ruin his political career.

"I was not involved in the 1984 riots. It was a conspiracy to tarnish my image and political career," Mahender Yadav, who is an aide of Sajjan, told Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta.

Yadav claimed he was not involved in any manner in the riots and he had already been acquitted by a city court earlier in another 1984 riot related case.

with thanks : IBNLive : link above.

The forgotten history of Sikh troops in China

Excerpts :

Sikh regiments made their way to the foreign quarter “crawling through the Imperial sewage canals”, undetected by the Boxers, and were the first troops to come to the aid of the besieged foreigners.

The lifting of the siege was one of only several key instances where Indian troops left an unlikely mark on the course of Chinese history in the early twentieth century.

On August 4, 1900, a relief force of more than 3000 soldiers from Sikh and Punjabi regiments left Tianjin, part of the larger eight-nation alliance that was dispatched to aid the besieged quarter, where 11 countries had set up legations. Sikh troops were also dispatched to guard churches and Christian missionaries, the targets of the Boxer uprisings.

Among the Indians, there was sympathy for the Boxers, Colonel Jaishankar said. Gaddhar Singh, a Rajput who was in Beijing in 1900-01, empathised with Chinese grievances in his accounts, arguing it was an entirely justified peasant rebellion.

The British also dispatched Indian regiments to China leading up towards the Opium War, which ended with the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 and the opening up of Chinese ports to the British.

The British deployed Sikh soldiers as law enforcement officers in ports like Shanghai, where their trading companies had set up a large presence by the early twentieth century. The Sikh soldiers were feared by the Chinese with their imposing figures, so much so that the British deemed that they did not even need guns when on duty, Colonel Jaishankar said, citing records from the time.

The history of Indian and Sikh troops in China is one that is ignored in Chinese accounts, and is likely a sensitive legacy considering they were often deployed against the Chinese.

with thanks : sikhsangat : link above

Sikh Gurudwara Attacked in Australia

Victoria, Australia (CHAKRA) - After a hate crime against a gurudwara in the state of Victoria in Australia, the Sikh community has appealed for security, fearing that further attacks will take place against the minority community in the area. Sikhs from Shepparton, Northern Victoria have appealed to the assailants, that their place of worship be left alone.

A local Sikh, Kuldeep Singh said that he thinks the vandalism could have partly been done due to racism but he does not know or understand why anyone would want to put the Sikh community to harm.

After various incidents of vandalism at the Gurudwara in addition to a car smashing into the fence surrounding it, security has been upgraded to surveil the area. The Sikh community is both surprised and hurt by these acts of vandalism and hope that their pleas for peace will not go unnoticed and ignored completely by other nearby dwellers.

Singh said that the Sikh community is hard working and very good to others around them. He further stated that his community’s belief in God should not be a reason for such consequences.

On another note, a Sikh boy, in Grade 11, attending a Christian school in Melbourne, was forced to shave off his beard if he wanted to continue attending the school, according to Harkirat Singh, a member of the Sikh Federation of Australia. The Indian community surrounding the school is outraged and greatly upset with the mockery of a symbol of the Sikh religion. They accused the school and board of institutionalized religious discrimination.

Over the last few years, in Australia, more than 100 incidents including those of hatred and racism have occurred. Various organizations have formed such as the National Council of Indian Australians, in response to the hate crimes. These groups hope to come together to raise awareness of the Indian religions so that incidents of such a nature disappear altogether.

with thanks : ChakraNews : link above.

Watch NDTV 24x7 : A programme on Communal Violence Bill

Watch NDTV 24x7 :

A programme on "Communal violence Bill " : 

Sunday 10th July at 8 pm.  

Pics : Gurdwara Data Bandi Chor Sahib, Gwalior : Happy Gurupurab !

ਛੇਵੀ ਪਾਤਿਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਮੀਰੀ ਪੀਰੀ ਦੇ ਮਾਲਿਕ, ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖਤ ਦੇ ਰਚਨਹਾਰ ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਪੁਰਬ ਦੀ ਲੱਖ ਲੱਖ ਵਧਾਈ।

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Gurudwara Taran Taran Sahib

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Bliss at Tarn Taran

The golden ripe wheat was swaying gently in the breeze. Emerging out of a side lane on the highway was a Sikh in a yellow turban, walking with a typical martial demeanour. 

On his arm he wore the kara or bracelet and in his holster was a kirpan. Handsome, I thought; and warrior-like. "Khalsa," said my driver, almost in an undertone. Khalsa? Who are they? 

"They are the most strict, pure, and aggressive of the Sikhs. You will see many of them in this region," my driver informed me. I followed the sweep of his arm to see more Khalsas bobbing past on bicycles, others driving tractors piled high with the day's harvest, school girls with pigtails running in dusty lanes, and every now and then a village straight out of Khuswant Singh's Train to Pakistan. Yes, that's where I was heading: GurudwaraTarn Taran Sahib, close to India's border with Pakistan. 

Also known as Sri Darbar Sahib Tarn Taran, the shrine was built at the behest of the fifth SikhGuru Arjan Dev in the late 16th century. In 1590, Guru Arjan Dev "set out on a tour of the country between the rivers Ravi and Beas." He chose a spot, bought the land and laid the foundation of a gurudwara in honour of Guru Ram Das. He also got a sarovar or water tank built there and called it Tarn Taran. 

We entered the town of Tarn Taran to a typical Indian marketplace: Vegetable vendors jostling for space, snarling traffic and cows frozen in time like Nandi sculptures. As we drove through the archway, the music changed — Punjabi pop gave way to the slow, lilting tunes of shabad kirtans. Our car suddenly took a sharp turn and stopped. Right in front of us was a lane decorated with streamers; on one side were shops selling books and music, beads, karas and items used in worship while on the other was the wrought iron fence of the gurudwara. 

Tarn Taran Sahib looked so different than other gurudwaras that the first thing I did was to seek more information from Mohan Singh, a retired block education officer who was doing kar seva or service at the entrance. 

Slowly stroking his silver beard, Mohan Singh said, "This is not the place of any one guru. In Sikhism, we have had 10 gurus, but each of them was only reiterating the word of God in the Guru Granth Sahib — so this is the house of the Guru Granth Sahib." 

Why do people come here? 

"They come here because their wishes get fulfilled and ailments get cured," Mohan Singh said. The vast expanse of the sarovar is striking; especially if you compare it with the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The white marble walkway that surrounds the sarovar is over a kilometre long. Sikh websites describe the sarovar as "the largest Sikh sarovar in the world." 

with thanks : Times of India : link above for detailed news story.

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Hotel to apologise over turban eviction

A BRISBANE hotel that evicted a patron for wearing a turban is now attempting to locate him to apologise.

Spirit Hotels, which is a Coles subsidiary, has confirmed to AAP one of its staff members at the Royal English Hotel at Nundah asked a man to remove his turban under their no headwear policy yesterday.

After the Sikh man refused, he was evicted.

A spokesman for Spirit Hotels said the decision to ask him to remove his turban was an oversight.

"Our hotels have a policy where patrons may be asked to remove headwear to help the venue manage security for staff and patrons," the spokesman said.

"However, in this particular incident, the patron should not have been asked to remove his turban, and we are attempting to contact the patron to apologise.

"Hotel staff are being educated again on correct application of the policy."

with thanks : heraldsun : link above for detailed news.

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