Sikh priests protest to save jobs

Groups of Sikh priests have protested an order that could disbar men under the age of 30 and over 60 years to be employed in gurdwaras across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

The priests have been angered by the new plan of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the apex Sikh shrines management body. The plan is to sack all priests who do not fall within the new age stipulation. This could mean job losses for scores of priests, they said.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar had recently endorsed the new recruitment rules for granthis and paathis (hymn singers) following complaints against younger priests. These ranged from moral turpitude to several instances of devotee collections in gurdwaras.

Insisting there could be no compromise on maintaining the sanctity of the shrines, Mr Makkar called for a list of all Gurdwara employees below 30 years and ordered a thorough verification of each man’s antecedents.

The committee has also sought a fresh appraisal of each priest’s character, conduct, his knowledge of the holy scripture and efficiency in performing various religious rites.

Courtesy : CathNewsIndia

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Court convicts three in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

Court convicts three in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A Delhi court today convicted three persons for attempting to murder members of a Sikh family during the 1984 riots and indicted the Delhi Police and the state machinery saying their role at that time "makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity."

Additional Sessions Judge Surinder S Rathi held Mangal Sen alias Billa, Brij Mohan Verma and Bhagat Singh guilty of attempt to murder, rioting, dacoity in Shastri Nagar in north Delhi.

While deciding the case, the judge made a strong indictment of the manner in which the Delhi police and the state machinery had acted during the anti-Sikh riots.

with thanks : source : http://www.ptinews.com/news/243010_Court-convicts-three-in-1984-anti-Sikh-riots-case

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Amarinder supports separate committee for Sikhs in Haryana

Amarinder supports separate committee for Sikhs in Haryana
PTI 22 August 2009, 07:04pm IST

LUDHIANA: Fully supporting Haryana government's move to set up a separate committee for managing Sikh affairs in the state, former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the community there had the right to decide about its future.

Early this month, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said that a separate body for Sikhs on the lines of SGPC would be set up in the state provided there were no legal hurdles. Later, he said a referendum would also be conducted to help Sikhs take a final call on the issue.

Haryana cabinet though, recommended dissolution of the state Assembly on Friday.

Speaking to media persons after appearing in a local court in Ludhiana, Singh alleged that Akalis themselves earlier divided the Sikh community which has led to such a demand from Haryana's Sikhs.

"Today they (the Akalis) are saying it amounts to dividing Sikhs, but let me remind them that they are the same people who divided the Sikhs and Punjabis decades ago when they launched the Punjabi subha movement," he said.

Amarinder pointed out that it is the democratic right of every Sikh in Haryana to decide whether he wants to remain with the SGPC or set up a separate committee there and rejected the opposition by Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal and SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar over the move.

"Who is Badal or Makkar to decide about that?", he asked. About his party's loss in the recent bypolls on three seats in the state, he said the ruling party used "brute force" to win over the seats.

with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Amarinder-supports-separate-committee-for-Sikhs-in-Haryana/articleshow/4923049.cms

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The dancing patka of Dil bole Hadipa

Have you seen the Dancing patka of Dil bole Hadipa. It can be seen in the Promos being aired on various TV channels. How can one make a joke of sikh turban or patka.

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Delegation from the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Religion & Worldview, K.U.Leuven, Belgium, reached Golden temple, Amritsar - view pics

More pics of Belgian delegation at Amritsar

some more pics of Belgian delegation at Amritsar & Delhi

More pics at Delhi can be viewed on our News dated 2nd August on the same blog i.e. www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com with Title Delegation from the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Religion & Worldview, K.U.Leuven, Belgium, reached Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, New Delhi

with thanks : www.indiablog.be

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Historical room unearthed in excavation near Lakhnor Sahib, Ambala

In the pics above :
A devotee prays at the site of a 500-year-old room unearthed near Gurdwara Lakhnor Sahib in Ambala; and (right) wooden beds used by Guru Gobind Singh during his childhood. — Tribune photos by Kamal Sachar


Excavation near Lakhnor Sahib, Historical room unearthed
Suman Bhatnagar

An excavation conducted recently at the historical Lakhnor Sahib Gurdwara, near Ambala City, has revealed a room having several artefacts. The finding has generated a lot of enthusiasm among the local Sikh community.

