Sikh American soldier's battle for the turban

"If the militaries in Canada, England, India and progressive nations allow Sikhs to serve in turbans and beards, then why can't the US?"

That was the question that Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, the first Sikh soldier in a generation allowed to keep the articles of his faith, posed to his commanders back in 2009 when he was told that he cannot wear his turban and beard while in service.

Eight years earlier when he joined the US army he had spoken with the recruiters and "they said 'it's not an issue, not a big deal' because they had seen other sardars in service," Kalsi told IANS on phone from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Before the policy change in 1981 there were many Sikhs who served in all the branches of the military all the way from early 1900 and many serving Sikh soldiers were grandfathered in, he said naming two retired officers, col GB Singh and col Sekhon.

But Kalsi's commanders agreed to put in a request for a waiver up the chain of command. "They afforded me a very amicable process, though a very lengthy one with a large amount of paperwork."

He finally won an accommodation from the Pentagon in 2010, went on active duty at Fort Bragg and was deployed twice in Afghanistan, where he went on to win a Bronze star for service and a NATO commendation.

Since then, two more soldiers, Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist and specialist Simran Preet Singh Lamba, an army medic, have received waivers from the Army.

The Army raised three concerns, whether he could wear a gas mask and a helmet and whether it would affect his "unit cohesion" or esprit de corps.  Kalsi said he met all their concerns by wearing a helmet over his long hair wrapped by a 'patka' or sport bandana.

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

Sindh Police not so serious in resolving Sikhs’ concerns

KARACHI: Instead of visiting the place in person to probe the case, as ordered by the Chief Secretary Sindh, Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Police (Special Branch) Shahid Hayat will conduct his enquiry into desecration of Sikh books in interior Sindh from Karachi, Daily Times has learnt.

The Chief Secretary had asked AIG Hayat to probe into the two cases in which most sacred book of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahab was desecrated in northern Sindh district. It has been learnt that AIG will not visit these cities where incidents happened but will conduct his enquiry from Karachi.

On Thursday, eight member Sindh delegation of Sikh Council of Pakistan met with Chief Secretary Sindh and asked him that they have no trust on the district police of Sukkur and Shikarpur districts where these incidents held and requested him to constitute special team comprises on the officers from Karachi.

CS Sindh assigned AIG Hayat on this case but now he, instead of visiting the cities where these incidents held, will probe both cases while sitting in Karachi. When contacted by this scribe to get his statement, he refused to talk. “I am not allowed to issue any statement,” said Hayat.

Sikhs with a tiny population in Sindh is considered as a minority within minority and after these incidents they are afraid of the local powerful Hindus. Despite two consecutive incidents of desecration of holy book, no one from the leadership of mainstream political parties including PPP, PML-N, MQM and PTI or anyone from Sindh government has so far contacted Sikhs of Sindh to assure them the justice in these incidents.

Not any single Non-Muslim parliamentarians, who were selected in the assemblies on the seats of religious minorities, took notice of the issue or have raised it in any assembly. 

Despite happening of these incidents, the Sindhi newspapers and private television channels or even FM Radios did not report the cases, as Sindhi press always remained vibrant, otherwise. Even when Sikh Community contacted provincial leadership of ruling PPP, they received no response. 

“We sent a letter to CM Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah who is also PPP president Sindh to give us time so that we can explain him all three incidents and demand justice, but despite passage of weeks, there is no response,” said Chairman Pakistan Sikh Council Sardar Ramesh Singh. 

On June 18, 2013 in a local temple run by local Hindu Panchyat, (unofficial community organisation) in Pano Akil town of Sukkur district, some unknown people tore the Sikh’s holy book Guru Granth Sahab. Sukkur police refused to register case saying that Hindu parliamentarians are forcing them to resolve the issue at community level.

After massive protests by Sikhs, at last police registered the case. Before police could arrest the culprits, another incident occurred in Shikarpur, where in a Hindu temple some unknown people again torn 24 pages of the holy book. 

The actual tussle started when a Hindu caretaker of a local temple Narain Bhajan embossed Hindu symbol on Guru Granth Sahab and signed his own signature and took the photo of the signing ceremony and posted them on social media networking site. Local Sindhi Sikhs reacted severely and rushed to the temple and asked religious leader to issue apology for disrespecting their book. 

