santsevak

Could you give a news source? BTW, it is a quite common practice in public schools in the Punjab to force students to speak only English for the sole purpose of making students comfortable with the language and to prepare them for the job market later on.

Well, nobody has replied and my own search has not turned up anything related to this claim. So I supposed it is safe to assume it was a pathetic attempt at a smoke screen by someone. Let me give a brief background. This remark came up in a discussion in which I was narrating my experience on a visit to Punjab last year. I noticed that in a nagar kirtan that I chanced upon on the highway between Jalandhar and Amritsar, most of the youth (safe to assume most were Sikhs, for obvious reasons) did not have turbans. Since then, I have observed that Punjabi Sikh youth are abandoning turbans (and kesh, of course) at an alarming rate in Punjab. While I was giving these accounts, a person, who is, let us just say, extremely opinionated regarding ਕੱਟਡ਼ ਸਿੱਖੀ (hardcore Sikhi), made the claim in question and wrongly concluded and generalized that schools in India are the ones who are forcing Sikh youth to not wear turbans. Nevertheless, if somebody does eventually turn up a credible source of the news, please post here. Even if the incident occurred, however, the flaw in the claimant's logic still remains and I would only interested in the legal follow up to the incident. ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦੀ ਭਲਾ।

ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ, Just recently some one claimed in a discussion that a school in Punjab or near Chandigarh prevented a Sikh student from wearing a turban to school. Does somebody recall this news? I haven't been able to verify this claim, and neither could the person give any citation or reference. He wasn't even able to specify around what time this incident occurred. Until I find a source, I am skeptical regarding this claim. If somebody knows about a source with details, it would be great if you could list it here. If nobody has heard about this, it would be fair to conclude that it was part of a speech by some radicals here meant to make people think that educations institutions in and around Punjab are preventing Sikh students from wearing turbans. ਧੰਨਵਾਦ।

The fonts that the web page requires are listed near the top: DrCHATRIKWEB GURBLIPI SATLUJ When you click on them, you will be able to save their respective files (.ttf files). The procedure to install these depends on your OS. Which one are you using? I would search for "installing ttf fonts in <your OS here>" in google to know the step-by-step procedure. One of the links I usually recommend is this: http://www.sikhnet.c...ontInstall.html BTW, the way the web page you mentioned is constructed is not the correct way anymore. They should construct their web page with UNICODE fonts (or in utf-8 fonts). That way there is no need for users to download any obscure fonts in any modern operating system. This is my pet peev with most of Pubjabi websites, they are still living in the early '90s. Just look at The Tribune newspapers website. It is horrible and pathetic! For further info on UNICODE and Gurmukhi: http://www.5abi.com/...U1_amrinder.htm http://gurjotsingh52...-your-computer/ Chardi kala.

The one in Montreal, in an old church. Are you familiar with the city?

er .. Papi ji, I am not sure where you are coming from, care to elaborate? Let me rephrase my motivation for the poll. I wanted to see what the sangat thinks about the specific question that I did the poll for, since that is the main point the seniors were arguing with. I wanted to see what was the general consensus about this point of view and/or what were the views of people who were not in support of this (I have only one sample here, but there is no reasonable justfication over there). At the same time, I see why you are wondering regarding the poll, since the answer is obvious (to most Sikhs I know, at least) and the poll query appears to be reduntant. But this is the exact point the dissenting seniors were arguing with, stating it was a "dictatorship" in the gurdwara and that such "edicts" were just "talibanizing the gurdwara". But what was heartening, in my experience of watching this unfold, was that the younger generation who comes to the gurudwara was all in agreement for covering one's head and only the old timers were the problem. It appears to me the old timers are just taking insult in having to conform to the universally accepted protocol. Why? I can't say for sure. These are the situations where I long for the nihang Singhs that we see in Harminder Sahib who command and threaten people to follow proper protocol ... a Nihang shouting commands at you with a burcha in his hand can be an intimidating scene

er .. also, Ekonam ji, please check if your caps lock key is it stuck? Do you realize that using all caps is akin to shouting online? I have noticed that kids (pre-teens to early teens) or new internet users are usually the ones not aware of this "Netiquette". Please take this as kind advice if that is the case. Chardi kala.

um ... ooookaay .... if that were assumed to be true, then it shouldn't be necessary for any males to have their head covered either as long as their hair is properly trimmed or tied in a ponytail, etc., should it? You would agree to this too, would you not? From your reasoning you appear to take covering one's hair in a gurudwara langarhall purely a hygiene issue. Correct?

Wonderful! BTW, could you please give a link or source that I can forward to my peers and friends which describes the issue as it happened, or a news links, or anything that gives some details in a formal manner? Thanks! Chardi kala.

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh. I wanted some feedback from the sangat here on an issue of maryada. In a gurdwara sahib somewhere in Canada, there appears to be an unexpected controversy going on. The gurdwara sahib is located in an old church with the langar hall in the basement beneath the darbar hall. Without going in to much of the political history, mainly becuase I am not familiar with it, what is happening is that a few older senior ladies (one or two at the most, I think) are refusing to keep their head covered in the langar hall. The problem arose in the recent few months when the new president requested the persons in question to do so. And it appears this was specially prompted from younger kids when they were told to keep their heads covered and they refused pointing to the seniors complaining that if they don't get to cover their heads, why should the kids be forced to do so? The ladies' stance is that they have never covered their head in the past, and it being *their* gurdwara (apparently they helped establish it), they are not going to start now. Further, they argue that it is worthless to stick to older traditions and that one needs to change with modern times. They even indulge in ragging the new administration members by teasing them to be Talibans for trying to enforce such "dictatorship rules on women" (this really <Edited> me off actually, now the senior members are behaving like immature non-Sikh kids who do not know any better?). BTW, this started only a few months ago when a new president came along. The recent history is that the current administration is composed of many people who are not from within the older "core" group which have been running the gurdwara sahib since it was established. So, dear sangat, what are you views on this? The more verbal this discussion is, the better. I realy want insights in to whatever the sangat thinks either way. Let me start by saying that it is my understanding that our head should be covered in the main areas of a gurdwara sahib. And if I were to argue with the dissenting sangat above, I would pose a counter question to them: would they be willing to continue their practice if they visit any other gurdwara in the world, maybe perhaps Harminder sahib? Bhull chuk ke khima, Chardi kala. Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ke Fateh?

Sat Sri Akal, If you sleep long enough hours during the night and still feel tired after waking up, I would strongly suggest you should go see a doctor and explain this problem of yours. The doctor will probably ask you how you feel during rest of the day, how is your life in general and whether you are having seeminly unrelated problems in your daily life (school, work, fatigue, etc.). The doctor will probably ask for blood tests (iron deficiency, B12 deficieny (are you vegetarian?), thyroid, etc.). That should shed good light if you have one of these common problems. Doing this is much more important than trying other "neem hakeem nuskhe" (psuedo doctors' weird treatments). Please note, no matter what other tell you about to keep on trying, the fact is your body is trying to tell you something. Despite regular sleeping time it is still not rested. Ignoring your health is not the way of Sikhi. It is not clever, it is not practical, it is not wise ... plain and simple: it is against the tenets of Sikhi. And it can have serious consequences down the road. So my humble suggestion is to ignore all the 'jugaars' others may tell you (tie your hair to the roof with a strong thread so that you do not nod, or do some other queer things to fight the call of sleep by your body) and go see a doctor. Wish you all the best. Regards.

Can anyone of the sangat type these lines in Punjabi.. Would be very much appreciated.. Thanks in advance WJKK WJKF Please see here: http://www.sikhsangat.com/lofiversion/index.php/t27344.html ਆਗਿਆ ਭਈ ਅਕਾਲ ਕੀ ਤਬੈ ਚਲਾਇਓ ਪੰਥ॥ ਸਭ ਸਿਖਨ ਕੋ ਹੁਕਮ ਹੈ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਾਨਿਓ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ॥ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਜੀ ਮਾਨਿਓਂ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਗੁਰਾਂ ਕੀ ਦੇਹ॥ ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕੋ ਮਿਲਬੋ ਚਹੈ ਖੋਜ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਮੇਂ ਲੇਹ॥ Bhull chukk maaf.

This is true on so many levels: I think that the only thing that this misses is the fact that many Sikh girls prefer clean shaven men now, even in the Punjab!

Interesting post.

You are putting it in very simplistic terms, I think. The reasons to perceive the western world as a better place are many fold. The most important, in my view, is the lack of proper education and dismal state of professional career choices in Punjab. In the last decade or two, Akalis have been in power on and off. In every term, nothing material has been done to improve things in the above respects. If the Akalis do not give a d4mn about us, I don't think we should expect anything more from other political parties. Parts of southern India have seen tremendous progress in information technology industry, while the Punjab governemnt let the opportunity slide from its grasp to attract IT industry. There are mostly a few kinds of industry in the Punjab: agriculture (in danger situations now since land is being overused), clothers and cycle & motor parts (Ludhiana, but no Punjabis want to work there, hence the need for migrant labourers) and sports good (Jalandhar). Other than these, the governments there have not really done anything to attract foreign investments. The result is that the youth have no confidence in their future in that state. The perception has been around for many years now and it has taken its toll. It is not uncommon to hears parents of some lads saying "ethe kuchh nahin rakhya, bahar bhej dena mundian nu". I don't think we should be blaming them without trying to understand their reasons closely; t is quite easy to pass judgements. They are just trying to improve their lot one way or the other. I am sure of one thing. If there are good oppertunities in the Punjab, if there is good technical industry, if there is improvement in education, if there is money to be made working there, if there are careers to be made working there for *most of the educated people*, you will notice a significant drop in the percentage of people there who want to go abroad. But it will take a *lot* of work to arrive at that state.

No, they do not cut their hair just to go abroad, they cut their hair *when* they are going abroad and consequently they should not be counted in your statistics regarding the ones living in the Punjab! Looks like you haven't spent enough time in India and the Punjab yet. Today's youth there cut their hair for their "tohr", for glamor and to be a "hero" among their peers and specially girls. I am sure you would also have noticed that many Sikh girls there do not want a match with a beard and a turban! It is not uncommong to hear something like "yaar, tun tan bara hero bann gya hain" when a youth first cuts his hair. One never hears anything like "yaar, tun tan sikhi saroop which bara hero lagdan hain." The point I agree with is that there is no Sikhi parchaar. There is no Sikhi education. Sikh youth in the Pujab are being influenced much more by non Sikhi purchaar actually. The other point I disagree with is that the migrant labourers there are more criminal. You must back this up this claim of yours with concrete statistical data. I personally do not see any less corrupt Sikhs there than migrants. I have personally seen amritdhari Sikh in the Punjab doing shady deals and doing all immoral deeds. The most major problem in Sikhs today is that they are not looking in to themselves, they need to reflect on their own practices and their own education instead of picking on problems with other races (which just makes them racists). Being aware of ones own religion and its teaching is the first things a person should be clear about. Disregarding and belittling other religions' people is not going to get one anywhere. Regards.

http://www.sikhcoalition.org/advisories/ho...ssikhfamily.htm http://www.click2houston.com/news/18210062/detail.html (has a video link to a news report) Height of ignorance on the part of the police. Aren't they given any kind of training to make them aware of different kind of communities in their population?

I am interested in knowing more about both points you have mentioned. Perhaps somebody could give a few terms which I can search on google to dig up more info on this or even some direct links. It will be really appreciated. ਚਡ਼ਦੀ ਕਲਾ।

I have been in similar circumstances. When I asked about this practice of tables and charis, the reason the gurdwara committe members give for tables and chairs is exactly what you mentioned: if all sit on tables and chairs then all are at the same level!

Well, at least you have the signs. In the gurdwara which I usuallly go to, there are tables and chair in half the hall and the strips of rugs in the other half. Everybody is free to sit where ever they please. In essense we have two levels of sangat then. I always notice that the youth that are not regulars and are related to the gurdwara "elite" always sit with them on the tables, even though the "official" stance of the management is that the tables and chairs are for physically challenged sangat. However, they completely refuse to put signs to that effect on the tables. I have observed during the last few years that the unwritten rules is that the sangat can sit whereever they want. The rule is intentionally unwritten, since then the management has plausible deniability. What troubles me is that we consistently have sangat sitting at two levels. When I first pointed out this problem, the management first tried to define "pangat" as "a line"; the definition specifically did not have "sitting on the floor" in it. With this definition, when I pointed out that the sangat could even be having langar while standing or walking or dancing as long as they always in a line, the management then said that pangat means sitting at the same level, which brought us back to where we started! Then they just made lame excuses, which included: 1. We shoud be progrossive, for how long should we keep on sitting on the floors. 2. We should keep the physically challenged people in mind (but ignored my earlier request to put the relevant signs on the tables) 3. These are small things and we should not fixate on them and it is not good to have a holier than thou attitude. We should look at the bigger picture. (I fail to understand how a better bigger picture can be realized when the fundamentals are not strong and consistent; true in every sphere of life). 4. And conlcuded that the "controversy" of tables and chair is the handiword of uneducated, backword and rigid Sikhs from India and the educated and progressive Sikhs in the western world should not tow their line. I have since stopped argueing with them on this. I have since realized that there appears to be a huge divide in the Sikhs outside Punjab: those that have emigrated from Punjab recently and those who have been away since many decades. Divisions, divisions ... no wonder Sikhs are on the receiving end in many places in the world (booted from aircrafts, have their turbans taken off at airports, turbans banned in France, etc.).

