Pics Parkash Utsav at Gurdwara Rakabganj sahib, Delhi

Happy Gurpurab

Happy Gurupurab ji. Aap sab nu lakh lakh vadhaiyaan hovan ji.

Obama greets Sikhs on Guru Nanak birthday

IANS

Washington, Nov 16: President Barack Obama has greeted "Sikh friends" around the world on the birth anniversary of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak saying Sikh values of pluralism were also "central to who we are as Americans."

"This sacred time is an occasion to reflect on Guru Nanak's timeless teachings and the principles that are at the heart of Sikhism, including the equality of all human beings, the pluralism we cherish in diverse societies and the compassion we owe one another," he said in a message on Friday.

Expressing gratefulness "to the many Sikh Americans who give life to these values and enrich our country every day," Obama said they reminded "us that these shared principles are not only at the heart of the Sikh faith, they are central to who we are as Americans."

White House is also set to celebrate Guru Nanak's birth anniversary on Wednesday.

Here is the text of Obama's message:

"I want to extend my best wishes to all our Sikh friends, across the United States and around the world, who this weekend are observing the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Sikh Guru.

"This sacred time is an occasion to reflect on Guru Nanak's timeless teachings and the principles that are at the heart of Sikhism, including the equality of all human beings, the pluralism we cherish in diverse societies and the compassion we owe one another.

"Here in the United States, we're grateful to the many Sikh Americans who give life to these values and enrich our country every day, reminding us that these shared principles are not only at the heart of the Sikh faith, they are central to who we are as Americans.

The Sikh community welcomed Obama's greetings saying he and his administration have shown particular respect for Sikhs and their religious observances

Obama "has stood with Sikh community in the most challenging times last year during the Oak Creek, Wisconsin Gurdwara shooting and he tried his best to give comfort to the Sikhs and the nation," said Dr. Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education.

"We are committed to be a partner with President Obama in building a loving society where no one feels left out," he said.

with thanks : IANS : LINK : 

Chinese soldiers stunned by Indian Gatka : Hindustan Times, Delhi

Ragi Amarjit singh ji Patiala wale with Sangat

Pics : Gurmat Samagam at Chand Mohalla, Gandhi nagar, Delhi

Gurmat samagam : must visit today if nearby

Elderly Sikh assaulted in Britain dies

An 80-year-old Sikh man, who was assaulted by a teenaged girl in the British city of Coventry in August this year, has died.

Joginder Singh, who was assaulted on Trinity Street in Coventry city centre by Coral Millerchip, 19, around 8.30 p.m. Aug 10, died Nov 3, the police of West Midlands county said in a statement Thursday.

The incident was captured on closed circuit television (CCTV) and the footage was widely circulated on social media.

The victim, who suffered a cut nose and swelling, hailed from the Canley neighbourhood of the city.

Millerchip also spat on the victim and verbally abused him.

Millerchip confessed to the crime last month, but following the death of Singh she is likely to face more stringent charges.

"Following the assault, Singh was re-admitted to hospital and was being treated for a diagnosed condition and at this stage it is unclear if that is directly connected with the assault," Matt Markham, an officer in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said in the statement.

Singh was reportedly "fighting for his life" when Millerchip appeared in Coventry Magistrate's Court in August for her first hearing.

Prosecutor Pamela Meinert, during the hearing, said that Singh was in a critical condition in hospital.

However, she added that she was not sure whether his condition had anything to do with the attack.

Singh was discharged from hospital after the attack but was later re-admitted for treatment.

The post-mortem examination report has not yet come and police said further tests were being done to know the actual cause of his death.

"It's really bad news - an extremely sad day for the community," Harjinder Singh Sehmi, the counsel of the deceased, said.

with thanks : Business Standard : LINK

The August news can be read from the LINK

Turbaned Sikhs barred from flying Emirates aircrafts

New Delhi,Nov 4 (TruthDive): Sikhs wearing a turban are not allowed to fly aircrafts of Emirates Airlines. A CNN-IBN report says that it has the email exchange between the Sikh pilot and the airlines.

The Sikh pilot has alleged that Emirates Airlines, after shortlisting him for an interview turned him down only because he wears a turban. As a pilot for almost nine years now, and flying more than 5,500 hours in national and international routes,he was shortlisted for an interview with gulf-based Emirates airlines. He was turned down, because he is a turbaned Sikh.

The pilot got to know from friends that there is a company policy against turbaned Sikhs and at first he laughed saying that such a big company would never do that. In the subsequent mails he sent, it was a shocker for him. He was told he need not come as there is a rule being followed and the company is not making any exceptions.

