GlobalSikhNews

AUSTRALIAN Sikhs are fighting for the right to bring ceremonial daggers through airports. Their move follows the seizure of a number of the small swords by Customs officials. Unless Attorney-General Robert McClelland agrees to rule them as personal religious items and not illegal weapons, Australia's peak Sikh group plans to launch legal action before the dhHuman Rights Commission. The Sikh religion requires the all ordained followers - whether male or female - must wear the short, often decorative daggers known as kirpans at all times. Australian Sikhs agreed to put the daggers in their check-in luggage when travelling on aircraft but are now fighting to recover them after Customs officers decided they could be seized for being unlicensed imports, Sikh Council of Australia president Ajmer Singh Gill said. Mr Gill has said the swords were ceremonial defensive pieces, worn within casings inside a sash and identifying the wearer as following the principles of the 10th guru. Symbolically, the kirpan represents the ability to cut through untruths and the readiness to defend the innocent. But Customs recently seized a kirpan from the check-in luggage of a Queensland Sikh, saying there was no permit to import the piece. Mr Gill said a separate case in Perth was resolved after a former Minister stepped in and ordered the kirpan be returned to its owner. But Mr McClelland needed to better define swords in the restricted import laws and allow Sikhs to travel with kirpans in their luggage into and out of Australia, he said. Source: Herald Sun

Chandigarh, November 11 Surprisingly for Punjab, which boasts of being one of the top states in the country in terms of the Human Development Index, the major killer is not the burden of lifestyle diseases, but diseases from contaminated water and poor sanitation. As a result, the national programmes that address specific morbidities are inadequate to meet the state’s specific needs. Punjab needs to have its own health policy based on its own specifications. At the moment, the state is dependent on the Central Government for social sector programmes. Thus, the state is characterised by high prevalence of water-borne and communicable diseases, low outcomes for vaccination and other basic women and child health programmes and high cost of health care. Coming out with this finding, the Punjab Governance Reforms Commission has said that the social gap in access to health services across gender, income and social groups is large in the state, is unacceptable and this has even increased in recent years. “The morbidity patterns suggest that still a large portion of diseases are communicable in nature and are influenced by basic water and sanitation and directly related with levels of income at the household level,” the report has said. The report has further suggested that the medical facilities available, including basic infrastructure, to run hospitals and health centres is inadequate and unsatisfactory. The report that aims at looking at what ails the system and be a background paper on “Status of Health Services and Health Outcomes in Punjab and Recommendations for the Health Sector” says that only 26 per cent of Public Health Centres (PHCs) have residential quarters for medical officers, which is much below the national average. Only 17 per cent of the PHCs are functioning for 24 hours. However, in terms of bed availability, 75 per cent of the PHCs had at least four beds, which is above the national average. In terms of regular power supply to the PHCs, which is essential to run machines, etc, only 7.5 per cent the PHCs have a regular supply, which is a shockingly low number as compared to the national average of 36 per cent and is the worst in the country. Further, the survey has come up with a disturbing finding that nurses were not willing to working night hours, due to security reasons. The absence of nurses, due to their sense of insecurity, contributed, as per the study, to general dissatisfaction of the communities towards the health service. The report has recommended that fragmentation in the health sector, spreading responsibilities across departments, must be streamlined. Doctors who hold administrative positions should be trained in management and administrative skills. Also the report before the government for implementation calls for provision for constant in- house training programmes and upgradation of skills of paramedics, nurses and other medical staff. Trauma training and counselling services are given priority in the report. Emergency services, regulation of food, diagnostic facilities, drugs and alcohol abuse are other areas in which initiatives are recommended. And finally the paper argues that privatisation and Public Private Partnership (PPP) cannot be viewed as substitute for good governance. Rather good governance is a pre-requisite for the success of PPPs. Source: TNS