Yes, I agree with this fully and I do follow this idea. However, I hit a wall when the other person just laughs it off saying something on the lines of "chall chadd, koi na, baabe nu sabh pata hi hai ke sahde dill which puri sharadda hai" (ਚਲ ਛੱਡ ਕੋਈ ਨਾ, ਬਾਬੇ ਨੂੰ ਪਤਾ ਹੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸ੍ਹਾਡੇ ਦਿੱਲ ਵਿੱਚ ਪੂਰੀ ਸ਼ਰਦਾ ਹੈ।). You will be surprised how many times I have faced these kind of comments, they just laught it off! So far I have not argued further to avoid any unpleasant situation ... otherwise, as you say, I may turn out acting the holier than thou attitude.

Sat Sri Akal, The news article is here: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/US...onboard/390955/ Please dig the news at: http://digg.com/world_news/Sikh_religious_...US_plane_USA_Wo Chardi Kala.

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ Just wanted to share this news: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3999881/ The people at a church in north Carolina turned away a Sikh donor because of his turban! The news was dug and the comments at the digg sites are quite interesting: http://digg.com/arts_culture/Sir_you_have_...This_is_America The church's contact page is http://www.umrr.org/. Feel free to let them what you think and please spead this news. Also, a list of contact emails for the church is: secretary@umrr.org; edirector@umrr.org; food@umrr.org; intake@umrr.org; mprograms@umrr.org; stores@umrr.org; volunteer@umrr.org; warehouse@umrr.org; Regards.

In Windows, find out the partitions that you would like to install Ubunto on. Just jot on a paper the partitions you would like to use for this purpose. Just select consequtive ones. Keep in mind that you need at the minimum around 7 GB of disk space. But I would start with around 12 GB. Copy all data that you want to retain from those partition to somewhere else (all data on those partitions will be lost during Ubuntu installation). Then reboot computer with the Ubuntu CD. During installation, you can tell Ubuntu installer to use the partitions you marked on the paper earlier (they will be in the same order as they were in Windows and their sizes should also match). If I were in your place and if I had chosen multiple partitions, I would tell Ubuntu to merge those into one (they were consequtive, remember?) and install Ubuntu there. This partition choosing step is as complex as the installation is going to be. Rest is quite easy and straightforward --- in my experience, much easier than installing Windows. If you have questions, just ask here. Good luck.

ਮੇਰਾ ਇਰਾਦਾ ਤਾਂ ਇਥੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਲਿਨੁਕਸ ਚਲਾ ਕੇ ਸੰਗਤ ਨੂੰ ਦਿਖਾਉਣਾ ਹੈ। ਮੈੰ ਇਥੇ ਸੰਗਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਈਮੇਲਾਂ ਵੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਭੇਜਣੀਆਂ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤੀਆਂ ਹਨ। ਹੋਲੀ ਹੋਲੀ ਹੋਰ ਸੱਜਨ ਵੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਲਿੱਖਣਾ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ। ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਲਿਨੁਕਸ ਟੀਮ ਦੀ ਸੇਵਾ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਮਨ ਨੂੰ ਬਹੁਤ ਮਾਣ ਅਤੇ ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ੀ ਮਹਿਸੂਸ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਸੇਵਾ ਲਈ ਸਾਰੀ ਟੀਮ ਦਾ ਅਤਿ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ।