JawandaWiggins

TARN TARAN, India—India's northern state of Punjab was once a symbol of the nation's economic progress, its advances in agriculture lauded world-wide as a spectacular feat that made India self-sufficient in food production. Manpreet Romana for The Wall Street Journal A farm worker drinks water from a electric tube well at a farm in Khudani Kalan, a village 25 kilometers from the city of Ludhiana, Punjab, on March 14, 2011. Over-usage of ground water by Punjabi farmers growing wheat and rice has led to a drastic fall in the water table across the state. But Punjab today faces a grave economic crisis, the result of years of shoddy governance that have stunted growth and created such a mound of public debt that the state is now seeking a multibillion dollar bailout from the central government. It also is facing high unemployment, an anomaly in a nation that has the highest economic growth rate of any major nation after China. Once India's fastest growing state, Punjab is now one of its slowest, with about 6% economic expansion annually in recent years, compared with a national average of 8.5% and top-performing regions that are clocking 11% growth. With few good industry jobs being created, urban unemployment is a staggering 15.2%. The state's decline highlights some of the risks facing India itself. Many of the problems behind Punjab's decline—an overreliance on agriculture, the underdevelopment of manufacturing, lack of infrastructure development and overspending on populist welfare subsidies—are major issues for the government in New Delhi. Just as corruption allegations against the national government have paralyzed the ruling Congress Party-led coalition, allegations in Punjab in recent days that a state legislator accepted a bribe to take sides in a major land dispute have spawned a scandal that could force a shake-up in the state government. Punjab's struggles offer one scenario of what might happen next in India if the central government doesn't address longstanding challenges. The state's woes also are a stark warning that rapid economic growth can't be taken for granted, even in regions that have long been star performers. India's future is normally framed as a question of whether chronically poor states will make major leaps in development or remain mired in poverty. But Punjab's experience raises the worrying possibility that long-successful states could lurch backward and become a national drag. Amid the turmoil in Punjab, the state's ex-finance minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, has emerged as a leading advocate of reforms. He was sacked from his post last October and expelled from the ruling party—which is run by his cousin—after publicly criticizing the government's handling of the economy and public finances. Mr. Badal says Punjab needs to reduce spending on populist programs such as free power for farmers and cash handouts to lower-caste women who get married; make long-term investments in education and infrastructure; and provide more incentives for industrial development. "We have to think about not just the next general election, but the next generation," Mr. Badal said in a recent interview. The 48-year-old politician, who remains a state legislator, was touring the state to promote a new political party to contest next year's state assembly polls. Manpreet Singh Badal used to be finance minister in Punjab, but was sacked for publicly criticizing his own government. As other India states forge ahead, Badal warns, Punjab is falling behind due to poor governance and wasteful spending. WSJ's Amol Sharma reports. At a recent rally here, Mr. Badal, clad in a long white traditional shirt, a custard-yellow turban and Nike running shoes, exhorted the few thousand attendees to give him a chance to reform the state. Some were skeptical. "After listening to the speech I feel that he will do something, but whoever sits on the seat of power forgets all promises later," said Pawanjit Singh, a 28-year unemployed college graduate. Critics, including some top government officials, have said Mr. Badal is exaggerating the state's economic problems. Punjab is still among India's richest states in terms of per-capita income. And they say he was in a position to help the state as finance minister for four years. A spokesman for Punjab's chief minister didn't respond to requests for comment. With little spending restraint and paltry tax collections, Punjab has amassed $15.5 billion in debt. To pay annual debt servicing costs of about $1.8 billion, salaries for government workers and maintain all basic public services, the government is borrowing about $1 billion more per year, Mr. Badal said. The debt crisis has been a humiliating blow to the proud Punjabi culture and economic history. Punjab's agriculture sector in the late 1960s and 1970s was largely responsible for India achieving food security. Using new hybrid seeds imported from Mexico and taking advantage of extensive canal networks, farmers saw spectacular yields of wheat and rice. From 1966 to 1969, Punjab grew at an average of 8.4%, twice the national rate. But by the 1990s, farmers' yields had begun to stagnate. They began overusing fertilizers, which ultimately damaged the soil. Farmer Jaspreet Singh Boparai, 29, said farmers' incomes have slid for a decade. "It gets worse and worse each year," he said. "I don't want such a terrible future for my children." Mr. Badal says there is nothing wrong with agriculture but the state is too reliant on the sector, which makes up 30% of output but has grown only at an average of 3.1% a year for the past five years. Successive governments since the mid-1990s have pursued populist policies that have left the exchequer in the red. The most sweeping move came in 1997, when the state gave free electricity to farmers to help cope with the costs of running water pumps. Mr. Badal estimates Punjab spends $1 billion per year on such subsidy programs. <div class="insetContent insetCol3wide embedType-video"><div class="insetTree" id="articlevideo_3">

