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Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
London 2012 Olympics chief allows Sikhs to carry ceremonial dagger
Lord Coe says Sikhs can display their kirpan as 'an article of faith' when attending the Games.
Sikhs attending the London 2012 Olympics will be able to carry a small dagger, known as the kirpan, following reassurances from Lord Coe.
In a letter to the Sikh Federation, the former gold medal-winning athlete and chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, wrote that there would be no ban on a kirpan with a maximum blade length of three inches (eight centimetres).
In Sikhism, the kirpan and kara (bangle) are two of the five articles of faith that baptised Sikhs must carry at all times.
Lord Coe said: "At Games-time, small symbolic ceremonial daggers (an Article of Faith with a maximum blade length of 3 inches) carried for religious reasons will be allowed.
"We have worked closely with the Sikh community and the Metropolitan police on our plans in this area, and published this statement on our website and I would appreciate your help in communicating this to your federation.
"The Sikh community has played a major role from the outset of the bid to host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games here in London."
The group, welcoming the letter, suggested its lobbying activity may have even helped London to triumph over Paris in the race to stage the event.
The Sikh Federation wrote to IOC members to discourage them from supporting the Paris bid because of the French ban on religious symbols in public places, "specifically targeting around 45 of the 115 voting IOC members who are from countries where religion is of paramount importance".
Dabinderjit Singh, a spokesman for Sikh interests in the UK, said: "I think that's what Seb was alluding to in his letter. We played that card quite heavily but didn't publicise it at the time."
He added that while there was a growing awareness about the kirpan as a religious item, there was still work to be done.
He cited the case of Sikh cricket fan Gurdev Singh, who was denied access to Lord's during a test match last weekend between India and England because he was wearing a kirpan. He staged a protest outside the ground.
with thanks : link above for detailed news.
High Court appoints its first Sikh judge
Rabinder Singh QC has become the first Sikh to be made a judge in the High Court, and will wear a turban rather than a traditional judicial wig when he takes up the appointment later this year.
Mr Singh, 47, a founding member of Matrix Chambers, has forged a name for himself as a dogged human rights lawyer.
His elevation comes at a time of concern over the lack of diversity within the judiciary, which tends to remain an overwhelmingly Oxbridge-educated white-man's world. Five new High Court judges were appointed yesterday, four of whom are white men.
The House of Lords constitution committee is investigating diversity within the judiciary. Of the 3,598 judges in England and Wales in 2010, just 20.6 per cent are women and 4.8 per cent from ethnic minorities.
with thanks : link above.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Rahul Gandhi praises Sikhs
New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) Attempting to improve the Congress’s ties with the Sikhs, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi Friday heaped praise on the community, saying they have ‘done the country proud by their achievements’.
Inaugurating a memorial dedicated to Tegh Bahadue, the Sikhs’ ninth Guru, Rahul Gandhi hailed the teachings of the Sikh spiritual gurus and also the contributions of the community.
‘The Sikhs of this country have done the nation proud with their achievements. They have hoisted the flag of India in every part of the world,’ he said in Hindi.
Gandhi also thanked Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, for taking the country on the path of development and progress.
‘The country is thankful to the Sikh community, for the progress and development brought by them. I am very thankful to Prime Minister Mamohnan Singh, who has brought progress and development in the country,’ he said.
He was all praise for Guru Teg Bahadur.
‘We must understand the importance of Guru Teg Bahadur. This country in not the country of any caste or religion, this is a country of every Indian.’
‘These were the teaching of Guru Tegh Bahadur and we must understand the importance of his teachings,’ Gandhi said.
The Congress general secretary added that he goes back to the teachings of ancient gurus of India for guidance.
‘When I think of my work, I go through the teachings of the ancient gurus of India and follow them. The whole country must follow their path for the development of the country,’ he added.
The Congress’s ties with Sikhs were strained after the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984. More recently, many Sikh groups are demanding the release of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a former Khalistan Commando Force militant, who has been given the death penalty in a 1993 car bombing case in Delhi.
with thanks : link above.
SGPC poll on Sept 18
Chandigarh, July 28
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the Gurdwara Election Commission to hold the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections on September 18 as recommended by the Chief Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections, Justice (retd) HS Brar.
Justice Brar said the elections would be held simultaneously in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. With the announcement of the election date, the Model Code of Conduct comes into force immediately.
As per the code, the state government cannot announce new programmes and policies or lay foundation stones for projects. It cannot undertake any activity that can be interpreted as an attempt to influence the voter.
In all, a little over 55 lakh voters will exercise franchise. This time only “keshdhari” Sikhs (who have given an undertaking that they strictly follow the Sikh tenets) have been included in the voters’ list. During the last SGPC elections in 2004, “sehajdhari” (clean-shaven) Sikhs were allowed to vote too.
Justice Brar said preparations for the smooth conduct of the elections were completed way back in May.
“We were only waiting for a date from the MHA, which we received today”.
with thanks : tribune : link above
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
All we need a desire in our hearts to ignite a fire of Transformation
Fr.Nigel Barrett head of the Church’s communications centre said “We are teaching Church leaders about Facebook and other new-age media. We held a seminar recently where we taught priests how to use the media to reach out to congregations and the public, and are now planning follow-ups to make them Computer savvier as far as new-age media is concerned ”
With the same spirit,if we love Sikhi,then we also need to show in REAL terms with our noble motive of “sarbat-da-bhala“ (Welfare of All ).
We have to help Sikh Community preachers to overcome fear about the new-age media. Educating them on e-media is essential in contemporary time,not just for communication purposes,but with an intention to have online counselling sessions for people who need help/ information on Sikh Religion. Quite often it has been observed that at the initial stage,many youngsters prefer to be anonymous while seeking help/knowledge about religion to overcome their anxiety or unknown fears/doubts. This will surely change the Sikh Community from the very core and its impact would be long lasting.
Lets begin a transformation at the ground level.We can talk to our respective authorities in SGPC,DSGMC and local Gurdawara Management Bodies to organise Computer Workshops with the inclusiveness of our Gururdwara’s Granthis,Sewadars,Prabandhaks (Preachers).We can also provide them computers to make them efficient to practice more on their own initiative.
In Mumbai,Young Sikh Volunteers have already taken an initiative to get course in “Gyani ji” themselves .They are also sparing their valuable time & offering their services by helping Gurdwara Sewadars( Sikh Preachers) to be comfortable with computers.
With thanks :Young Sikh Leaders
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
S.G.N.D.Khalsa College
University of Delhi
Dev Nagar
New Delhi-110005
Monday, July 18, 2011
NDTV debate on Mumbai Blasts
Please view Mr B S Vohra in the debate on Mumbai Blasts on NDTV India :
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