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We keep falling for the same trap each and every time. A Sikh who tries to lift the Panth and Punjab out of his deep and endless abyss we entered into many decades ago will always face more opposition from apnay than even our enemies. All those who are questioning how Amritpal Singh has achieved so much support and a base is Punjab do not understand the power of social media. Social media has caused revolutions in many countries such as the Arab Spring, do these people not know how much social media influences our community in Punjab. The youth these are very engaged with social media and social media has been used to create branches of supporters in many villages and this they are able to mobilise the youth to attend rallies with Amritpal Singh. Simranjit Singh Mann's victory was very much due to the use of social media by our youth. Another reason why Amritpal Singh has captured centre stage is that the Panth and especially the youth have in the last few years become much more grounded in reality and started to cleanse itself of the liberal BS that the likes of Ravi Singh and United Sikhs have bought into Sikhi. He talks unapologetically about how he wants Khalsa Raj just as Hindus openly talk of Hindu Rashtra, the youth wanted a leader who talks in such a manner and not some pyjamay talking constantly about helping others and Sarbat Da Bhalla. The opposition to Amritpal Singh is because he has done more for the Panth in the last few months than all our paper tigers combined in the last three decades. Look at Kuki Gill, he has been badmouthing Amritpal Singh for the last few weeks because since his release in 2009 his achievements for the Panth have been a big fat zero. He keeps harping on about how he sacrificed his career and how he is so highly educated as if no other Kharkoo sacrificed their entire families for the Panth and all he has sacrificed is his career.

One punch can change a life. 3 years is not enough for such life changing injuries.

Watch and see. So far all is ok about him but you never know.

Another Sikh MP likely soon @jkvlondon @dallysingh101 - happy ? From Labourlist website Sam Tarry MP has been deselected after local members voted for Jas Athwal to be the party’s parliamentary candidate for Ilford South at the next general election. In a meeting of the Ilford South Constituency Labour Party (CLP) this evening, the Labour leader of Redbridge Council reportedly received the backing of 499 members – while 361 supported the incumbent MP. Commenting after the result was announced, Tarry told LabourList: “I’m incredibly disappointed in this result, mostly for all my committed volunteers and the wonderful people of Ilford South. I intend to issue a further statement tomorrow on the process and outcome.” Athwal said: “Ilford is my home, it is where I live, went to school and where my children all went to school. It is the only place I would ever want to represent. The opportunity to be the Labour candidate at the next election and be part of Keir Starmer’s winning team is a real honour.” From Guardian website https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/10/sam-tarry-deselection-bid-ilford-south-constituency Athwal, a close ally of several Labour MPs including Wes Streeting, was favourite for selection for the Ilford South seat in 2019, but was suspended over an allegation of sexual harassment shortly before the selection battle. But Athwal was cleared of wrongdoing and claimed the complaint was malicious and his suspension politically motivated. Tarry won the selection battle during Athwal’s suspension and went on to be elected MP with a majority of more than 24,000. The circumstances of the selection process led to a deep split in the constituency party.

A terrible crime/killings, definitely. Famous people are known to us by name or sight etc so reasonable that there would be more interest in news concerning them. Just read this (Belfast Telegraph site): brother was involved

From bbc website A "thug" who punched a Sikh priest in the street and left him for dead has been jailed. Claudio Campos, 28, attacked Avtar Singh, 62, in Manchester city centre's Northern Quarter on 23 June. He had pursued Mr Singh shortly after he walked past him and his girlfriend at a pedestrian crossing. Campos, who had earlier pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, was jailed for three years at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday. The court heard Mr Singh had suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, a stroke caused by bleeding on the brain and multiple fractures to his cheek, jaw and eye socket as a result of the attack. He remains in hospital requiring 24-hour nursing and medical care. Eleanor Myers, prosecuting, said Campos was seen on CCTV footage pursuing Mr Singh, who was trying to walk away from him, before the defendant punched the cleric in the head twice in quick succession. Campos then grabbed his victim's shirt before punching him again to the head, which sent him sprawling to the ground, Ms Myers said. He then left the scene as Mr Singh lay unconscious in the middle of the road, the court heard. Campos went on to a sports bar for a beer and a burger with his girlfriend, Claudia, as they celebrated their fifth anniversary. He told police his partner had said a man had touched her bottom and she pointed to Mr Singh, the court was told. Campos said he followed Mr Singh to "demand an explanation" and that when Mr Singh quickened his pace he felt "this made him guilty in trying to escape". When he was arrested, several items were seized at a property in Fallowfield, including a suitcase containing the jacket he was seen to be wearing on the CCTV images. Sentencing Campos, Judge Hilary Manley told him he had attacked Mr Singh "without any justifiable reason". "As a direct result of your decision to attack him, his life, and the lives of his family, are forever traumatised, changed and diminished. "He gave you no reason at all to do what you did." The judge rejected the defendant's claim he was "very sorry" and she said that in a letter to her, Campos had "very swiftly" turned to his own situation and his appeal for a suspended sentence. One of Mr Singh's daughters, Surinder, told Campos he was "nothing but a thug", while his other daughter, Sukhveer, labelled the defendant a "monster". She said her father could not now read his prayers or write in his prayer book. Meanwhile, Pritpal Singh Makan told the court Mr Singh and his family were regular volunteers with not-for-profit organisation Sewa (Selfless Efforts for Welfare of All) and he would help feed the homeless every Sunday in Manchester city centre. Mr Singh was "polite and courteous", he said, adding that they considered the attack on him to be "racial". The judge said the maximum sentence she could pass for the offence was five years and Campos must receive credit for his plea