Hindustan is too numerous and too powerful. Even if it is created, I don't think it'll be worth Sikh lives lost. Maybe in 100-150 yrs, when the world is more advanced, we may get through peaceful means.

WWJK WWJF Thank God. I love it when Sikhs unite and do something good...!

Good news, brothers and sisters. The representative has stopped his efforts and the agitation has worked. " Anti-birthright citizenship Arizona state Rep. John Kavanagh has changed his mind about possibly removing a post 9/11 hate crime victim’s name from a memorial. Earlier this year, Kavanagh introduced House Bill 2230, which would remove panels containing 11 phrases that Kavanagh considers offensive from an Arizona 9/11 memorial. Among the phrases proposed to be removed was the name of Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh man who owned a gas station in Mesa and was killed on September 15, 2001. His murderer, who is currently serving a life sentence, mistook Singh Sodhi’s turban for Arab garb and also fired at two other Middle Eastern targets that day. Kavanagh said he believed the memorial should be limited only to victims of the events of 9/11, not the aftermath, the Arizona Republic reports. He also said he’d be willing to have a separate plaque commemorate Singh Sodhi’s murder as long as it wasn’t attached to the 9/11 memorial. But after meeting with Singh Sodhi’s family and local Sikh community members, the state representative has apologized, saying he misunderstood the case. He also agreed that should the bill be signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer by Monday, he would introduce follow-up legislation in January that would put Singh Sodhi’s name back on the memorial. Kavanagh said that he was more concerned about political statements on the memorial that he considers “American bashing” - statements such as “You don’t win battles of terrorism with more battles” and “Feeling of invincibility lost.” The controversial bill has received widespread criticism. The citizens committee, the 9/11 Commission, that planned the memorial is against it, and the Sikh civil rights and educational group SALDEF expressed outrage over the legislation. “HB 2230, sponsored by Rep. John Kavanagh, disrespects Mr. Sodhi’s memory by removing his name from the memorial and seeks to rewrite your state’s history. The bill insensitively sells his memorial plaque to a scrap metal dealer… As we approach the ten year anniversary of his death, is this the way Arizona will treat the first person killed in 9/11 backlash?” a SALDEF petition read. Fellow Republicans have also come out against the bill. Former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, who prosecuted the case against Singh Sodhi’s murderer, said he would urge Brewer to veto the bill, which passed both houses and was sent to the Governor last week. “He’s dancing, he’s trying to get away, its bad legislation. He didn’t do his homework,” Romley told the Arizona Republic. Singh Sodhi’s brother, Rana Singh Sodhi told the Arizona Republic that he still opposes the bill, but by proposing follow-up legislation, Kavanagh was at least admitting that the original bill is flawed." http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/04/arizona_rep_drops_effort_to_remove_balbir_singh_sodhi_from_911_memorial.html

