US school bans 'kirpan', Sikh community concerned

WASHINGTON: A school in Michigan's Canton township has barred students from bringing a 'kirpan' to the premises after a fourth grader was found carrying the religious symbol and parents of other students objected to it.

The move has troubled the small Sikh community in the township near Detroit, prompting them to launch a public awareness campaign to make people realise that 'kirpan' is only a religious symbol that is completely non-threatening.

The school authorities decided to ban the carrying of kirpan within the school premises late last month after the fourth grader Sikh student was found with a three-to-five inch kirpan.

with thanks : Times of India : Link above for the detailed news.

SikhsIndia

New York Rabbi Sues Army Over Beard Ruling

By Michael Kaminer

Has the U.S. Army set a double standard by refusing to allow an Orthodox rabbi to serve as a chaplain because he won’t shave his beard?

Menachem Stern’s lawyers think so. Attorneys Nathan and Alyza D. Lewin told the Washington Post that the Army “has granted a waiver to two Sikh captains and an enlisted man, who were permitted to wear a turban and beard in uniform, and an unnamed, bearded Muslim officer who has served as a surgical intern at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.”

Stern alleges in District of Columbia federal court that the Army at first approved his application to serve as chaplain in June 2009 and appointed him a reserve commissioned officer (first lieutenant) — before rescinding the appointment that September citing the Army’s “no-beard” regulation, the article says.

“While they’re stalling me, they’re taking in other religions, for instance, Sikhs and Muslims with beards and turbans at the same time,” Stern, a naturalized US citizen from Israel, said. “At that point, my question became, ‘Who says yes and who says no?’ It shows how in a great institution such as the Army, the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.”

According to Army Times, Stern, an adherent to the “ultra-Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Hasidism,” is suing with the support of the Aleph Institute, a Florida-based endorsing agency for Jewish chaplains that has ties to Chabad. Rabbi Sanford Dresin, director of military programs for the Aleph Institute, told Army Times he first tried to persuade Army leaders to be more accommodating in light of the service’s low number of Jewish chaplains.

with thanks : blog.forward : link above for detailed news.

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Canada's 100-year-old temple

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NRIs pitch for early construction of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor

To enable Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan without visa :

 

A group of NRIs under the aegis of United Sikh Mission, a US-based NGO, are fighting the odds to establish the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as a “peace corridor” between India and Pakistan. 

The corridor proposes to link Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, where the first Sikh Guru is reported to have spent his last days. 

The Sikhs are seeking construction of the corridor at a cost of US $17 million (about Rs 77 crore), after which Sikh pilgrims from India can have the privilege of entering Pakistan to pay obeisance at the historic shrine and return the same day, without a visa. 

The Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara is located at a distance of 4.5 km from the India-Pakistan border in Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, and is visible from an elevated platform from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine located near the border. 

with thanks : Indian Express : link above for detailed news.

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Sikhs look to ease tensions over ceremonial dagger

Tensions over a Sikh boy who took a religious sword to an elementary school have prompted a public meeting Thursday night to introduce the Sikh religion to metro Detroiters. 

Last month, controversy erupted after a fourth-grade boy at Bentley Elementary in Canton, Mich., was found with a 3- to 5-inch saber. 

After they are baptized, Sikh males are expected to carry the religious symbol, called a kirpan. The principal initially decided to allow the boy to have it, since it had a blunt edge and was a religious item. The district did not identify the boy. 

But after concerns expressed by parents and a legal review, the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district decided to ban the kirpan because it violated local, state and federal policies against carrying weapons or items that look like weapons to school.

That concerned some Sikh parents, who say the kirpan is a nonthreatening item that symbolizes their commitment to fighting against evils, such as greed. Similar disputes have erupted in other parts of the U.S.

with thanks : Kansascity : link above for detailed news.

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Sikhs call off protest against Maken after his apology

Sikhs called off a protest against Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken here on Tuesday after he apologized to them for releasing a poster in which he was shown along with the other revered gurus.

The Sikhs, led by their political outfit, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had planned to protest, as they had taken it as an affront to their religious sentiments.

Party officials said the protest was called off after Maken apologised for the incident, saying he never meant to hurt religious sentiments.

with thanks : SIFY : link above for detailed news.

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Akshay's scared of playing a Sardar!

After running into controversy during 'Singh Is Kinng', Akshay has decided not to tread the path again.

Ever since the trailers of 'Patiala House' went on air, many have been wondering about why Akshay Kumar is sans a turban despite belonging to a Sikh family. In the film, Rishi Kapoor plays a Sardar and Akshay's father. Whereas Akshay's character 'Gattu' has short hair, no turban and no beard which are a typical of Sardars.

With thanks : TOI : link in the headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Probe underway into Doncaster temple arson

A SIKH temple has been targeted in an arson attack.

 

Police have launched an investigation to find those responsible for the fire at the temple in Cherry Tree Road, Hexthorpe.

Fire crews were called to the incident at around 10am on December 30. Crews were at the scene for several hours.

 

With thanks : link above for more details.

India's dirty old writer releases "last" book

NEW DELHI -- 

This book, he insists, will be his last.

It's a novel about two old men, written by a 96-year-old who says he can't have much time left.

So after this one, the man who has been a force in India's literary world for more than 60 years, a famously grumpy writer known for everything from beautifully wrought novels to fart jokes, vows to go silent.

Khushwant Singh says it's time to try something different.

"I have to teach myself to do nothing. In the last phase of a man's life, according to the Hindu tradition, you're meant to be a forest dweller."

With thanks : HERALDONLINE : link above for detailed news report.

Sikligar Sikhs achieve hole-in-one

This revolutionary win in golf has endorsed that there are 155 million Sikhs in the world. Four young men from the forgotten Sikh tribe Sikligar’s who live in the south of India have hit the headlines.

Nadeem Inamdar describes them as a ‘Members of the backward Sikligar community, these four youngsters have chosen golf to rise above their lot, first as caddies and now as amateur golfers’.

With thanks : EMGONLINE : link above for detailed news report.

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Curfew in Bhikhi after violent clash

 

with thanks : Tribune : Link above for the detailed news report.