Wanted to share this great podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-sikh-renaissance It's based and presents true facts, history and issues affecting Sikhs. It's not sugar coated or concerned about being politically correct either. The Kaum needs more awareness and alignment to shows like this so it knows it's history, and is prepared to face the challenges it has directly. Here's a link to some of the episodes directly on Spotify:

Posting for some levity:

I subscribed to Redditt recently and came across some sub-reddits from India. This one in particular has a lot of hate and nonsense written in it: https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaSpeaks/ It is deeply disturbing to see how many users there are in the forums which are spewing lies and fabrications about Sikhi (ex. Sikhs are snatani, Sikh Guru's worshipped Hindu gods and goddesses, british came up with 5 Kakkars, Sikhs are really Hindus etc.), about Punjabi history from 1947-onwards and how anyone speaking about any issue in Punjab (water-riparian rights, drug issue, language rights, nation within a nation status - or anything related to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution) is a 'Khalistani terrorist' without any consideration for factual historical events----rather they gaslight on false narratives like how Sikhs massacred thousands of Hindus in the 80s??? which never happened etc. There are so many people on these forums, that even when you try to set the facts straight with them with evidence, they swarm you like hyenas with more lies, insults and gaslighting... You try to report these users to the Reddit Moderators and nothing happens... It's clear the indian state apparatus is somehow making these groups untouchable for spreading disinformation, and hate and threats... It seems like they are taking their propaganda campaign global with how they are targeting Sikhs in the diaspora, and using their sleepers in Governments across the world to promote this anti-Sikh, false 'Khalistani' narrative... (ex. I wonder what can be done to effectively counter this? The state apparatus in india is an extremist organization spewing hate, and setting up conditions for something which seems like a Rwanda 2.0 (embed hatred for minorities to the point where it may tip over and result in severe communal violence). You can look at Jewish and Ismaili communities, who are a minority, however have insulated themselves from being targets to an extent (granted Jewish synagogues are regular targets for shootings and stabbings by extremists) There must be a method to how they do this. Any thoughts on what the most effective way would be to set the record straight and counter the disinformation being peddled? 1 billion+ people is a lot of people to wake up to the truth, and they seem to be happy in their hate filled echo chamber. (They are immigrating in mass all over the world, bringing this hatred with them - it will only be a matter of time before they overtake the Sikh diaspora in sheer numbers, and influence in local governments, and start to harm Sikhs by virtue of power and influence)

Punjabi Sikh family killed in California WIONEWS Website California | Updated: Oct 06, 2022, 10:03 (IST) All four members of an India-origin Sikh family, including an eight-month-old girl, were found dead in an orchard in California, the Merced County sheriff said Briefing media on Wednesday night, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said a farm worker in the area found the bodies, which were found relatively close together. He said that the Department of Justice crime lab is going to probe the crime scene, adding that they "don't know all the facts yet", reports ABC News. Terming it "horribly senseless," the sheriff said they are finding out the cause of the murder. Warnke further said he spoke to the suspect, who is in custody and admitted in the hospital, but did not provide additional details. Among the deceased are: eight-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents —27-year-old mother Jasleen Kaur and 36-year-old father Jasdeep Singh —, and the baby’s uncle, 39-year-old Amandeep Singh. The police said that the couple and the baby were kidnapped at gunpoint from a convenience store they own in Merced County in Northern California. The police said that the couple and the baby were kidnapped at gunpoint from a convenience store they own in Merced County in Northern California. They hailed from Harsi Pind in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. Police found out about their kidnapping after they discovered a vehicle owned by one of the family members on fire on late Monday, which led them to determine that they had been kidnapped. According to a news release, detectives received information on Tuesday morning about the accused, 48-year-old Jesus Salgado, after he used their ATM card in Atwater in Merced County. On Tuesday, the man attempted to take his own life prior to “law enforcement involvement" and is currently in critical condition receiving medical attention, the Merced County Sheriff's Office said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63072113 Russia's Vladimir Putin will hold a signing ceremony on Friday to annex four more areas of Ukraine after self-styled referendums condemned by Ukraine and the West as a sham. Russian-backed officials had earlier claimed the five-day exercise secured almost total popular support. So-called votes were held in Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, and in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south. The Russian president will make a major speech at the Kremlin. A stage has already been set up in Moscow's Red Square, with billboards proclaiming the four regions as part of Russia and a concert planned for the evening. The event echoes Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, which also followed a discredited referendum and was heralded by a Kremlin signing followed by a presidential victory speech in parliament. That initial annexation has never been recognised by the vast majority of the international community, and nor will this. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the "pseudo-referendums" were worthless and did not change reality. "The territorial integrity of Ukraine will be restored. And our reaction to recognition of the results by Russia will be very harsh." No independent monitoring of the Russian process took place and election officials were pictured going from door to door escorted by armed soldiers. "Tomorrow at 15:00 (12:00 GMT) in the St George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace a signing ceremony will be held on incorporating the new territories into Russia," said spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Separate agreements will be signed with the two Russian-backed separatist leaders from the east and the two Russian-appointed officials from the south. As with Crimea, Russia's two houses of parliament will formally ratify the annexation treaties next week. The Russian president is expected to address to the upper house of parliament on 4 October, three days before his 70th birthday. The US has said it will impose sanctions on Russia because of the staged referendums, while EU member states are considering an eighth round of measures, including sanctions on anyone involved in the votes.

I am curious to know what would one call their father's mama in Punjabi? Also what would one call their father's Nana?

It's sad but we really shouldn't be going to such countries, especially to southern American states like North Carolina. Can we really expect people to know the ins and outs about every religion and culture?

It's hard to understand your whole tale, but there's a reason many Sikhs feel employment is slavery. Wherever you work, try to save up money and become financially independent. Perhaps open your own business. A Sikh (or any man) can never truly be free working for someone else.

Bump

Recently I've come across quite a few strange Sikh names online and later IRL at various social functions and get-togethers. At first I thought they were trolls (online on places like YouTube) but then a few months later I'd physically meet people with the same type of names, and they obviously aren't trolling anyone. Har5hit, Hardik, etc. The "Har" aspect is self explanatory and not uncommon, but what's the craic with "5hit" and "dik"? When did these kind of names come into use? Some of these people can also speak decent English, so that confuses me further. They must know their names are verging on dodgy.

Hardik is short for Har-Richard Singh ?

I agree, Lovepreet (somewhat common these days) is hilarious. Or, were their parents thinking it is ਲਵ-ਪ੍ਰੀਤ, love of Luv, the son of Ram Chander and the founder of the city of Lahore?

I get what you're saying. But: 1) I'm not saying that parents should name their children certain names for the sake of it to shock the goras. Rather, I think they should pick whatever name they want to pick and not worry about the goras. 2) One reason I think so is I'm tired of other people living free and us cowering. Screw them! ਇਉ ਤੀਸਰ ਮਜਹਬ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਉਪਜਿਓ ਪਰਧਾਨਾ॥ In this way, the third religion, Khalsa, was born as presiding. (Bhai Gurdas II) 3) Note that some of the examples I gave are indeed first names. Somehow or another, goras can turn off the stupidity meter when calling someone "Di ck", but they can't when calling them Hardi k ? I mean, you could just go with, "Hi, my name's Hard ik, you can call me Dic k" A former Vice President of the US was Di ck Cheney. Noone called him Richard.

Wow, Sister, could you please read my post again? I refuse to believe you as a long-time poster have never recited Sukhmani Sahib. Even old ladies in the village instantly recognize the verse ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪੈ ਨਾਨਕ ਮਨਿ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ॥ as being from Sukhmani Sahib. You have to take the Gurmat meaning of phrases. If you name your child Gur-Preet, it does not mean your son is "A Guru named Preet". It means "Love of Guru". You wouldn't interpret the phrase the same you would "Gur-Nanak". Man-Preet does not mean "Love of Mann". It means "Love in mind". If you seriously think Manpreet means love of mind, what do you think Guru Arjan Dev ji was trying to convey in the verse above?

Singh of the Heartfelt yep scans great...how about lovepreet (double ironic) Manpreet is bad as we are meant to love Akal Purukh not our Man , I could understand Livleen not Lovleen people don't know Punjabi/gurmukhi or sanskrit meanings and just make a mess creating milgoba hindu sounding names

What I mean is the names are so similar like majority of Punjabi have names like gurpreet harpreet harinder. Old school names are barely used. Its just weird to have majority of names sound so similar. The names are not an issue its the fact that literally majority of the names are so similar with no variation

I disagree, bro. Parents should name their children what they would like to, but they don't need to be afraid of "Oh, what will the gore say!" I mean, gore have names like: Di-ck (short for Richard, means ਲਿੰਗ in slang) Randy (short for Randolph, means sexually excited in British slang) People have last names Koch and Weiner (means pe n is in slang). Asians have last name Ling (means pe n is in Punjabi). If they're not ashamed, why should we be ashamed to be named "lamp of the heavens" or "lamp of peace"?

ਹਾਰਦਿਕ (Haardik) means "from the heart". People commonly use the word in phrases like ਹਾਰਦਿਕ ਸੁਆਗਤ (hearty welcome) or ਹਾਰਦਿਕ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ (hearty thanks). I don't see anything wrong with that name. The other, I don't know about. What's the way they spell it in Gurmukhi?

I have noticed these names are coming back into trend. And names like Fateh and Ekam are very common too.

A lot of people want to go for names that no one else has so they are "unique" There are also people who want short names so they cannot be shortened.

Sikhs had such beautiful names Baghel singh, Zorawer singh, Fateh Singh when did this manpreet harpreet came into being? It just shows cultural decadence.

They are probably following standard Hindu/Indian names. There's also an Indian cricketer named Hardik Pandya, maybe they're fans? I don't think they realise what the names mean. A few prefix/suffix Panjabi names can also end up sounding weird! That's why I believe traditional Sikh/Panjabi names were best prior to this suffix/prefix trend.

I've heard of Gujaratis having these names, never apne. I once worked with a Harshit, the guy was obviously embarrassed by his name and abbreviated it to just Harsh.

Any discussion on this topic would need to begin with discussing why your username is “Misterr” rather than “Mr”. You might say ‘mr was already taken’. But serious point - that’s how some peculiar names/id’s come about. What the person wanted was not available, so they picked something else. Even as a bit of a joke, maybe an auto suggestion, then it sort of sticks with them in real life. The names you mention probably originate from gaming platforms ?

Caveat: this is a broad observation and being framed on an anecdotal basis I'm finding in North American western media, there does not appear to be very much mention of Sikhi among the world's largest religions whenever a discussion of religious relativity occurs (ex. comparative stats for religions, interfaith discussions etc.) I always see a reference to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, however very little mention of Sikhi amongst the grouping of major world religions. I find it concerning as Sikhi is visibly distinct, there are many Sikh-related issues which can be addressed with greater awareness and understanding such as the constant wave of disproportional hate crimes targeted at Sikhs for their visibly different appearance. Sure there the mention of the occasional 'langar', however i don't think there's much time allocated to explain the context and history behind the practice of Sikhs providing 'langar' and how it connects to the broader ideals of Sikhi. This is not to say there have not been campaigns to educate and inform western media about Sikhs by many Sikh organizations doing great work. A great example is the recent PBS documentary about Guru Nanak Dev Ji - https://gurunanakfilm.com/ which was aired on local PBS stations across the US) It just makes me wonder though if the disregard is intentional or due to a lack of awareness of Sikhi or perhaps a conflation of Sikhi as some part of Snatan Dharma (which I imagine is viewed as what is called Hinduism')? There has been a sustained anti-Sikh campaign by many powers that be over history (with a live campaign in India and Pakistan to distort and downplay Sikh history in history textbooks for example), and historical evidence of attempts to dissolve Sikhi or assume it as part of a larger group (ex. Hinduism). So it wouldn't surprise me if the truth is a mix of ignorance and what many would call 'conspiracy'. This being said, in this age of equity/diversity/inclusion, there's a real opportunity to seize the openness and invitation to the table to present the Sikh identify, and bring greater awareness to it to counter any narrative which is misrepresenting it.

Nothing wrong with having a strong and well-built physique. Not all of us have the physical build of money-lenders and merchants. You can't positively-discriminate certain physical characteristics out of a people who identify with a particular religion. If that's what a particular faction ACTUALLY desires, then come out and state it unequivocally, "We don't want this tribe in this religion."

Was reflecting more on this - and it seems that there are so many minor things that as a collective minority could be done to bring awareness and understanding to Sikhi. Knowledge is power. Spreading that knowledge in a consistent way, keeps the script in check. One doesn't need to be visibly Sikh to be charged as an 'ambassador' for Sikhi, however if all the sehajdari Sikhs felt empowered to communicate and educate, or even passively correct misperceptions when they arise amongst the general public, we will have informal controls to set the narrative for Sikhi in the eyes of non-Sikhs. The sad thing is our own people are not aware themselves, and culturally are passive when it comes to bringing awareness to tenets of Sikhi. No one is saying go proselytize and claim supremacy like a lot of abrahamic faiths do - however why not claim the set and project that when appropriate and necessary? I found through personal experience, that people will fly the flag of punjabiyaat and the related vices which are associated with it (party people, strong and big physique etc.) as opposed to championing the amazing blessing by association punjabiyaat gets by way of Sikhi.

For example - in the spirit of equity/diversity/inclusion, companies are sending announcements and social media posts to include the celebration of Ramadan this year with Easter. However where is the mention of Vaisakhi? And if there is a mention of Vaisakhi, what you see is 'the harvest festival', the 'Sikh new year', and no mention of the birth of the Khalsa...? It starts at home though for sure, because there are a lot of 'Sikh' who don't know their own history, and can't articulate it to others as a result. A first easy step is to equip all 'Sikhs' or those who may not call themselves Sikh, however still attend Gurudwara, with the understanding of the significance of Sikh tenets, history and ideals. It wouldn't be hard to fold in a couple of sentences at any Gurudwara program. I usually see some people making speeches and announcements at some point with the larger congregation. Why not just put up a couple of slides (for the Gurudwara with projectors), or speak to it (in both Punjabi and English or whichever is the native language of the place you are in), and make it interactive and a quick fact. If this could be implemented on a broad basis, just imagine how informed and inspired many people in the congregation could be, and the parting message could be those people, please don't keep this knowledge to yourself. Share it and spread awareness where and when possible. (not to say everyone will be comfortable doing this) Some grass movement to claim and communicate could go a long way.

Call me skeptical, however this looks like another step in appropriation of Sikhi by Hinduvta and an attempt to water down the sovereignty of Sikhi and diminish the significance of Sikh history. They think this will buy them votes, because they believe Sikhs as a minority needs to subscribe to a slave mentality and be eternally grateful for whatever the central government does. If the government changes the name of the day and ensures the historical explanation to all Indians is aligned to the documented Sikhi history, then we will know this is being done in good faith.

very based perspective. thank you for calling it out for what it is. this is how you address the root causes because the hypocrisy behind holding the 'spiritual values', but not embodying them in action never ceases to amaze me

I am not sure if this has already been posted before, however I found this interesting article which has a interesting and pointed rendition of Sikh history. It has condensed and very much simplified history for brevity, nonetheless calls a spade a spade in many cases. It is written in the context of the incident with KS Brar in 2012. I thought I would share as I it refreshing to read something from the point of view of a non-Sikh that does not whitewash or perform apologetics for the hypocrisy and corruption of the times. It doesn't sugar coat things as I've seen in many other cases. https://www.nsfwcorp.com/dispatch/were-sikhs-of-london/ "...Sikhism is a pretty new religion, born in the Punjab around 1500 by warriors who were sick to death of damn near everything about their world, especially the insane cruelty of the Moghul invaders. The Moghuls were only the latest in a long line, an A-list cast, of slaughterers who marched through the Punjab. Alexander did it (and was seriously impressed with the Punjabis’ fighting ability), and the Aryans before him; even a subtribe of the Huns made it through the passes, slaughtering as they went. It’s a grim history, but the grimness reached kind of a peak, a real Tarantino climax, when the Moghuls came. “Imagine, if you will”—as they used to say on Twilight Zone—“Imagine, if you will, the perfect killing machine: A mixture of Mongol horsemanship and organization with Muslim zeal for killing unbelievers.” That was the Moghuls, and they hit the Punjab like the Plague on horseback. They were kin of Timur himself, the little man who turned Central Asia into the wasteland it’s been for the past few centuries, and they believed in maintaining the family business, which was destroying higher cultures, unbelievers, and any stray lizards too for that matter—basically anything that moved. You mix that Mongol thoroughness with Muslim enthusiasm for conversion by the sword and voila: Northern India, which had been one of the most densely populated, advanced regions in the world, was a bloody wasteland by the 16th century. Some of the peasant hordes converted and others chose death. The rest just sort of hung on, using the tools conquered peasants everywhere use: groveling, lies, and a high birthrate. Well, “Out of the mud grows the lotus,” as Jeff Wong used to say; and out of this landscape full of human weasels and lemmings came something truly wonderful: The Sikhs. They were born out of total disgust, and they rejected every <banned word filter activated> thing about their filthy, disgusting, cowardly, mean world, reinventing themselves as something new: people without caste, people who rejected both the ignorant cruelty of the Muslims and the weakness of the Hindus. Of the two groups, the Sikhs were closer to the Hindus; some Hindu families even sort of tithed their oldest sons to Sikhism, like hedging their bets; but the Sikhs very clearly said they were not Hindus, or Muslims either, which basically was saying: neither lemmings nor weasels. They decided they would be lions: Apex predators, fighters rather than throat-slitting murderers. This was a big, big move, because in a world where caste, clan and cult mean everything, names tell you instantly whether the dude with that name is someone whose toes you have to lick or somebody who has to lick yours. The Sikhs cut right through that <banned word filter activated> in their classic style: Every Sikh man took the name “Singh,” meaning “Lion,” and every Sikh woman was renamed “Kaur,” which means two things: “Princess” and “Lioness.” They were all equal; there were no castes. Every Sikh man carried a little knife, to remind him that he must fight—which was simply a fact, if you were from the Punjab. There’ve been so many massacres of Sikhs that they have to have names for them, so Sikhs will talk about “The Big Massacre” of 1762, when the Moghuls killed, oh, about 40% of the Sikh population, from the “Little Massacre” of 1746, when the Moghuls only managed to kill 30% of the Sikh population. The Sikhs were better fighters than the Moghuls, when the numbers and the guns were anything like equal, and by the time the Brits arrived, they’d carved out their own state in the Punjab. They fought the Brits twice, swords against cannon, and were slaughtered, then flattered, then coopted—the classic Imperial method of dealing with brave but dumb cannon fodder, as in “Our dear Highlanders,” cannon fodder in cute kilts. The Sikhs were left in the middle when the Raj ripped apart into Hindu and Muslim states in 1948. The two big religions each got a country, but as usual, the Sikhs got ripped off, and in their classic manner, decided to fight. That’s what led up to the storming of the Golden Temple in 1984. It was a story any Sikh kid could have told in his sleep: We stand up and fight; we are vastly outnumbered and outgunned; we kill as many of the enemy as we can and die fighting. But Sikhs are not in love with that one-sided martyrdom thing. That’s one of the many wonderful things about them; they hit back. There’s not a lot of hitting back in the history of this dirty world. Mostly, military history is massacres; mostly, the conquered tribe gets wiped out—nothing is more normal, more common, than genocide, whatever your hippie social studies teacher told you—but the Sikhs get knocked down and come up swinging. Their first counterpunch after Operation Bluestar came four months after the Temple was stormed. It was a wonderful, beautiful assassination, one of my favorites. There’s Indira Gandhi on her way to an interview, ridin’ high in the polls after showing the voters how she crushed those big scary Sikhs. She passes two of her bodyguards who, uh, happen to be Sikhs themselves; we’ll call them Singh #1 and Singh #2. See, Indira wanted to make a point about diversity or some such <banned word filter activated>, “See? I’ve even got Sikh bodyguards, which just proves there’s no hard feelings.” At this point—Indira majestically stomping over to do her interview—she sees these two big Sikhs, giant beards and turbans, sorta blocking the garden path. She says “Namaste” to them, like ya do, and is a little uneasy when these normally polite guys don’t “Namaste” her back. Kinda rude, and about to get a lot ruder, because Singh #1 (actual name Beant Singh) pulls out an automatic and shoots her five times in the gut. Singh #2 (real name Satwant Singh)—who wasn’t even supposed to be allowed close to the PM, but told his super he had diarrhea, which nobody in India would doubt for a second, and had to be close to a toilet, which somehow translated into being in the Green Zone—whipped out a sten gun and emptied the clip into her. Why’d they let him in with a loaded sten gun when he wasn’t even supposed to be there and had diarrhea? Let’s just say it was a sweating debriefing that afternoon for whoever was in charge of Indira’s security detail. At this point the non-Sikh bodyguards started to catch on—“Hey, that’s not diarrhea, that’s like murder!” and started blasting the two Singhs, sending the marigolds flying through the garden, very cinematic, and the fat Brit who was going to do the interview waddling for cover. Beant was killed, luckily for him, but Satwant survived, which if you know about Indian police interrogation methods, was very bad luck for him. Indira had been hit 30 times, which would have put Lazarus himself down for the count. The doctors looked at her and said, “Maybe in the next life.” Little reincarnation humor there—sorry. Anyway, the Sikhs took their revenge, which as far as I’m concerned is totally proper. In fact, the whole thing is a great story as far as I’m concerned. Indira was a tough, smart PM; she did her job. The Sikhs avenged their dead brothers; they did their job. Everybody comes off pretty well in this story, if you ask me—except maybe the Hindu mobs that avenged Indira by slaughtering about 5000 Sikh civilians, beating and burning them to death in the streets of the cities..."

Division between state and faith is needed for a secular society to work, and for people's rights to be upheld. Racism of low expectations and politically correctness has made scrutiny or critical examination of unfair treatment by certain so-called 'protected groups' unpalatable - this 'us' and 'other' attitude for those in power is unacceptable. They are public servants, and need to serve the public at large - not their preferred tribe. (i get that this is very idealistic and won't ever exist 100%, however discriminatory attitudes can't be so overt and tolerated in the name of political correctness) People need to get more based, and realize their 'tribe' and 'allegiance' should be with the institutions and practices which secure their freedom and well-being... here's a great example of not addressing an issue head-on for fear of being 'racist' https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/islamophobia-uk-muslim-officers-extremist-views-ignored-met-police-a7237786.html?utm_source=reddit.com "Ms Saeed, who worked for Scotland Yard for 10 years, told The Sunday Times she had been demonised by some of her fellow Muslim officers for not wearing the veil and was told she was “better off at home looking after her husband”. The 35-year-old said she resigned in March from the force’s Muslim Contact Unit (MCU) after being fed up of the “political correctness” which allowed an “us and them” culture to develop among the 600 Muslim officers."

If it was confirmed that a British white guy wrote that piece, you'd be all over it, castigating it as establishment propaganda designed to get us to fight under the banners of ex-imperial powers for their modern colonial escapades. You're very selective with what you choose to object to: it's not the actual substance of the message that annoys you but the vessel in which the message is delivered, yes?

I just think it's a simplified narrative designed to inspire a bit of fearlessness in Sikhs. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. There will always be some people who will misinterpret and maybe fly off the handle due to their own personality traits, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have such accounts. I tend to see these things as stepping stones or entry points for people to explore the ithihaas/culture in more depth.

that did not look like the same guy plus his sir de kesh were coloured with dye (reddish brown) somebody claimed he was new nihang that's why hair were short but the portrait pics showed taller more built guy who had farla and that takes years to attain .

don't have more context to this video, however the original post says the person's hair is 'shorn' - you can see it at 0:29... i think the insinuation is that this is all staged? does anyone have any more info on this?

To my knowledge Bhai Jaita was a low caste Sikh who wasn't as influenced as some high caste Sikhs, like Chaupa Singh I think

Ramandeep Singh Palhan bought 30 hectares of Georgian farmland on the cheap [Felix Gaedtke/Al Jazeera] Samgori, Georgia - Larisa Maisuradze was astonished to see the sudden proliferation of foreigners driving farm machinery near her sleepy village, about 25 kilometres south of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Her home is sandwiched between the lone street that runs through the small village of Samgori on one side, and a vast tract of underutilised farmland on the other. "I didn't know what was going on, I was so surprised," Maisuradze recounted on a recent afternoon. "There were all these Indian farmers driving tractors here." Maisuradze said the unusual scene from that day months ago are etched in her memory, as she never imagined she'd have so many neighbours from a land so far away. The Indians Maisuradze witnessed that day were the first wave of many who have come to Georgia to farm land in the Caucasus region in recent months. "I give them water and in return they always bring me some vegetables from the farm ... They are nice people, very hardworking and calm." - Larisa Maisuradze, Georgian citizen The government is seeking to bolster domestic agricultural production to help Georgia become more food self-sufficient. Most Georgians farm small plots of land for sustenance only, not enough for commercial production. Agricultural production has plummeted from 12.8 percent of the country's GDP in 2006 to just 8.3 percent at present. Georgia has stepped up the immigration of people with agricultural know-how and farmland sales to foreigners, as the country's abundant and agriculturally potent conditions have not been properly utilised by local farmers. Many Georgians, however, view the influx of foreign farmers as an "invasion". Estimates suggest thousands of Indian farmers - mostly from the northern state of Punjab - have immigrated since 2012. Maisuradze admits it was difficult to develop relationships with the new arrivals, but it didn't take her long to realise they were "nice people". "There's no drinking water in the fields, so they always come here to drink water. I give them water and in return they always bring me some vegetables from the farm - tomatoes or potatoes or something else. They are nice people, very hardworking and calm," said Maisuradze. Harvesting opportunity Ramandeep Singh Palhan, a Sikh farmer from Punjab, owns nearly 30 hectares (74 acres) of farmland that stretches beyond Maisuradze's home. One of the reasons Palhan chose Georgia is because land here is so inexpensive. "I can buy a hectare of land for US$1,000-$1,500. I can't imagine finding something that cheap in Punjab," the bearded farmer said. "You can't compare the prices. I sold one hectare of my land in Punjab and with that money I could buy 200 hectares [495 acres] of land in Georgia." Palhan grows wheat, potatoes, garlic, onion and a variety of other crops. The 42-year-old recently walked through a fresh morning mist that hung over his fields, and bent down to grab a handful of dirt. "Feel the texture of the soil, it's great. It's very suitable for the crops we'd like to grow. It's not very different from the soil we have back home," he said. Stroking his turban he added jokingly: "I am a true Punjabi at heart. We have this inherent hunger for buying more and more land. There's not one Punjabi who is satisfied with the land he owns." Though he is trying to adapt to Georgian life, Palhan faces some hurdles. The culture and language are "different", and the food is "not spicy". Agriculture Minister David Kirvalidze [Felix Gaedtke/Al Jazeera] "Of course, I miss my family and my friends but most of allmakki di roti aur sarso da saag [corn bread and mustard spiced curry]," he said longingly. Palhan found out about agricultural investment opportunities in Georgia through a newspaper advertisement by an immigration agency. Posters welcoming immigrants to Georgia are stuck on the walls of Crown Immigration Consultancy Services office on the top floor of a shopping mall in a Tbilisi suburb. The agency has facilitated the migration of about 2,000 farmers since last year, according to Dharamjit Singh Saini, executive director of the firm, who also hails from Punjab. Punjabi farmers find Georgia attractive because of the lack of red tape, said Saini. "Everything is transparent … and there's no corruption here - unlike India. If all goes well, there will be more [indians] to come." The agency is also planning to open a Georgian-Russian-language school in Jalandhar in Punjab state to prepare farmers before they head to their new home. Unhappy Georgians Not everyone is content with recent developments. Georgian farmers with small and medium-sized farms complain while the government facilitates foreign investment in agriculture, it doesn't encourage local farmers. Raul Babunashvili is the founder of the Georgian Farmers' Union. On a weekday the union's office in Tbilisi is buzzing with activity. Sacks of seed are brought in to the storage hall, and farming equipment is briskly bought and sold. Babunashvili, 71, sits in a quiet office far from all the distraction. "In the past, the government neglected agriculture. It wasn't a priority for them. That made the farmers so broke that they have no choice but to sell their lands at a pittance to foreigners - and here let me specifically mention the Indian farmers." The union founder admitted the inadequacies of local agriculturalists, but said the government should focus on Georgians instead of foreigners to boost food production. "Georgian farmers lack the know-how and skills. We don't have the resources to invest in building infrastructure. That's why Georgian farmers are lagging behind, while Indians come and literally grab their land for the cheapest prices." Babunashvili said he doesn't have any statistics on how much land Indian farmers own in Georgia, but he wants immediate government action to halt foreigners from buying up prime agricultural areas. "We must stop this invasion of land-buyers from India. I call it invasion because they are coming in massive numbers," said Babunashvili. Paying heed to 'black sheep' In an interview, Agriculture Minister David Kirvalidze was asked whether the government was ignoring the needs of Georgian farmers. Kirvalidze said they were not made a priority by past governments, but added his administration was paying attention to the "black sheep in the family" - Georgia's agriculture sector - after it came to power in October 2012. "We are trying to bring the rural Georgian population back to life, back to business. We are making huge investments, you will see the results in the coming months. I ask you to return after seven-eight months," Kirvalidze said. The government under Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has increased funding for agriculture by more than 60 percent from the previous budget, he noted. And a fund worth about US$600m was also created in January to provide credit for small farmers. "We are trying to bring the rural Georgian population back to life, back to business. We are making huge investments, you will see the results in the coming months." - David Kirvalidze, agriculture minister Georgia imports 80 percent of its packaged food products, a problem that negatively affects the economy. "It's nonsense, real nonsense," Kirvalidze said. "Georgian farmers have very good natural resources: soil, water and climate." Although Kirvalidze stressed improving conditions for Georgian farmers, he doesn't shun foreigners. "Any kind of investment, foreign, local or domestic - we welcome all. Every single investor who is looking to build up long-term relationships with us is welcome," he said. Ranjot Singh - who owns 150 hectares of farmland land in Georgia - saw yet another business opportunity with the wave of Punjabi immigrants. "We are running an inexpensive hotel and canteen for the new arrivals. When they arrive, they can come here and feel at home. They can speak Punjabi and eat Punjabi food and get to know other Punjabis in Tbilisi," Singh said. But for Singh, Georgia doesn't feel like home. "Georgians are very nice people. But we are very different from them. The culture is different, even the religion is different. But there's a business opportunity here." http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/201322081918452141.html

farming in punjab is dying and i am glad that we sold our land few years ago. Is Maamla means Teeka? No sane person would ever enter the farming sector in punjab as most of the time input cost exceeds the output and plus all such govt' subsidies are joke. If one counts the mehnat (physical labor) then farming is not worth it at all. Not only that, green revolution of 70's and 80's/90's did extensive damage to environment, water tables and health of punjabis. It is true that our people are too emotionally attached with farmlands of punjab but they need to find other job sector. Or maybe punjabi farmers should get creative and opt for "Bagh/Fruits", organic farming for export (but then again delhi would never allow that). The life of a typical active punjabi farmer of few acres is "Hell". They can't sell with their own price, they can't sell it to other than govt and thug/mafia system of baniya people - arthiya system. It is more like slave rather than independent businessman.

If anything the NRIs especially from the UK are selling off land rather than buying it. I know of four families who have sold off all of their and rather than keeping the money in India, have bought it to the UK. The NRI problem if there is one is mainly from those who have recently migrated via family reunions to the USA and Canada. They have given out their lands on maamla and they demand top rates even though it could be uneconomic for the farmers taking the land on maamla. Recently I have seen more and more small farmers just farm their own land and not take any extra land on maamla which in essence just means farming land which would otherwise be left fallow and lining the pockets of the NRI owners whilst breaking their own backs for very little benefit. If this happens on a larger scale then land prices in the villages will start to go down and more and more land will be left fallow. Maamla in Ludhiana district is over 35,000 rupees per acre which if you count the cost of the inputs such as fertiliser, labour etc is clearly uneconomic. The small farmer are being shafted from all sides. The local labour doesn't want to work on the fields as they can work in the towns or their sons and daughters are getting into high paid govt jobs. The Bhaiyas demand high wages plus food and accommodation. The farmer have to even buy the sharab and doday as well. The local labour during the old days would work for a share of the produce but not now, yet even though they do not work for the farmers their women will still steal crops during the night from the fields. As I said the small farmer is shafted from all sides in Punjab.

Yup, that's the way it is.. Early investors will reap the benefits than later entrants (as we know there will be many), however those who went first are also the one who are facing lots of difficulties than later entry farmers. Exactly like African Americans fought hard for civil rights back in 50's/60's thus decades later making it easy for other color ppl to enjoy freedom in America (like us).

The only opportunity that I can see here will for the first few farmers who go there and buy up land really cheap and make it productive and then sell out at a big profit. The others who will follow them will buy the land at a higher price and will be less able to sell when the land reaches it's full productive capacity. When this happens the ones left holding onto the land will either have to make their lives there or come back and lose whatever paper profit they sat on. It's a bit like a pyramid scheme, the first few rungs make all the money and the bottom rungs make some until the flow of new members dries up and then the bottom rungs lose all their money.

How is that?