Monday, July 4, 2011
Bliss at Tarn Taran
The golden ripe wheat was swaying gently in the breeze. Emerging out of a side lane on the highway was a Sikh in a yellow turban, walking with a typical martial demeanour.
"They are the most strict, pure, and aggressive of the Sikhs. You will see many of them in this region," my driver informed me. I followed the sweep of his arm to see more Khalsas bobbing past on bicycles, others driving tractors piled high with the day's harvest, school girls with pigtails running in dusty lanes, and every now and then a village straight out of Khuswant Singh's Train to Pakistan. Yes, that's where I was heading: GurudwaraTarn Taran Sahib, close to India's border with Pakistan.
Also known as Sri Darbar Sahib Tarn Taran, the shrine was built at the behest of the fifth SikhGuru Arjan Dev in the late 16th century. In 1590, Guru Arjan Dev "set out on a tour of the country between the rivers Ravi and Beas." He chose a spot, bought the land and laid the foundation of a gurudwara in honour of Guru Ram Das. He also got a sarovar or water tank built there and called it Tarn Taran.
We entered the town of Tarn Taran to a typical Indian marketplace: Vegetable vendors jostling for space, snarling traffic and cows frozen in time like Nandi sculptures. As we drove through the archway, the music changed — Punjabi pop gave way to the slow, lilting tunes of shabad kirtans. Our car suddenly took a sharp turn and stopped. Right in front of us was a lane decorated with streamers; on one side were shops selling books and music, beads, karas and items used in worship while on the other was the wrought iron fence of the gurudwara.
Tarn Taran Sahib looked so different than other gurudwaras that the first thing I did was to seek more information from Mohan Singh, a retired block education officer who was doing kar seva or service at the entrance.
Slowly stroking his silver beard, Mohan Singh said, "This is not the place of any one guru. In Sikhism, we have had 10 gurus, but each of them was only reiterating the word of God in the Guru Granth Sahib — so this is the house of the Guru Granth Sahib."
Why do people come here?
"They come here because their wishes get fulfilled and ailments get cured," Mohan Singh said. The vast expanse of the sarovar is striking; especially if you compare it with the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The white marble walkway that surrounds the sarovar is over a kilometre long. Sikh websites describe the sarovar as "the largest Sikh sarovar in the world."
with thanks : Times of India : link above for detailed news story.
SikhsIndia
Hotel to apologise over turban eviction
A BRISBANE hotel that evicted a patron for wearing a turban is now attempting to locate him to apologise.
Spirit Hotels, which is a Coles subsidiary, has confirmed to AAP one of its staff members at the Royal English Hotel at Nundah asked a man to remove his turban under their no headwear policy yesterday.
After the Sikh man refused, he was evicted.
A spokesman for Spirit Hotels said the decision to ask him to remove his turban was an oversight.
"Our hotels have a policy where patrons may be asked to remove headwear to help the venue manage security for staff and patrons," the spokesman said.
"However, in this particular incident, the patron should not have been asked to remove his turban, and we are attempting to contact the patron to apologise.
"Hotel staff are being educated again on correct application of the policy."
with thanks : heraldsun : link above for detailed news.
SikhsIndia
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Watch NDTV 24x7 : A programme on Communal violence Bill
Watch NDTV 24x7 :
A programme on Communal violence Bill :
Tomorrow 8 pm.
( Date n Time to be reconfirmed ).
DSGMC seeks commuting of Bhullar''s death sentence
New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI) The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) today sought clemency for terrorist on death row Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar in view of sentiments of Sikhs. DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna said Sikhs the world over "were hurt" over death sentence to Bhullar and sought that his death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment. Two memorandums on the demand would be submitted to the President and Home minister soon, he said. Sarna said while Sikhs in Vancouver, Canada had got together to protest the rejection of Bhullar's mercy petition, a delegation of Canadian sikhs led by led Baljinder Singh Khaira was here to present a memorandum to the President, asking for commuting Bhullar's death sentence to life imprisonment.
with thanks : IBNlive : link above for detailed news.
SikhsIndia
Sikh Community in Lucknow held city's first ever Career Guidance Camp for Youth
IOSS Lucknow chapter and Young Sikh Leaders Mumbai organized a seminar on career counseling for sikh boys and girls on 19.06.2011 at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Chandernagar, Alambagh Lucknow. 47 students who secured more than 80% marks in their X and XII Boards' Examinations in 2011 were felicitated during the seminar.
This successful event was a joint effort of S. Jagjeet Singh -President Institute of Sikh Studies,Lucknow ;Dr.(Capt)Manmeet Kaur Vice President,IOSS,Lucknow;S.Jaswant Singh joint Secy IOSS,Lucknow and Jagjeet Singh ,Treasurer IOSS, Lucknow.
With Thanks :Young Sikh Leaders
Friday, July 1, 2011
Anti-Sikh Riots: Nath denies inciting violence
Urban development minister Kamal Nath has rejected allegations of his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in a US court, and claimed diplomatic immunity in the case. "I expressly reject the allegations contained in the Affidavit of Service (of Yoselin Genao)," he told a New York court in an affidavit this week. Nath said that he never received court summons informing him of the complaint filed against him in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh Riots. The complaint against him stated that the, "The defendant was seen and heard by many on the scene of Gurudwara Rakab Ganj. In this particular incident defendant was leading and in control of a mob of about four thousand people."Nath has repeatedly denied any involvement and has been cleared by the Nanavati Inquiry Commission, which described the minister's testimony as "vague" but concluded that there was no evidence that he had incited a mob.
He said that he never received summons at the Indian consulate where the plaintiff's say he was handed summons.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : link above for detailed news.
SikhsIndia
Kamal Nath claims diplomatic immunity in 1984 riots case in US
WASHINGTON: Indian Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath has claimed diplomatic immunity and lack of service of summons before a US court in a case over his alleged role in the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
In response to summons issued by Judge Robert W. Sweet of the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, Kamal Nath claimed diplomatic immunity stating that he was on a special mission as a government official on his numerous travels to New York.
He has also claimed sovereign immunity under common law; and immunity under Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA) of the US in the case filed by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US based human rights advocacy group, and some victims of the 1984 riots.
Requesting the court to dismiss the law suit, Kamal Nath filed a sworn affidavit that during his April 2010 visit to New York, no one ever served him with the summons and complaint.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ legal advisor, suggested that Kamal Nath's June 24 affidavit "clearly and blatantly contradicts his earlier statements".
In response to summons issued by Judge Robert W. Sweet of the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, Kamal Nath claimed diplomatic immunity stating that he was on a special mission as a government official on his numerous travels to New York.
He has also claimed sovereign immunity under common law; and immunity under Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA) of the US in the case filed by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US based human rights advocacy group, and some victims of the 1984 riots.
Requesting the court to dismiss the law suit, Kamal Nath filed a sworn affidavit that during his April 2010 visit to New York, no one ever served him with the summons and complaint.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ legal advisor, suggested that Kamal Nath's June 24 affidavit "clearly and blatantly contradicts his earlier statements".
with thanks : Times of India : link above for detailed news.
SikhsIndia
Memories of anti-Sikh riots hard to forget: Amarinder
JALANDHAR: Almost 27 years after the anti-Sikh riots took place, the Punjabi and Sikh communities have moved on but it would be unfair to ask them to forget the wounds as asked by home minister P. Chidambaram recently, senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh has said.
Amarinder Singh, who is the Punjab Congress president, said that even though Punjabis and Sikhs were large-hearted, the wounds of the violence in the 1980s and 1990s were hard to forget.
"The guilty must be brought to justice for people to come to terms with their loss," Singh told reporters on Thursday.
"Punjabis, and Sikhs in particular, are enterprising and large-hearted people. They are forgiving and the community has certainly moved on. But it would be unfair to ask them to forget the wounds so easily," the former Punjab chief minister said.
Singh said that the community still remembers the 18th century 'ghallughara' (holocaust) in which thousands of Sikhs were killed by Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali's forces.
"How can anyone expect them to forget the tragedy that occurred just over two decades back," he said.
Amarinder Singh, who is the Punjab Congress president, said that even though Punjabis and Sikhs were large-hearted, the wounds of the violence in the 1980s and 1990s were hard to forget.
"The guilty must be brought to justice for people to come to terms with their loss," Singh told reporters on Thursday.
"Punjabis, and Sikhs in particular, are enterprising and large-hearted people. They are forgiving and the community has certainly moved on. But it would be unfair to ask them to forget the wounds so easily," the former Punjab chief minister said.
Singh said that the community still remembers the 18th century 'ghallughara' (holocaust) in which thousands of Sikhs were killed by Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali's forces.
"How can anyone expect them to forget the tragedy that occurred just over two decades back," he said.
with thanks : Times of India : link above for detailed news.
SikhsIndia
‘Time To Forgive and Build A New India’: Chidambaram Requests Sikhs
NEW DELHI: Seeking to put behind memories of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the country has moved on since the “tragic incident” and that it was time to “forgive” and build a new India.
“It is time that we forgive and move on to build a new India where every citizen irrespective of faith has equal place,” he said, addressing a function to felicitate him for his role in removing names of 142 Sikhs from a ”Black list”.
Recalling the tragic incidents in 1984 after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards, Chidambaram said the country has moved on since then and one small step of removing names of large number Sikhs from the ”Black list” was left which has been addressed to by the government recently.
“We have moved on when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, we have moved on subsequently, we have moved on when Manmohan Singh made that poignant speech asking for forgiveness, we moved on since Sonia Gandhi became Congress president,” he said.
The Home Minister was referring to Singh’’s speech in Parliament in 2005 where he apologised to the Sikh community for the incident.
“One small step had remained and that is to remove the names of large number of names from what is called Black List. I am happy that I played a small and humble part in removing 142 names from the Black List,” the Home Minister said.
In a significant decision, the government had removed from its “blacklist” the names of 142 wanted terrorists and their associates, including the heads of various Sikh extremist groups.
Noting that government was would initiate all possible steps to address grievances of the Sikh community, Chidambaram said government would issue orders “shortly” to help the Sikhs who have returned from Afghanistan following violence in the neighbouring country.
Meanwhile Sikh Students Federation (SSF) has announced it could not forget the genocide of Sikhs without getting justice.
with thanks : thelinkpaper : link above.
SikhsIndia
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