“Both incidents could possibly be a reaction, in which our Sikh friends asked the Hindu leader to render apologies, but we are not sure and now it’s up to the police to find out actual reasons and the culprits behind this,” said Sardar Ramesh Singh.

with thanks : Daily Times : LINK

Flying Sikh’s life reaches new heights

At the age of 81, his demeanour and gait can make the younger generation break into cold sweat. Amidst attending to congratulatory calls from friends and family for the success of the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, coordinating the working of his charitable trust that helps poor and needy sportspersons in Chandigarh and attending numerous functions to felicitate him and his efforts, veteran athlete Milkha Singh takes out time to talk about his life and struggles.

His autobiography, The Race of My Life, will hit the stands next month. Dressed in his trademark red turban, tie and a navy blue suit, he confesses that he is enjoying all the attention and glory. “All this sudden busyness in my life at this age is only making me feel that I should live for another decade,” he exclaims.

He starts off on a casual note, saying, “After decades, it is fun to get the limelight. You must have heard about the call from Carl Lewis after watching the film. He was so overwhelmed with it that he wants to gift me something and asked me what I would like. Ab iss umar mein kya hi aur mangu.” He adds, “Just like you, most of the present generation was not even born when I was at my peak. They had no idea about my traumatic childhood, poverty, army life and my glorious years as country’s top athlete. The film has helped to shed a light on all these aspects of my life and I’m glad that I am alive to watch how positively it has been received by all.”

He is quick to add that he had not planned any of this and he didn’t even know that a film would be made on his life. “A book was written on my life in Punjabi 35 years ago and translated to Hindi later. After reading the latter, three or four Bollywood directors approached me. I have stopped watching films post 60s and had no idea, who should I give my nod to. But my son Jeev had watchedRang De Basanti and loved it. So he asked me to let Rakeysh direct a biopic on me,” he explains. He says his only conditions were that the film should be inspirational and 10 percent of the profits from the movie should go to his trust. He is happy with end product. “More than 80 percent of the film has been drawn from my real experiences. Baaki filmon mein thoda addition to karna padta hai,” he smiles and adds.

with thanks : asianage : LINK : for detailed news.

Editor booked for publishing morphed picture of Sikh gurus

A day after some Sikh bodies allegedly vandalised a Punjabi daily's office for publishing the morphed picture of Sikh gurus, the local police on Saturday booked its editor.

Daba police station booked Rajesh Sharma, editor of Khuli Soch, an evening daily, under sections 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 298 (Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Meanwhile, several Sikh bodies continued their protest on Saturday by blocking traffic on Gill road.

The protesters demanded arrest of the newspaper's editor.

Jagdev Singh, president, Baba Buddha Ji Gurmat Granthi Sabha, said if the police did not arrest the accused, they would intensify their protest.

Sharma on Friday had said that someone had posted morphed picture of Sikh gurus on Facebook, and they had only published the picture in the newspaper to criticise the act of the accused. “We had no intention to hurt anyone’s sentiments,” he had added.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : Link

'Milkha' is a 'Flying Sikh' at the box-office too

The Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra directed Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB), a tribute to India's 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh, is not only a critically acclaimed flick but also a commercial success. 

At the end of the first week, the movie has already netted more than 53 crores and it has been declared a hit. The Northern belts and Mumbai circuit have been the standout circuits. In the overseas markets, the success story continues with markets such as USA and UAE outperforming. 

 Made at a big budget of close to 50 crores, the movie has recovered its costs and is on its way to making handsome profits. This week, there isn't much competition as we have two films, Ramayya Vastavayya and D-Day, which don't have a big star to pull in the audiences. Guess, BMB will gallop for a few more weeks.

with thanks : behindwoods : Link

White House celebrates 100 yrs of Sikh contribution

The White House has acknowledged the contributions of the Sikh community to the US as it celebrates 100 years of their achievements and the immigrant success story in America.  The occasion was an event last week to mark the centenary of the arrival in July 1913 of Bhagat Singh Thind from his home in Amritsar, Punjab, in pursuit of higher education while dreaming of a better life for himself and his family. Thind became the first turbaned Sikh to fight in the American armed forces and led a life-long campaign to gain citizenship for him and many others. A century later, nearly 150 Sikh business leaders and CEOs of various companies gathered at the White House to celebrate this pioneer and more than a century of achievement by the American Sikh community.

 "The goal of this event is to acknowledge the contributions this community has made to the country, celebrate 100 years of achievement, the immigrant success story in America and also to acknowledge the horrible tragedy of Oak Creek last year," said Paul Monteiro, associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

An American white supremacist fatally shot six Sikh worshippers and wounded four others in a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in August 2012. While recognising the success of Sikh immigrants, Monteiro expressed White House's hope it can further open a dialogue between the Obama administration and Sikhs for years to come.

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

'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' mints Rs.8.5 crore on opening day

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", deemed a moving and inspirational tale of life of Indian sprinter Milkha Singh, managed an impressive Rs.8.5 crore business on its opening day.

The movie, which released Friday, features Farhan Akhtar as the Flying Sikh, and he is said to have got as real as it gets for the role.

A paid preview of the movie Thursday minted Rs. 1.5 crore, and the buzz for the movie only ended up getting a boost.

On its opening day, the movie made Rs. 8.5 crores across India, where it opened in 1,500 screens.

According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, "'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' had an amazing pick up in evening shows on Friday".

Confirming the same, Piyush Raizada, director, Delight Cinemas, told IANS: "It had a good occupancy on Friday, and it will do well this weekend."

Co-produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures, the movie was much-awaited ever since it was announced, and then its powerful and clean-cut trailer opened to viewers.

Farhan's performance, which is a result of several personal sessions with the man himself - Milkha Singh, has been immensely appreciated, while actresses Sonam Kapoor and Divya Dutta also make their mark with small, but meaningful performances.

Members of the film fraternity have been heaping praises on the project, with some saying, it will "go down in history". Until then, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" on Bollywood's box office!

with thanks : Times of India : LINK

Flying Sikh's new hunter shoes

Flying Sikh Milkha Singh ran barefoot on baking village sand as a kid and later red earth running tracks. He displayed indomitable will and courage, even vomited blood while training too hard in Pune for the Olympics. These are memorable echoes from his romantic struggle from a zero to a hero. Entwined seamlessly in all these traits was an obsessive streak of self-preservation, and this reflected in the ace runner choosing discretion as the better part of hunting valour! And, there even came a time when he made much of his shoes: a pair of new hunters! Before turning a golf addict, shikar, racing, beautiful women, Scotch and playing cards were his five cardinal passions.

The Flying Sikh would be up at 4 am with son Jeev and his imported guns primed for expeditions into the hinterland. Jeev was then Chiranjeev, a small, wiry fellow, with coils of hair held fast by a white handkerchief and red rubber band. And, to the eternal blessings of the God that looks after wild creatures, the Flying Sikh was not an able marksman, his strenuous efforts notwithstanding! The Flying Sikh and my late father Man Mohan Singh were shooting flying partridges at the invitation of Tikka Shiv Chand of Bhallan in Nangal tehsil in 1977. Jeev and I were accompanying our dads.

Tikka was an institution in himself as far as shikar in Punjab was concerned. He organised hunts for the high and mighty, getting hundreds of villagers to participate in beat shoots. In return, VIPs would ensure the villagers' works were done in the corridors of power in Chandigarh. Returning from the partridge shoot near Bela Ramgarh village, we were crossing the Sutlej river to Bhallan village in a country boat, which started to leak like rat-nibbled Swiss cheese. As the village "pehelwans" deployed by Tikka jumped into the river to keep the boat buoyant, the Flying Sikh quickly sized up the situation. He piggy-backed onto the sturdy shoulders of the first "pehelwan" who swam to the boat and hijacked him to reach safely on the opposite bank. The rest of us, including six-year-old Jeev, slowly sank in mossy green waters. A rescue by villagers saved the day for us, even as the Flying Sikh coolly directed us not to panic from his dry perch! The Flying Sikh was asked later why he abandoned us.

He disarmingly quipped, "There was really no danger to the boat." Pressed further, he replied in weak-kneed jest to alleviate the tension, "I did not want my new hunter shoes to get wet!" Our reaction to that is best kept buried in public interest, though, for years later he sportingly faced unsparing jest at shikari dinners.

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

Turbaned Sikh men take their fashion to the streets

The Singh Street Style blog aims to put Sikh chic on the map and show that wearing a turban doesn't stop people from being creative and individual with their fashion sense

'I wanted to show that Sikh turbaned men can be just as fashionable as anyone else' Photograph: Single Style Blog

Growing up as a teenager in Essex, Pardeep Singh Bahra often found he attracted the wrong kind of attention on the streets. "I found it quite difficult wearing the turban, especially in an area where there weren't many Sikhs," the 22-year-old explains. As Bahra grew older, and developed a love of style, he noticed that it wasn't just on the streets of Essex that his turban was an anomaly.

"I quickly realised that none of the fashion sites I looked at ever featured a turbaned Sikh man," he says. "I wanted to give the turbaned Sikh man a fair representation within the fashion world, and also show the blend of British and Sikh identities together. I wanted to show that Sikh turbaned men can be just as fashionable as anyone else." Three months ago, Bahra launched Singh Street Style.

Bahra started the blog by taking photos of people he happened to walk past in central London who stood out not just because their sense of personal style but also the way they wore their turban. "I just stop and go up to them and tell them about my blog. I tell them I like their style, and ask if they wouldn't mind having their photo taken for the site," he explains. "Most people are up for it."

He also takes photos of his friends, and often blog followers email him suggesting people whose style they think will fit in with the site to photograph too. Bahra has since photographed Jatinder Singh, a Sikh model who has done work for Topman and GQ wearing elaborate turbans; and Madhu Singh, from the dance duo Signature (known for their Michael Jackson bhangra dance routines for Britain's Got Talent).

Mostly, he relies on social media to reach out and keep finding stylish Sikh men to keep the blog going (he has more than 4,200 "likes" on his Facebook page and nearly 9,000 followers on Instagram).

Hakam, a 20-year-old optometry student, as photographed by Pardeep Singh Bahra Photograph: Pardeep Singh Bahra

Hakam, a 20-year-old optometry student, was one of the first people Bahra photographed – he wears ankle-skimming, skinny black jeans with lime green socks, brown brogues and a purple parka with a white turban. Elsewhere, Gurj, a 25-year-old accountant, wears a fitted grey blazer and white shirt with Sikh prayer beads around his neck.

with thanks : Guardian : LINK : for detailed news story.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee sets up panel to seek cancellation of new DU norm

AMRITSAR: The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has constituted an 11-member joint action committee (JAC) for cancellation of a provision by Delhi University, introduced from this academic session, by which many students will lose the opportunity to study their mother tongue.

Talking to TOI on Wednesday, DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK said student representatives of different colleges affiliated to DU, a number of social organisations and NGOs working for development of regional languages -- termed as modern Indian languages (MILs) -- met him, urging his intervention for cancellation of the provision.

As per the new provision for four-year graduation course of DU, being implemented from this session, it shifts Punjabi, Urdu and other MILs, to the second year (third semester). Earlier, these languages were introduced from the first semester.

He said the committee comprising professors of Urdu, Punjabi and other languages would jointly work to restore the pride of regional languages.

Manjit said he would lead a delegation of DSGMC to meet Vice President Hamid Ansari, who is also the chancellor of DU, for cancellation of the new provision.

MILs had the status of second language in many states of India. Even Urdu and Punjabi had the status of second language of Delhi. Like Urdu and Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and Sindhi carry great literary and cultural traditions, which truly represent the Indian ethos and a picture of unity in diversity, Manjit stated.

with thanks : Times of India : LINK

Sikhs of halhalia

resp vir jee guru fateh ,sending article on sikhs of halhalia published in Gurmat Parkash (march 2013) and jagbani published on 2nd april 2013 ,regards jagmohan singh gill . phone no 09831059675 , kolkata