Badal likely to launch luxury train to five takhts in August

After several hiccups, the Punjab government is finally set to give Sikh pilgrims a journey to remember. The Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board in collaboration with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will be offering a week-long luxury tour of five of the most sacred shrines for Sikhs. 

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is expected to launch the offer next month. Of the five sacred shrines, a special train will carry pilgrims to three takhts located in Punjab. The other two takhts, one in Bihar and the other in Maharashtra, will be covered in the same tour through dedicated flights.

wit thanks : Indian Express : Link : for detailed news.

 

SC gives SGPC two weeks to reply on Sehajdhari row

SC gives SGPC two weeks to reply on Sehajdhari row
 
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, July 26

The Supreme Court today granted two weeks’ time to the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to respond to the contentions of the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF) that the Sikh temporal body had no right to appeal on the Sehajdharis’ voting rights issue.

A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and Anil Dave adjourned the hearing, slated for today, as the SGPC sought time to file its reply.

In its affidavit, the SSF has contended that the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict restoring the Sehajdharis’ voting right had attained finality as the Union Government had decided against challenging the HC judgment.

Further, the SGPC election held on September 18, 2011 had become a nullity as the SC had allowed the conduct of the poll with a clear rider that the election result would be subject to the HC verdict.

Since the HC had quashed the Centre’s October 8, 2003, notification that had taken away the Sehajdharis’ voting rights, it was only proper that a fresh poll was conducted to elect the SGPC, the federation contended.

The SSF pointed out that the SC had refused to allow the newly elected SGPC Board to function and allowed only an ad hoc executive body consisting of members from the previous Board to manage the day-to-day affairs of the SGPC and the institutions run by it.

With no properly elected SGPC in place, no one claiming to be the SGPC could have moved the SC, challenging the HC verdict, SSF said.

Sehajdharis’ argument :

 

with thanks : TRIBUNE : LINK : for detailed news

Sd. Balbir Singh ji, Vivek Vihar

with thanks : HINDUSTAN TIMES

Tobacco consumption to be curbed in Amritsar

Amritsar: Consumption of tobacco in the holy town of Sikhs may lead to paying of penalty on the spot with the district administration planning measures to curb the practice from August 15.

Chewing tobacco and spitting on walls may soon be a thing of the past in Punjab with the state government declaring Amritsar and Rupnagar (Ropar) as 'tobacco-free districts' from August 15, Amritsar-based Chief Parliamentary Secretary Navjot Kaur Sidhu said here on Wednesday.

 There is already a ban on smoking in public places in the city and Executive Magistrates have been deputed to nab those violating the order, officials said.

The district administration in the last one week collected a fine of Rs 36,830 from over 240 people who were smoking in public place, they said.

Akal Takht (highest Sikh temporal seat) head Gurbachan Singh has already signed a pledge to save Punjab from the menace of tobacco and has written to Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandakh Committee (SGPC) directing it to communicate with Punjab Government regarding ban on sale of 'Gutka' in Punjab.

PTI

with thanks : ZEE NEWS : LINK : for detailed news.

Happy Gurupurab : Pics : Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, New Delhi

KABANA presents " A Tribute to Rajesh Khanna " by ...money vohra

Happy Gurupurab

Fauja Singh, 101, dazzles in Olympic Torch relay

Punjab-born Fauja Singh, who defies age to run marathons, drew the loudest cheers today as the Olympic Torch was carried by him, Olympic medal winners and leading individuals through London amidst a welcome clear sky and sunshine. Clad in all-white apparel and a matching white turban, the sprightly Singh carried the torch accompanied by hundreds of admirers, including Sikhs with yellow T-shirts bearing Singh's image, who hailed him every moment of the distance he travelled.

Singh was born in 1911, and began running at 86 to keep himself occupied.

He has since set several records for people of his age, running six London marathons, two Canada marathons and the New York marathon.

Clearly a bit of a sensation for his achievements, his participation in the relay today was described by admirers and onlookers as "a moment of history".

Singh, who carried the Olympics Torch in Athens eight years ago, now wants to carry it before the 2016 Olympics too, when he will be 105.