Seven people were arraigned on riot and assault charges Monday for their roles in a vicious turf battle at a Sikh temple in Queens. Assailants wielding cricket bats and small swords disrupted prayer services Sunday morning at the Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center in Richmond Hill, police and witnesses said. "I'm going to kill you," defendant Harinder Singh, 47, screamed before punching Joginder Singh in the face, says a criminal complaint filed in Queens Supreme Court. Gurnam Singh, 47, rushed into the temple swinging a stick and lunging at others while religious ceremonies were underway, the complaint says. A cop managed to wrest away the stick before the suspect flailed his arms wildly to prevent being handcuffed, police say. At least one cop was injured. Several of the defendants were charged with disrupting a religious service. Temple President Jarnail Singh said the melee was caused by a dissident group of followers who don't want to see membership rolls opened at the 101st Ave. temple. "We tried to open membership, and a group didn't want it," he said yesterday. "They want to fight it." The dispute is at the center of a pending lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court. The temple president said he hopes the warring factions will let a judge mete out justice instead of resorting to violence. "What the court decides I will believe," he said. "It's his decision." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/04/25/2011-04-25_seven_people_arraigned_on_riot_assault_charges_for_violent_fight_at_sikh_temple_.html#ixzz1Kb57ed24

India's World Cup-winning cricketers have been showered with rewards from India's cricketing body and state governments. Each player has been given a bonus of $225,000 (£140,000) by a delighted Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). State governments also announced cash prizes for players from their states. India has been celebrating since the team won the World Cup final in Mumbai (Bombay) on Saturday night. Fans spilled onto the streets of major cities and towns across India, celebrating till the early hours of Sunday morning. Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi also stepped out on Saturday night to join the revellers. The Delhi government has given Captain MS Dhoni $452,000 (£280,000); Punjab has given $225,000 to Yuvraj Singh and Maharashtra has matched that in a gift to Sachin Tendulkar. Many players have been offered apartments and plots of land. Yuvraj Singh, Man of the Series, has also been given an Audi by the carmaker. Indian Railways also announced first-class lifelong passes for the team members. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12954484 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Truly shameful. As people labor in poverty in Punjab, rich cricketors get state money. Can you imagine what would happen if rich Western athletes got state money?

There should definitely be a referendum to let the Sikh people decide this. In fact, there should be referendums in Kashmir/Tamil Eelam etc.

Shameless. India was expected to win anyways ... they are acting like it is some accomplishment. I don't understand why the game is popular on the subcontinent, but you better win if you got 1 billion people in your country! Hopefully they drawn by the DJ and a good time, and not due to union with the Hindustani state. I still feel Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is by far the most beloved figure in modern Sikh history, even among people who cut their hair and like cricket. Am I wrong to believe this?

"Kehnda Mast Jagir, Sulakhana jago barri piyari, Nirmal dil Jarnaila de naal rakhdi full tyaari" What does this mean in english?

Hey guys, Do you guys have more information about the fate of Bhai Nirmal Singh Chohla and the other members? Were they all killed in false encounters?

PDF SukhaJindaLetter.pdf

Hindus sure do love burning things... *edited*

To get Khalistan would be really difficult ... Hindustan has jets, nukes, ships, and submarines that rival even the United States. There are 940 million Hindus in India, and just 20 million Sikhs. We could wage a guerrilla war (in fact we have tried), but those are ugly for both sides. We don't have powerful benefactors, like the Israelis have. I don't want to sound like a wuss, but lets be realistic. I find this is the most prevalent viewpoint in Punjab as well. We must dedicate ourselves to be as prosperous as possible. We already have it better off than most Hindus. If you live your life, help your family, remember the Gurus and shaheeds, you will have done all what the Sant ever wanted from a Sikh.

I think its okay.

As a Sikh living in California, I am certain this was not the work of Muslims.

