Congress did not initiate anti-Sikh riots in 1984: Gadkari

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari says it's not entirely correct to blame the then Congress government for initiating the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

In an interview to BBC Hindi Service, Gadkari said: "Some people might be involved in those riots but it would not be entirely correct to say that the riots were initiated by the government.

"Nobody can manipulate or organise such incidents; these are unfortunate reactions of the people at large."

Gadkari was replying to questions on the alleged involvement of the BJP and its government in the demolition of the Babri mosque and the 1992 Gujarat riots.

"Gujarat riots were unfortunate. But when riots take place in other states, why aren't governments and chief ministers blamed for that?" the newly-elected BJP president asked.

"Why don't you corner Congress governments and their chief ministers for riots which took place in Congress-governed states, the way you are cornering Modi and the BJP? Riots took place in Mumbai in 1992 and the way Sikhs were killed in Delhi..."

He also said the BJP was not anti-Muslim, and shot back, "If our party were against the Muslims, why would we nominate Dr. Abdul Kalam as the president of the country?"

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With Thanks : Source : Times of India

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Turban a mark of Sikh identity

Amritsar: The Sikh leadership on Tuesday described the turban as a mark of identity and advised the members of the community living abroad against the practice of abandoning the religious headgear.

Akal Takht Jatehdar Gurbachan Singh said: “Families living abroad are adopting Western culture and not wearing turban since they are adopting Western style hair-cut.” He was speaking on the occasion of ‘World Turban Day' organised by an NGO to create awareness about the importance of the turban in Sikhism.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar said: “The Sikh community is a minority in the world and turban on the head of Sikh shows their distinguished identity.” The world knows Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a turbaned man, he said, adding: “The new generation of Sikhs needs to know the importance of the turban, since they get their hair cut which is against the norms of the religion”. - PTI

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With Thanks : Source : The Hindu

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Peace corridor between India, Pak sought

A delegation of United Sikh Mission met Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary, AICC, and demanded the creation of a peace corridor linking Dera Baba Nanak post in Gurdaspur to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan. Amarjit Singh Tikka, former working President of the Punjab Youth Congress met Gandhi along with other members of the mission. Tikka said that Kartarpur gurdwara was visible from the Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak near the border. The distance from the Indian border in Dera Baba Nanak is 1.25 km only. So a corridor should be created so that people can go in the morning and can comeback by evening with visa formalities, he added. He said that Ambassador UNO John McDonald Chairman and CEO institute of multi track diplomacy had also agreed to this demand.

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With thanks : source : IndianExpress

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Consider vehicle free zone in Amritsar

Amritsar, Punjab: Justice Rajive Bhalla of the High Court has asked the Amritsar Municipal Corporation to consider the possibility of declaring the area around Harmandar Sahib and Jallianwala Bagh as a vehicle free zone.

The directions were issued when during the proceedings of a contempt petition, petitioner and advocate Ajay Singh stated that vehicles should not be allowed to ply in the walled city, particularly in the area surrounding these significant landmarks, which were situated in crowded localities.

Justice Bhalla issued directions for impleading the Amritsar MC Commissioner as a party and directed to explore the feasibility of allowing only rickshaws and residents of the area could be granted vehicle permits.

Ajay Singh also pointed out that accidents on the Kurali Kharar S.A.S. Nagar road had caused four deaths during the past week but the police were conspicuous by their absence on these roads.

IG R.P. Singh submitted an affidavit that 65 patrol vehicles, 26 cranes and recovery vans and 18 ambulances had been deployed on state and national highways in the state.

Justice Bhalla has directed Punjab Police to file a detailed affidavit giving details about location of these vehicles and whether ambulances were manned by doctors or paramedics.

With thanks : source : SikhSangat ; Pic by : Leuven

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Dosanjh vows not to let threats change his resolve

VANCOUVER — It’s been a tumultuous and perhaps trying week for Vancouver Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, who saw his life threatened twice.

“As long as I stand for what I stand for, I will be a target,” Dosanjh told the Vancouver Province Friday after RCMP launched an investigation into a posting on a Facebook page calling for the former premier to be shot.

Dosanjh has drawn the ire of a minority of Sikhs since the ’80s, after speaking out against the violence sparked by Canadian members of the Khalistan movement who seek to create a Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab region.

“I don’t stand for dividing people on religion, I don’t stand for supporting hate or violence,” Dosanjh said.

“I have a very secular approach to life and that’s my right. I’m a Canadian by citizenship, I’m an Indian by heritage and I’m a Punjabi by mother tongue. I’m proud of all of that.

“For these guys, religion is everything. For me, religion is a small part of my life.”

Dosanjh was in a standing committee on national defence Thursday when one of his staffers interrupted to show him a posting from the Facebook group called “Ujjal Dosanjh is a Sikh traitor.”

“Someone shoot him — ASAP,” wrote one of the Facebook group’s members before the entry was deleted. Another wrote it “would be more appropriate to pierce him with bullets, not compassion.”

Members of the group accuse the former federal cabinet minister of “betraying his own people” and being “an insult to the Sikh religion” for his viewpoints on the Khalistan movement.

RCMP Insp. Paul Richards, who heads the force’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, said police are investigating the threats.

“It is unusual to have a threat like this directed at an elected official,” he said. “I think part of our job right now, in addition to looking at the nuts and bolts of if there is a threat, is also to look at the context.”

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With thanks : source : Vancouversun

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Police probe threat against Sikh MP

OTTAWA — Federal police are investigating an online posting calling for the murder of Canada's top Sikh politician, Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, after he warned of rising Sikh extremism in this country.

"We've opened an investigation into threats against Mr. Dosanjh made in Facebook entries," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Paul Richards told AFP.

"Someone shoot him ASAP," one commenter posted on the Facebook site titled "Ujjal Dosanjh is a Sikh Traitor," the National Post reported.

Another posting branded Dosanjh, a former premier of British Columbia and federal justice minister from 2004 to 2006, as a "rat in our midst," a "scumbag traitor and an insult to the Sikh religion."

Dosanjh's caucus colleagues responded in an open letter, saying "Canada is a free country where citizens must be able to express their views without being subjected to threats.

"We unequivocally condemn the threats of violence against our colleague Ujjal Dosanjh, and condemn all forms of extremism coming from any Canadian community," said Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.

Dosanjh, who was savagely beaten in 1985 after speaking out against religious violence, warned in an interview on Wednesday that Sikh extremism in Canada -- blamed for the 1985 Air India bombing -- is "getting worse."

"It's more entrenched, it's more sophisticated and sometimes it's double-faced," he told AFP.

His comments echoed concerns expressed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper over growing support by Canadian Sikhs for militants in Punjab.

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No entry with kirpan: Canadian court to Sikh

Toronto, Apr 23: In what could draw the ire of Sikh groups, a Sikh religious leader was denied entry into the courtroom with kirpan, a Sikh religous symbol, by a Canadian Court on the grounds that it "could be used as a weapon".

"Although Kooner's charter right to freedom of religion may be breached, he will not be allowed to bring his kirpan into the courthouse," Superior Court Justice Steven Rogin said as he disallowed Sukdev Singh Kooner entry into courtroom with kirpan.

"This is especially so because of the excitement and passion this dispute has engendered in the Gurdwara and the fact that the kirpan, although ceremonial, could be used as a weapon," he said.

Windsor police posted extra security in the courtroom as around 100 members of the local Sikh community flocked inside the courtroom to attend the proceeding. Those present did not were thier kirpan inside the court.

Justice Rogin adjourned the case to make way for Kooner to testify outside the court, which is permissible under the law and can be held in places like his lawyer's offices.

However, Koooner, chose to stay outside the courtroom after he was not allowed to enter with his kirpan by the judge.

Kooner, an allergist and honoured leader at a Gurdwara was set to testitfy on Thursday, Apr 22, in connection with a lawsuit filed against him by a rival faction at the Sikh Cultural Society of Metropolitan Windsor.

While Kirpans are allowed in the House of Commons, the Supreme Court building and on trains, they are not allowed on flights.

With thanks : source : News.OneIndia : Link in the headline above.

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Sikh turbans banned from armed police operations

Sikh police officers who wear turbans cannot join firearms teams, following a ruling from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo).

Officers can choose instead to wear a smaller head covering known as a patka, which will fit under a helmet.

The Acpo guidance follows consultations with the Home Office and a range of police associations representing Sikhs.

In 2009, a tribunal awarded £10,000 to a Sikh officer who was ordered to remove his turban during riot training.

The British Sikh Police Association asked for a clarification from Acpo following the award, and proposed a "ballistic turban" that would provide head protection.

Acpo opted against the ballistic turban approach but said the idea was worth "future exploration".

'No discrimination'

"The police service has a legal duty to consider the health and safety of staff at work and provide appropriate personal protective equipment to staff who are placed in high risk situations," said Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes, Acpo's head of uniformed operations.

As a result, Sikh officers will only be permitted to engage in armed operations if they remove their turbans or wear the smaller patka head covering to permit the use of a helmet for protection.

Chief Constable Hughes said that wearing a patka was "a matter of choice for the police officer", adding that "Sikh officers who wear a turban will not be discriminated against if they choose not to perform firearms or higher-level public order duties".

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With thanks : BBS News

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Sikh bride featured in new series of Living TV’s hit show Four Weddings

Living TV’s hit show Four Weddings has returned for a new series. This week sees a traditional Sikh wedding take centre stage as four brides battle it out to win a dream honeymoon.

Four Weddings is billed as a “wedding eavesdrop show” and allows viewers complete access to four very different weddings each week. Every episode features 4 brides who are all competing against each other to have the best weddings. All of the brides must attend, and score, each other’s big days. The bride with the winning mark will be whisked away on a luxury 5 star honeymoon.

With such a fantastic prize at stake, feathers often fly between the competing brides. This week Sikh bride Raman has her big day and she treats her guests to a traditional, lavish Sikh wedding celebration. The 700 guests are served an eclectic mix of Asian cuisines, plied with free alcohol, and kept entertained with a range of performers, but there’s on major drawback; the whole wedding is finished by 6pm. Will the Sikh extravaganza be to the other bride’s tastes?

Competing against Raman to win the fabulous honeymoon are Becky, who is opting for a butterfly themed weddings, another Becky who will have small celebration held at a magnificent stately home, and nursery worker Sophie who is planning a child-friendly wedding with lots of little ones running around, plus she’s even baking her own wedding cake.

Will the other brides be bowled over by the opulent Sikh wedding, or will the butterfly-themed big day win out? Make sure you catch this week’s Four Weddings to find out.

With thanks : source : wedding-news.co.uk

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Canadian police hunt for Sikh trouble-makers

Toronto, April 22

Canadian police has launched a big hunt for people behind the recent violence at two Sikh temples in Brampton on the outskirts of Toronto that has outraged the Sikh community as well as common people here.

In the first incident, former Akal Takht jathedar Darshan Singh Ragi was targeted at the Sikh Lehar Centre gurdwara here. Though Ragi survived, one of his close associate who is a known lawyer was stabbed with kirpan. The attackers were opposed to inviting Ragi who has been excommunicated by the Sikh clergy in Amritsar for his views on the Dasam Granth which was supposedly written by the last Sikh guru Gobind Singh.

With that incident just behind them after the arrest of the guilty, the Canadian Sikh community was rocked by the Sunday brawl at another gurdwara - the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple - where axes, swords, hammers and machetes were used by two factions locked in a battle for control of the shrine.

Police, who arrested three people at the time of the brawl, issued arrest warrants for two more radicals - Amarjit Singh Mann, 58, and Surjit Singh Atwal, 54 - for their role in the violence.

The community has reacted with outrage to the two incidents, with calls for deportation of the guilty. Since the kirpan has been used in these incidents to inflict violence, there have also been calls for limiting the size of the kirpan that baptized Sikhs wear.

Canada is home to more than half a million Sikhs, with most of them concentrated in the Toronto suburbs of Mississauga and Brampton and the Vancouver suburbs of Surrey and Delta.

At the time of terrorism in Punjab, many top pro-Khalistani leaders, including Talwinder Singh Parmar, took shelter in Canada, turning it into a hotbed of militancy in North America. It was Parmar who plotted the Air India Kanishka bombing. Parmer, who later entered India via Pakistan, was killed in an encounter by police in Punjab.

Canada banned radical Sikh organizations, including the Babbar Khalsa and the International Sikh Youth Federation, only recently, though their members continue to be active.

With thanks : source : PROKERALA

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Etobicoke Sikh temple ousts 10 board members

Discharged group at Sikh Spiritual Centre refuses to accept the decision

A Sikh temple in Etobicoke voted off almost half its board of directors on Wednesday afternoon, but the ousted group is refusing to accept the decision.

Members of the Sikh Spiritual Centre, at Albion and Hwy. 27, were scheduled to meet and discuss the future of the centre’s 21-member board.

But 10 of the members refused to take part in the vote, saying that the 11-person ruling group, which includes president Gurinder Singh and secretary Major Singh, were preventing members that disagreed with them from attending the meeting.

Major Singh said that 56 SSC members were eligible to vote at the meeting. The opposition, which includes now-former board members Bhopinder Dhillon and a similarly named member, Major Singh Kler, disputed that number, saying over 125 regular attendees had voting power.

Two years of volunteer work at the temple is required to become a voting member, said Baldev Sandhu, another member of the ousted group.

The 10 opposing members had made a legal motion to stop the meeting, but it was denied. So, they refused to enter the upstairs meeting space, which was guarded by hired security guards and police.

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Thanks " source : TheStar

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