Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Sikhs to launch 'Forgotten Citizens' to mark 1984 riots
On the 29th anniversary of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, a number of
human rights organizations, religious and social groups will start a
public campaign in the first week of November, under the banner,
'Forgotten Citizens' to create mass awareness on the struggle waged by
the next of kin f those who perished in these riots. The aim would be highlight the cases of people, still awaiting justice.
Senior Supreme Court advocate HS Phoolka will be spearheading the
campaign. He has been fighting the cases of riot victims in court. The
campaign to be initiated from New Delhi, will commence with a 'Akhand
Paath' on November 1 at gurdwara Bangla Sahib. A 'bhog' will be
organised at the same gurdwara on November 3.
Phoolka added that a photo exhihibtition depicting the brutal
killings of Sikh men, women and children will be organised at the same
gurdwara.
On November 3, as many as 3,000 turbans, each bearing the name of a
victim killed during the riots, will be displayed either at India Gate
or at Jantar Mantar.
Phoolka added that 3,000 was the official figure of Sikhs killed
during the riots as per government records, though the number was on the
higher side. Phoolka, along with former Jarnail Singh, also met Akal
Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh.
"The Jathedar has told us that he will consult the heads of the other
Takhts before arriving at a decision on whether to allow such a display
of the Sikh head gear or not. We respect his views and will wait for
his verdict," said Phoolka.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
BJP reaches out to Sikh Community
Jammu,
September 08 (Scoop News) – Two successive meetings of prominent Sikh
activists were held at BJP headquarters here under the chairmanship of
BJP National Executive Member & State Chief Spokesperson Dr.
Jitendra Singh, who has also been assigned by the party to coordinate
with Sikh community for the redressal of their community’s problems.
The
prominent Sikh leaders who attended these meetings included S.
Charanjit Singh Khalsa, S. Varinderjit Singh, S.Gurdyal Singh Bali, S.
Harvinder Singh , S. Pritam Singh Nirdosh and S. Kulwant Singh.
Dr.
Jitendra Singh said that this was part of an initiative to reach out to
the neglected sections of Sikh community in the state so that they feel
physically as well as psychologically a part of the Jammu and Kashmir
mainstream and do not feel alienated in any way. He said the Sikh
community has traditionally been known for its uncompromising
patriotism, nationalist commitment and uprightness. It is ironic that
even when the country’s Prime Minister belong to Sikh community,
repeated pleas from Sikh leaders and their organisations in J&K to
the Prime Minister have failed to yield any results, he added.
Dr.
Jitendra Singh informed that in the last six months, there have been a
series of group meetings with Sikh members of different backgrounds
which has helped identify certain major problems faced by the community
in the state. He said, irrespective of political affiliations, the main
issues of concern for the community include plight of Sikhs living in Jammu and Kashmir,
particularly in Kashmir valley, the problems of Sikh refugees from PoK
and other parts and security concerns of Sikh families living in the Kashmir
valley. He said the party plans to draw a long term roadmap for
redressal of sikh communities issues and as a part of this effort, a
Sikh sammelan is also planned in last week of this month.
BJP State Press Secretary Balbir Ram was also present in these meetings.
with thanks : groundreport : LINK
Sikh doctor leads stir against Toronto gurdwara membership freeze
A Sikh doctor hailing from Windsor in Ontario has gone on a hunger
strike along with his supporters to protest membership freeze by the
executive committee of the Sikh Cultural Society of Windsor. Dr Sukhdev
Singh Kooner, who previously headed the committee, alleged that the
executive committee is freezing the membership of 400 persons, including him, to
take control of the gurdwara. The charges have been rubbished by the
committee members.
Accompanied by a large number of supporters, Kooner started his
strike on Sunday at Gurdwara Khalsa Parkash, and is since surviving only
on water. "Everyone has the right to be a member; we did not have any
other choice left," he said.
The Windsor police are minutely watching the protest to save any
untoward incident and to keep an eye upon the doctor's health. In a news
release, supporters of Kooner said he and some of his followers are
suffering the effects of not eating and he has "already lost eight
pounds".
with thanks : hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.
Gravestone of Duleep Singh's son restored
On a solemn occasion marked by cloudy skies and a piper playing the
lament, Sikhs, Scots and others came together at a church in Perthshire
in Scotland to commemorate one of Maharaja Duleep Singh's children, who
died there in 1865.
Duleep Singh, the last ruler of the Sikh empire, was exiled to Britain in 1854, aged 13, after the British annexation of Punjab.
Known for his lavish lifestyle, he moved to Scotland and came to be known as the Black Prince of Perthshire.
Duleep Singh's child was born in Perthshire on August 4, 1865, but died within hours. The child was buried in Perthshire.
The gravestone where the child was buried was restored and
consecrated at the ceremony organised by the Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail
(ASHT) in Kenmore Kirk on Thursday.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.
California schools to teach about Sikhs
California governor Edmund Brown has signed into law the two
legislations protecting the rights of the Sikhs in the State and
including information about the religion in high school curriculum.
One of the legislations updates the California high school curriculum so
that every student in the state learns about the about the history, tradition and
theology of Sikhism and California Sikhs. The other legislation
clarifies the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to ensure that
employees receive equal protection under law, specifically protecting
religious observances such as the turban, hijab and yarmulke.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.
Sikhs applaud as Brown signs 2 anti-discrimination bills
Blue, green, saffron, red, pink and black turbans crowded around
Gov. Jerry Brown on the north steps of the Capitol on Saturday when he
signed two bills designed to battle anti-Sikh discrimination.
"Breaking
down prejudice is something you've got to do every day, and to help us
do that, I'm going to sign a couple of bills," Brown told an
enthusiastic crowd of 500 Sikhs from as far away as Texas and Colorado.
"Sikhs everywhere can see in California they are a powerful presence."
The
Workplace Religious Freedom Act, Assembly Bill 1964 by Assemblywoman
Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, ensures that employees receive equal protection
under law, protecting workers who wear turbans, hijabs and yarmulkes. In
California, employers faced over 500 cases of religious discrimination
in 2011.
Brown declined to wear a turban, saying, "I've worked hard to get my
head cleared," but honored the thousands of Sikhs who have given their
lives in a long history of struggle for religious freedom both in India
and the United States.
Brown also signed Senate Bill 1540,
sponsored by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, changing how history and
social sciences are taught in schools so that students learn about the
history, tradition and theology of California Sikhs. Education
can blunt hatred, prejudice and fatal misunderstandings, such as the
massacre of Sikhs outside a Wisconsin temple, Brown said. Since the Gold
Rush of 1849, California's been built by waves of immigrants including
Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Mexicans, Punjabis and Europeans Brown
said.
"My own great-grandfather came here in 1852 from Germany and
didn't speak English," Brown said. "He was driving a stagecoach from
Placerville, then called Hangtown. ... There's always new and different
people coming around they speak 113 languages in California," Brown
said.
with thanks : sacbee : LINK : for detailed news.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
California governor to sign into law to protect Sikhs rights in state
California governor Edmund Brown would sign into law the two
legislations protecting the rights of the Sikhs in the state and
including information about the religion in high school curriculum.
One of the legislation updates the California high school curriculum so that every student in the State learns about the about the history, tradition and theology of Sikhism and California Sikhs.
The other legislation clarifies the Fair Employment and Housing Act
(FEHA) to ensure that employees receive equal protection under law,
specifically protecting religious observances such as the turban, hijab
and yarmulke.
In a statement, the governor's office said that Brown would give
remarks and sign both the legislations at the North American Punjabi
Association's peace and unity rally on Saturday, held to celebrate
religious coexistence and recognize the victims of the Sikh temple
shooting in Wisconsin.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK : for detailed news.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Sikhs in Gujarat's Kutch fear displacement
The Gujarat government has put a "freeze" on the land-holdings of hundreds of farmers by invoking the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1958, disabling the Punjab agriculturists from selling, buying or taking any loan or subsidy on their land.
"After working hard for so many years, we turned the barren land of Kutch into an oasis and now the Gujarat government wants us to go," Surender Singh, 61, said here on Tuesday. "We are being treated by the Gujarat government as if we don't belong there. It's almost the same way as Biharis are being treated in Maharashtra," added Singh, who originally belongs to Fazilka district of Punjab and is now a cotton farmer in Kutch.
A group of farmers from Kutch have met Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and asked him to intervene in the matter.
Punjabi farmers began settling in Kutch, along the border, after the India-Pakistan war of 1965 on the insistence of then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had felt that courageous men were needed close to the international border.
"The Gujarat high court has already given a decision in our favour, but the Gujarat government has moved the Supreme Court. We are poor farmers and can't afford high fees required to fight the case in the apex court," said Prithavi Singh, 43, who originally belongs to a village in Sangrur district of Punjab.
with thanks : Times of India : LINK : for detailed news.
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