The empty-headed twenty per cent

One aspect of the planning for President Obama’s trip to India is downright depressing — and there’s no weighty issue to blame, just the ignorance of a surprisingly large group of Americans. White House organisers are reportedly considering taking the city of Amritsar off the itinerary. The reason? Amritsar is home to the Sikh Golden Temple, which is more or less a mandatory stop for a head of state visiting the city, but those who enter it are required to cover their heads.

Something like 20 per cent of Americans still falsely believe Obama to be Muslim. Sikhs aren’t Muslims, but Obama’s staffers are worried that any picture of him wearing religious headgear (Golden Temple officials have said baseball caps and the like aren’t acceptable substitutes) would spread like wildfire among the paranoid minority who remain unconvinced of Obama’s faith. It’s a reasonable fear, given the crazed intensity of some of Obama’s critics, but the White House shouldn’t give in to it. If it fits his itinerary, he should go to Amritsar and visit the temple, wearing headgear.

with thanks : IndianExpress : link in headline above for detailed news.

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Court paves way for fresh criminal proceedings for Sajjan

In fresh trouble for senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, a Delhi Court on Saturday paved the way for initiation of criminal proceedings against him in another case relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riot.

The court rejected the plea of the Delhi police to club the case involving Kumar with the ongoing trial in another case relating to the carnage.

"There is no order on judicial records with regard to clubbing to FIR no 67/87 (allegedly involving Kumar) with FIR no 418/1991," District Judge S K Sarvaria said.

With thanks : IndianExpress : link in headline above for detailed news.

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Sikhs in Malaysia eagerly await Singh's visit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-day visit from Tuesday is being eagerly awaited not only by Malaysian government but also its minority ethnic Indian community, especially the Sikhs who have applauded his contribution to India's fast-paced growth. The Sikh community is "very, very proud" that a Sikh has risen and become the Prime Minister of India, one of the biggest democracies of the world, a prominent Malaysian Sikh leader said referring to Singh's upcoming visit here.

"We, the Sikhs in Malaysia, are so proud that Manmohan Singh has turned India around at such a fast pace and put the country on the path of accelerated development," President of the Malaysia National Sikhs Movement, Darshan Singh Gill, a fifth generation Sikh in Malaysia whose great-great grandfather arrived in the then Malaya in 1880s,said.

Gill, who has been awarded the title 'Tan Sri' by the King of Malaysia, said he had met Manmohan Singh during his visit to Delhi earlier this year when he had presented him with a book on Sikh Community in Malaysia, compiled by him.

with thanks : hindustantimes : link in headline above for detailed news.

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Why Obama won't visit Amritsar

with thanks : NDTV

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Order deferred in 1984 riots case

NEW DELHI: A trial court on Thursday deferred till Saturday the pronouncement of order on the fate of a chargesheet, which was prepared by the Delhi police in 1992 but was never filed before the court.

District judge S K Sarvaria, who was to pronounce the order on an application filed by the prosecutor seeking a direction with regard to the chargesheet against the former outer Delhi MP, put it off for October 23.

During a brief arguments, the court was told that if it decided to club a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case allegedly involving senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar with another case then it will have to summon him to face trial. Riots victims' counsel senior advocate H S Phoolka told the court that if the court decides against such a move then police would be asked to file the chargesheet prepared against Kumar which was not filed since 1992. Phoolka told the court that the application filed by the Special Public Prosecutor with regard to direction to the police on the chargesheet had to be decided first before proceeding in on-going trial.

With thanks : Times of India : link in headline above for detailed news.

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84-yr-old scripts history, translates Guru Granth Sahib into Urdu

Bhathinda :

Wants to publish his work running into over 14,000 pages, complete with in-depth interpretation of the teachings; SGPC shows interest but says it will take time.

At 84, Davinderpal Singh of Rampura village in this district has accomplished something that research scholars of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, failed to do about three decades ago. Singh has translated the highly revered Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, in Urdu with an in-depth word-to-word interpretation.

Originally written in Gurmukhi script, the translated version of Guru Granth Sahib, running into more than 14,000 pages, is the first of its kind venture. “Translated versions of the Guru Granth Sahib are available in English, Hindi and even Malayalam. I strongly felt that the holy scripture should be also available in Urdu. I had been working on it for about a decade,” says a proud Devinderpal, a retired patwari who is also a Munshi Fazil, an advanced degree in Urdu.

with thanks : IndianExpress : link in headline above for detailed news.

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UK's longest serving NRI Sikh officer to retire this month

LONDON: Britain's longest serving NRI Sikh officer and Detective Constable Harinder Singh Sangha will retire this month after thirty five years of police service.

Harinder, popularly known as 'Hari' was born in Punjab's Jullundur district and was educated in Slough, Berkshire.

Harinder whose family moved to England in 1961, joined the Thames Valley Police as a police cadet on October 13, 1975 and subsequently joined the regular service.

He was the first Asian to join the Thames Valley Police. In 1982 he joined the CID department.

With thanks : EconomicTimes : link in headline above for detailed news.

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A Question of Appearances: Obama Will Bypass Sikh Temple on Visit to India

NEW DELHI — The Golden Temple, a sprawling and serene complex of gleaming gold and polished marble that is the spiritual center of the Sikh religion, is one of India's most popular tourist attractions. Revered by Indians of all faiths, it is a cherished emblem of India’s religious diversity. So it was no surprise when the gold-plated marvel was promoted as the likely third stop on President Obama's visit to India, scheduled for early November.

But the United States has ruled out a Golden Temple visit, according to an American official involved in planning. Temple officials said that American advance teams had gone to Amritsar, the holy city that is the site of the temple, to discuss a possible visit. But the plan appears to have foundered on the thorny question of how Mr. Obama would cover his head, as Sikh tradition requires, while visiting the temple.

“To come to golden temple he needs to cover his head,” said Dalmegh Singh, secretary of the committee that runs the temple. “That is our tradition.”

Mr. Obama, a Christian, has struggled to fend off persistent rumors that he is a Muslim, and Sikhs in the United States have often been mistaken for Muslims. Sikhism, which arose in the Punjab region in the 15th century, includes elements of Hinduism and Islam but forms a wholly distinct faith. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Sikhs in the United States have been occasional targets of anti-Muslim discrimination and violence — a Sikh was killed in Arizona a few days after the attack on the World Trade Center by a man who mistook him for a Muslim.

With thanks : nytimes : link in headline above for the detailed news. Pic with thanks to :Raminder Pal Singh/European Pressphoto Agency.

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'Campaign through Facebook for Obama's visit to Golden Temple'

WASHINGTON: Upset over reports that US President Barack Obama may skip Golden Temple during his India visit, a Sikh group here today asked the community members to campaign through Twitter and Facebook accounts of the White House for his visit to Sikhism's holiest.

United Sikhs also urged Obama not to cancel his visit to Golden Temple. "The President's visit to India in November has been marked with heightened jubilation, especially from the Sikh community," it said in a statement.

"Visit the White House's Twitter and Facebook account to let the President know the importance of his potential visit to Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple)," the statement said.

with thanks : economictimes : link in headline for detailed news.

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