A $30,000 reward has been offered in the case of two elderly men who were shot -- one fatally -- while they took an afternoon walk in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove. Police found Surinder Singh, 65, and Gurmej Atwal, 78, on the sidewalk about 4:30 p.m. Friday, each with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso. Singh was pronounced dead at the scene and Atwal remains hospitalized in critical condition. The case has puzzled investigators and left the Northern California Sikh community reeling with fear and anger. Elk Grove police are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime, in part because the men wore traditional Sikh turbans. But detectives have yet to find any evidence of such a crime, a spokesman said. “The city of Elk Grove is a marvelously diverse community and the possibility that one of our valued community groups might have been targeted because of their national origin or religion is of grave concern,” Elk Grove Police Chief Robert M. Lehner said in a statement over the weekend. [/url] The shooting has sent shock waves through the Sacramento area’s sizable Sikh community, which has in the last few days collected enough money for a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooter. The victims were described as retired neighbors who went on afternoon walks together. Darshan Singh Mundy, a community leader, said fear over the shooting has left some Sacramento-area Sikhs shut inside their homes and scared to emerge for traditional afternoon walks. “The two families are shocked and this is a totally brutal killing,” he said, "for people to be walking around and someone to just be shot for no reason.” Mundy said the men may have been targeted because they wore beards and turbans and may have been confused for Muslims. In an unrelated incident in November, two men attacked a Sikh taxi driver in Sacramento after mistaking him for a Muslim. One of the men admitted Monday in a no-contest plea to committing a hate crime. Elk Grove police have been interviewing possible witnesses but have not spoken to anyone who witnessed the crime. A passerby found the two men on a somewhat isolated stretch of road next to the 99 Freeway that is sheltered from nearby homes by a high sound barrier. Adding to the complications, investigators have had great difficulty interviewing Atwal, the hospitalized victim, because he was so badly injured that he is physically unable to speak. “We’re basically having to rely on head nods,” said Officer Christopher Trim. Police have few leads for now, but they are looking for a tan or light brown 1999 to 2003 Ford F150 pickup truck seen driving near the crime scene immediately after the shooting. Detectives urged anyone with more information to call the Elk Grove Police Department at (916) 714-5115. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/sacramento-area-sikhs-offer-30000-reward-in-shooting-of-elderly-men.html

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110126/wl_mideast_afp/religionsikhsiraqindiashrine

BAGHDAD — A desolate courtyard surrounded by fields of mournful graves is all that remains of an ancient shrine to the Sikh faith?s founder Guru Nanak inside a sprawling Muslim cemetery in Baghdad. War, insurgents or looters have wiped any trace of a historical footnote that had preserved the memory of the Indian holy man's 16th-century journey through Arabia and his stay in Baghdad, hailed by Sikhs as an early example of inter-faith dialogue. "No one visits anymore," lamented Abu Yusef, the lean and bearded Muslim caretaker, standing in the nearly-bare patio where a disorderly stack of broken electric fans and a discarded refrigerator replace the prayer books and articles of Sikh worship that had furnished a shrine whose modesty mirrored the apparent humility of the man it honoured. "Before the war a few Sikh pilgrims would occasionally arrive," Abu Yusef said, referring to the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled ex-dictator Saddam Hussein and unleashed an unending cycle of violence. "Once or twice we even had Western tourists. Last year, after a very long time, a Sikh man came from Dubai who promised to return and rebuild the shrine. But since then, nobody," he said with a resigned shrug of the shoulders. When they came, the pilgrims would stay a night or two and convert the shrine into a temple, Abu Yusef recalled. "They slept in the courtyard, where they also cooked large quantities of food to share after worship with whoever came along," he remembered, pointing to the places in the roofless, sun-beaten enclosure with whitewashed walls and a plain concrete dais that had housed prayer books, painted portraits of the guru and a prized stone plaque from the 16th century. What is known about the origins of the site, which lies today inside central Baghdad's expansive Sheikh Marouf cemetery that adjoins a disused train station where decaying railroad cars rest frozen on rusted tracks, is gleaned from scant historical sources. One is a Punjabi hymn by the poet and philosopher Bhai Gurdaas, written several decades after the visit. That song, part of the holy scriptures of the world's 25 million Sikhs, recounts Nanak's travels with the Muslim minstrel Mardana who was his constant companion, their arrival in Baghdad and lodging outside the city. In Baghdad, say historical Sikh sources, the pair stayed with Sheikh Bahlool Dana, a renowned Sufi Muslim of the time. "It is curious that the hymn recording Guru Nanak's visit says that he chose to stay outside Baghdad, which at the time was a wealthy, magnificent city and an important centre of learning," said Abdul Majid Padar, India's learned charge d'affaires in Baghdad. "That probably means he had reason to stay outside the city," he said. "I believe it was because he knew about Sheikh Bahlool, and went looking for him." Nanak, an enlightened spiritual thinker who was born a Hindu but gained deep knowledge of Islam as India's other major religion at the time, travelled throughout his homeland and parts of the Middle East, seeking other men of his ilk. He shunned religious labels, teaching that man is judged by deeds, not the religion he proclaims. His ideas, which later formed the basis of the monotheistic Sikh religion, drew from Hinduism and Islam, but are regarded as much broader than a mere synthesis of the two. "Guru Nanak's stay with Sheikh Bahlool was an early example of inter-faith dialogue, of a kind that is hard to imagine in Iraq today," said Dr Rajwant Singh of the the Sikh Council on Religion and Education in the United States. Iraq has been torn by sectarian strife since the fall of Saddam, with Shiites, Sunnis and even the country's small Christian community victims of the bloodshed. It is in the courtyard of the Muslim Bahlool's own humble tomb that, five centuries ago, the remembrance to Guru Nanak was erected. "This shrine is very much sacred to the Sikhs as it stands testimony to Guru Nanak's visit and dialogue with the Muslim Sufi sheikh of that place," said Balwant Singh Dhillon, professor of Sikh studies at the Guru Nanak Dev University in India. Modern accounts of the shrine date back to World War I when the site was rediscovered, after being lost in obscurity for centuries, by a regiment of Indian Sikh soldiers sent to Iraq with the British army. Dr Kirpal Singh, a Sikh captain in the Indian medical service who travelled to Iraq, described the shrine in a letter dated October 15, 1918. "It is really a humble looking building and known to very few people except Sikhs," he said in an account quoted by the SikhSpectrum.com online journal. Other accounts and faded photographs reveal an ancient stone plaque at the entrance, commemorating the building of the memorial, as the centrepiece of the shrine. The plaque was dated 917 on the Islamic calendar, or 1511 A.D. Pritpal K. Sethi, who visited Baghdad in 1968 with her late husband, in-laws and three children, told AFP she was moved to be standing at the same spot as the holy man. "I really got a great feeling as I was standing on the same site visited by Guru Nanak Sahib. It was a very emotional feeling," said Sethi, who was 31 at the time and living in neighbouring Kuwait. "It was a very small, simple structure of about 600 square feet (56 square metres). There was a large courtyard outside. Not many Sikhs used to visit at all," said Sethi, who is now 73 and living in the United States. "Definitely, the most precious thing at the shrine was the ancient plaque that verified the legitimacy of the site," she said. Curiously, it was the hymn by Gurdaas that probably led to the rediscovery of the shrine. Subedar Fateh Singh, one of the Sikh soldiers in Iraq during World War I, announced the discovery in 1918. "I am certain that Fateh Singh knew about the shrine from the hymn, which he must have learned in childhood, and he went looking for it," said Padar, the Indian embassy charge. The shrine was repaired by Sikh soldiers in the early 1930s, and reportedly again during World War II, when another regiment of Sikh soldiers was stationed in Iraq. But accounts of what happened more recently to the shrine and its contents, including the 16th century plaque precious to Sikhs, are sketchy. Shortly after the March 20, 2003 invasion of Iraq, Indian media reports variously said the shrine had been damaged or destroyed by US shelling, with other accounts claiming it had been bombed by Islamic extremists. But a visit to the shrine showed no hint of damage anywhere in or around the shrine, raising the possibility that everything, including the stone plaque, was likely looted. Abu Yusef, the caretaker, said he had been away at the time of the invasion and did not know what had happened and Padar, the Indian charge, said his own understanding of an attack during the war had come from news reports. But with the temple gone, the only footsteps of the Sikh holy man's journey through Baghdad remain in the memories of visitors like Sethi. "It greatly saddens me," she said about the shrine's destruction. "It signified Guru Nanak's wish to spread his message of peace, love and a rejection of superstitions and rituals in search of the truth," she said. "He yearned to spread this message throughout the world, and he travelled on foot from India to deliver it."

West Sacramento police have arrested two suspects in connection with an early Sunday morning assault on a Sikh cab driver. Pedro Ramirez, 41, and Johnny Morales, 33, turned themselves in Thursday evening to police and were arrested on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon and commission of a hate crime, according to Lt. Tod Sockman. Both were booked at Yolo County Jail. Ramirez is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail, Sockman said. West Sacramento detectives and the Sacramento Police Department SWAT team executed search and arrest warrants Tuesday morning in the 3500 block of Binghampton Drive in the South Natomas area of Sacramento. Ramirez was not at home, but detectives searched the residence for evidence related to the assault. Sockman said detectives also are seeking two other suspects. The cab driver told police that he had picked up four people, two men and two women, in Sacramento and driven them to West Sacramento, where two of the passengers assaulted him and demanded money. One of the women tried to stop the assault and was beaten as well, officials said. The driver fled when the passengers got out of the cab. Sockman said that based on initial interviews with the driver at the scene, it sounded as though the assault was a case involving intoxicated passengers. But in later interviews, Sockman said, the driver reported that his assailants uttered anti-Islamic slurs as they were beating him. Darshan Singh Mundy, a spokesman for the local Sikh community and West Sacramento Sikh Temple, said he spoke with the cab driver after the assault and believes the attack was motivated by anti-Muslim sentiments. Sikhs, he noted, are often mistaken for Muslims. "He has a beard and he was wearing a turban," Mundy said of the cab driver. "He told them he was from India and wasn't Muslim." Representatives of the Sikh community and the Council on American-Islamic Relations urged authorities to pursue the matter as a hate crime. Amar Shergill, an attorney and member of the West Sacramento Sikh Temple, said he was pleased with the response by local and federal authorities and their efforts to reach out to the victim and his family. Most people who wear turbans in the United States are Sikhs, not Muslims, Shergill said, and it is important that people understand that wearing a turban has nothing to do with terrorism. Assuming anyone who wears a turban is a terrorist is like assuming anyone who wears a baseball cap is affiliated with a professional baseball team, he said. Although many in the Sikh community, including the cab driver, report being subjected to name-calling, physical attacks are rare, Shergill said. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call West Sacramento Police Department Investigations at (916) 617-4960, or police dispatch at (916) 375-6474. http://www.sikhsangat.org/2010/12/two-suspects-held-in-hate-crime-attack-on-sikh-cab-driver/ By the way, here is Pedro Ramirez's facebook page: http://es-la.faceboo...100000841065986 Maybe that will narrow down the suspects. If anyone (particularly in the Bay Area/Sacramento Valley) has any ideas for additional action, please share or PM.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Satnam Singh Bhamara did not grow up dreaming about playing in the NBA -- because he never saw the game. He didn't even know what basketball was. He just grew. And his dreams were mostly what he read in books, limited to his life in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, a faraway outpost in the state of Punjab, India, close to the Pakistan border, where his father farmed, and he too, expected to farm one day. Then his father told him a story, a sad story about long-ago missed opportunity, about a game he knew and loved but never was allowed to play, a game he quietly wanted his son to try, offering a window to a whole different world. There were no basketball courts in his village to play on, no cable television to deliver the games, so his father sent him away, where others could teach him to play, quickly discovering he had an incredible gift, an athleticism very unusual for someone growing so fast and so large, leading him down the path he walks today. In a country of 1.3 billion people, 7-foot, 250-pound Satnam Singh Bhamar has become a beacon for basketball hope. At age 14. "Satnam could one day do the same thing for India that Yao Ming did in China -- put the spotlight on basketball through an entire country,'' said Troy Justice, the NBA Director of Basketball Operations in India who has watched him play many times. "It really could be something.'' Despite the league's already-strong global flavor today -- there are 84 international players from 38 different countries or territories -- there never has been a player from India on an NBA roster. "Satnam could one day do the same thing for India that Yao Ming did in China -- put the spotlight on basketball through an entire country. It really could be something.'' - Troy Justice, NBA Director of Basketball Operations in India Satnam may well be the first a few years from now, opening the door to a monstrous but untapped market. Satnam came to the United States for the first time six weeks ago, one of 29 student athletes (both male and female in three different sports) from India who will train at the renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla, as part of a new scholarship program to promote, develop and manage sports and entertainment in that country. Although the program was designed to last three months before this group leaves and another arrives, Satnam and his burgeoning skills won't be going home anytime soon. It's like gold has been discovered in the hills, and this diamond in the rough will be carefully polished. "Satnam is on track to be a very, very good long-term basketball player,'' said Dan Barto, director of player development at IMG Basketball Academy, who recently returned from India where he conducted several coaching clinics. "His biggest weakness now is our biggest strength here when it comes to developing players -- neuromuscular firing -- overall body control. His potential is pretty amazing.'' That potential starts with his size, which is incredible itself. At age 14, he is expected to grow for another couple of years. For now, he wears a size-22 basketball shoe. His hands swallow the ball. His father, Balbir Singh Bhamara, is 7-2. His grandmother on his father's side is 6-9. He already has a man's body with broad shoulders and a thick chest. Although his leg strength is not good yet, there is nothing skinny about him. Through the normal maturation process -- if he continues to work -- he should become quite a specimen in the next five years. Satnam with 6-foot-10 IMG Basketball Academy coach Nate Vander Sluis His basketball skills are still raw and mechanical, but his eye-hand coordination looked good during a recent workout. He has a soft touch around the basket. He moves better than some of the big men in the NBA today. He is comfortable with the ball. In six weeks of training at IMG, his body has changed and his muscles have toned. Until he arrived, he had spent much of the last two years away from home, living and training and going to school in India at the government-funded Ludhiana Basketball Academy. It's where his father first sent him, in the midst of a growth spurt that included 16 inches in four years. It's where his clothes grew too small, his shoes too tight. It's where he first dunked at age 13. It's where he learned his first basketball drills and skills. It's where he first caught everyone's eye, catching the basketball fast track that included a National Youth championship for Punjab, a FIBA-sponsored Asian U16 Championship in Malaysia and the attention of the Basketball Federation of India, which is how Troy Justice of the NBA first saw him. He also was invited to the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Asia camp. "First time I saw him play, he was wearing shoes that were falling apart. The seams had split, and he was coming right out of them,'' Justice said. "That's all he had. He was growing so fast. We tried to help him get shoes. I've heard people talk, but we're not sure they know how big he'll get.'' Barto, although cautious when it comes to talking about the NBA for a 14-year-old boy, believes he could mature into a body type like Greg Oden of Portland or Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers. Or bigger than either one of them. "We've seen a dramatic change in the six weeks we've had him,'' Barto said. "He's shown a real willingness to work, very coachable. He wants to learn. Why do 7-footers sometimes go bad? Because they get bad people around him. That won't happen here. There is a beauty to this kid.'' Because Satnam is so physically imposing, it's easy to forget he is a young teenager still, playful and fun-loving, still finding his way in a world that keeps changing so rapidly around him. One thing, though, is pretty clear when you watch him play. He picked basketball. Basketball didn't just pick him for his size. "When I left home, my father told me to work hard, and bring a good name for my family, my village, my country,'' Satnam said through an interpreter last week in an exclusive interview with FanHouse. "He is proud. I love basketball, and I am happy to play this game. I want to get better.'' Satnam speaks little English, relying still on his native Punjabi, outside his ninth-grade classroom. Like the other 28 young athletes from India, he attends high school classes at the Academy every morning for four hours. He spend another three to four hours each day practicing basketball or conditioning to play more basketball. He shakes his head at the mention of cricket, India's No. 1 sport. Through the NBA's grass-roots efforts, which includes more than 120 youth leagues in various cities, basketball is vying with soccer for No. 2. The rise of Satnam as a national phenom would help the sport tremendously. He plays now on the IMG Academy Basketball team, a long, long, long way from home. His size often intimidates his opponents, but he still must work to learn the physical and speedier side of the American game. To his credit, he is not timid -- by any stretch. His ancestors came from the same village where he was born. It has been there for more than 600 years. Those that know India say that the countryside where he is from produces an aggressive mentality among the men. They are farmers, but they also are warriors, strong and proud and brave, always protecting the border with Pakistan. While all signs point to a rapid development of Satnam, there also is a reminder that interests and attitudes can change as nature takes it course. He just smiles at a question about one-day playing in the NBA. He mentions Kobe, but his knowledge of the NBA is only average. "My father wanted to play basketball, but my grandfather insisted he could not. They were a family of farmers. He had fields to tend,'' Satnam said. "He never got the chance that I am getting now. He is very proud of me, and I want to play this game as well as I can play. That is my task now. Where it will take me, I don't know. The NBA? One day.'' http://nba.fanhouse....a-awaits-satnam

AMRITSAR: When US President Barack Obama lands in India next month, his itinerary will include a visit to the Golden Temple here, the holiest Sikh shrine. This is being seen as a recognition of the importance and influence of the large Sikh community in the US. Obama will arrive in this Sikh holy city from Mumbai Nov 7 during his first visit to India after becoming the president. He will visit the Golden Temple and offer prayers at Harmandar Sahib, the sanctum sanctorum. "Obama will visit the Golden Temple. US embassy officials and security officers have been coming here at regular intervals for weeks. We are cooperating with them," SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said. Details of the areas Obama will visit in the shrine complex, spread over 15 acres, are being worked out. After offering prayers, he is likely to go to the main langar hall, the 24-hour community kitchen where an estimated 100,000 devotees are fed traditional meals on peak days. "We have started preparations (ahead of the visit). Security has been beefed up in Amritsar district," Amritsar's Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu told IANS. "Obama will visit Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) and Khalsa College . But there could be last minute changes. The final plan is yet to be sorted out," said Pannu. What is worrying security agencies is that Obama is arriving on a Sunday, which attracts the highest number of devotees. The rush could be even more this time as Diwali falls Nov 5, making it a long weekend holiday till Nov 7. "So far it has not been decided in which hotel President Obama will have his lunch," the official added. Unprecedented security arrangements are being put in place by the US Secret Service along with officials of Indian security agencies, including the Punjab Police and the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages the shrine. "Since the area around the Darbar Sahib is very crowded, we could direct the shopkeepers and other traders to close their premises for some time. We can also ask people to remain away from certain areas during Obama's visit," Pannu added. Obama's visit comes close on the heels of one by President Pratibha Patil to the shrine Oct 6. Regarding security arrangements for Obama's visit, Makkar said: "Amritsar Police are taking care of security outside the Golden Temple. Inside our premises, we will have our own arrangements in consultation with security officials." The SGPC provides a volunteer force inside the shrine while security officials in plainclothes are allowed along with high-security VIP visitors. The US entourage will land at the Rajasansi airport here, located 25 km from the international border with Pakistan, and then drive into the city.