Punjabi Baba Who Sued Sikh-British Journalist Ordered To Pay £250,000

LONDON -  A Baba from India known as  Jeet Singh Maharaj, who heads Nirmal Kutia Johlan sect in Punjab, was on Tuesday ordered to pay £250,000 in court by way of security for costs.

Baba Jeet Singh had filed libel case against journalist Hardeep Singh for his article published in 2007 by Sikh Times, a local newspaper, for referring to the Baba as “an accused cult leader.”

The High Court in London threw out the case in May last year, ruling that the libel case involved an argument of religious doctrine rather than establishment of fact and could not be tried in English courts.

with thanks : thelinkpaper : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

We cannot be clubbed as Hindus: Sikh organization

BANGALORE: Government's move to include Sikh religious institutions under the amendment to the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Act, 1997, has not gone down well with the community. Sri Guru Singh Sabha, a Sikh religion organization, has maintained that Sikhism, where idol worship is strictly prohibited, is separate from Hinduism.

"The gurdwaras come under the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1971. Hence, Sikh gurdwaras cannot be clubbed under the KHRICE Act, 1997 and we cannot be clubbed as Hindus," Sabha's general secretary Harminder Singh said.

with thanks : times of India : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

AISSF unearths ’84 riots-hit village lying in ruins

With thanks : various sources.

Museum at Nadda Sahib to showcase Sikh history

PANCHKULA: The historic Gurdwara Nadda Sahib on the banks of river Ghaggar is all set to establish a museum to showcase ancient Sikh history. The museum will showcase portraits of Sikh gurus, arms used by them and their manuscripts. It will be set up in administrative block of the Gurdwara premises.

According to managerial staff of Gurdwara Nadda Sahib, the administrative block is under construction. Once it is complete, they will start working on the museum. They are making a proposal to establish the museum that would showcase ancient Sikh history. They will tie up with other gurdwaras in Punjab and Haryana to gather historical archives. 

 

with thanks : times of India : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

www.sohnijodi.com

www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

Purewal slams SGPC on calendar amendments

The ongoing controversy over the amendments made by the Akal Takht and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in the Nanakshahi Calendar last year took yet another turn with Canada-based Sikh engineer Pal Singh Purewal, the maker of the calendar, terming the changes “unnecessary”, “misleading” and “conspired by RSS”. He said the SGPC made the amendments in a hush-hush manner on the dictates of its “political masters” under the RSS. 

Talking to the media, Purewal said the SGPC and the Akali leadership had done a heinous crime by intermingling Nanakshahi Calendar with Bikrami Calendar. “This is no amendment but total drift towards Bikrami Calendar,” he said, adding that the decision was arbitrary and the original version of the calendar, as adopted in 2003, should be restored.

with thanks : Indian Express : link above for detailed news.


SikhsIndia

Alexandra Aitken's devout Sikh husband used to be party animal like her

Former British socialite Alexandra Aitken seems to have a lot in common with her devout Sikh husband, who has been revealed to have been a "wild boy" who liked to party.

Aitken, 30, who is the daughter of disgraced former Tory minister Jonathan Aitken, had in the past been photographed coming out of London nightclubs in daring dresses.

Now all that has changed ever since she got married to Inderjot Singh, 27.

But while she gushes about his "extraordinary presence" and how he is part of "the warrior tribe of Sikhism, the SAS, if you will, of the religion", it has emerged that he too had enjoyed an active social life and only became devout in his mid-20s.

"He used to be a wild boy. He cut his hair [forbidden in Sikhism], went to parties, chasing girls, smoking and drinking," the Daily Mail quoted one, Gagandeep Sandhu, as saying.

Another, Bikramjit Singh, a lawyer who shared a room with Inderjot when they studied law together, said the latter dropped out of college in India in 2007 and went to Sydney, Australia.

"He wanted to start a new life there like many people who go abroad from the Punjab. He went to a college there but came back after a year," he said.

"While he was there he met a saint and became very religious. Before that, yes, he was not so religious; he did like parties," he revealed.

with thanks : sify : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Sikhs rally to bring injured man's family to NZ

The Sikh community has rallied to raise money for air tickets for the family of an alleged carjacking victim who cannot afford to pay their way to New Zealand.