Jalandhar, November 11 Taking on the administration of the Punjab Pollution Control Board ( PPCB), environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal said today that the board was not serious about tackling the problem of pollution in the state. He is also a member of the board. Talking to The Tribune at his headquarters at Sultanpur Lodhi, Sant Seechewal said the board had failed to enforce various laws related to the checking of air and water pollution in the state, adding that the board was answerable to the people of the state with regard to the deteriorating scenario on the environmental pollution front. The board should act against those industries that were resorting to air and water pollution in spite of repeated warnings. “ I am all for industrial development in the state but it should not be at the cost of lives of the people,” said Seechewal. “There is no use of development that adversely affects the lives of people,” he said. “By resorting to pollution, some industries were violating human rights of the people and posing danger to their lives. The board must act against such industries,” he added. He further said after his becoming the member, the board authorities had been made to discuss some important issues related to pollution in the state. “Earlier, board meetings used to be more about non-pollution issues”, he said. He said some of the functionaries of the board had been playing clever with him. “The points raised by me in some of the meetings were not included in the proceedings of such meetings,” he said. “When I came to know about it, I started recording the proceedings of the meetings at my own level and started pointing out about deficiencies in the writing of the proceedings,” he said. He said the Board authorities were told not to confirm the proceedings of 148th meeting till the issues raised by him were not made part of it. He said while people in many parts of the state were dying because of the high-level air and water pollution, the board should make sincere efforts to stop such a phenomenon. He said it was constitutional responsibility of the board to check the growing menace of pollution in the state. “I pointed out that on testing the samples of Kali Bein and Kala Sanghian drain, the water of Kali Bein was found to be of “ A” category while of Kala Sanghian drain, it was of “D” category. That means the board did not make efforts to stop the draining of filth and toxic waste into the Kala Sanghian drain. Source: Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI: A witness, who lost his three brothers during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, on Wednesday told a trial court that he narrated the same incident to the CBI as well as the court and there was no discrepancy in his statements. The defence counsel confronted witness Jagsher Singh on the grounds that he had not given the exact details of the incident before the CBI but had narrated the entire incident before the court and, hence, his statement could not be relied upon. To this, Singh said the CBI had recorded only the relevant portion of his statement and that he had given the investigating agency the exact information as he had given before the court. Earlier, he had said that a Hindu man was arrested by police for providing shelter to Sikhs during the carnage. During the ongoing trial against senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, witness Jagsher Singh, who deposed before additional sessions judge Sunita Gupta, was being cross-examined by Sajjan Kumar's counsel in the 1984 carnage case. In his testimony on October 19, Singh had identified in the court Sajjan Kumar as the one who had allegedly provoked the mob to kill his brothers during the carnage. Singh, 43, is a cousin of complainant Jagdish Kaur whose husband Kehar Singh and a son were also killed during the riots. Source: Times of India

NEW DELHI: A witness, who lost his three brothers during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, on Wednesday told a trial court that he narrated the same incident to the CBI as well as the court and there was no discrepancy in his statements. The defence counsel confronted witness Jagsher Singh on the grounds that he had not given the exact details of the incident before the CBI but had narrated the entire incident before the court and, hence, his statement could not be relied upon. To this, Singh said the CBI had recorded only the relevant portion of his statement and that he had given the investigating agency the exact information as he had given before the court. Earlier, he had said that a Hindu man was arrested by police for providing shelter to Sikhs during the carnage. During the ongoing trial against senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, witness Jagsher Singh, who deposed before additional sessions judge Sunita Gupta, was being cross-examined by Sajjan Kumar's counsel in the 1984 carnage case. In his testimony on October 19, Singh had identified in the court Sajjan Kumar as the one who had allegedly provoked the mob to kill his brothers during the carnage. Singh, 43, is a cousin of complainant Jagdish Kaur whose husband Kehar Singh and a son were also killed during the riots. Source: Times of India

With NRI Sikhs offering free land in US and Canada, to put up mission offices and printing units for publishing scriptures of Guru Granth Sahib, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is planning to go global. Disclosing this to Hindustan Times, SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar said that the Gurdwara Committee of Charlotte city in New Carolina state in US and Satnam Education Society of Surry in Canada, had offered them free lands to put up mission offices and printing units to fulfill the requirement of religious preaching and providing Birs of Guru Granth Sahib on demand in that part of the globe. While Charlotte Gurdwara committee has formally offered to spare 2.5 acres for the proposed SGPC projects, Satnam Education Society from Surry has offered 16.5 acres for the purpose. Welcoming the offer, Makkar has decided to send two-member panel comprising of SGPC Secretary Joginder Singh and Executive Member Rajinder Singh Mehta to study the viability of projects. As per plan SGPC panel would visit both the spots in December first week. "Following a minute analysis if our panel cleared the proposal, we would certainly put up mission offices and printing units there," said Makkar. He said that the nomenclature of mission offices would be finalised following series of deliberations with Sikh intellectuals and Sikh Diaspora. He said that printing unit would be established at one of these two locations after studying the requirements of Birs of Guru Granth Sahib and other religious scriptures such as Sukhmani Sahib, Japuji Sahib and Rehras Sahib etc in US as well as neighbouring Canada. Both US and Canada have considerable chunk of Sikh population. Apart from requirement in shrines several Sikhs like to adorn Guru Granth Sahib in their respective houses for recitation of Gurbani. Till date no printing of Guru Granth Sahib is allowed outside Amritsar. All the requirements of Birs of Guru Granth Sahib are met with a lone unit in the city controlled by the SGPC. SGPC chief said that depending upon the success of mission offices in US and Canada, they would spread similar branches in other countries like England, Italy, Germany and Australia. Source: HT

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- President and Michelle Obama visited India on an economic mission and despite outcries from human rights organizations the President did not address India's terrible human rights record including India's genocide on the Sikh community. While the First Couple was dancing at exclusive cultural events in Delhi, several hundred widows took to the streets urging the First Lady (who traditionally performs charitable missions) to visit the "Widow Colony", a grief stricken locality in the heart of Delhi which is inhabited by thousands of women who lost their male family members during the Indian government's 1984 Sikh genocide. The Widow Rally, organized by the National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society, the All India Sikh Students Federation and Sikhs for Justice was attended by hundreds of victims and survivors of the genocide to draw President Obama's attention to the plight of the victims and urge him to press the Indian Government to bring justice to the victims. A delegation of victims delivered a memorandum for President Obama to the U.S. Ambassador for India, Timothy J. Roemer. According to Ms. Ganga Kaur, whose father, uncles, and brothers were burnt alive in November 1984, her organization the National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society approached the Obamas prior to and during their visit to India urging them to be the voice for victims. Ms. Kaur stated, "For the widows and survivors there is no difference between the Indian government who has been denying justice to the Sikhs for the past twenty six years and the Obamas who ignored their pleas." Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the spokesperson and legal advisor for Sikhs for Justice, stated, "The First Couple has utterly disappointed the downtrodden and suppressed people of this world who had pinned their hopes on them. President and Michelle Obama come from a community which has suffered discrimination in America for a longtime and we hoped they would show compassion towards victims of human rights violations. President Obama had a unique opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to human rights by speaking for and standing with the religious minorities of India, however, he chose economic interests over human rights." Babu Singh Dukhiya, President of the National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society, said, "President Obama should have convinced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to fire and prosecute members and ministers of his party who participated in the Sikh genocide. There is already a lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Kamal Nath, India's Union Minister for Transportation, for his involvement in the attack of the Gurudawara (temple) Rakab Ganj in Delhi." All India Sikh Students Federation President, Karnail Singh Peermohammad, stated, "The failure of President Obama to raise his voice for the victims of the November 1984 Sikh Genocide proves that even the United States, the so called leader and champion of human rights, is biased towards the religious minorities in India. President Obama paid tribute to the victims of Mumbai but ignored the gross human rights violations committed against religious minorities in India including human rights violations in Kashmir, the killing of Christians in Orissa, the killing of Muslims in Gujarat and the denial of justice to thousands of Sikhs massacred in November 1984." Source: PRN Newswire

