Swiss NRI fights for justice

AMRITSAR: He created a business empire on foreign shores and, in fact, contributed in building the first gurdwara in Europe made according to Sikh architecture, but is now fighting to get justice. Ever since a Swiss TV channel aired the success story of NRI Sikh Ranjit Singh Masuta in 2006, he became a target of jealousy and conspiracies and as a result was arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. The charges had to be dropped for want of any evidence against him, thus restoring his reputation, but at the cost of his empire, which he had built from scratch. 

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

70-yr-old ‘survivor’ recalls Hondh killings

Claiming to be a resident of Hondh village in Haryana that is in news these days after it came to light that several Sikh families were allegedly killed in anti-Sikh riots there in 1984, 70-year-old Uttam Singh narrated the November 2, 1984, attack here on Sunday. 

Now settled in Bathinda and into a business of clothes, Uttam Singh said he had to take a sleeping pill on Saturday after a news item aired on a TV channel highlighted the attack on Sikhs refreshed his wounds all these years later. 

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar is likely to meet him on Monday. 

The Punjab government has constituted a fact finding committee with Akali leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder as its chairman to look into the alleged massacre, brought to light by the All India Sikh Students’ Federation a couple of days ago. 

“I had managed to get over the pain and trauma. But after watching the story on a news channel, the bad memories are back to haunt me. I had to take a sleeping pill yesterday, as my mind could not help but recall what happened on the fateful day,” Uttam said here on Sunday, recounting the “attack by a mob” on the village inhabited by Sikhs. 

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

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Buta Singh blames Bhajan for Sikh carnage in Hond-Chhilar

JALANDHAR: Former Union home minister and senior Congress leader Buta Singh has alleged that then chief minister Bhajan Lal was responsible for not only the alleged massacre of around 60 Sikhs in Hond-Chhilar village of Rewari district in November '84 but also for the cover-up, as the incident remained unreported till a couple of days ago. In fact, he also accused Bhajan Lal for adding, "Bitterness between the then Congress ruled Union government and the Sikhs, as the latter were humiliated by the Haryana police on National Highway during 1982 Delhi Asiad Games."

"Clearly Bhajan Lal behaved in a communal manner and this added to the problems between the Sikhs and the Centre which led to the unfortunate developments in 1984," Buta Singh said while talking to mediapersons at the residence of Railway trade union leader Gulzar Singh. 

 

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

SikhsIndia

Discussion Board

Prof.Sahib Singh's grandson Dr.Gurjit Singh (well-known Eye-Surgeon in Chandigarh) has opened a discussion board through Prof.Sahib Singh's page on face -book .He invites people from all over the world to share knowledge about the meanings of Sikh magnum opus Sri Guru Granth Sahib and about Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan.Please log in to this page & share your valuable views !

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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