PearTree

Honour and Pride...and a handful of VCs.

Sikh regiment dumped over 'racism' fears Defence chiefs have abandoned plans to raise a regiment of British Sikhs amid fears that the move would be branded racist. The proposal to create the regiment, reminiscent of those that fought for Britain in the two world wars, was dropped by the Ministry of Defence after discussions with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). Sikh leaders had informed Army recruitment officers that they could easily find enough volunteers to form a 700-strong regiment. However, despite the infantry being under strength by 3,000 soldiers, the offer was rejected. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1555507/Sikh-regiment-dumped-over-racism-fears.html Facebook Group British Sikh Regiment - Yes or No ? http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=675661506#/group.php?v=info&gid=5080269444

The Real BBC.... ?

Here is the BBC Press Release for the programme. BBC Programme about 1984 - A Sikh Story NSO PRESS RELEASE BBC PROGRAMME 1984 A one hour documentary on the massacre of Sikh in 1984 will be shown on BBC1 at 10.50 PM Sunday 10 January 2010. The Programme is called 'A Sikh Story'. The setting takes the form of a young woman of Sikh origin who has lapsed from active practice of her faith going back to India to rediscover her roots and the importance of her faith. In the process she comes face to face with the full horror of the persecution and massacre of Sikhs. Dr Indarjit Singh, Director NSO who was the Adviser to the Programme comments: 'After years of chasing and lobbying, we finally got the BBC to make a programme although it is not the sharp investigative programme that I would have preferred. Numerous difficulties were encountered with the Indian government stalling for weeks before giving limited permission for filming, even though we said that it would only be about someone rediscovering their Indian roots. There was also some personal frustration that in my interview, my role of 'independent' adviser limited the degree of outrage that I was allowed to express. The BBC were also nervous about the project and the interview with General Brar is not sufficiently robust. All in all however the programme is sensitive and moving in its depiction of the horrors suffered by Sikhs in 1984.1 urge Sikhs, particularly young Sikhs to watch it to understand how minorities can be treated in a country that describes itself as the world's greatest democracy.' Please inform your local gurdwara about the date and time-10.50 PM Sunday 10 January 2010 on BBC 1. http://www.sikhphilo...sikh-story.html She is the only journalist that has tried to put the Sikh side of 1984 on mainstream UK TV(However weakly) , nobody else has done that in 25 years. The good things to come out of this are that even people who showed no interest in 1984 are now asking questions about what happened. Sonia did say that she identified with the Sikh religion which is a big step for her, maybe she can be helped to take things forward. Remember a lot parents tell their kids nothing about Sikhism, so they have to be helped, this why we have a lot of issues in the Punjab and West regarding Sikhi in the youth. The people behind the scenes the BBC used are the real offenders. The 'Sikh' journalists like Khushwant Singh usually blame the Sikhs for everything , even though he had to hide in the Swedish embassy when his fellow Indians tried to burn him alive. We had a few Punjabi communist journalists who made the offensive Radio 4 programme. The only person who did a good job on TV was the late Patwant Singh. There was the programme the BBC made in the 90s, a two parter....that had both Patwant and Khushwant Singh. Can you translate that ?

I wonder if she feels she may have been stitched up, somewhat.

Are you saying that she is now blaming the likes of Bajwa and JS Sohal now?

She has not been forced off Facebook, just the Fan Page she created for herself. Prior to its termination it had about 2000+ followers. But seeing as she was constantly explaining herself, many people could have joined just to see what was being said, rather than show support?

Amitabh Bachchan’s Involvement In “84' Sikh Genocide” ? ? ■ During “84' Sikh Genocide”, Amitabh Bachchan was shown on television inciting people to kill Sikhs after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. ■ He said, “Sikhs had not only assassinated Indira Gandhi, they had killed the mother of the nation.” ■ He raised the slogan ‘Khoon ke chheente Indira ko marne walon ke gharon tak pahunchne chahiye (The bloodstains must reach the houses of those who killed Indira)’ http://www.sikhsforjustice.org/?q=content/amitabh-bachchan Add a captionAmitabh Bachchan’s Involvement In “84' Sikh Genocide” ?■ During “84' Sikh Genocide”, Amitabh Bachchan was shown on television inciting people to kill Sikhs after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.■ He said, “Sikhs had not only assassinated Indira Gandhi, they had killed the mother of the nation.”■ He raised the slogan ‘Khoon ke chheente Indira ko marne walon ke gharon tak pahunchne chahiye (The bloodstains must reach the houses of those who killed Indira)’http://www.sikhsforjustice.org/?q=content/amitabh-bachchan

I agree. In my view he is a Shaheed, he sacrificed his life for someone else's well-being. Perhaps we should be confident to name him Shaheed Bhai Sukhwinder Singh. We have to, surely as Sikhs this is the greatest honour that could be bestowed on a Sikh in death for an act such as this. Selfless Service. He gave his life protecting the honour of our faith. Helping the innocent. It has to be. How much pride must that fill in all Sikhs, that one of our own could have done such a thing. Ultimate Pride.

I agree, the more we can move away from this victim mentality the stronger we will become. Once upon a time Sikhs celebrated the death of the brave Soorma, today we have become accustomed to a bit of a victim mentality. I suppose today we see very little gallant behaviour in Sikhs so when it does happens, it is almost alien to us. What needs to be done now is as a community we need to show full support for our brave Veer's family. Is he not worthy of being called a Shaheed now? He has made the ultimate sacrifice in upholding the core values of Sikhism. If he was given the title of Shaheed his story would inspire millions to live the good life. The Truth. Who decides on awarding somebody the title? If he is given it, it needs to be given from the top, from Amritsar. RIP Shaheed Bhai Sukhwinder Singh.