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- President and Michelle Obama visited India on an economic mission and despite outcries from human rights organizations the President did not address India's terrible human rights record including India's genocide on the Sikh community. While the First Couple was dancing at exclusive cultural events in Delhi, several hundred widows took to the streets urging the First Lady (who traditionally performs charitable missions) to visit the "Widow Colony", a grief stricken locality in the heart of Delhi which is inhabited by thousands of women who lost their male family members during the Indian government's 1984 Sikh genocide. The Widow Rally, organized by the National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society, the All India Sikh Students Federation and Sikhs for Justice was attended by hundreds of victims and survivors of the genocide to draw President Obama's attention to the plight of the victims and urge him to press the Indian Government to bring justice to the victims. A delegation of victims delivered a memorandum for President Obama to the U.S. Ambassador for India, Timothy J. Roemer. According to Ms. Ganga Kaur, whose father, uncles, and brothers were burnt alive in November 1984, her organization the National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society approached the Obamas prior to and during their visit to India urging them to be the voice for victims. Ms. Kaur stated, "For the widows and survivors there is no difference between the Indian government who has been denying justice to the Sikhs for the past twenty six years and the Obamas who ignored their pleas." Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the spokesperson and legal advisor for Sikhs for Justice, stated, "The First Couple has utterly disappointed the downtrodden and suppressed people of this world who had pinned their hopes on them. President and Michelle Obama come from a community which has suffered discrimination in America for a longtime and we hoped they would show compassion towards victims of human rights violations. President Obama had a unique opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to human rights by speaking for and standing with the religious minorities of India, however, he chose economic interests over human rights." Babu Singh Dukhiya, President of the National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society, said, "President Obama should have convinced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to fire and prosecute members and ministers of his party who participated in the Sikh genocide. There is already a lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Kamal Nath, India's Union Minister for Transportation, for his involvement in the attack of the Gurudawara (temple) Rakab Ganj in Delhi." All India Sikh Students Federation President, Karnail Singh Peermohammad, stated, "The failure of President Obama to raise his voice for the victims of the November 1984 Sikh Genocide proves that even the United States, the so called leader and champion of human rights, is biased towards the religious minorities in India. President Obama paid tribute to the victims of Mumbai but ignored the gross human rights violations committed against religious minorities in India including human rights violations in Kashmir, the killing of Christians in Orissa, the killing of Muslims in Gujarat and the denial of justice to thousands of Sikhs massacred in November 1984." Source: PRN Newswire

]Amritsar, Punjab: 1 LAKH HECTARE LAND - ON LEASE, RS 5 CR, 200 FARMERS SET OUT FOR DESTINATION AFRICA.[/b] A group of farmers from Punjab are planning to take 1 lakh hectare land on lease in the African nation of Ethiopia for cultivation. The plan follows the visit of a delegation of the Jalandhar Potato Growers Association (JPGA) to the country on an invitation by the Ethiopian government, which offered the land on a subsidised lease plan. “Initially, for two years, we would cultivate only reg ular crops and then the cultivation of potatoes, in which the association has expertise, would be started,“ JPGA president Raghbir Singh told HT. As per plan, a company would be formed with at least 200 farmers contributing the initial share capital of Rs 5 crore for the project. The association has already submitted an application for registration of the group as a company in Ethiopia. “Ethiopian Ambassador Gennet Zewide and Minister for Capacity Building Tefera Walwa assured us that there would be no charges for the lease in the first four years, and only Rs 500 per acre per annum for the subsequent 25-30 years,“ he added. The equipment would be taken from India under a dutyfree import arrangement. Narrating the experience of the delegation of five farmers that went to Ethiopia, Singh said the Director (Agriculture) of Ethiopia offered them land in two states, Gambela near the border with Sudan and Tegre near the Somalia border. “The soil in Gambela is good for cotton, maize, wheat and paddy while Tegre is good for pulses,“ said Jaswinder Singh Sangha, secretary of the association, adding that the delegation would make some more visits to Ethiopia before finally selecting land. Source: HT

Amritsar, Punjab: Giving another chance to Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, the Akal Takht has now summoned him on August 7 after the latter expressed inability to present himself at the Akal Takht today through his messenger.</p> The Sikh clergy, highly placed sources revealed, had taken a serious view of Sarna’s allegations against Phoolka and it was not in a mood to give any further relaxation to Sarna. “It is a serious matter relating to sentiments of the Sikh community. Phoolka has been putting in a lot of hard work to get justice for the Sikhs,” said Giani Gurbachan Singh, talking to The Tribune. He said anybody could come across familial exigencies and Sikh priests were not averse to extending another hearing chance to anybody on such grounds. Sources close to the Akal Takht have also pointed out that the Sikh high priests will not expect anything short of a detailed clarification from Sarna in black and white on August 7, irrespective of the fact that Sarna’s letter to the Akal Takht has virtually denied of having subjected Phoolka to any allegations. Sarna, in his letter, explained that he had not levelled any allegations against Phoolka and rather it was the other way around as Phoolka had used “foul language” against him in a TV channel interview. “It was the DSGMC executive committee which had sought to know about the slow pace of the 1984 cases and a resolution to find reasons was also passed at its meeting on May 5. We did whatever we could to satisfy Phoolka so that he would plead the cases before the Nanawati Commission in an effective manner. We are also enclosing copies of expenditure of more than Rs. 1 crore incurred on this account,” said Sarna, urging the Akal Takht to summon him on any day between August 8 and 16. Meanwhile, senior advocate HS Phoolka appeared before the Sikh high priests at the Akal Takht. He alleged that Sarna had levelled false allegations against him that he had been given huge money to contest the cases of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims only to demoralise him. “The allegations have come at a crucial time when judgment in a few cases was expected. They (Sarnas) want to mentally disturb him,” said Phoolka after his meeting with the Sikh high priests led by the Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh. Asserting that he would be abiding by any directive of the Akal Takht, Phoolka said,” I have full faith in the Akal Takht and the Jathedar of the Akal Takht. The Akal Takht has also asked me to contest cases of the 1984 victims. My case is crystal clear. I have been working for the Sikh community for many years and I will keep doing so,” said Phoolka. He was accompanied by Delhi-based journalist Jarnail Singh. Sarna, who was summoned by the Akal Takht to explain his position vis-à-vis his allegations against Phoolka, was represented by his messenger Bhajan Singh Walia who handed over a letter of Sarna to the Sikh high priests. In his letter, Sarna citied a couple of reasons behind his inability to appear before the Takht, including that he could not appear today for he was pre-occupied with arrangements regarding his father’s death anniversary on July 28.

The issue of occupancy of flats at the CRPF Colony, Dugri, by 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims continued to simmer for the second day on Tuesday. Some of the displaced families sat outside the flats and refused to budge. A clash had broken out between at this colony on Monday between riot victims and government employees residing in a section of the flats. The riot victims claim that the employees were supported by the police. This clash left Jaspal Singh dead and his cremation took place on Tuesday afternoon. Singh’s cremation was attended by D S Cheema, political advisor to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased and a job for one of his children. Jaspal Singh is survived by his wife and four children. While the riot victims claim that Singh died as a result of injuries received during the clash, the police and doctors who tended to him claim that he died of a cardiac arrest.

As Nikki Haley Randhawa created history in the United States of America after being elected as the Governor of the South Carolina, her family members in the small punjabi town of Verka are jubilant and expect Nikki to visit India soon and pay obeisance at Harmandar Sahib. Notably, Dr. Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Randhawa (parents of Nikki) migrated abroad in early 1960’s. Nikki was born in the US in 1972. But Nikki has a connection in the small town of Verka, as the family of Subedar Major (retd) Pritam Singh Randhawa, the elder brother of Dr. Ajit Singh, lives in Verka. The house on the main road has been buzzing with activity ever since Nikki Randhawa got elected as Governor. From regular visitors to phone calls, everyone is congratulating Pritam Singh and his family. Speaking to Hindustan Times, Kanwaljit Singh Randhawa, Pritam Singh's son and cousin of Nikki, said, “Nikki has made the entire family proud. Ever since Nikki got elected, there have been congratulatory messages coming to our house. This is a big feat and we are very happy.” Telling us more about Nikki, the proud cousin said, “My uncle Dr. Ajit Randhawa and her wife had come here many times but Nikki has only visited us once when she was three years old. But now, when she has achieved this big success, we want her to come to the holy city and pay obeisance at Harmandar Sahib and thank the almighty. We are waiting to see her” "Nikki has been intrerested in politics since her youth. She talked about politics. Now when she has achieved a major success, we hope that she will address the problems of the people in best manner", he added. "Although my Uncle Dr. Ajit Randhawa and others were supposed to visit Amritsar in December but now since Nikki is very busy, they may have to delay their visit", he added. About any of their plans to go to USA, he said “We are very eager to go. But since Nikki is busy and travelling, we plan to leave for USA in January or February next year.” Charanjit Kaur, also a family member said, “The mood in the house has been very upbeat and we wish to meet Nikki very soon.” The family also possesses a collection of pictures of Nikki and her parents. They have quite a few pictures of Nikki as a child. Nikkis original sikh name is Nimrata Randhawa. Source: Hindustan Times

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) -- The first Sikh to go through U.S. Army basic combat training in 30 years is graduating at a South Carolina military installation, just hours after becoming an American citizen. Spc. Simran Lamba was completing his training Wednesday at Fort Jackson outside Columbia. He was permitted to wear unshorn hair and a turban under a religious accommodation granted by the nation's largest military branch. Army policies had effectively prevented Sikhs from enlisting since 1984. The Army has two Sikhs who became medical officers in recent years, but it hasn't had one in the enlisted ranks. Lamba was recruited under a special program seeking speakers of two languages in India, Hindi and Punjabi.

NEW DELHI — An Indian lawmaker from Punjab said Tuesday she had asked President Barack Obama to put a stop to the U.S. border practice of frisking Sikh turbans. Sikhs worldwide have long protested the American security measure as discriminatory and unnecessary in a world with machines for body scanning and metal detection. New U.S. guidelines put into effect two weeks ago no longer require air passengers to remove turbans if doing so makes them uncomfortable, the U.S. Transport Security Administration said. But they may still have their turbans patted down — something Sikhs say is happening increasingly amid global terror alerts. And in some cases women are asked to unpin their hair. Religious groups say it is a form of racial profiling. The U.S. president said he would have a "close look" at the issue, parliamentarian Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Tuesday after the two spoke during an honorary dinner Sunday in New Delhi when Obama was visiting India. "I'm very hopeful for a change. It sends a really negative message to Sikhs from the moment they step foot on American soil," she said. "It is a humiliating experience. For us it's like telling us to remove our clothes," she said. The turban — along with a comb, a sword, a specific undergarment and a metallic wrist bangle — are part of the required dress for Sikh men, according to the religion, which is a mix of Hindu and Islam founded in the 15th Century in Punjab. Sikh women are forbidden to cut their hair. Men have long accepted they cannot carry a sword aboard planes, Badal said, and so have modified the religious requirement by carrying pendants or blades embedded in their comb "as a symbolic symbol." But this can mean they do not clear a metal detector, which prompts a second security screening. Sikhs worldwide also expressed disappointment when Obama cancelled a visit over the weekend to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the religion's most revered shrine. The White House cited a time constraint during Obama's tightly packed three-day visit.

New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) Victims of the 1984 Sikh Genocide are to hold a protest rally in the capital Wednesday demanding punishment for those guilty and present a memorandum to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. The victims under the banner of Anti-Sikh Riots Society will hold a protest at Jantar Mantar, said Atma Singh Lubana, president of the group. “We want immediate action against those guilty in the Sikh Genocide. It is shameful that the government has not been able to punish them even after so many years have elapsed,” said Lubana. Over 3,000 Sikhs across Delhi were killed in communal frenzy in the days following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.