Sikh taxi drivers inspiring artist Dan Connell

HC restores voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs in SGPC Polls

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday restored the voting rights of Sehajdhari (non-baptized) Sikhs in the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC) polls. SGPC is the highest religious body of Sikhs.

With the court orders, the recently constituted body of SGPC would cease to operate and fresh elections will be held to include the Sehajdhari Sikhs in the voters list.

The orders were passed by a full bench comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice MMS Bedi and Justice Muttaci Jeyapaul of Punjab and Haryana high court while allowing a petition filed by the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF) and two others challenging a October 8, 2003 central notification which deprived Sehajdhari Sikhs of their voting rights in the SGPC polls.

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

HC verdict on Sehajdhari Sikhs' voting rights today

CHANDIGARH: On Tuesday, the Punjab and Haryana high court is likely to pronounce the much-awaited verdict on the voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs in Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC) polls. The verdict holds the possibility of affecting the fate of recently-held SGPC elections.

The case pertains to a petition filed by Sehajdhari Sikh Federation and two others challenging the October 8, 2003 Central notification which deprived Sehajdhari Sikhs of their voting rights in SGPC polls.

The petitioners had mainly challenged the Union government notification "whereby Sahjdhari Sikhs are not being considered as Sikhs in view of the impugned amended Section 49 and Section 92 of the Gurdwara Act".

The petitioners had submitted that the original Act declared Sahjdhari Sikhs as qualified electors for SGPC elections and the apex court had in numerous judgments held that the state cannot regulate the definition of religion.

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

India's heated death penalty debate

At a Delhi Sikh temple, Mukhtar Kaur offers prayers for her son Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar.

For the past 10 years, he has been on death row, convicted of carrying out a bomb attack in 1993 in which nine people were killed.

It has taken this long for the appeals against his sentence to pass through the various courts in the maze that is the Indian judicial system.

"This is like dying every day," she says. "For me and for him."

In May this year, the Indian president rejected his final mercy petition.

But Bhullar has still not been executed as lawyers and civil groups campaigning on his behalf push for clemency on the grounds that he was convicted after the police secured a confession under a now outlawed anti-terror law.

with thanks : BBC news : link in headline for detailed news report :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16160920

The seat of power that is now an official garbage dump

LAHORE - The condition of Lahore’s heritage sites seem to be growing from bad to worse. In a recent discovery Pakistan Today learnt that the baara-dari of Sikh Maharaja Sher Singh, the third son of Ranjit Singh, has become an ‘official’ garbage dump, and what once used to be a symbol of grandeur is now home to drug addicts.

Maharaja Sher Singh was the third son of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh empire. He ruled from 1841 till his death. His Baara-dari or ‘twelve doored’ mansion is situated on the outskirts of Kot Khwaja Saeed locality in Lahore, a few kilometers ahead of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort. It seems to have been neglected for decades.

Apparently, the Lahore Solid Waste Management department has constructed a waste enclosure inside the premises of the historical building and it is suspected that this has been done after demolishing one side of the building.

It is already in a precarious state after the attacks in 1992 in reaction to the Babri Mosque demolition in India. In a recent visit to India, Sayed Asif Hashmi, the Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) chairman had stated that Pakistan was making an all out efforts for the protection and maintenance of Sikh heritage. 

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

FOUND IT ON THE NET !

West Coast Sikhi Camp :Celebrating Tradition & History

Sikhi Camps: A platform to experience Sikhism.

In every nation, the youth are its future. Such camps played an important role in preserving tradition, history, customs and values among youths and help in transforming them into informed and vibrant members of society.

Topics related to civic, educational and personal development programs will gear them to learn how to become contributing members towards the UN millennium goals.The workshops on tradition and history will train the youth to act responsibly in their roles in life guided by the concept of Miri-Piri (spiritual and temporal),as established by the 6th Guru,Guru Hargobind.This concept established that,the Sikh Nation is for ever free for times to come and owes its allegiance to one God (Akaal Purakh).It will train them to stand for the protection of human-rights and justice for all, provide humanitarian aid to the needy, and provide empowerment through education to all. These camps provide a unique environment that promotes friendship, leadership, and community.

More information can be found at http://wcsikhicamp.com/

With thanks :UNITED SIKHS

First Sikh museum opens Saturday with Lt.-Gov. Point

Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point will be in Abbotsford Dec. 17 to officially open the Sikh Heritage Museum, the first of its kind in Canada, at the historic Gur Sikh Gurdwara on South Fraser Way.

"There are no other museums (on Sikh history) in the country. There are exhibits but not a museum in itself that caters to Sikh heritage," said Navneet Sidhu, a project coodinator with the University of the Fraser Valley.

The museum will feature photos and artifacts donated by local Indo-Canadian families, including a few who had uncles and grandfathers settle here almost a century ago. The project has been two years in development and is supported by federal government funds, through Canadian Heritage.

The temple, or gurdwara, was declared a national historic site by former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and former Heritage Minister Sheila Copps in the summer of 2002.

with thanks : abbotsfordtimes : link in the headline above for detailed news.

Sri Guru Nanak Dham, Rameshwaram : pics by Dr. H S Puri

Dastar Issue :Outcome of the Meeting between Consul General of India and Italian Authorities

Mr.S.K.Verma(Consulate General of India in Milan)

The meeting between Mr.S.K.Verma,Honourable Consul General of India in Milan and Italian Authorities was held in a friendly and cooperative environment to find the common ground in respect of the problems being faced by the Sikh passengers at Malpensa Airport.The Italian authorities included those from the Civil Aviation Authority, SEA and Frontier Police.

Representatives of the Indian Sikh community explained the relevance and significance of Dastar to the Italian authorities present there.Mr. S.K.Verma,the Consul General of India,Milan,appreciated the efforts made by the Italian authorities,so far,in reducing the total number of Sikh passengers at Malpensa Airport, put through manual inspection of their Dastars.Earlier,Dastars of all Sikh passengers were subjected to mandatory additional manual inspection.

After continuous dialogue,the Malpensa airport authorities have installed separate enclosures with mirror and curtain for manual inspection of Dastars.The issue of new technology intervention to resolve the problem at hand,too,was discussed.As one of the creative solutions,the Sikh community in northern Italy promised to get in touch with the highest Sikh religious body in India to see if permission for the security personnel at the airport could be obtained for touching and inspecting the Dastars by
hand, without asking the passengers to take them off.

The Italian authorities mentioned that the random selection of passengers,including
those belonging to the Sikh religion will continue.

Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
University of Milan
Milan,Italy

Associate Professor
SGND Khalsa College
University of Delhi
Delhi,India

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with thanks : AAJTAK  & NDTV Channels.