GRAVESEND: Sikh community defends decision to sell temple for demolition

7:00am Friday 14th August 2009

By Michael Purton

A SIKH community leader has defended its decision to sell a 137-year-old temple for demolition after criticism from a campaign group.

Last month Gravesham Council gave developer Thamesview Living permission to demolish the Siri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara, Clarence Place, Gravesend, and replace it with 19 flats and two houses.

The Gurdwara Management Committee decided to sell the building to the developer for £3.1m to raise money for the new £11m temple it is constructing in Khalsa Avenue.

SAVE, which campaigns to preserve historic British buildings, is set to call for a judicial review into the council’s decision to allow the demolition of the temple.

Director William Palin said: “Although unlisted, this fine building, dating from 1872, is in a conservation area and in good condition.

“SAVE believes the council failed to pay proper attention to national heritage guidelines for the demolition of buildings within conservation areas.

“The motive for demolition seems to be purely financial and there is little evidence the feasibility of other uses have been seriously investigated.”

However, Gurdwara Management Committee general secretary Narinder Singh says it had been trying to sell the building for re-use for two years before accepting Thamesview Living’s offer.

The 56-year-old said: “The Sikh community wants to finish building the new temple and needs the money from the sale of the old Gurdwara.”

When deciding to permit the sale, the council’s regulatory board concluded the temple was in a state of disrepair and unlikely to attract a buyer who wanted to use the building.

In response to SAVE’s threat of legal action, board chairman Councillor Harold Craske said: “In my view the regulatory board’s decision was reached correctly.

“On the night we considered everything before us, all the officers reports and objections that had been submitted as well as the opinions of those who addressed the board, and came to our conclusion.”

- The temple in Clarence Place was designed by renowned architect Sir John Sulman and has been a Sikh temple since 1968.

- In 2000 the Gurdwara Management Committee announced plans to build a new temple in Khalsa Avenue for Gravesend’s 10,000 Sikhs, and building work began in 2002.

- The committee decided the building in Clarence Place would be sold once the Gurdwara in Khalsa Avenue was complete.

- Although originally scheduled to be opened in Spring last year, the new Gurdwara was partially opened for religious services on July 1 this year and is expected to be completed in April next year.

- The Gurdwara Management Committee decided to sell the Clarence Place building to Thamesview Living in May last year.

- Money for the £11m new Gurdwara has been raised through donations from the Sikh community.

For information on the new temple, go to gurunanakdarbar.org

with thanks : source : http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/4544877.GRAVESEND__Sikh_community_defends_decision_to_sell_temple_for_demolition/

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Sikh student says Thirsty Turtle discriminated against his religion

Sikh student says Thirsty Turtle discriminated against his religion
Ben Slivnick

A Sikh graduate student says Thirsty Turtle denied him service two weeks ago because of the turban that he's religiously obligated to wear.

Ramik Chopra, 26, a master's of business administration student who lives in College Park, wears his turban to work, formal occasions and around the house, but when he showed up at Thirsty Turtle on July 31, he said he was told he couldn't wear it inside the bar.

Chopra said a bouncer appeared to confuse the black turban he was wearing that night with a do-rag and told him the turban violated the bar's dress code.

Chopra said even after he tried to clear up the misunderstanding, the bouncer wouldn't relent: He wouldn't take Chopra's ID, and he wouldn't let Chopra speak with a manager.

"It was really degrading," Chopra said. "I can understand if a person does not know something and he reacts a certain way; I've done that, too. But I'm open to listening and trying to understand other people and changing my opinion. This guy refused to budge."

Kevin Hornberger, a university graduate who was with Chopra that night, confirmed his account.

"I was just sitting there in disbelief," Hornberger said. "It's the 21st century."

Alan Wanuck, owner of Thirsty Turtle, did not return multiple phone calls.

Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prevents public establishments such as Thirsty Turtle from discriminating on the grounds of "race, color, religion or national origin."

In a case similar to Chopra's, the U.S. Justice Department concluded in September 2001 that a Hard Times Cafe in Springfield, Va., could not apply a no-do-rag rule to a turban-wearing Sikh man.

"I can't comment on a case when I don't know all the facts, but in general the law says you can't do that," said Rajdeep Singh Jolly, legal and policy director for the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

But Chopra said it never occurred to him to bring charges against Thirsty Turtle.

He and Hornberger left Thirsty Turtle, ate dinner at Ratsie's and spent the rest of the night at R.J. Bentley's. He said Bentley's bouncer didn't ask him any questions.

"We were upset for the first hour, and we just had a few drinks, and I was fine," Chopra said.

with thanks : source : http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2009/08/13/News/Sikh-Student.Says.Thirsty.Turtle.Discriminated.Against.His.Religion-3754630.shtml

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Sikhs follow baba’s

Black magic has riddled the Sikh community for decades. No matter what, people are turning to these con artist for advise guidance and a little magic to help resolve all their worldly issues

If your car does not start it must be your past life’s ‘karam’ – wake up it’s a vehicle and sometimes they do brake down. But instead of calling a mechanic they decide to go to the nearest baba, splattered in all the Punjabi newspapers or echoing on the radio adverts.

These babas charge vast amounts of money and lure their victims to part with their hard earned cash, but the ironical part is that often they do manage to resolve some of the issue, even though it may be temporary.

Well their days may be numbered as now, authorities in the east Midlands town of Leicester, better known as 'Little India', have announced a campaign against such 'babas' and 'tantriks', most of whom have origins in the Indian sub-continent.

Deputy Mayor Manjula Sood said: "I have heard of people being asked for 500 pounds and more for prayers or talismans. They think a curse will be placed on them if they refuse. One recently came to Leicester and took a room at a hotel where she charged clients 500 pounds for 10-minute sessions."

Resham Singh Sandhu, chairman of the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society, said the Sikh community was lobbying newspapers to stop publishing advertisements from such people.

with thanks : source : http://www.emgonline.co.uk/news.php?news=6843

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Thousands of Sikhs visit Vancouver temple for 'miracle' Holy Book

Thousands of Sikhs visit Vancouver temple for 'miracle' Holy Book

By Stuart Hunter, Vancouver ProvinceAugust 12, 2009

VANCOUVER — Sikhs from around British Columbia are flocking to a Vancouver temple to see the "miraculous" Holy Book saved from the Khalsa Elementary School fire.

Many in the 100,000-strong community have visited the Gurdwara Sahib Khalsa Darbar to see the ornate, 1,430-page Siri Guru Granth Sahib, which survived the July 30 arson blaze that destroyed eight of 10 portable classrooms as well as the temple, causing an estimated $1 million in damage.

Despite the carnage, fire crews were able to pluck the Holy Book from one of the burnt-out, smoke-filled portables virtually untouched.

"Some people are saying it is a miracle," said Jasbir Singh Bhatia, principal of all four of the Khalsa schools. "It wasn't touched at all. The firefighters are heroes. A lot of people are going to see it — especially on weekends."

The Holy Book was usually kept overnight in a small, unlocked room in the portable. Each day, a Sikh priest would take it to the temple altar for prayer — but the fire occurred at approximately 7:45 a.m., before the priest arrived.

After the fire was doused, the book of sacred scripture, in poetry form, was carried on the head of a priest to the temple — in keeping with tradition — to safeguard it.

The Holy Book also survived a 2004 fire at the Punjabi private school operated by the Satnam Society. No arrests have been made in connection with the previous blaze.

"This is something very good that has happened to the community — why it happened, nobody knows," said Harinder Singh Sohi, chair of the B.C. Khalsa Darbar Society. "This is the most valuable thing to our community. It is like a living guru."

As priest Bhai Singh Kultar pulled back the book's pristine protective cloth on Wednesday, Khalsa graduate Jasmin Kaur Bassi, 15, called its salvation "a double miracle.

"The sheets weren't even burned and everything else around it was, so it was a miracle," said Bassi, now in Grade 10 at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.

"A lot of people have come to see it — it is a double miracle."

Police are still looking for witnesses.

© Copyright (c) The Province

with thanks : source : http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Thousands+Sikhs+visit+Vancouver+temple+miracle+Holy+Book/1886562/story.html

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Rajasthan Sikhs ask for a separate Gurdwara Management committee

August 13th, 2009

AMRITSAR - Close on the heels of the proposal of forming a separate committee for gurdwaras in Haryana, Sikhs in Rajasthan have threatened to intensify their demand for a separate Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee which would attend to the concerns of Sikhs in Rajasthan.

Sikhs in Rajasthan state have told the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the premier body of the Sikhs that if it continued to ignore their interests, they will be compelled to demand the setting up a separate Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee for Rajasthan.

A meet was organised on Wednesday by the five high priests to discuss issues like Haryana Committee, Dera Sachcha Sauda, and complaints regarding the concern of Sikhs in Rajasthan.

Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh , Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh , Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib Giani Tarlochan Singh , Chief Granthi of Golden Temple, Giani Jaswinder Singh, and Granthi of Golden Temple Giani Mal Singh attended the meeting.

A delegation of Sikhs from Rajasthan on Wednesday gave a memorandum to the Jathedar of Akal Takht. Later, it interacted with the media outside the secretariat of Akal Takht.

Voicing the demands for a separate Haryana Committee, Tejinder Singh Timma, General Secretary of the managing committee, Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh of Sriganganagar, said: ” SGPC is not granting any facilities to the Sikhs living in Haryana whereas the Haryana Government has been felicitating the Sikhs of Haryana.”

” However, it could be to woo them for votes,” he added.

Timma pointed out that a member was nominated from amongst the Sikhs from Rajasthan to the SGPC without taking the Sikh Sangat (community) of Rajasthan into confidence.

Moreover, he lamented that the SGPC never took note of the interests of thousands of Sikhs settled in Sriganganagar and other districts of Rajasthan.

“If they continued to do so we will be left with no option but to form our own Gurdwara management committee,” Timma said adding that that Avtar Singh Makkar, the President of SGPC, has initiated a few programs to be organized in Rajasthan after several years.

In a separate news conference, Giani Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar of Akal Takht, on Wednesday stated that the five high priests had condemned the move to set up a separate Gurdwara management body in Haryana.

He alleged that the proposal to establish a separate committee was a ploy to divide the Sikh community.

The Sikh clerics also indicated on continuing their efforts for dissolution of the proposed Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC), in case it was formed at the behest of Haryana’s Congress Government.

Gurbachan Singh said that if there was any resentment amongst the Sikhs of Haryana it could be solved through dialogue and it was an internal matter of Sikhs.

Gurbachan, however, assured the Sikhs from Rajasthan that their all concerns will be conveyed to the SGPC, the premier body of Sikhs who is also responsible for the take care of the historical gurdwaras of Rajasthan. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

with thanks : source : http://blog.taragana.com/n/rajasthan-sikhs-ask-for-a-separate-gurdwara-management-committee-138453/

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Sikh women subjected to racist abuse in London

13/08/2009
Sikh women subjected to racist abuse in London

London: A group of Sikh women and children who escaped a burning bus on a British highway last week were subjected to racist abuse by passing motorists, the BBC reported. Sixty-six women and children who worship at a gurdwara in the town of Luton were returning from a day out on the beaches of Weymouth in southern England Friday when their coach caught fire on a highway.

London: A group of Sikh women and children who escaped a burning bus on a British highway last week were subjected to racist abuse by passing motorists, the BBC reported.

Sixty-six women and children who worship at a gurdwara in the town of Luton were returning from a day out on the beaches of Weymouth in southern England Friday when their coach caught fire on a highway.

Helped by an off-duty policeman, all the passengers were evacuated to safety minutes before the double-decker coach exploded in a fireball, melting the tarmac, eyewitnesses said.

"It all happened in seconds. As we were backing away from the coach there was an explosion, and then another one. It was horrific. The whole thing went up in seconds," said one of the women in the coach, Inderjeet Buar.

She said it was amazing that no one was injured in the incident, which took place in the evening.

"We had organised a summer camp at our temple in Luton which was attended by many children. As part of the camp we organised a day out to Weymouth and over 200 people came, travelling on three coaches," the Dorset Echo quoted Buar as saying.

Another woman travelling in the coach said the evacuees were subjected to racist abuse by passing motorists as they stood on the hard shoulder of the highway, wrapped in foil blankets and waiting for another coach to collect them.

Inderjeet Kaur told BBC Television News that some motorists stopped to look and hurl racist abuse.

"They were pointing saying 'go back to the burning bus', and sticking their fingers out," she said.

It took 25 firefighters 90 minutes to put out the blaze, and a spokesman for coach operators said an investigation would be carried out into the cause of fire.

Spokesman Christopher Nice said: "The quick thinking and professionalism shown by our driver enabled all of the 66 passengers onboard to be promptly evacuated from the vehicle and led to a safe location."

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

with thanks : http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3131724

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Symbols of race hate daubed on Sikh temple

Symbols of race hate daubed on Sikh temple
13 August 2009

Racists have daubed far-Right extremist logos and a swastika on the side of a Sikh temple in Northampton.

The graffiti has appeared on a wall of the gurdwara and ramgarhia centre in Craven Street in The Mounts, and features the letters NF – standing for National Front – and makes offences comments to the Sikh community.

It is thought the damage was caused at some point during the night between Tuesday, August 11 and yesterday morning.

Anjona Roy, chief executive of the Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council, said reports of racist graffiti were on the rise in the county.

She said: "The year before last, this would have been completely unheard of. But we are hearing of this type of racist graffiti, which has political far-Right undertones, more and more often.

"This is a deliberate act, designed to intimidate not just the members of the Sikh community but also other communities living in what is a very diverse part of town.

"There is a synagogue and Muslim prayer centres within a stone's throw of the gurdwara, and this graffiti will have an enormous impact on all of them."

The graffiti has appeared days after what was believed to be a racist fight on The Racecourse.

Paul Varnsverry (Lib Dem, West Hunsbury), Northampton Borough Council's cabinet member for communities, said: "This is completely unacceptable and of course it does not reflect the vast majority of people living in Northampton. Community relations in the town are generally exceptionally good.

"Unfortunately there is a tiny minority of narrow-minded bigots who think this type of expression is acceptable. It is not."

He added the borough council dealt with racist graffiti as "a matter of priority" and vowed offensive messages would be removed within 24 hours of them being reported to the authority.

Paul Crofts, of Northamptonshire West Hate Incident Forum, told the Chronicle & Echo: "In my view, this is a form of terrorism, designed purely to intimidate people of all religions and those of no religion.

"To paint a swastika on a place of worship is despicable."

The temple graffiti had been removed by 3pm yesterday.

with thanks : source : http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Symbols-of-race-hate-daubed.5548902.jp

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A lifeline for Sikhs in Shanghai

A lifeline for Sikhs in Shanghai
By Bivash Mukherjee

THE gurdwara on Dongbaoxing Road is a south-facing two-story rectangular structure with red-brick walls.

Old documents give an insight into the temple. "There are 19 stairs leading to the entrance of the temple with each step 2 meters wide. An arched wooden door leads to the inside of the building. About 3 to 4 meters from the front door, there are two other arched doors.