Hundreds of Sikhs organised a 'langar' at 16 points along the torch relay route to celebrate Fauja Singh's efforts.

The torch from Greenwich to Waltham Forest was carried by several Olympians, including Nadia Comaneci, and Indian-origin individuals who have excelled in various fields, such as Kaushali Trivedi (23), Natasha Sinha (15), Priya Rajgor (20) and Dhrashti Shah (16).

The relay's youngest and oldest (Fauja Singh) were among the 143 torch-bearers today.

The youngest was Chester Chambers, 12, who was nominated for representing his classmates, fundraising and helping to develop an anti-bullying campaign.

Today was the first day of the Olympics torch's seven-day tour of London in the final countdown to the Games.

Hopes that the constant rains of the last few weeks will give way to sunshine during the Olympics were realised, as today's relay was held amidst a clear sky.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : Link : for detailed news

Bomb Attack Kills Prominent Afghani-Sikh Leader

 

KABUL – Sardar Pritpal Singh Pal, an Afghan Sikh leader was killed in a suicide attack last week which claimed the lives of 23 people and left 60 injured. The news of his death has shocked the Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan.

A Taliban suicide bomber struck a wedding party of the daughter of Afghan MP Ahmad Khan Samangani on Saturday, 14th of July, at a Marriage Hall in Aybak, the capital of Samangan province of Northern Afghanistan.The MP was among the 23 killed.

Singh, a devout Sikh, a known Social activist, an outspoken community leader and a political aspirant had fought last general elections to parliament of Afghanistan.

Singh ran as an Independent candidate from the Kabul province for a seat in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga, the 250-seat Lower House of Parliament, in the 2010 elections.

Before taking part in the elections two years ago Singh was in the Afghan Army under the rule of Najibullah, 22 years ago. He retired after a leg and eye injury and went on to become a unani doctor.

Singh had once said, “It was a misconception that all Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are Punjabis who moved to Afghanistan from India years ago. In fact, many members of this community consider themselves to be the original Afghans who never converted to Islam. And this sense of rootedness only gives their pursuit of governmental representation in Afghanistan more zeal”.

Singh who ran a Greaco-Arabic medicine shop (Unani Dawakhana) established by his father who moved from Paktia to Kabul was frustrated with the current Afghan government and as he entered the electoral field he said, “I’m running for parliament for the service of all of Afghanistan.”

“I want to serve people regardless of religion. I’m an Afghan,” said, the then 46-year-old Pal during an interview with the media. He was a native of the Pashtun-majority province of Paktia where his parents were born.

 with thanks : thelinkpaper : LINK : for detailed news.

Many more join SAD - Delhi : Sd. Paramjit Singh Sarna : DSGMC

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to silence the din of mobile phones

AMRITSAR: The din of ringing cell phones in the Sikh's holiest of holy shrine Golden Temple has made Sikh's apex body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to mull over installing jammers in the Golden Temple complex to prevent the jarring mobile phone ring tones from ringing which disturb the concentration of fellow devotees and the sanctity of religious place. 

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar told TOI on Wednesday that there had been complaints from devotees about the maddening tunes and beeps of mobile phones which disturbs them and obstructs in performing worship. "We are planning to constitute a committee to submit its suggestions to check the nuisance from the religious place" he said. The suggestions received till now includes depositing mobile phones before entering in the Golden Temple complex and returning them to devotees while leaving or to install the jammers in the whole complex.

"Depositing and returning of mobile phones is a gigantic task as more than 1 lakh devotees pays obeisance at Golden Temple everyday, the better option appears to be the installation of jammers " he said. He said normally people didn't follow the cell phone etiquettes so they had to think on these lines. He informed that SGPC had already installed jammer between Darshani Deori and the sanctum sanctorum of Golden Temple. Other suggestions received by SGPC to check the mobile phone ringing was to issue appeal to all the visiting devotees to turn off their mobile phones or put them on silent or vibration mode before entering in the holy complex.

with thanks : Times of India : LINK : for detailed news.