Friday, January 3, 2014

George Hine House to become Leicester Sikh free school

The site viewed from Gipsy Lane

Part of a former mental health hospital has been chosen as the site of the first Sikh free school in Leicester.
Falcons Primary School is expected to open in September 2014, taking children from all faiths.
The school aims to supply the demand for a Sikh education in Leicester, which it says is not currently met by the city's existing schools.
Planning applications have been submitted to use part of the Towers Hospital site in Gipsy Lane.
A school spokesperson said the Sikh faith was not represented "in the Leicester family of schools" which parents who wished their children to have an education "in a faith environment are at a disadvantage".
Towers Hospital, an institution for people with mental illness, closed its beds in 2000 and saw its last outpatients in 2013.
George Hine House, a Grade II listed building on the site, was later used as the headquarters of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.
Architects propose converting George Hine House into the schoolbut the outside of the building would mainly remain the same.
Ward blocks behind the George Hine Building would be demolished.
Some parts of the site have already been developed into apartments.

with thanks : BBC News : LINK

Sikh driver shot dead by police in southern California

A 45-year-old Sikh truck driver was shot dead by police in the city of Bakersfield in southern California on Sunday morning. According to reports in the local media, the victim has been identified as Jaspal Singh. The police reportedly responded to a call about domestic disturbance from a home near Oswell Street on San Mateo Drive in Bakersfield.

When cops reached the spot, Singh reportedly had his gun pointed at them. He was fired at five times.

Detective Todd Farnsworth was quoted as saying by local news networks, “Upon arriving on scene, officers were encountered with a male subject with a gun. The subject pointed the gun at officers.”

He said Singh was hit by five shots fired by one of the two officers. He was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Singh, who came to California from Bharo Majra village near Phagwara in Punjab about a decade ago, was reportedly suffering from depression. No details about his family were known.

The officer who shot at Singh has been sent on leave as police continue their investigations.

Bakersfield is home to some very successful Sikhs in southern California, including Mehnga Singh Sangera who was the first Indian to own car dealerships (Mercedes, Volvo and Subaru) since the 1950s.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK 

Monday, December 30, 2013

Awareness about Sikhism


The Sikh Coalition designed this billboard in collaboration with the Midwest Sikh Gurdwara in Kansas to create awareness about Sikhs among fellow Americans.
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/sikhawareness

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Mr.B.S.Vohra with Arvind Kejriwal

                        Sd.B.S.Vohra (Social & RWA activist, Blogger & Citizen journalist ) with Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal .

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Merry Christmas !!

                               Children on their way to school to participate in Christmas celebrations in Patiala.

PTI Photo https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A Sad story : NBT, Delhi


90 % of Sikh heritage sites are in Pakistan

PESHAWAR: A United Kingdom-born researcher, writer, historian and award-winning filmmaker, Bobby Singh Bansal, has said 90 per cent of the Sikh heritage sites are located in Pakistan, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The writer, who is considered an authority on the Sikh history and heritage in Pakistan, visited Peshawar and other parts of KP for a week to explore the community heritage sites for his upcoming book, “Sikh Monuments of Pakistan and India.”

Talking to The News, the 45-year old writer said during his Pakistan trip he visited for documentation various forts built during the Sikh rule. “I have already been to Jamrud and Shabqadar forts and saw the Balahisar from outside. Other Sikh-era forts include those in Bara, Lockhart, Michini, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Haripur, Mansehra and Oghi. I have explored the ruins of Khairabad, Akora Khattak and Jehangira forts [in Nowshera district] built by the Sikhs,” he explained.

Bansal visited the site of the famed March 14, 1823 battle of Nowshera and located Samadh of Bhai Phoola Singh Akali, a general of the Sikh Army who fell in the battle and was cremated on the site located near the northern bank of Kabul River at Pir Sabak.

Asked what motivated him to document the Sikh heritage sites, he said although he was born in England, his roots were in Pakistan. “My parents belong to Rawalpindi. I used to visit the holy Sikh sites in this country. This created a desire to conduct research on the subject and give it the shape of publication or film,” said Bansal, who has authored, “The Lion’s Firangis: Europeans in the Court of Lahore” in 2010 to trace the history of the chief European officers in the service of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh right up to their present descendants living in various parts of the world.

Bansal said the response to his first publication encouraged him to produce and direct in 2012 a documentary film “Sikhs of Kabul” that highlighted the plight of the community whose numbers have dwindled considerably in the Afghan capital. This year he produced another film “Sikhs of Burma” to be screened in March next year.

“I have a strong belief that this is our shared heritage and not just for the Sikhs of Pakistan but for Sikhs globally,” he said. He called for conservation of the ancient monuments, gurdwaras, forts and havelies associated with his community in Pakistan.

Bansal believed documentation of the Sikh heritage sites would also benefit Pakistan. “I want all the Sikh heritage sites here documented and put on the tourist map. Every year thousands of Sikh yatris come to Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib. It is my wish that these yatris should also visit sites of military, historic and religious significance for Sikhs when they are in Pakistan. This will boost tourism and help the Sikhs to know about these places and strengthen their identity,” he stressed.

The researcher has the conviction that the heritage sites should be owned and conserved without any discrimination. “During my current visit, I discussed issues pertaining to gurdwaras that are falling apart and are in need of urgent protection. The problem of paucity of funds can be overcome once the matter is publicised at the international level,” said Bansal, who is father of two.

He deplored that there is a lot of propaganda about the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. ” I have been to this province several times and even during my present visit I found security situation satisfactory. The people are kind and hospitable. But it is strange that there is negative impression about this province in the outside world that needs to be dispelled,” he said.

In his quest for searching the Sikh history, Bansal went to Italy recently because the second Sikh Governor of Peshawar from 1838 to 1842, General Paolo Di Avitabile (October 25, 1791 - March 28, 1850) was an Italian. He met the family members of Avitabile in Naples. He wanted Peshawar and an Italian town Agerola of Naples declared sister cities.

The researcher even brought a letter from the Agerola mayor about the twinning, but is yet to be contacted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to help materialise the plan. “Just think of the attention Peshawar will get when an Italian or any tourist learns that Agerola is a sister city of Peshawar,” argued Bansal.

“Peshawar is an important ancient living city. During my current visit I went to Gurwarda Bhai Joga Singh Sahib in Dabgari and met several fellow Sikhs. I attended the 91st birthday of legendary actor Dilip Kumar (Muhammad Yousaf Khan) in his hometown and met government representative on the minorities’ affairs Sardar Soran Singh. I visited several other towns and delivered a lecture at the Hazara University at Mansehra on the Sikh heritage monuments of Pakistan. I am returning to Britain with fond memories and this will compel me to come again” he added.



with thanks : The News : Link

US court dismisses Sikh group's case against Badal


From Lalit K Jha 

Washington, Dec 24 (PTI) A US court has dismissed an alleged human rights violation case against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, saying the New York-based Sikh group never physically served the summons on him.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in its order upheld the decision that Sikh for Justice (SFJ) did not effectuate service of the Federal Court summons on Badal.


with thanks : PTI News : LINK