But their arrival could be some time off as none of the relatives have passports.

Sukjhinder Singh is in an induced coma in a serious but stable condition in Waikato Hospital, breathing with the aid of a ventilator.

The 21-year-old foreman of a Katikati kiwifruit gang has a broken right leg, a broken right arm, a busted right eye socket and suspected brain damage.

Mr Singh was injured after two 15-year-old boys allegedly forced him to hand over his keys at a party in Waihi before taking off with him and two teenage girls he had picked up earlier in his car to Paeroa, where they forced him to buy fast food.

with thanks : nzherald : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Birth Anniversary of Professor Sahib Singh (1892-1977) : Sikh Grammarian and Theologian

ONE DAY I AIM TO REMEMBER DARPAN PAGE BY PAGE : Dr.Gurjit Singh

Respectful homage and heartiest congratulations to all on the auspicious occasion of Prof.Sahib Singh's 119th Birth Anniversary on 16th February.He has done valuable work in making Gurbani and Gurmat philosophy accessible to the Sikhs of 20th century. These included exposition of several of the Sikh sacred texts and his monumental 10-volume commentary on Sikh Scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan, published during 1962-64.He made a notable contribution to Punjabi prose through his essays on moral and spiritual themes,religious philosophy.

Prof.Sahib Singh's grandson Dr.Gurjit Singh( well-known Eye-Surgeon in Chandigarh) considers that it is due to his Grandfather’s blessings only that he is able to read Darpan four times. He is very sure that very few sikhs have read Darpan as it requires a lot of patience .Dr.Gurjit says“I am totally addicted to reading Sri Guru Granth Sahib darpan. I have read it from first page to last page four times.More I read it ...more I love it ...One day I aim to remember it page by page.I am amazed with the thought that from where Prof.Sahib Singh got knowledge and the energy to do such an impossible task.He must have been chosen by the Almighty to do such great task”.

New Akshay Kumar Film Criticized As Hurting Sikh Sentiment

AMRITSAR – Sharply reacting to what it dubbed scenes hurting sentiments of the Sikh community, the All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) today flayed Nikhil Advani, director of the forthcoming Akshay Kumar-starrer, “Patiala House”, which is all set to be released on Friday.

In a statement released here, AISSF chief Karnail Singh Peer Mohammed alleged that the film, “Patiala House”, “portrays an incident, in which a Sikh youth gets his hair cut for playing cricket, as a trivial episode”.

He termed the film as one against the Sikh rehat maryada (code of conduct). The federation leaders alleged that such films were being made under a well-planned conspiracy. They said the film’s producer, Bhushan Kumar, and director, Nikhil Advani, should release the film only after cutting the “objectionable scenes”.

with thanks : thelinkpaper : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Don't mention caste in census, SGPC asks Sikhs

AMRITSAR: President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Avtar Singh Makkar has appealed to Sikhs not to mention their caste during the ongoing nationwide census.

"Sikhs in India must mention their religion as Sikh, Punjabi as mother tongue and humanity as their caste," Makkar said on Friday. He also asked all Sikh men and women to suffix Singh and Kaur after their names. "This will help establish the distinct identity of Sikhs," he added. 

with thanks : Times of India : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Sikh passengers forced to remove turbans for security check in Italy

President of Indian Overseas Congress in Italy Karamjit Singh Dhillon, while addressing mediapersons accompanied by senior Congress leader and MLA from Bholath constituency in Kapurthala district Sukhpal Singh Khaira here yesterday, claimed that he was asked by the Italian Immigration check authorities at the Rome airport to remove his turban for security check.

He alleged that ten other Sikh passengers, accompanying him, were also directed to remove their turbans for security check.

''When I refused to remove my turban in full public view, I was taken to a room where I removed my turban,'' Mr Dhillon said.

He said this was for the first time that he was forced to do so in the last 27 years he was living in Italy. He was to leave for India via Doha from Rome airport.

with thanks : new kerala : link above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia