150 years of Sikh history explored by national museum

A project exploring over 150 years of Sikh history has been launched by the National Army Museum (NAM) in collaboration with the Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail (ASHT).

‘War and Sikhs’ is a community project created to raise awareness of the vital contribution of Sikh soldiers to the British Army and to give British Sikhs ‘ownership’ over how their history and artefacts are understood and described.

Over the next four months the Museum will be running a series of interactive workshops where volunteers will get exclusive access to some of the Museum’s rarest collection items relating to Sikhs.

with thanks : Asian age : LINK : for detailed news with pics.

Finland Sikh fights for right to wear turban

A Sikh bus driver in Finland is fighting for his right to wear a turban while at work. 

Gill Sukhdarshan Singh, who works at the Veolia bus company at Vantaa near the Finnish capital of Helsinki, is trying to set a precedent by making the authorities allow him to wear a turban at work.

Yle, the Finnish public broadcasting company, reported Tuesday.  "I have a right to my turban, and I am a Sikh" the report quoted Singh as saying. "I believe it is no problem to any other religions, as we do not disturb any other religion, we only believe in our religion", said Singh.

Singh was among the first Sikhs to move to Nordic country in the 1980s.  After a visit to the Indian state of Punjab in December last year, he decided to wear a turban while at work.  Nobody raised any objection for two months but then the authorities concerned told him to remove it to comply with company uniform rules. 

Singh's son Sukhnavdeep Singh Gill also wears a turban and says he would like to complete his military service in Finland wearing it.  Sukhnavdeep said., "It is my right to go for military service. I want to be a part of it, and my religion shouldn't be a problem. I don't want to be treated differently, it's my right"

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.

FBI asked to track hate crimes against Sikhs

Washington, May 22: A bipartisan group of 23 lawmakers have asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to begin tracking hate crimes against Sikhs, the way it does for other communities.

Formed last month to address the Sikh community's issues, the American Sikh Congressional Caucus, co-chaired by Democratic House member Judy Chu and Republican David Valadao, made the request in a letter to the FBI last week.

The new letter builds on earlier letters spearheaded by Democrat House member Joseph Crowley and Democrat senators Dianne Feinstein and Dick Durbin.

About 140 members of the US Congress have so far endorsed the Sikh Coalition's request for the policy change that it says will translate into expanded Sikh awareness training for law enforcement officials and significantly strengthen efforts to fight hate crimes.

with thanks : IANS : LINK : for detailed news

Kenya: Sikh Students Host Art Competition in Nairobi

iSikh was at it again with an exciting art competition for young Sikh students last Sunday. The theme was 'Sikh Symbols'. The event was held at the Ramgarhia South C, Railway Gurudwara, in Nairobi.

The Gurudwara have a school known as the Gurmat whose primary objective is to educate students on Sikh religion, language, history and prayer. Daljeet Kaur, 13, addressed the audience about the various Sikh symbols, their origin and meaning.

Jasveen Kaur narrated how the Sikh symbols came into being through the creation of the religion over 300 years ago. Nominated MP Sonia Birdi was among the chief guests. She said: "Parents, please allow children to follow their dreams and support them in the right direction".

According to the judges, all the 120 children who participated were winners for their efforts and all received certificate of appreciation.

Lohana's Team Nairobi savours Dar-es-Salaam win

Team Nairobi of the Lohana Youth League were the winners of the 32nd Lohana Sports and Cultural Festival that was held in Dar-es-Salaam, in December. This grand festival included Lohana teams from Dar-es-Salaam, Mwanza, Kampala, Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu. However, due to the general election and other commitments, they had not really had the chance to enjoy and thank all participants. They celebrated with a friendly bowling competition and a festive meal at the Village Market in Nairobi last Saturday. It was a chance to reminisce about the festival and look forward to more exciting events for 2013.

Theosophical Society Nairobi marks 50th anniversary.

with thanks : AllAfrica : LINK : for detailed news.

DSGMC plans memorial at Gurdwara Rakabganj

In an affront to the Congress government in the national capital, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) plans to build a memorial to 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims at Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib, adjacent to Parliament House. 

The 51-member general body of the DSGMC is scheduled to meet on Wednesday and is expected to give its approval to the memorial. On Thursday, the matter was discussed by the executive body of the DSGMC, which asked the general house to take the final decision.

Last year, the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government had allegedly scuttled the move of the Delhi unit of the Badals' Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to rename a park in Punjabi Bagh after the riot victims.

The SAD-ruled DSGMC had taken to the streets in Delhi recently in protest against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's acquittal in a riots case.

"We would declare our decision on the memorial on Wednesday after the approval of the general house," said DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK.

"The Congress was responsible for the Sikh genocide. The Congress-led UPA government as well as the Delhi government are trying to stop us from building the memorial by denying us a suitable location. But we have decided to build the memorial on the premises of Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib," GK told HT.

The controversy over the Punjabi Bagh park was a major issue during the January 27 DSGMC elections. Efforts of the SAD (Badal), backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to get the park renamed as the '1984 Sikh memorial park' were thwarted when the scheduled function in this regard was 'postponed' at the last moment in November last year.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.

Renowned filmmaker comes up with docu film on 'langar' tradition

Internationally renowned award-winning filmmaker Meera Dewan has come up with 'Gur Prasad: The Grace of Food', a 58-minute documentary on the tradition of food-sharing through community kitchen, an integral aspect of Sikh religion known as 'langar'.  

Dewan paid a visit to this historical town connected to second Sikh master, Guru Angad Dev, and presented the first copy of her production to Baba Baldev Singh, a senior representative of Kar Sewa Khadoor Sahib, headed by noted environmentalist and religious preacher Baba Sewa Singh.

The documentary has basically been made for the film division of the union ministry of information and broadcasting. She had planned to personally present the first copy to Baba Sewa Singh, but he is currently abroad.

"At a time when India talks about food security to check widespread hunger and also take care of the nutritional crisis, the film recalls a rich living tradition of food-sharing as widely practiced at 'langars' or community kitchens by the Sikh community," said Dewan while talking with media persons here on Thursday.  

"Filmmaking is my passion and activism through which I portray the problems and issue that exist in Indian society. My first documentary 'Gift of Love' is an anti-dowry film that won 11 international awards at leading film festivals worldwide," she added.

She wholeheartedly appreciated the arrangements for 'Mata Kheevi Langar' run by Baba Sewa Singh's organisation. During her day-long stay here, she paid obeisance at the holy places and visited numerous educational institutes and training academies run by Nishan-e-Sikhi charitable society of Baba Sewa Singh.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.

Australian Porn Mag Apologises to Sikh Community for Offensive 'Turban Legend' Article

Bauer Media in Australia has apologised to the Sikh community over an offensive article it ran in its porn magazine The Picture.

The company made an out of court settlement with United Sikhs after the group brought legal action over an article entitled Turban Legend.

Bauer Media said it was sorry if members of the Sikh community in Australia were offended and that the magazine did not intend to upset anyone.

Of particular offence was the inclusion of a photo of a Nihang Sikh - Nihang is a greatly respected Sikh order famed for its military victories.

The magazine showed a photo of a praying Nihang Sikh in a Golden temple surrounded by pictures of naked women.

Sukhwant Singh, director of national legal affairs at United Sikhs Australia, negotiated the agreement which was mediated by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

"We filed a complaint with the AHRC after we were notified by a Sikh from Queensland about this offensive article titled 'Turban Legend' that was published in the 30th January 2013 issue of Bauer Media's magazine, The Picture," he said.

with thanks : ibtimes UK : LINK : for detailed news.

Amend law to include Sikhs, Hindus in hate crime victims: US to FBI

Meeting one of the long pending demands of Sikhs and Hindus in the US, Attorney General Eric Holder has recommended widening the FBI's mandate to include the two communities among victims of growing hate crimes.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Holder said he made this recommendation to the Advisory Policy Board of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make the necessary changes in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) in this regard.

"The (Justice) Department recommended to what's called the Advisory Policy Board last year that the UCR be amended to include anti-Sikh, anti-Hindu, anti-Arab, anti-Middle Eastern categories in the ethnicity or race section," Holder said.

"That board is supposed to meet again in June, where it will consider those potential changes before they make them to the FBI director. But it would be my strong recommendation the form be modified so that it captures anti-Sikh, anti-Muslim, anti-Middle Eastern violence," the Attorney General said.

Holder was responding to questions from California Congresswoman Judy Chu, who recently announced the formation of the first ever American Sikh Congressional Caucus.

with thanks : Indian Express : LINK : for detailed news.

Jan Akrosh Rally against 1984 Anti Sikh Riots by Sh Vijay Goel at Gandhi Nagar in Delhi.

Parents seek answers in British Sikh schoolgirl's death

LONDON: The parents of an eight-year-old British Sikh schoolgirl have alleged that their daughter was killed by health workers in India in a failed attempt to harvest her organs.

Gurkiren Kaur Loyal was being treated for dehydration in a small clinic in Punjab when staff reportedly gave her a mystery injection.

"Within a split-second Gurkiren's head flipped back, her eyes rolled in her head, and the colour completely drained from her. I knew they had killed her on the spot. I knew my innocent child had been murdered," her mother Amrit Kaur Loyal told the 'Birmingham Mail'.

According to Gurkiren's family, the girl was then subjected to a "medieval" postmortem during which all her major organs were removed in a bid to hide the truth of how she had been killed.

It was only once her body was flown home to Britain that they discovered her organs weremissing and only her eyes remained.

Local police are believed to have taken their statements but the family is unsure if a proper investigation was carried out.

Their local councillor in Birmingham, Narinder Kooner, and Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood, have now joined the family's campaign to press the Indian and UK governments for answers.

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

In charge of DSGMC, Badal's SAD has say in Delhi

The newly-formed Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has started bearing fruit for the Shiromani Akali Dal. The turn of events during the past fortnight has proved that being in charge of the DSGMC is not an ordinary achievement for the SAD. 

SAD's Delhi president Manjit Singh GK, who took over as the committee president on February 26, led the protests in Delhi, against the central government in the past 10 days, forcing the central government to bow, promising to move an appeal in a higher court against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, an accused in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, who was acquitted recently.

After acquittal of Sajjan Kumar 10 days ago, the activists of the SAD swung into action and went on the rampage in Delhi, blocking traffic, stopping metro trains, holding a protest outside the house of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and doing everything to draw the attention of the central government.

Finally, the central government succumbed to the pressure and a signal was sent to the Akalis to come for discussion across the table.

On May 8, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, deputy Chief minister and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and the entire SAD team, including MLAs, MPs and other leaders, gathered in Delhi. A memorandum was given to the President, and a core committee meeting was held, asking the DSGMC and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to move the Supreme Court, seeking directions to the central government to form a special investigation team to probe all cases of the anti-Sikh riots that broke out in the country in 1984.

The entire team, along with Akali Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, also went to Jantar Mantar where riot victim Nirpreet Kaur was on a hunger strike as a mark of protest, and asked her to end her fast.

Speaking here, Parkash Singh Badal acknowledged the efforts of the Delhi unit of his party and the DSGMC, which fought for the Sikh cause. It was made evidently clear that the Akali faction having control over the DSGMC could only make things move in the central government.

The Delhi faction of the SAD is also closely following the case of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who is on death row for a bomb blast in the early 1990s. The SAD is seeking clemency for Bhullar and the DSGMC is acting as a catalyst in this.

Badal also must have realised that there can't be a better choice for the post of the DSGMC president than Manjit Singh GK, who was made to join the SAD in 2008. GK is the son of slain Akali leader Jathedar Santokh Singh, and has a flair for handling Sikh issues. Youth Akali leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, general secretary of the DSGMC, is complementing GK and has shown that he can match the Akali aggression and can undertake long protests for which Akalis are known.

With GK in charge of the DSGMC, Badal has got the opportunity to come closer to the urban Sikhs and show to the masses that the SAD is not a party of peasants only. Political analysts also see the recent turn of events as efforts to make his son and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal have a better say in the national politics.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK