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Protest at Birmingham Repertory - Against Anti-Sikh Play - Behzti Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ke Fateh Protest at Birmingham Repertory – Behzti Wednesday 15th Decmeber 2004, 5pm – 9pm The Birmingham Repertory Theatre supported by an Asian Arts association are promoting a play which is showing at the Birmingham Rep from December 9 – December 30. The play called Behzti (dishonor) is a black comedy by a Sikh play write, Gurpreet Bhatti. Some Sikhs including Council of Sikh Gurdwaras have been in discussion with the theatre and imploring on them to make changes as the play makes a mockery of the Sikh religion, its institutions and community. The theatre and writer have refused to make changes to the setting of the play in a Gurdwara wherein acts of rape, abuse, murder are conducted and sacred Sikh symbolism is dishonored. For example the turban is stored in a shoe rack and scriptures are recited in such a provocative setting. The theatre has alleged that as the writer is herself a Sikh not all Sikhs disagree with the play. The theatre is promoting and condoning inflammatory material by first commissioning the play, and then providing a platform for its enactment. SAMPAD as an Asian arts agency is exacerbating the blasphemy by promoting the production and thereby hurting the sensitivities of a significant proportion of Asians who SAMPAD supposedly represents; Ironically SAMPAD rarely promotes positive Sikh images or Sikhs artists. You are urged to join the protest on Wednesday 15 December outside the Birmingham Rep from 5pm to 9pm. Please join the protest to make it clear that such plays are not only misrepresentative but will provoke racial unrest in the otherwise relatively harmonious race relations we have in Birmingham. JOIN the PROTEST against our Behzti. See below for information…………… http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/core_asp/s...e.asp?theid=161 Behzti (dishonour) A play by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti The Birmingham Repertory Theatre is presenting the black comedy Behzti which is being promoted by SAMPAD (an Asian arts association). The theatre has taken a decision to use public money to mock and ridicule the Sikh community and its institutions. Behzti is a remarkably appropriate title of the clear intent of both the writer and the Theatre administrators towards the Sikh community. There has been a determined strategy to ‘dishonour’ the Sikh community by placing within the context of the Gurdwara and associated imagery acts of blasphemy, and depicting those who selflessly devote and dedicate years in contemplation of humanity and its creator as ignorant bigoted hypocrites. Hypocrisy, lies and artistic values Upon commissioning this play the Repertory Theatre’s managers realised that the play posed offence to the Sikh community and chose to consult the Sikh community. Even though the views expressed by representatives of the Sikh community came in clear and to the point, after two months of discussion, it has become evident that the consultation was a tick-box exercise to only please the funders and cover their own back: there was never any intention to listen to nor implement the concerns raised. The theatre has alleged that as the writer is herself a Sikh not all Sikhs disagree with the play. This would suggest that arts representatives from the Rep are representative of the arts world, however, representatives of Sikh institutions are only as important as an individual despite h ow upsetting that one individuals’ views may be. In fact the ttrhetare is using this argument to condone their own actions in promoting and condoning inflammatory material by first commissioning the play, and then providing a platform for its enactment. SAMPAD as an Asian arts agency is exacerbating the blasphemy by promoting the production and thereby hurting the sensitivities of a significant proportion of Asians who SAMPAD supposedly represents; ironically SAMPAD rarely promotes positive Sikh images or Sikhs artists. How representative is SAMPAD of all sections of the Asian communities and what is the need for SAMPAD if it cannot embrace the specific sensitivities that diverse communities have? Any right ‘not to be offended and abused’ The realisation of the opportunity to offend and alienate the Sikh community wasn’t enough. The Rep still agreed to censor plays that other writers had written for the Rep on the basis of ‘artistic merit’. The right to ‘freedom of free speech’ has been seen as a right greater than the right ‘not to be offended and abused’. With these sort of sensitive policies, one can’t wait for the BNP to come to power! Nepotism? Interestingly the writer’s previous play was titled ‘Besharam’ (Punjabi for unashamed), again a wonderful word to express her and the theatres feelings about the Sikh community, and had also been commissioned by the Rep. Same writer same theatre, same community at the receiving end. Networking really does work, or is that Nepotism? Bumming Nep The writer in presenting such a controversial play has provided an essential service, after all we here of rape, murder and abuse taking place in Sikh Gurdwaras every day. Don’t we? The writer says that she believes drama should be provocative and relevant. One of two in this case is a failure of huge magnitude. The theatre should be renamed Bumming Nep, with all the nepotism, boys & girls networks, and titillation that takes place behind closed doors. A Beacon of Truth and Hypocrisy There is no place for hypocrisy in any quarter; the writer has concentrated on a minority faith community, less than 1% of the population in the UK, less than 2% in India and less than 0.25% worldwide, and not considered the impact on the community of its minority status and the impact this sort of mockery has on a continually victimised community. For example, Sikhs are still classified as Hindu under Indian law, any attempts by Sikhs to extol their own practices have been hindered and subjected to violent vilification. Only 20 years ago the government of India destroyed the Sikh reference library in a deliberate effort to subjugate Sikh culture. In efforts to submerge Sikh practice the government of India gave equal prominence and public funding to right wing Hindu organisations to extol Hinduiastion of Sikh practice during the tri-centenary celebrations of the Sikhs in 1999. Tabloid Values The playwright Goraprit Batty, the angelic beacon and protagonist of truth couldn’t have been more hypocritical. In her desire to unearth and make a stand for the ‘losers’ amongst the Sikh Diaspora, Goraprit hasn’t gone out and dedicated her time to voluntary work nor has she established a charity to help alleviate poverty from those faced with adversity. She and the Bumming Nep have instead chosen to use tabloid style titillation to deliberately mock Sikh practice. Could the intention be the same as tabloids- sex and racism sells tabloid newspapers; are you buying or have you already bought your ticket? Playwright or Social Policy Maker The drama quite remarkably indirectly makes a suggestion that social research agencies have lost the plot. Public scrutiny has found that public agencies, including the welfare state, are socially exclusive, do not respond to the needs of minorities, and continue to be inherently discriminatory through the practice of historical infrastructural commitments which do not respond to the changing demographic needs of diverse communities and those most in poverty. Batty comes up with such a remarkably simple finding, she would have us all believe it is amazing that so many others missed the obvious. The play suggests that the evils in society stem from the Gurdwara, because the people who run these immoral places only display outer imagery of Sikhism and do not make any effort to actually change their inner beliefs and practices. Thus rendering their practice of Sikhism meaningless, and this impact on Sikhs and their everyday lives is leading to winners suppressing losers. By virtue of this suggestion, is the Sikh community to blame for the fact that many Sikhs couldn’t get jobs after the demise of heavy industry and had to invest their redundancy packages on businesses, usually corner shops, in order to provide a roof and food to their families? Many mature Sikh men and women still are unable to get jobs outside of businesses owned and managed within the community. Many second and third generation Sikhs have to be twice as qualified and work twice as hard to gain career progression in both public and private employment. It is this discrimination that has led to Sikhs enterprising in British society. Many of those the playwright describes as ‘losers’ have not been allowed to move into employment by the institituitional racism that has been paramount in British society and is still rife in arts establishments. Perfection of Guilt Unfortunately not everybody can be as perfect as Goraprit, and as such most Sikhs do have their inadequacies. Goraprit has chosen to discard outer Sikh practices and in doing so, maybe out of a feeling of guilt or some other psychological trauma, feels that those who do show outer practices are usually hypocrites. Another interpretation of the outer practice of Sikh imagery could be perceived to show commitment and, though we are all sinners, seen as one step towards perfection. Clearly Ms Batty has already found perfection and is now in a position to condemn the practices of others and Sikh Gurus. Why does she not just find another label that suits her better if she doesn’t want to follow Sikhism, after all Sikhism is one of the only faiths that does not forcibly inculcate at birth: the follower is free to choose his or her own path. However, the Gurus who Batty says were ‘brave revolutionaries with the finest minds, warriors who propagated values of egalitarianism and selflessness’ also made it clear that there was no room for hypocrisy and that God was not interested in labels. ‘‘Only he (or she) is a Sikh who lives by the discipline.’’ This means that the outer practice that Goraprit is so uneasy about is as important as the inner practice. The loss of either at the expense of the other is considered hypocrisy in Sikhism. The Preacher at the Theatre We are all sinners Batty, it’s just that some don’t need Gurdwaras to preach, just ignorant, Eurocentric theatres, who have no real interest in diversifying their audience. The custodians of the arts enjoy playing to their colonial history and depicting ‘the natives’ as they see not as they are. They need loyal servants to do their work, in the days of the Raaj they gave land and titles to those who betrayed their community, today some will dishonour themselves and their community for the sake of a job.

please also see http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/core_asp/s...e.asp?theid=161 s s Jhamka, drop me a email at info@shaheedkhalsa.com

I think its only because he, himself was nearly killed in the massacres.

Witches’ Night: October 31 Khushwant Singh, Sikh Review, October 1995 A strange coincidence that had not occurred to me before did while I was turning over the pages of an illustrated book, Feasts and Festivals of England. I found that October 31 is known to the western world as Halloween - the night of the witches. “Witches, ghosts and goblins are free to infest the darkness,” reads the text. My mind goes back eleven years to the October 31 of 1984. By a tragic coincidence, we too had our witches’ night following the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi. Not ghosts, not goblins were about to infest the darkness, but beasts in human form took the lives of thousands of innocent people to avenge one dastardly murder. In Europe and America, they light bonfires to scare evil spirits. In Delhi and other cities of northern India, evil men made a bonfire of the living by dousing them with kerosene and setting them aflame. For us, Halloween was also like the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve, when thousands of Protestants were murdered in cold blood by Catholics. What happened to the perpetrators of our Halloween massacre? Nothing. It took over a year for a very reluctant government to appoint a commission of enquiry. The presiding judge knew his job; he made some pious statements and appointed two other commissions. They also knew their jobs. They made a few noises, ordered action against a few individuals who were foolish enough to let themselves be photographed while leading mobs on their murderous missions. We can now assume that nothing will be done to the murderers - least of all by the Congress party government because most of the killers belon ged to this party. I have often written - and write again - that crime unpunished breed criminals. I have little doubt in my mind that the chief cause of the sporadic senseless violence in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh is due to the government’s criminal inability to punish the perpetrators of the pogrom of October-November, 1984. And why, one may ask, are men charged with serious crimes like an attempt to kill the Prime Minister and hijack a plane not brought to trial after so many years in detention? Is this the way to run the government of a country like India?

khalsa ji, please see the library section of shaheedkhalsa.com, the book is listed at the bottom of the page, alone with some other books. I have uploaded some chapters, so you can get an idea of what the book is like, but please buy the original too. Fateh

Himalaya with Michael Palin BBC 1 - Sun 10 Oct, 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm 60 mins A Passage to India Michael travels from K2 in Pakistan to Ladakh in India. It's a short distance as the crow flies but, due to politics, it has become a huge loop. Since Partition in 1947, India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads. There is only one official crossing point, new Lahore, and to get back into the Indian Himalaya, Michael will have to detour hundreds of miles south before he can get back up north again. The journey covers some memorable locations: The Sikh city of Amritsar, with its Golden Temple; and Shimla, ("Simla" under the British) with its Vice Regal Lodge, Gaiety Theatre and cosy half- timbered tea-houses. Traveling through Kashmir, Michael spends an uncanny time on a house boat on tranquil Lake Dal in the state capital, Srinagar, that feels like a city under occupation. Michael last appointment is with a God King - the 14th Dalai Lama - at Dharamsala, where the Tibetan government is in exile since it was granted sanctuary in 1960. Before the meeting with His Holiness, Michael visits the Astrological Institute and discovers what he was before he was re- incarnated as Michael Edward Palin in Sheffield in May 1943. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone/listings/programme.shtml? day=sunday&service_id=4223&filename=20041010/20041010_2100_4223_36018_60

Indira did not consider Operation Bluestar a mistake: Alexander Prabhjot Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 15 “Indira Gandhi did not consider Operation Bluestar a mistake. The mistake was in the manner of implementation of the decision and not in the decision itself,” writes Mr P.C. Alexander in his book “Through the Corridors of Power”. Mr Alexander, who retired as Governor of Maharashtra a couple of years ago, was Principal Secretary to both Mrs Indira Gandhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi. “It was Indira Gandhi’s consistent policy not to criticise the Army either in private or in public even if she was convinced about the lapses in the implementation of the decision,” he writes in the chapter on the Akali agitation. The initial Army action was “confined to the siege and flushing out operations in the identical gurdwaras in different places and in the Golden Temple in Amritsar”. “There was no reference to any plan except for an effective siege of the buildings involving cutting off telephones, electricity, water, food and inflow of men and weapons. However, there were major and sudden changes in the plan that had been approved by the Prime Minister on May 25.” General Vaidya after a quick visit to Punjab and after consultations with his senior colleagues in the Army sought an urgent meeting with Mrs Indira Gandhi on May 29 to inform her of some important changes in the plan. “Needless to say the PM was taken aback by this sudden change. She was quite perturbed at the suggestion of use of force inside the temple and asked Vaidya several questions seeking clarifications. She enquired as to what would happen if the terrorists put up stiff resistance ? She also wanted to know how long it would take to subdue such resistance and particularly as to what would happen if the terrorists took refuge in the inner sanctum where the Guru Granth Sahib was placed. She asked him why the previous strategy of siege and flushing out was being discarded so soon (after all, Vaidya, had outlined it only on May 25). She also sought details about the comparative analyses in terms of loss of life and damage to the temple with respect to either of the plans. Another question she raised was whether such an action inside the temple would have any adverse effect on the loyalty and discipline of the Sikh jawans in the Indian Army,” writes Mr Alexander in his book. He further says that Vaidya spoke with such confidence and calmness that the new plan he was proposing appeared to be virtually the only option open to the Army. Vaidya said that the other option was fraught with dangerous consequences and hundreds of innocent people may fall victim to firing along the roads leading to Amritsar and in the vicinity of the temple. Mr Alexander also reveals in chronological order the sequence of events about the series of secret meetings a special panel headed by Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao had held with jailed Akali leaders. Some of these meetings had taken place in a private house in Chandigarh and a few others in another private house in Vasant Vihar in Delhi. Claiming that as one closely associated with all behind-the-scene discussions, decision making processes and strategies concerning the Akali agitation during the period 1981-84, he was perhaps more in the know of the facts on the subject than many others who had written about it, he was always conscious of his responsibility as a witness to history to present the facts correctly to the people at large. He writes that he wanted to include the Akali agitation in Punjab and how Indira Gandhi handled it in his series of articles he had written about his years with Mrs Gandhi after quit ting as Governor of Tamil Nadu in 1990. “When I informally consulted Rajiv Gandhi for his opinion, he expressed his anxiety that publication of certain facts might lead to unnecessary controversies. His advice was to postpone the publication for some more time. But ‘this some more time” turned out to more than a decade as I was Governor of Maharashtra till July, 2002. Now that I am free from the trammels of office, I can place the full facts about the Akali agitation, as I knew them,” writes Mr Alexander. While talking about the possible reason of why Indira Gandhi did not consult Giani Zail Singh before Operation Bluestar, Alexander says that “the only reason I can think of as to why she did not inform President Zail Singh about her decision on the final stages of Punjab operations was that her relations with him by then were strained to the extent of her losing full trust in him. Another reason may be that the way the operation inside the Golden Temple turned out was quite unexpected and she could not have anticipated the seriousness of the damage caused.”

THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ON THESE LISTS, AND THOSE ARE ONLY THE ONES WE KNOW ABOUT NHRC list of illegal cremations in Punjab during militancy http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040730/nhrc.htm

Sikhs unite against Al-Muhajiroun In a show of tremendous unity, Sikhs from all over Englands converged onto Trafalgar Square to contend the Islamic Rally set by Al-Muhajiroun on Sunday 25th July 2004. Over 500 Sikhs from the Midlands and London departed in the early hours of Sunday morning to peacefully protest against the controversial statements made earlier in that week by Al-Muhajiroun against their religion. But the statements were short-lived, for as the Sikhs gathered at Trafalgar Square it became apparent that the Islamic Fundamentalist group had cancelled the illegal rally due to “fears of safety”. Several coaches carrying Sikhs from Birmingham and Coventry arrived in the early afternoon and were met by Sikhs from Southall. As the Sikhs united walked up to Trafalgar Square, even the towering buildings of London sky’s seemed to bow in respect of the mass of blue and black turbans which fell upon the roads. Once at Trafalgar Square, police officers quickly intervened the crowd of Sikhs and escorted them to a cordoned area by the Opera house where they were met with jubilant cries of “Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akaal” from fellow East London Sikhs. On the other side the protest from the British National Party could be seen being the reason for the police escort to stop any trouble. Once together the Sikh presence was immediately noticed by walkers by who stood to take in our protest which was thankfully headed by peaceful slogan banners of “Sikhs Against “Al-Muhajiroun”, and “God loves all Religions”. The BNP had also noticed the Sikhs and although they had come to protest against the Al-Muhajiroun, seeing the lack of Muslim presence they quickly turned their attention to the Sikhs who remained to our strength, very calm and peaceful. Since the Sikhs had come to show their presence against the Al-Muhajiroun and meet their challenge, they had no concern with the BNP so were not put off nor did they get involved. Instead in a show of the genuine spiritual strength, the 500 strong crowd all sat down cross-legged and participated in reciting Chaupai Sahib to thank God for the success of this protest. As Chaupai Sahib were being recited a wave of undivided love and compassion was felt by all present and hundreds of passer by’s stood in amazement at this truly spiritual spectacle where the Sikhs ignoring all chants form the BNP became totally absorbed in the prayers. Following the prayers, all Sikhs stood to participate in Ardaas which was completed with five ecstatic cries of “Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akaal”. You can only but imagine the feeling of 500 Sikhs all engrossed in this event. With this finale, the Sikhs having accomplished their task left Trafalgar Square having humiliated with humbleness the Al-Muhajiroun attack. Words are only words until followed up by action and that action must be the right action. Al-Muhajiroun could not follow up the verbal assault with real action, the Sikhs did, with grace and humility and following the guidance from their Guru. Well done to all the Sikhs. The gathering had been a success, the “Al-Muhajiroun” had cancelled its rally, been prevented from challenging the Sikhs and blaspheming the Sikh religion in front of Trafalgar Square. More so a message had been sent out to “Al-Muhajiroun” that contradictory to their perception about our religion, Sikhs are alive, Sikhs will not just standby and Sikhs are and will always be UNITED. Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

Islamic group moves London rally spokesman for Al-Muhajiroun, which is alleged to have extremist views, said a "few hundred" people had turned up for the event. The group said there were security concerns over the original plan to gather in Trafalgar Square. And it said it was "prudent" not to meet in central London because of the threat of an attack by al-Qaeda. 'Not controversial' Anjem Choudary, the leader of Al-Muhajiroun in the UK, told BBC News Online Sunday's meeting at an undisclosed location in Essex had been "very peaceful." He added: "There was a good mix of people from across the country, and there was a real family atmosphere." He said the decision to cancel the central London meeting had been made because the "safety and security" of those attending could not be guaranteed. "It was very difficult to calculate how many people were going to come from overseas and around Britain. "We didn't want to be inviting people, then facing a situation where it's difficult to ensure people's safety and well-being." Mr Choudary said groups such as the British National Party and National Front may have attended which could have sparked trouble. He added: "If something did happen, our people are not going to turn around and go home. "They are going to defend themselves and their families." But he said moving the rally to Essex had meant neither the BNP nor the National Front had been able to send activists to the meeting. He added: "There was a good mix of people from across the country, and there was a real family atmosphere." >He said the decision to cancel the central London meeting had been made because the "safety and security" of those attending could not be guaranteed. "It was very difficult to calculate how many people were going to come from overseas and around Britain. "We didn't want to be inviting people, then facing a situation where it's difficult to ensure people's safety and well-being." Mr Choudary said groups such as the British National Party and National Front may have attended which could have sparked trouble. He added: "If something did happen, our people are not going to turn around and go home. "They are going to defend themselves and their families." But he said moving the rally to Essex had meant neither the BNP nor the National Front had been able to send activists to the meeting. Deadline He said the group had also decided to move the rally because of the threat of a terrorist attack by al-Qaeda. In an audiotape broadcast by two Arabic television stations on April 15 this year, Osama bin Laden, the head of the terror group, offered a "truce" to European governments if they pulled troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the tape, which the CIA said it believed was genuine, Bin Laden set a three-month deadline, presumed to have expired on July 15. Mr Choudary said the spiritual leader of Al-Muhajiroun, Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, had been told al Qaeda had repeated its warning of attacks He added: "We decided it would be prudent not to go into central London. "There hasn't been a specific threat, but you've got to be careful." He added: "It could be anywhere in Europe but the most likely target is Britain." But a spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan police said there was a long-standing national terrorism threat but she was not aware of any specific threat having been issued or repeated. 'Appropriate location' Al-Muhajiroun had been t hreatened with prosecution by London authorities if it went ahead with its plans to meet in central London. Mayor Ken Livingstone wrote to Al-Muhajiroun's leader in Britain, Anjem Choudary, to warn him he risked breaking the law if the Trafalgar Square meeting went ahead. The Greater London Authority was successful in using by-laws to prosecute Mr Choudary after a rally there in 2002. The sheikh had earlier claimed London's authorities were biased in their treatment of Al-Muhajiroun. He insisted the group's "controversial" tag was not warranted and said he was committed to peace and decency. Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim Parliament, had said a mosque or Islamic centre was a more appropriate place for such a rally to be held.

Khalsa ji, Over 700 sikh youth turned up to Trafalgar Square, to protest against this group. On arrival the youth sat on the fllor around Trafalgar Square, and did Simran and Chaupai Sahib. Leaflets were handed out, and banner starting that " Sikhs against racism" etc wrer displayed. The BNP and NF did turn up at one point, however they did not bother the Sikh youth doing paat. ## more news to follow ## -------- The latest news A Muslim group accused of spreading extremist views have cancelled plans to hold an unofficial rally in London. Up to 600 Al-Muhajiroun members were expected in Trafalgar Square, with Mayor Ken Livingstone threatening legal action and BNP members set to protest. But organisers said they had decided to move the rally to an undisclosed venue in Essex because of safety fears.

please see our multimedia section for an extensive collection of 1984 Darmak Geet

It is said that there will be 1 more attack on Harmandair Sahib, and after that many Sikhs will be shaheed. But then only after that will we gain Azadi.

khalsa ji, this Singh belong to the Dam Dami Taksal Bhindra We have his picture in our shaheedi gallery, however we have not complied his jivani yet, if you receive any more info, please also forward it to us

Ever wondered what happen on this day?? Heard the stories and never believe it could happen??? See the Gallery section and see pictures of that happened And read the extensive literature in the library, for a really idea of twhat took place

When ever there is an akhand path, it is said that at night, when most of the sanagt has left, that you should move the chadara, as shaheed singh & Singhnee are seated there.

Please see the multimedia section of our website, there is a very old dharmak geet about Surinder Singh Sodhi, with was done only months after his shaheedi

KHALSA JI, PLEASE MAKE SURE WEE ALSO RECIEVE A COPY OF YOUR WORK

sorry, i was just updating some files, it should be working ok now

Please visit our site for info on 1984

Can all the UK sangat please come down to london and show your support for the victims of 1984, and those killed by the Indian Goverment

Please can all the UK sangat attend on 6th June

Never forget 1984

khalsa ji, Sikhs have been oppressed in India for years, but why do we always forget this??? And called India home???

Never forget 1984