#BanSikhJokes finds Support From Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

1 Dec 2015 — On 25 Nov 2015, Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal supported your campaign by signing a hard copy of the petition supplementing the online petition on change.org that calls for a ban on websites carrying jokes making fun of Sikhs.

The CM was asked for his opinion on racial humor targeting Sikhs. He gladly agreed to sign the petition and told the accompanying media “Jokes should not be made to target any religion or caste”. 

It is high time that our evolving society should start getting sensitive about insensitive racial jokes. Tolerance and Freedom of Speech should not bring in indifference or apathy in the society. Society should have its own checks and balances. 

Millions of Sikh, Bihari, Tamilians, Marwari, Gujarati, Parsi school children are bullied in the name of casual fun. Let us put a STOP to this racism and ask Supreme Court for a ban on such sick jokes. An additional anti-bullying act in schools is the need of the hour.

Comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi, Comedian Sunil Pal, DSGMC President Manjit Singh GK, Actor Manmeet Singh, RJ VO Artist OP Rathore, Church of North India and hundreds of other celebrities have also endorsed your petition.
Let us all take it to the next levels by enlisting at least 10 friends each for signing this petition. 

Ask your FRIENDS to SIGN the petition NOW.
Share on Facebook: https://goo.gl/1WzglR
Twitter: https://goo.gl/319WbU
RPS Kohli

New Delhi, India

Remove ‘kirpan’ for exam, baptised Sikh told

Amritsar: The SGPC has asked Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar to initiate action in an instance in which a student was initially stopped from taking an examination because he was wearing Sri Saheb (small kirpan). SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar told Khattar that a baptised Sikh named Harmanpreet Singh, a resident of Ambala, was to take the entrance examination for the post of junior engineer at Yamunanagar. But an invigilator prevented him from taking the exam until he removed his Sri Saheb. He informed his relatives and they approached the local Sikh leaders. After a lot of persuasion, he was allowed to take the examination, but 40 minutes late.

with thanks : TribuneIndia : LINK : for detailed report.

Akal Takht jathedar warns against idols of Sikh Gurus

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 30

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh has issued a warning against the manufacture and sale of idols of Sikh Gurus. He has also appealed to the Sikh masses to refrain from purchasing those as idol worship is against Sikh ethics.

There were reports in the recent past of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar being presented with the idol of Guru Nanak Dev at Gurdwara Manji Sahib, run by the SGPC in Ambala. The matter was brought to the notice of the Akal Takht secretariat reportedly by a complainant.

“In Sikhism, idol worship is prohibited. This can lead to a wrong practice, if not stopped immediately. It is yet to be scrutinised if it was a deliberate move under some conspiracy that the organisers at the Kurukshetra function committed the blunder of presenting an idol of Guru Nanak Dev along with a ‘siropa’ to honour a leader,” said the Akal Takht jathedar.

Costing between Rs 50 and Rs 1,500, these idols of Sikh Gurus, especially Guru Nanak Dev, have flooded Punjab’s markets.

These idols, made of marble powder, metal or stone and having gold plating, are being sold in leading gift shops as well as in the vicinity of the Golden Temple.

with thanks : tribuneindia : LINK : for detailed news

Tribute to DR. Mahip Singh : DSGMC

with thanks : DSGMC

1984 anti-Sikh riots case shifted to Patiala House court

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday transferred a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which Congress leader Sajjan Kumar is accused from the Karkardooma court to Patiala House court. Justice Siddharth Mridul said the trial will begin from December 8 with the consent of all parties in the case. The court was hearing a case filed by complainant Joginder Singh and prosecution witness Sheela Kaur, seeking transfer of the case from District and Sessions Judge Kamlesh Kumar to any other competent court. The petitioner also withdrew the allegations made against the judge. The victim's counsel H.S. Phoolka had said that trial court judge Kamlesh Kumar on September 10 did not record the statement of witness Kaur in a "correct sense". Phoolka had said that many times the special public prosecutor raised objections to what was being recorded, saying it was not the correct version of what was stated by the witness. He had said the transfer of the case was imperative to meet the ends of justice and for a fair and impartial trial. 

with thanks : Mid-Day : LINK : for detailed news.

This Pakistani Female Commando Stood Guard As Indian Sikhs Visited 'Nankana Sahib' On Gurupurab

Last week, a Pakistani female commando was spotted at Wagah railway station, standing guard as Indian Sikhs boarded the train to visit Nankana Sahib on the auspicious occasion of Gurupurab. With a Heckler & Koch MP5 no less.

Several hundred Sikh pilgrims took a special train to arrive in Pakistan to attend the three-day long festivity commemorating 547th birthday of Guru Nanak. 

with thanks : IndiaTimes : LINK : for detailed news report.