"Inside the building, or gurdwara, there is a big hall with the sacred rostrum in the center at the back. There are small long windows at center left and center right. There are five big windows on either side of the sidewalls. Downstairs on the ground floor is the administrative office."

The role of gurdwaras in Sikh history is very significant. They guarded local Sikh interests and looked after the economic welfare of their community, especially during times of crisis. They provided a lifeline - in terms of food and shelter - to the millions of migrating and overseas-based Sikhs.

Tales of the Shanghai gurdwara also find mention elsewhere.

Legendary Indian field hockey player and Olympic gold medalist Dhyan Chand made a brief stopover in Shanghai in 1932 on the way to the Los Angeles Olympics.

In his autobiography "Goal," he says, "The atmosphere in the city was quite tense due to the Sino-Japanese clash.

"We were told to keep within bounds and avoid any trouble spots. We visited a small Sikh temple on the outskirts of the city. The temple had suffered much damage.

"As we came out of the temple, Japanese soldiers eyed us with suspicion," Chand writes.

with thanks : source : http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200908/20090812/article_410414.htm

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Sikh soldiers to guard Queen Elizabeth - ll - Video show

With thanks : Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/4844546.cms

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SGPC won’t tolerate separate body in Haryana: Makkar

Chandigarh, Aug 10 (IANS) The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the mini-parliament of Sikhs, Monday announced it would not tolerate any attempt by Haryana to set up a separate organisation to administer gurdwaras in that state.
Strongly opposing the statement by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who heads the Congress government, that a new SGPC for Haryana could be announced Nov 1, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said the main SGPC would oppose this move at all costs.

“The Congress is not a secular party. They are trying to divide the Sikhs and suppress their voice. The Congress is doing this to garner Sikh votes in Haryana elections,” Makkar told the media after a meeting of the SGPC executive committee held here.

The executive’s resolution, opposing the move of the Hooda government for a separate Sikh body for Haryana, will be put up before a general body meeting of the SGPC at Amritsar Friday.

The SGPC, headquartered at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, is dominated by the ruling Akali Dal in Punjab.

Makkar said: “This is a sensitive issue for Sikhs. Hooda’s statements in this regard are to instigate the community. His talk about holding a referendum of Haryana Sikhs is a sham. We will not tolerate if anyone tries to break the SGPC.”

But there were opposing voices in the SGPC executive meeting as well here.

Baldev Singh Khalsa, an executive member from Haryana, said Sikhs in Haryana wanted a separate SGPC.

“Sikh shrines in Delhi and Pakistan have separate committees to manage gurdwara affairs. This has not weakened the Sikh ‘panth’ cause,” Baldev Singh Khalsa pointed out.

Hooda’s announcement is being seen in the light of the impending assembly polls in the state to be held latest by February next year. The state has a sizeable Sikh population.

The SGPC, which manages all the big gurdwaras, including the holiest Sikh shrine Harmandar Sahib popularly called Golden Temple in Amritsar, is unlikely to let go of its control over the Haryana gurdwaras without a fight.

The SGPC has an annual budget of Rs.4.5 billion.

The Haryana government’s decision has come five months after the Chatha Committee, set up by Hooda to study the possibilities of having a separate Sikh organisation in the state, gave its recommendations this February based on 128,566 affidavits of Sikh activists.

Following this, the government formed a three-member committee under the advocate general to examine the case and facilitate its implementation.

The demand first came to the fore when seven Haryana members of the 170-seat SGPC levelled allegations of neglect of the state’s historical gurdwaras “even though they were adding Rs.10 crore (Rs.100 million) of revenue in the SGPC’s kitty every year”.

There are seven major historical gurdwaras in Haryana under the direct control of the SGPC. Eighteen others are under its indirect control - elected members form the local management and one member from the SGPC is co-opted into the panel.

-Indo-Asian News Service

with thanks : source : http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/sgpc-wont-tolerate-separate-body-in-haryana-makkar_100230254.html

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9th August, 2009
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