In historic homeland, Pakistan's Sikhs live under constant threat

PESHAWAR Pakistan (Reuters) - Every time someone walks into his pharmacy in the volatile Pakistani city of Peshawar, Amarjeet Singh prepares for the worst.

"I don't know if it's a customer or an assailant who will reach out for his gun," Amarjeet, a member of Pakistan's tiny Sikh minority, told Reuters.

Easily recognized because of their colorful turbans, members of Pakistan's Sikh community say they have been singled out and attacked increasingly in the South Asian nation where radical Islamist militants see them as infidels.

Their plight highlights a growing atmosphere of intolerance in a country long plagued by sectarian violence. Like Shi'ite Muslims, Christians and other minorities, Sikhs live in a paranoid and hostile world where every stranger is assumed to be an attacker.

with thanks : Yahoo News : LINK

Haveli Maharaja Naunihal Singh

Haveli Nau Nihal Singh is reckoned among the most magnificent buildings of Lahore constructed during the Sikh period. It was built by Nau Nihal Singh, son of Maharaja Kharak Singh, and was used as his private residence. It contains numerous spacious chambers, halls and balconies. The roofs are decorated with paintings and mirrors decorated with gold. The walls are richly ornamented with glasses and artificial flowers.

with thanks : dunyanews : LINK

Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler, ruled Punjab from 1799 to 1839 A.D. His Samadhi occupying the spot where he was cremated lies just opposite the Lahore Fort. It was commenced by his son Kharak Singh and completed in 1848 A.D. Built in bricks with a sprinkling of red sandstone and marble, it is a mixture of Hindu and Muslim architecture composed and constructed in conformity with Hindu tastes. The ceilings are decorated with class mosaic or plain glass work. Eleven smaller marble knobs placed all around hold ashes of four queens and seven slave girls. The interior of the Samadhi chamber is also decorated with frescoes depicting mostly the stories of the Sikh Gurus.

with thanks : dunyanews : LINK

DSGMC :Press Statement of Sd. Kulmohan Singh

             




































Sd. Kulmohan Singh  (Chief Adviser DSGMC  & ex. General Secretary DSGMC and ex. General Secretary Takhat Sri Harimandir ji patna sahib )

With thanks : Media DSGMC

Baby Jhanvi Ahuja: Missing three-year-old Indian girl found

   Jhanvi was found with her head shaved

A three-year-old Indian girl from Delhi who went missing a week ago has been found after her family launched a massive social media campaign.

    Baby Jhanvi with her parents

Baby Jhanvi Ahuja was visiting the India Gate monument in New Delhi on the night of 28 September with her parents and other relatives when she disappeared.

She was found on Sunday night ,5th September with a placard around her neck with her name and her uncle's telephone number on it.

A passer-by who found her called her family and informed the police.

After the child went missing, her family launched a campaign -  Bring Back Back Jhanvi - on Facebook, Twitter and the instant messaging service WhatsApp to find her.

"She was found standing on a road outside a gurudwara (Sikh temple) in Janakpuri area in west Delhi," Jhanvi's uncle Gaurav Chopra told the BBC.

"She had a little board hanging around her neck. It gave her name and her father's name. It said she was lost at India Gate and asked anyone who found her to call her father. The board had my mobile phone number  written on it."

Mr Chopra said he asked the caller, a teenager, to sit with the child while he drove to the area.

"The people who had taken her had shaved her head but I immediately recognised her. I started crying, she also started crying. I gave her some chocolates. She looked a little tense, but she was fine and in good health."

Mr Chopra took her to the police station where Jhanvi's parents also arrived and identified her.

Her father Rakesh Ahuja told reporters that it was like "a rebirth of a daughter".

It is not yet known who took away the child but police say they suspect her kidnappers panicked and abandoned her following a widespread media coverage of the case and the social media campaign.

Some suspect that her head was shaved to change her appearance.

Child rights organisations says nearly 96,000 children disappear in India every year and that most of the missing children end up as labour, in brothels or in other exploitative situations.

Activists say the authorities are not doing enough to stop child trafficking but officials claim a lack of resources and co-ordination on a national level makes tracing missing children difficult.

With thanks :http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29502319

Why are Sikh women exempted from wearing helmet ?

Please go through the news uploaded in the post below. It's about a question asked by Hon'ble HC under a PIL that why are sikh women exempted from wearing helmet.

Seems it's now the time for SGPC & DSGMC to come forward to satisfy the querry of Hon'ble HC.

Can we have your answers via your valued comments under this post, but, in a suitable language as the matter is with Hon'ble HC now ?

Why are Sikh women exempted from wearing helmet: HC

IANS

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the city government why it has exempted Sikh women pillion riders from wearing a helmet following a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the exemption.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw asked the transport department to apprise the court why it has made such an amendment in the Delhi Motor Vehicle Rules that exempts Sikh women from wearing a helmet.

"We would like to know why it (helmet) is not for Sikh women. Why the government made out such an amendment? What is the reason behind it?," the bench said, asking the government to produce the judgment passed by the High Court on a PIL seeking a direction to make helmets mandatory for women two-wheeler riders, including pillion riders.

The court's direction came after advocate Zubeda Begum, appearing for the transport department, told the bench that in January the court had passed an order on a similar PIL and asked the government to decide on the issue.

After the court's direction, the transport department amended the rules and exempted Sikh women from wearing helmets on religious grounds.

The court posted the matter for Nov 12.

The PIL filed by advocate Bhupender Pratap Singh said that according to the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act only Sikh men wearing turbans are exempted from wearing helmets while riding motorcycles and scooters.

However, the amended Delhi Motor Vehicle Rules have exempted the Sikh women from wearing helmets. Singh contended that this provision is violative of the MV Act.

"The MV Act mandates the helmet law for all except Sikh men wearing a turban...The amended rule by virtue of the exemption given to Sikh women from wearing helmets continues to be ultra-vires to the parent (MV) Act," the plea said.

"It (amended rule) is thus illegal and liable to be declared void to the extent of exemption given to the Sikh women from the requirement of wearing a helmet when driving or riding pillion on a motorcycle," it added.

with thanks : IANS : LINK

Turbans target of racial abuse !

Harjit Singh from the Australian Sikh Heritage Association, says that the increased fear toward Sikhs is due to images of Islamic State extremists in the Middle East.

"We walk down the street and sometimes we do get abused being called a terrorist or go home Taliban, those things are just unfortunate," Mr Singh said. 

"Sikhs, turban, bearded people have been in Australia for 150 years and were very much loved and integrated into the community."

Mr Singh wants more people to know about Australia's rich Sikh heritage and that the vast majority of turbans are, in fact, worn by Sikhs as only high officials in Islam wear the turban.

In an attempt to combat fears and prejudices, community iniatives are seeking to bridge the divide between cultures. 

In the Sydney suburb of Kellyville, the Super Sikh Cup encourages multiculturalism within the community through sport. 

with thanks : SBS : LINK : for detailed news.

MoU with NDMC for transfer of parking lot of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is cancelled by DSGMC.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC ) led by its President Manjit Singh GK in its Executive meeting ( held on 1st Oct 2014) cancelled MoU with New Delhi Municipal Corporation;which was signed during the tenure of Mr. Paramjit Singh Sarna as president for transfer of Gurdwara Bangla Sahib parking lot.

The issue came up in the meeting that Mr. Sarna misused his powers to sign MoU as it was without the approval of general house or the executive committee. Mr. Sirsa adds DSGMC would not transfer parking lot to NDMC at any cost.

Senior leaders Mr. Ravinder Singh Khurana, Mr. Tanwant Singh, Mr. Harmeet Singh Kalka, Mr. Amarjeet Singh Pappu, Mr. Chaman Singh, Ms. Daljeet Kaur Khalsa, Mr. Harvinder Singh KP, Mr. Inderjeet Singh Monty, Mr. Jasbi Singh Jassi and Mr. Kulwant Singh Bath were also present.

With thanks,

Media DSGMC

DSGMC to set up printing presses in two foreign/European countries for printing of Guru Granth Sahib

To maintain Maryada, DSGMC to set up printing press in foreign countries; Holy Book Shri Guru Granth Sahib would be now printed there itself instead of taking the Holy Granth from India to a foreign country.

The executive committee of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) today ( 1st October 2014) decided to set up two printing presses in two foreign countries for printing of the Holy Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

The decision was taken in the meeting chaired by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh Ji. Commenting on the present practice of transporting the Holy Shri Guru Granth Sahib from India, DSGMC president Mr. Manjit Singh G.K. said that there are reports that Maryada is not maintained at time of taking the Holy Granth from India to a foreign country. “So we have decided to set up two printing presses in two foreign countries and location would be announced at a later stage, on the basis of response from the Sikh Diaspora living in foreign countries”.

Along with other members of the executive committee, special invitees including Mr. Balwant Singh Rammowalia, former SAD president of Delhi unit Mr. Avtar Singh Hit, Mr. Onkar Singh Thapar, Mr. Kuldeep Singh Bhogal and Mr. Kulmohan Singh welcomed the decision and it was unanimously approved amidst Jaikaras Jo Bole So Nihal… Sat Shri Akal. DSGMC general secretary Mr. Manjinder Singh Sirsa was also present in the meeting.

Welcoming the decision, Jathedar Shri Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh suggested that decision be sent to Shri Akal Takht for formal approval by five head priests. Jathedar informed that as per the edict of Shri Akal Takht on 9-5-1998, before printing of Holy Shri Guru Granth Sahib and other religious material related to the Sikh Panth a prior approval of five head priests is mandatory.

It needs  to mention,here ,that Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak committee is setting up a printing press in USA and Jathedar Shri Akal Takht asked DSGMC to set up press in a foreign country which is not connected to USA by road. 

Chairman of Dharam parchar committee Mr.Paramjeet Singh Rana welcomed the decision subsequent to which Mr. G.K. issued directions for sending the decision for approval of the five head priests.

With thanks,

Media DSGMC

Delhi Lt. Governor Mr.Najeeb Jung paid obeisance at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib

The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Mr. Najeeb Jung today (1st October 2014) paid obeisance at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. On reaching the Gurdwara the president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Mr. Manjit Singh G.K. and General Secretary Mr. Manjinder Singh Sirsa honoured Mr. Najeeb Jung with Siropa.

Mr. Jung who came with his wife, visited Baba Baghel Singh multimedia museum, and later performed sewa at jora ghar of Gurdwara Sahib. Accepting invitation to attend the samagam to mark parksh purab of Guru Nanak Devi Ji, Mr. Jung assured Sikh community that he would resolve all issues related to the Gurdwaras on priority basis. 

Senior leaders including Mr. Ravinder Singh Khurana, Mr. Tanwant Singh, Mr. Harmeet Singh Kalka, Mr. Jatinder Singh Shanty, Mr. Avtar Singh Hit, Mr. Onkar Singh Thapar, Mr. Kuldeep Singh Bhogal, Mr. Kulmohan Singh, Mr. Paramjit Singh Rana,  Mr. Darshan Singh, Mr. Rawail Singh, Mr. Amarjeet Singh Pappu, Mr. Chaman Singh, Mr.  Harvinder Singh KP, Mr. Paramjeet Singh Chandok, Mr. Kuldeep Singh Sahni, Mr. Inderjeet Singh Monty, Capt. Inderpreet Singh, Mr. Jasbir Singh Jassi, Mr. Kulwant Singh Bath, and Mr. Vikram Singh were also present. 

With thanks,

Media DSGMC