Fortney: Thousands honour Manmeet Bhullar at stirring memorial

To his closest friends, he was the Superman with a fondness for chili paneer; to his grandma, he was the young visionary who did his immigrant family proud; and to his older sister, he was “Princess,” the favoured child who always managed to get out of doing the dishes.

At the state memorial for MLA Manmeet Singh Bhullar on Sunday afternoon, Calgarians and Canadians were given the privilege of feeling they had known the 35-year-old politician, even if their paths had never crossed.

Since he died last Monday in a motor vehicle accident on the Queen Elizabeth highway — Bhullar had been struck by an out-of-control truck after he stopped to help another driver — numerous politicians, community leaders and journalists have spoken and written about the young man who died just as he had lived: trying to help his fellow man.

Tributes to the illustrious career of the Canadian-born child of Indian immigrants made mention of the many ways in which he served: as a teenage leader at the Calgary Sikh temple where he worshipped; his crowning achievement as the human services minister in the former Tory provincial government, ending a ban on publicizing the names of children who died while in foster care; and his most recent international work, helping at-risk minorities leave Afghanistan.

with thanks : calgaryherald : LINK : for detailed news report.

Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong promises ‘consistent support’ to Sikh community

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has paid tribute to Singapore’s Sikh community, saying the government will continue to support them in many ways.

The Singaporean government has and will continue to support the Sikh community in many ways, he said yesterday at the Sikh community dinner.

The government has already recognised Punjabi as a second language in public schools and supported the formation of the Singapore Sikh Foundation through the Education Ministry to facilitate the teaching of Punjabi.

It has initiated the formation of Central Sikh Gurdwara Board to look after the community’s needs, and granted the Sikh Welfare Council the Institution of Public Character status to support fund-raising.

“I am very glad to see that the demand for these activities is also growing. I know you have some space constraints. In line with our consistent support for the community, we will look positively at the Sikh community’s growing needs to see how we can be helpful,” Lee said, adding that Sikhs arrived here in 1881 to form the backbone of the police contingent.

He highlighted the Sikh tradition of serving food and providing shelter at the Gurdawaras, asking the community to continue to live out the values of self service and optimism embodied in their faith.

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

Mind your own business, Captain Amarinder snubs Sukhbir Singh Badal

Punjab Congress President Capt Amarinder Singh  on Sunday snubbed Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and rejected his demand for action against Congress leaders attending 'Sarbat Khalsa' (congregation of sikhs) at Amritsar on November 10.

"You better mind your own business than meddle in our party affairs". "It is like devil quoting scriptures", he remarked. The PCC President asked Sukhbir and his father (Parkash Singh Badal) that before raising an accusing finger on the Congress leaders, who attended the 'Sarbat Khalsa' purely as true Sikhs, they should better take action against SAD sitting MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha who boasts himself as a "terrorist".

with thanks : DNA : LINK : for detailed news report.

Press Conference By DSGMC ON 1984 ' Sikh Genocide” Issue

With Thanks : Media DSGMC

Arvind Kejriwal Serious About Banning ‘Sikh Jokes’

A physical copy of the petition was signed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj 

A petition seeking a ban ‘Sikh jokes’ has received about 40,000 signatures online and off, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being among those who have supported the cause.

The petition, which was started on Change.org at the beginning of the month, had received 20,866 signatures as of Friday evening.

A physical copy of the petition was circulated at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on Wednesday when Guru Nanak Jayanti was celebrated.

It was there that Mr. Kejriwal signed a hard copy of the petition that wants websites that host jokes at the expense of the Sikh community taken down. After signing, he said: “We should not be making jokes on religious and caste lines.”

With the Aam Aadmi Party planning on contesting elections in Punjab, it can’t be a coincidence that Mr. Kejriwal lent his support to the petition and that his government on Friday decided to give a restricted holiday on the martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur on December 16.

Meanwhile, R.P.S. Kohli, who started the petition, said 17,000 to 20,000 people signed the physical copy of the petition at the gurdwara. “We are still in the process of counting the signatures, but we were overwhelmed by the support,” said Mr. Kohli, a businessman from West Delhi.

He said he decided to start the petition after his own experience of being bullied while growing up in Odisha.

“There were very few Sikhs living in Odisha so I was subject to jokes on my religion. Even after moving to Delhi, my sons faced similar jibes,” said Mr.Kohli.

Jokes based on stereotypical exaggerations of the Sikh community should be banned, ask the petitioners. But, more than that, Mr. Kohli said there was a need for an anti-bullying legislation as well as guidelines on how to deal with hate speech.

“Racist humour should be defined as hate speech and there should be appropriate laws to deal with it,” he said.

The Supreme Court is also hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by lawyer Harvinder Chowdhury that seeks a ss0similar ban.

The next hearing of that case will be January 4, when activists and members of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee are expected to hand in the petitions.

PS: The Petition had received 21,190 signature till 28th November 2015

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/kejriwal-serious-about-banning-sikh-jokes/article7925835.ece