Sikh high priests urge community to follow March 23 directions

AMRITSAR: Sikh high priests have once again cautioned Sikh organizations, which have chalked out separate programmes to protest against hanging of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is on a death row in case of assassination of former state chief minister Beant Singh.

After holding a meeting with four other Sikh high priests on Monday, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said that every Sikh should obey the March 23 directions issued by the Sikh clerics and not chalk out any individual programme that could disrupt hard-earned peace in the state.

A few Sikh organizations, including Khalsa Action Committee, Dal Khalsa, Shiromani Akali Dal(Amritsar) Shiromani Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani), have announced their programme to take out a march from the Akal Takht to Patiala on March 29 and hold a religious programme outside Central Jail, Patiala, till March 31.

The Akal Takht on March 23 had directed the Sikh men and women to wear saffron turbans and dupattas, respectively, on March 28, and put up Khalsa insignias on their business complexes, houses and vehicles. It also asked them to offer prayers and perform ardas for 'chardi kalan' (high esteem) of Rajoana by keeping aside their professional commitments.

with thanks : Times of India : LINK for detailed news.

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10 Sikh Women You Should Know and Why You Should Know Them

Sikh Legends 
1. Mata Nanaki (1464-1518) -- The First Sikh 
2. Mata Khivi (1506-1582) -- The First to Serve Langar 
3. Mai Bhago (Late 1600s-Early 1700s) -- The Fearless Warrior-Saint 
4. Rani Sada Kaur (1762-1832) -- The First Woman Commander-in-Chief 
5. Maharani Jind Kaur (1873-1863) -- The First Female Freedom Fighter 


Modern Heroines 
6. Amrita Pritam (1919-2005) -- The Great Poetess    
7. Dr. Inderjit Kaur (1942- ) -- The Fierce Social Worker 
8. Prakash Kaur (1951- ) -- The Champion for Girls 
9. Amrit Singh (1969- ) -- The Civil Rights Lawyer 
10. Dr. Anarkali Kaur Honaryar (1984- ) -- The Senator




with thanks : huffingtonpost : LINK for detailed news story.

Gobind's Shorn Flock : it's the crest of Sikh identity. But the clergy is worried as rural Punjab shaves its locks.

WHILE SURFING THE NET I FOUND THIS HORRIBLE N SHOCKING NEWS STORY WITH A PIC THAT I CAN'T EVEN THINK OF UPLOADING ON MY BLOG. IT WAS PUBLISHED IN OUTLOOK MAGAZINE ON OCT. 23, 2006. THE ORIGINAL LINK IS GIVEN BELOW FOR DETAILED NEWS.

One is often told that a Sikh without his flowing hair and turban is like a king without a crown. But, across Punjab, and more so in the countryside, young members of the community are giving up the most visible religious symbol of Sikh identity—long hair and the turban. The trend, which has been growing in the last four to five years, has reached "epidemic" proportions and now has the Sikh religious leadership worried.So much so that desperate campaigns have been launched to revive the use of the turban.

 "With a turban on his head, a Sikh will feel guilty of breaching his faith. Its absence frees him from such qualms." Akal Takht Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti

When Outlook began examining this trend, Sikh organisations engaged in saving the turban estimated that about 80 per cent of the Sikh youth in rural Punjab have cut their hair and discarded their headgear. An exaggeration, one thought. But president of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the highest decision-making body for the Sikhs, Avtar Singh Makkar, confirms this trend. He told Outlook: "Yes, it's true that in many places about 80 per cent of Sikh youth have indeed cut their hair. Sadly the 'dastaar bandhi samaagam' (a turban-tying ceremony for young boys), too, has become rare in villages because very few boys of 13 or 14 years of age have long hair."

Does this mean that the day is not far when a Sikh village in Punjab won't have a single turbaned male to show? This is not just in the realm of possibility but an inescapable reality according to a dismayed and rather helpless Sikh leadership.

But why are Sikhs, otherwise very dedicated to their religion, saying goodbye to turbans and going in for haircuts? Scholars say it is a combination of various factors, both social and economic, at play. The most common reason cited is the convenience of not having to go through the elaborate rigmarole of maintaining a beard and tying a turban. Says Baldev Singh, the patriarch of a large family in Adliwal near Amritsar, "Except I and my two brothers, all our sons and grandsons have shorn their hair.

"The SGPC has given up its traditional role of preserving Sikh values and heritage and is more embroiled in politics."

It does pain me to see my family like this but no one listens to us nowadays." His daughter-in-law Roominder Kaur is quite happy with a clean-shaven son as she doesn't have to go through the tedium of combing and tying his hair each morning.

with thanks : OUTLOOK : LINK FOR DETAILED NEWS PUBLISHED IN OCT. 2006

SAD protests against cutting of Sikh youth's hair

Ambala, Mar 21 (PTI) The alleged cutting of a Sikh youth's hair in Panipat sparked protests here today with members of the Shiromani Akali Dal terming the incident an "insult" to the community. Akali Dal convened a meeting in the city today in which senior party leaders were present. Expressing outrage over the incident, SAD spokesperson Sant Singh Kandhari termed the incident "an insult to the Sikh community" and demanded the Haryana government to take strict action against the perpetrators. "Some anti-social elements are conspiring to damage the communal harmony and brotherhood of this state by perpetrating such unpardonable actions," he alleged. The Sikh youth was allegedly roughed up by a group of unidentified assailants, who forcefully cut his his hair, in Panipat yesterday.

with thanks : IBNLive : LINK for detailed news.

Punjab village rises to save Canadian gurdwara up for sale

 

A 92-year-old gurdwara in Canada, which has been put on sale by a bank, has raised the hackles of Sikh organisations in Punjab who have called for efforts to save the place of worship.

 The gurdwara at Paldi near Duncan on Vancouver Island was built in 1917 and is being put up on sale following a court order. The religious place and adjoining land is on sale for $1.65 million (Rs8.3 crore) after a failed business venture.

The Canadian town in British Columbia's lumber country is named after its founder Mayo Singh's native village of the same name in Punjab's Hoshiarpur.

Mayo Singh had immigrated to the US (San Francisco) in 1906 and had later moved to the Vancouver Island where he set up the Mayo Lumber Company and founded the town and named it Paldi. Satbir Singh, a businessman from Paldi village in Punjab, said they were making attempts to ensure that the sale of the gurdwara was prevented.

with thanks : dailymail : LINK for detailed news.

CBI fails to respond to plea against Jagdish Tytler

The CBI today failed to submit to a Delhi court its written arguments in reply to a 1984 anti-Sikh riot victim claim that there was enough material to proceed against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler but the CBI had "deliberately" given him clean chit in the case.

 The probe agency was directed by Additional Sessions Judge KS Pal to file its written arguments to rebut complainant Lakhwinder Kaur's claim that the CBI deliberately exonerated Tytler.

The court sought the CBI's reply by April 30, the next date of hearing even as the probe agency said it can make oral submissions.

Lakhwinder Kaur had in February this year moved the court against a magisterial court's decision to accept the CBI's report to close a riot case against Tytler.

In her written submissions, Kaur had sought the court's directions to the CBI to re-investigate the matter "to bring on record the available incriminating evidence against the accused (Tytler) in the interest of justice."

with thanks : DNAIndia : LINK for detailed news.

1984 riots: CBI to reply on Tytler today

New Delhi: The CBI is expected to file its reply on Monday to the accusations made by the widow of a 1984 anti-Sikh riots victim. 

She had accused that the investigating agency was quick to bail out Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, who faces charges for inciting the mob against the Sikhs. 

 In the last hearing, the widow of a victim told the Court that the CBI hastily bailed out Tytler and didn't counter-check his defence claims with key witnesses. CBI to file its written arguments on the next hearing on Monday at the District judges court in Karkardooma court. The CBI is expected to file its reply on Monday to the accusations made by the widow of a 1984 anti-Sikh riots victim.

with thanks : IBNLive : LINK for detailed news.

Police investigate suspicious fire at Sikh temple site

Police are investigating a suspicious fire at the site of a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C. RCMP Staff Sgt. Murray Hedderson says a 911 caller reported the blaze at about 3:30 a.m. PT Saturday after seeing three youths flee the area. The witness told police the teens appeared to be about 16 and that one was seen on a scooter and another was carrying a red gas can. Hedderson says the witness also reported that two of the youths wore dark hoodies and another donned a red hoodie.

with thanks : CBA.CA : LINK for detailed news.