The room, at the depth of about 25 feet, was found during excavation work being carried out near the gurdwara by the managing committee.

Lakhnor Sahib is a historical religious place where Guru Gobind Singh had spent the initial years of his life as his mother, Mata Gujri, hailed from this village. The devotees are of the view that the room was around 500 years old and had been constructed by the maternal grandfather and grandmother of Guru Gobind Singh. Now the devotees have started the reconstruction of this room. A large number of Sikhs have been coming here to have a look at the historical room.

A copper sword, apparently made in 1804, was also found from the house of a villager, Harpreet Singh, while he was digging the foundation of a room close to the gurdwara. A wooden bed, sword and a copper plate which was used by Guru Gobind Singh in his childhood, are kept safe in this gurdwara.

A well from which Mata Gujri used to collect water is still existing near the gurdwara. According to believers a number of diseases are cured by drinking the water of this well. Every year on the occasion of Gurpurb thousands of devotees from various states come to visit this gurdwara.

with thanks : source : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071230/haryana.htm


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(Plz note : It's an old news of Dec. 2007, being uploaded for our valued visitors as the news seems to had gone unnoticed at that time. Recent pics of the site are being uploaded very soon.)

UK Sikhs accuse BBC of racism

UK Sikhs accuse BBC of racism
PTI 20 August 2009, 01:06pm IST

LONDON: A race row has erupted at BBC's flagship Asian station, which has been accused of being insensitive towards Sikhs and encouraging a Muslim presenter to mock Sikhism.

"We should not be paying a licence fee for promoting the ignorance-based ramblings of those bent on self-promotion who sneer at Asian religion and culture," said Hardeep Singh, a spokesman of the Sikh Media Monitoring Group, which accused BBC's Asian Network of being insensitive towards listeners from the minority community.

The Sikh Group has written to the BBC asking for a full transcript of Adil Ray's show, which was removed from their website after threats from angry Sikh listeners who accused the popular Muslim presenter of denigrating the "kirpan" dagger - an important religious symbol and one of five ceremonial symbols that baptised Sikhs are expected to wear at all times, The Independent newspaper said today.

Members of the Sikh community complained that Ray, in the show broadcast by the Birmingham-based network on Thursday August 6, had been disparaging about whether Sikhs really needed to carry kirpans. The complaint was based on Ray's discussion of the cancellation of a Punjabi music concert in Canada where police had banned Sikhs who refused to remove their "kirpan", the British daily reported.

BBC's Asian Network had courted controversy last year when the Lord Ahmed of the Labour Party had accused the network of being biased against Muslims.

Indarjit Singh, veteran Sikh journalist and chief of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said Britain's Asian communities should move away from stations aimed at a small demographic.

"Stations like BBC Asian Network do little to encourage integration and social cohesion because they allow communities to ghettoise themselves," he said.

Supporters of the Asian Network, however, believe the radio station is a vital voice for Britain's Asians in the otherwise white-dominated industries of media and broadcasting.

The network, which was set up eight years ago after the BBC's then director general Greg Dyke described his own organisation as "hideously white", has denied the accusations or any suggestion that Ray meant to mock Sikhism.

with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/uk/UK-Sikhs-accuse-BBC-of-racism/articleshow/4914512.cms

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The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago

The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago is a not-for-profit community organization
devoted to promoting education, good citizenship, Punjabi culture, language,
performing arts, healthy life style, and sports in the metropolitan Chicago area.

Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago invites you COME ONE COME ALL

15th ANNUAL PCS PUNJABI SPORTS FESTIVAL
A DAY OF FREE FUN & FOOD; Sunday, August 23, 2009, 9am to 5pm.
Community Recreation Center, 120 E. Oak St. Addison , IL . 60101 ( Community Park , one block North-East of Addison Road & Lake Street in Addison )
http://www.addisonparkdistrict.org/community_park.html
Directional Map
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=120%20E%20Oak%20St&city=Addison&state=IL&zipcode=60101%2d2811&country=US&title=120%20E%20Oak%20St%20Addison%2c%20IL%2060101%2d2811%2c%20US&cid=lfmaplink2

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=120+oak+street+addison+il+60101&safe=images&um=1&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=4ciNSpHvJZC2MPDcza8K&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1

Kabaddi, Volleyball, Soccer, Athletics, Musical Chairs, Bhangra Aerobics,
Yoga, Kid's events, & much more.
PCS Kabaddi Cup First Prize $3100, Second Prize $1100,
PCS Volleyball, Basketball & Soccer Cup First Prize $500

Free entry. Free Breakfast and Lunch. Ample Parking. Family Style Fun. All day Sports Festival.

PCS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Saturday August 22, 2009, 9 am to 5 pm
Community Recreation Center, 120 E. Oak St. Addison , IL . 60101
( Community Park , one block North-East of Addison Road & Lake Street in Addison )
http://www.addisonparkdistrict.org/community_park.html

For more information, Please Contact:
PCS hotline 847-359-5PCS,
Ronny S. Kular 312-318-4426,
Surinder S. Sangha 847-532-0610,
Bhinder S. Pamma 847-361-3579
or any PCS official.

For further information please contact:
PUNJABI CULTURAL SOCIETY of CHICAGO ,
P.O. Box 1244 , Palatine, IL 60078
Ph: 847-359-5727, Fax: 847-359-1107
e-mail to info@PCSChicago.org
PCS website www.PCSChicago.org

uploaded(as per mail received from PCS Chicago)by :
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How-to CDs, clinics to get the turban right

How-to CDs, clinics to get the turban right
Supriya Bhardwaj, TNN 19 August 2009, 03:24am IST

CHANDIGARH: Just how serious is the threat to the Sikh turban from the community’s youth, increasingly at odds with the headgear? Pretty grave, it
seems.

Worried at the trend of Sikh boys shorn of long hair and sans turban, the Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj (APKF), literally meaning ‘army of God’ and with its international headquarters in Malaysia, has decided to open 100 ‘‘turban clinics across India within the next six months. The organization, which swears by technology but harps on tradition, will have experts in these clinics teaching people how to tie the ‘pagri’ in a variety of styles.

Not just that, it will also distribute CDs of ‘Turban Tutor’, a software that helps people learn techniques at home, and ‘Smart Turban’, another software that wraps in 32 different turban styles, which members have developed themselves.

‘‘It’s an emergency situation,’’ said Jaswinder Singh Advocate, SGPC member and director of the Turban Pride Movement (under the APKF umbrella). ‘‘By April 13, 2010, we plan to set up 100 turban clinics across the country. The intention is to motivate Sikh youngsters and kids to take pride in the turban. CDs of Turban Tutor and Smart Turban will be distributed free of cost to people walking into the clinics,’’ he said.

Advocate added that the clinics will also pass on lessons in hair care management. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the apex body of Sikhs, has also put its weight behind the project. SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said, ‘‘The turban is an integral part of a Sikh’s life. We need innovative techniques to motivate our youngsters and we will support this effort wholeheartedly. It is worrisome the way turbans are vanishing’’.

The APKF, with 80,000 members world wide, said it would do everything to make the mission a success. ‘‘The situation is quite bleak, Advocate said.

The first turban clinic was launched in Amritsar in 2006 on an experimental basis. But now branches are ready to be opened at a string of towns and cities.

with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/How-to-CDs-clinics-to-get-the-turban-right/articleshow/4908733.cms

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