To clear his doubts, he emailed his photograph to the Emirates. With one week before the final round, he was told that wearing the cap is a mandatory part of the uniform, hence he had been disqualified. If they have any policy against turbaned Sikh pilots, they should mention that turbaned Sikhs should not apply, he points out.

with thanks : TruthDive : LINK : for detailed news.

Thousands from Europe converge at Geneva for 'genocide' petition

GENEVA: The Justice Rally held in front of the UN office in Geneva witnessed mammoth participation of Sikhs from across Europe, and even the US and Canada. Those coming from European countries travelled in specially hired buses and their journey ranged from 5 hours to 20, depending on their place of starting the trip.

Around hundred Sikhs travelled down to the rally site in two buses. As their journey took 12 hours, they brought along their langar (food). Baljit Singh Dhesi, who led the contingent, said they started on Thursday night and claimed that there was great enthusiasm in the people to participate in the rally. Several women also attended in the rally. As there are estimated to be less than 500 Sikhs in Switzerland and very few in Geneva, for the locals it was a novel thing -- to see so many turbaned Sikhs in front of the UN office. "I have seen few rallies of this size here," remarked a journalist of a local newspaper while trying to get to the depth of the issue and purpose of the rally.

with thanks : Times of India : LINK : for detailed news.

The 34th annual Sikh Parade : Vid

80,000 people attend Sikh parade

By David Bitton/A-D reporter

Tens of thousands of people descended on Yuba City on Sunday, brightening up Tierra Buena and Butte House roads with their colorful attire, for the 34th annual Nagar Kirtan and Sikh Parade.

Mandeep Bassi-Sandhu, 27, who described herself as a proud Sikh, said she has been coming to the event with her family her entire life.

Arriving 31⁄2 hours early paid off for the Elk Grove resident, who was able to watch the Guru Granth Sahib, or Sikh holy scriptures, go by in the main float while sitting on the rear-bumper of her vehicle.

"Every time I go to India I don't see this much culture," Bassi-Sandhu said. "India is really here in Yuba City."

The Guru Granth Sahib remained covered during the parade, which saw people stacked up 10 people deep in places near the temple on a blustery autumn day.

An estimated 80,000 people attended the parade according to Tejinder Dosanjh, a spokesman for the Sikh Temple.

Dosanjh said he was surprised how many people walked with the float the entire parade route.

Friends Rajinder Kaur, 39, and Dimple Bajwa, 31, both of Sacramento, said the event is a great way to reconnect.

The two hadn't seen each other in about eight months.

Kaur noted that she also enjoys coming to the event to sample the wide variety of free food handed out at numerous locations throughout the parade route.

"This event reminds us of our culture and traditions," Bajwa said. "We celebrate this like you celebrate Christmas. It is our God's birthday."

Before his death in 1708, Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru, gave Sikhs the Guru Granth Sahib, or Sikh holy scripture.

"The Guru Granth Sahib is our Guru and our teacher," Dosanjh said.

The holy book teaches about peace, human equality and helping the needy, he said.

"It was a great day and a great event," Dosanjh said. "Everybody was blessed with peace and happiness."

CONTACT David Bitton at 749-4796. Find him on Facebook at /ADdbitton or on Twitter at @ADdbitton.

with thanks : appeal democrat : LINK

HAPPY DEEPAWALI

A little flicker of light in endless darkness makes a difference..HAPPY DEEPAWALI wishes to all !

Happy Diwali : Data Bandi Chor Diwas Diyaan Lakh Lakh Wadhaiyaan hovan ji !

Auction of Sikh Empire’s artifacts in Britain

London: An 1805 report, first-hand accounts, a book and and a few paintings throwing light on the life of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, under whom the Sikh empire expanded to its maximum, will go under the hammer at Mullock’s auction house here on Nov 5.

One of the highlights of the auction will be an early edition of the “History of the Sikhs” by Joseph Davy Cunningham which was published in 1853. It is considered the first extensive work on the Sikhs by a European, said a statement here Monday.

Other items on sale will be a first-hand account of the Sikhs by John Malcolm (1813), an 1803 account by the Marquis of Wellesley, portraits of Ranjit Singh and Gulab Singh, a rare 19th century British cast model, a fine engraving of the Nihangs dating to 1844, an early drawing of Ranjit Singh, an illustrated book on the Sikh court of Lahore by a Russian traveller, and the earliest European view of the Golden Temple dating to 1836.

“This is one of earliest accounts of Ranjit Singh, he would have been at the tender age of 25, a young ambitious man who was set to rule a vast empire. He was clearly an obstacle to the British expanding their territory in India,” specialist Richard Westwood-Brookes said of the 1803 account. 

