Pyara

Support Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana www.SupportBalwantSingh.blogspot.com Sikhs From Across the UK Protest Outside Indian Embassy, London Thousands of Sikhs from across the UK have gathered outside the Indian Embassy in support of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana:

Support Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana Poster Campaign Download this poster for distribution in your area and Gurdwara to create awareness of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana and his execution scheduled for 31 March 2012 at 9.00am (Indian Standard Time) www.SupportBalwantSingh.blogspot.com

www.SupportBalwantSingh.blogspot.com

Some pictures of protest on www.SupportBalwantSingh.blogspot.com

Sikh Channel needs to cover it. With all due respect to the Sangat Tv Babay, no one under 65 seems to watch Sangat Tv anymore and technically Sangat Tv's broadcast limitations won't give the protest the profile and justice it deserves. I hope Sikh Channel cover it, it will get the social media coverage too and hit a much wider global Sikh audience This might be a presumption on my part but this better not end up becoming another Jathebhandi Vs Sikh Channel masla where both boycott each others programmes. We just about got over the Dastaar Day fiasco of 2011...

It's confirmed and definitely on. Organised by UK jathebhandis. Sangat TV are taking the media lead, but unfortunately they haven't pumped it on their channel as well as they should have. TUESDAY 20 MARCH 2012 12 NOON TO 2PM Location: Opposite - High Commission of India, India House, Aldwych, London, WC2B 4NA Adjacent to Bush House (BBC World Services Office) Nearest Tube Stations: Holborn and Temple See Sangat Television from more information about which Gurdwaras have organised coaches. www.SupportBalwantSingh.blogspot.com

I only know 2 Singhs who are currently arranging their visas to go down. If you want to join them, PM me your number or email and I'll pass it on to them. www.SupportBalwantSingh.blogspot.com

Jathedar Akal Takhat Sahib Talks About Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana in New Zealand (15 March 2012) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y37HUR5nmls&feature=player_embedded#! www.SupportBalwantSingh.blogspot.com

The more constructive noise that is made, the more global profile we give what Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana stands for. We need to generate a high profile build up to the 31 March. Ultimately, only Maharaj knows what is meant to happen. But the last thing we should do, is not use the machinery which generate the kind of noise that is recognised in the democratic world. Petitions, letters to MPs/MEPs, using the anti-death penalty organisations etc are tools to action this. Use them to our advantage. Make the world realise what is going to happen on 31 March 2012, so that "if" Bhai Sahib Ji becomes a Shaheed then at least the non Sikh world knew about it!

It takes 4 minutes to action this online via http://www.writetothem.com. These actions help escalate the global profile of what Baba Balwant Singh Rajoana is standing for. Take the 4 minutes out. It's the least we can do... Many thanks again to Sikh Federation UK for proactively itemising an effective protocol to follow. http://supportbalwan...blogspot.co.uk/

http://supportbalwantsingh.blogspot.com/ Breaking News – India Death Penalty of Balwant Singh Rajoana to be tabled in European Parliament by MEP Marina Yannakoudakis 17 March 2012 Under the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure (Rule 117, 1,) Marina Yannakoudakis MEP, Conservative, London has tabled a parliamentary question to The EU´s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton regarding allegations that India may be preparing to break its moratorium on the death penalty. http://www.marinayannakoudakis.com/

Sikh Channel Youth Shows 15 March 2012

http://www.supportba...h.blogspot.com/ supportbalwantsingh.blogspot.com Above blog has had over 650 hits since it was launched yesterday morning. The above information posted by Jagar Singh is also available on the blog. Hoping that people are actioning rather than just browsing...

Any official Jathebhandi's taking the lead on this? Is it me, or did this execution creep up from no where...There appears to have been little coverage prior to this in Sikh media about Bhai Balwant Singh's case. We all know about Prof Davindepal Singh, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Dalit Singh Bittu etc but Balwant Singh seems to have been bypassed... 31 March is only 13 days away.

You may be right, but it's a risky strategy to assume this, ultimately there's a Sikhs life at stake here. Considering his Amrit Sanchaar was high profile, we Sikhs need to show an ability to generate some global pressure to revoke this decision, particularly as this could be the first execution in Punjab in 24 years. We can't just do nothing, there needs to be a global strategy to generate some constructive raula against this execution.

Sangat Ji. As of 7am this morning, only 5% collected for the treatment so far which has been donated by 9 generous Sikhs. As the Sangat of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, we are destined to do more daan for the community. There is only a limited time for any kind of medical treatment, so timing is important. As modern Sikhs, perhaps we have now become accustomed to ignoring sewas that come in front of us. If it is doubt which is holding you back from donating then contact SOPW directly and discuss. But please.. don't let laziness and disregard hold you back from donating to save someones life! Donating on Justgiving.com is a simple click.

I can no longer look at a tube light without a desire to smash it! Things will never be the same again in my house...

How did the show go? Couldn't get out of the office...

Well... you've clealry started the campaign for sowing the seed of doubt!

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Sikh-priest-given-pound-62k-settlement/story-13753759-detail/story.html Sikh priest given £62k settlement A GRANDFATHER who claims he was paid 78p an hour – an eighth of the minimum wage – has been given £62,000 by his former employers in an out-of-court settlement. Gurpal Singh Virdi, 66, of Clover Street in Chatham, says he was forbidden from leaving the Siri Guru Nanak Gurdwara Temple in Byron Road, Gillingham and often worked 17-hour days during his 15 years as a Granthi (Sikh priest). The father of three, a decorated soldier, claimed he was unfairly dismissed after he refused to take a pay cut in August 2008. Mr Virdi's case was due to be heard at Ashford Employment Tribunal on October 10, but the temple's trustees agreed to pay him £62,000 to settle, making no admission of liability. Temple bosses have strongly denied all the claims, saying they do not treat priests as "slaves", and that Mr Virdi received free accommodation, food, gas and electricity on top of his salary. Mr Virdi told the News: "At no time was I allowed to leave the temple without permission. If I wanted to visit anyone, I wasn't allowed without the temple committee's permission. He added: "I've begged and borrowed from everyone, all my friends, to pay for the solicitors' fees." When Mr Virdi first joined the temple, he was paid £50 a week. He and his wife Gurpax, 61, lived rent-free in a flat above the temple, and were given food. Mr Virdi claimed his bosses deducted National Insurance contributions from his pay, despite it being below the required threshold, leaving him with little money to buy extra food, clothes and essentials. The father of three, originally from Punjab, alleges that on his return from holiday in August, 2008, he was ordered by temple bosses to sign a new contract that would drop his pay from £405 to £350 per month, and put him on a three-month probation. He refused and was later dismissed. In a previous case in 2009, Mr Virdi was paid more than £4,000 by the temple after claiming backdated salary. Committee chairman Julhar Singh Chohan said: "We respect priests, we don't use them as slaves." He said at least two Granthis had been employed during Mr Virdi's tenure, and that they shared the hours between them. It had been "impossible" that Mr Virdi had worked 17 hours a day, he said. The committee pointed out that Mr Virdi got free accommodation, free food, and amenities which, counted together, took his pay above the national minimum wage. The committee admitted forbidding Mr Virdi from leaving the temple overnight without permission as he was living on-site and members were concerned about security. A spokesman for the temple's trustees said: "There was a dispute between the Gurdwara and Mr Virdi, which was subject to employment tribunal proceedings. They were settled without admission of liability on the part of the Gurdwara, in order to bring the matter to a conclusion and to allow both parties to move on." The UK national minimum wage has gone from £3.60 to £6.08 per hour for over-21s since it was introduced in 2000.

Can someone get hold of Harinder Singh from Sikhri, who's in UK at the moment, to call in? He's a really articulate person to discuss the build up and aftermath of the massacres...

Anyone got any information about what happened yesterday outside Liverpool Gurdwara? Apparently, there was a protest by the local sangat over some concerning issues. Can anyone local shed any light on what's going on?

Yep. I think most of us worked that out already. Well, let's hope he's feeding back to the boss! .Some good points have been raised on this thread.

A really objective review on the situation by singh211 above ^^. Some great suggestions highlighted above which can give Sikh Channel the edge on presenting the real Sikh voice. Sikh Channel need to move on from it’s shoe-string presenting and towards a higher quality editorial and broadcast policy. After being on air for 2/3 years now, it does desperately need to kick start the editorial content. I fail to understand why they are still failing on this. We have an abundance of intelligent articulate media focussed Sikhs in the UK. By now there should be an established qualified research team in the Channel, even if it is part voluntary. One can only guess that the boss Davinder Bal’s attitude is still the barricade to the channel's true potential.

It is worth noting that there is no fine at the moment, if you read the Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin (see the original post for link to report) which is Issue 192 dated 24 October 2011, there are around 30 listed cases Ofcom discuss in this issue. Sikh Channel Youth Show is one of them! One main point that Ofcom have raised is the extreme delay Sikh Channel Management took in passing the requested footage over to Ofcom. This has been flagged up on the report as a principal point along with the other issues. An overall lack of foresight, professionalism and compliance is the issue here which should not be masked by playing a childish blame game.