“This sale is very unique as it sheds light on the Sikh empire and religion from the eyes of the British and European explorers of the 19th century,” he added.

with thanks : Mizo News : LINK

Zee TV - Dance India Dance - Season 4 - with Choreographers Feroz Khan & Muddassar Khan : Indiblogger

Dance India Dance - Season 4 : with Indiblogger : What an event. Great fun & enjoyment. The new judges of the Dance India Dance - Season 4, Choreographers Feroz Khan & Mudassar Khan were really friendly. The Indiblogger team really co - operative. It was all fun & enjoyment. Never expected this much from Indiblogger. But Thanks to the entire Indiblogger Team for this fun filled evening.

And than it was the SKIT. So many entries & so many groups. It was our turn & i proved the metal, i proved that i am a true Punjabi. I spoke in my true spirit, in my own Punjabi language to save a girl from eve teasers.

My performance was so strong that everyone started clapping & shouting. My husband sitting in front was also laughing loudly. The judges the Choreographers, both Feroz Khan & Mudassar Khan were clapping. They appreciated me in true Punjabi style. 

Now it was the results time. My heart was beating loudly. And than it was announced that we were the winners. Both the judges again appreciated me and my True Punjabi style. It was joy n fun every where. Great time. Great enjoyment. Never expected this much from Indiblogger.

We ran towards the stage & both the Judges of the great Dance India Dance, Season 4 team joined us. We were given our prizes and than Choreographers Feroz Khan & Mudassar khan taught us various dancing Steps. Never expected that we will learn our first dancing steps from the Judges of the Dance India Dance Season 4 team. And after that everyone present there just DANCED, DANCED & DANCED. I can never forget such a fun filled event. Thanks Dance India Dance - Season 4. Thanks Indiblogger.

Sikh clergy should look hard at itself over sentencing of priest

Ajai Singh, the son of former Akal Takht chief, will now serve 90 days in jail, followed by 18 months probation. He was visiting Canada earlier this year when the incident was first reported to police on February 9.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.

UK drive to get Sikhs on organ donor list

A new drive has been launched to overcome the extreme shortage of British Sikhs on the organ donation list of the UK.

Members of the Asian community are more likely to need a transplant but wait longer than the general population in Britain for a match.

According to official figures, only around two per cent of organ donors each year are Asian but the community makes up nearly a fifth of those needing a transplant.

The National Health Service (NHS) has kicked off a targeted campaign across the country, starting with the Sikh community, to urge them to join its Organ Donor Register.

A series of TV programmes titled "Organ Donation: Let's Make a Difference" will air from next week in collaboration with Sikh community channel Sangat TV and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust's organ donation committee.

"We believe organ donation fits with the Sikh faith and that there is a real need in this community for more donors. If more people registered. more lives could be saved and members of the community might not face waiting longer than others when they need a transplant," said John Bleasdale, clinical lead for organ donation at the NHS Trust.

The TV shows, in a mix of Punjabi and English, feature a man, Satnam Kang, who is waiting for a kidney transplant and talks about the difficulties of being on dialysis at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

with thanks : Indian Express : LINK : for detailed news.

SAD to contest in 12 seats in Delhi polls

Eyeing a pan-India footprint after its huge success in the recent Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has apparently decided to contest alone in 12 seats in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

The decision to start legwork in 12 constituencies was taken after the Akalis failed to reach a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP, its alliance partner in Punjab.

In line with this, the Akalis will contest these seats even if the BJP fields candidates for these seats.

The 12 constituencies chosen by the SAD are Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar, Moti Nagar, Timarpur, Adarsh Nagar, Greater Kailash, Kalkaji, Parparganj, Shadara, Shakur Basti and Vishvas Nagar.

Explaining the reason behind the move, a party leader said, “The BJP is not able to decide on sharing seats with the SAD. With little time to go for the elections, the leadership has asked us to contest from the seats having a big chunk of Punjabi and Sikh population independently.”

The reason for the parting of ways in Delhi was the deadlock over Rajouri Garden and Tilak Nagar seats. The BJP wanted the Akalis to chose from one of these.

The development does not bode well for both the allies. According to SAD sources, the party can barely hope to get one seat while the BJP could lose the seats where SAD puts up candidates. Sources said its Delhi unit is going to start holding poll meetings in the 12 constituencies from Tuesday.

The announcement of BJP’s Delhi state unit president Harshvardhan as chief ministerial candidate in place of unit president Vijay Goel has the BJP men in Delhi in a state of flux.

In the 2008 Assembly elections, the SAD had contested four seats - Rajouri Garden, Adarsh Nagar, Jangpura and Shahdara - but lost all of them.

Of these two were fought on the SAD symbol and two were fought on the BJP symbol.

SAD Spokesman Daljeet Singh Cheema said, “Our talks with the BJP are going on and the final decision is yet to be taken.

“We hope things will work. The Delhi unit of the party had a meeting with SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and they have apprised him of the situation.”

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal had been maintaining from day one that his party would contest the Delhi Assembly elections in alliance with the BJP.

with thanks : Indian Express : LINK

California Sikh student kicked off bus for refusing to remove kirpan

A Sikh college student in California was kicked off a bus for wearing his faith.

20-year-old Harsimram Singh said an Amtrak bus driver alerted the police after spotting him with the kirpan, a curved ceremonial knife that baptized Sikhs are required to carry at all times.

According to the New York Daily News, cops told him to store the kirpan in the luggage compartment or find another way to travel. Singh chose to stick to his religion.

The University of California - Davis student said that he has been riding Amtrak for two years, sometimes with the same driver, and has never had an issue before.

Singh said that he often wears his kirpan around campus and has traveled before with it on Amtrak, but this was the first time he's encountered any sort of problem.

Amtrak's policy is that knives and weapons should be stored in checked luggage. The Transportation Safety Agency enforces the same rules on airplanes, the report added.

with thanks : Business Standard : LINK

UN raps France for asking Sikh to remove turban for Id photo

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has concluded that the religious freedom of 57-year-old Shingara Mann Singh was violated when he was asked by French authorities to remove his turban for his passport photograph.

A French citizen since 1989, Shingara couldn’t renew his passport in 2005 because the authorities insisted that he remove the turban for his ID photograph, which he refused to do. A legal team of the NGO United Sikhs  took up his case in French courts and then engaged O’Melveny & Myers LLP to file a petition with the UNHRC in December 2008.

The UNHRC, in a statement dated September 26, 2013 but made public last week, said France had failed to explain why the restriction imposed on Shingara was necessary. The international rights body found that the restrictions resulted in a potential obstruction to his fundamental right to freedom of religion when he was required to appear in ID photos without the religious headwear that he always wore, as he might thereafter be forced to take off his turban in public when going through ID checkpoints.

The UNHRC also observed that France had not explained why wearing a turban covering the upper portion of the head and forehead(leaving the face clearly visible) makes it more difficult to identify the wearer, or why a bare-headed ID photograph in Shingara’s case would make it easier to ascertain his identity or to prevent fraud or forgery given that he always wore a turban in public.

“This is the third turban case that the United Sikhs legal team has won at the UN since these cases were filed against France in 2008. This shows the international community recognises that wearing a turban is not only a Sikh’s religious duty but also a part of his identity,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, international legal director of the NGO.

with thanks : newindianexpress : LINK

Army Enlisted Sikh Soldier Earns Rare Promotion

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina, United States

Simranpreet Lamba, the Army’s only enlisted Sikh soldier, was promoted to corporal, making him the first Sikh to earn that rank in more than 30 years, according to the News Tribune.

“I kind of think all my hard work has paid off,” said Lamba, whose enlistment in 2009 triggered a ten-month review in which Army officials considered whether he could serve while sporting a turban, uncut hair and a beard.

He is one of a handful of Sikhs serving in the Army across the active-duty and Reserve forces, according to the New York-based Sikh Coalition. Two of the others are in the medical field as officers, one a dentist and one a doctor.

Lamba, 29, hopes his promotion will show “there’s nothing about being Sikh, about our turban and our beard that can stop us from excelling in the Army,” he said.

He enlisted through a military program that recruits foreigners with special skills and offers them a path to citizenship. Lamba, who has become a naturalized U.S. citizen, speaks Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.

He moved to America from New Delhi in 2006 and found his way to the Army after he earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering from New York University.

The Indian American said he always wanted to serve his country in uniform. Enlisting let him fulfill that dream.

His promotion from specialist to corporal was a lateral move, but it signifies that he’s doing well and is on a path to becoming a sergeant. He’d be the first Sikh sergeant in decades if he earned that rank.

with thanks : Indiawest : LINK

Happy Gurupurab !

Hyderabad Sikhs protest attack on Vizianagaram Gurudwara

Protesting against the attack on a Sikh Gurudwara in Vizianagaram on Saturday and sacrilege of the sacred scripture of Sikhs besides attacking a Sikh priest by antisocial elements, Sikhs  staged a protest demonstration at Gurudwara Saheb Ameerpet in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Sikhs, holding placards and black flags, gathered in large numbers at the Ameerpet Gurudwara and demanded the arrest of the  attackers and stringent action against them.

President of Gurudwara Saheb Ameerpet S Darshan Singh said anti-social elements threw stones on the Gurdwara Saheb in Vizianagaram and a few of them even barged into the shrine and abused the priest there in a filthy language.

“Attacking a religious place which has nothing to do with the ongoing agitation is very unfortunate,” he said.

with thanks : New Indian Express : LINK : for detailed news