hsisingh

Sorry, if I sound slightly sceptical..but I just had a few observations.....I assume you are new at this business?? 1. On eBay, you appear to have joined a week ago and only have one feedback - and that for a transaction where you bought something (i.e. no sales track record). 2. All your online details (e.g. email, blog, etc) prevent anyone from identifying your postal address - how about registering a .co.uk URL in the normal way - it costs about £3 a year and would mean that there would at least be some traceability. 3. Not paying you by Paypal, would mean that buyers have zero protection if they don't receive the item. Earlier this year, I was visiting an antique fair in France and a guy was selling a penknife which had the Swastika symbol on it. he told me it was a very rare Third Reich era penknife (issued to SS officers) and was available for Euro 300. I didn't buy it (no intention of buying it) and when I checked online ...I found that these penknives were mass produced in the 1960s and could be bought for less than Euro 10.

I'm sorry to say but you have a very poor understanding of international relations, politics and economics...and it's not my job to educate you. That is best done at school.

Great to see it finished - have had the pleasure of visiting the sangat in Bobigny a few times over the last 5 years.

KhalistanGunMan you say..."to a traitor we are brutal.." who is this we?? People like you - who are scared of being arrested?? I think you have more in common with the Lion in the Wizard of Oz than our Sikh heroes. TigerForce - we are lucky to have an expert on geo politics such as yourself on this forum. But my understanding was that the USSR failed primarily because of enormous economic pressures and an undemocractic political system whereas the partition of Sudan has primarily been about oil resources in the South. Which of these holds for India? It is a functioning democracy. Its economy is growing at close to 10% p.a.. Sikhs are among the most prosperous citizens and the Punjab is arguably the wealthiest state.....and in the close to 20 visits I have made to India in the last five years I have never seen Sikhs being prevented from practicising their faith. Yes, there are incidents of disrespect to Sikhism and other faiths, but these are not a pattern of systematic, state-organised repression of Sikhs. Getting back to the original question on this forum, Sikhs living abroad will not return. Look at the moslems - many of their countries are Islamic republics (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran - the list goes on) - why are they desperate to leave those countries - they are religous people - why don't they stay...Economic opportunity and quality of life!! That is what it is ultimately about.

Am i reading this right?? Whilst some of our shaheeds distributed sweets when they heard that they would be executed...you are concerned about being arrested??? If Guru Gobind was here today and called for volunteers to fight for the Sikhs, I guess you would volunteer to blog or perhaps tweet from the safety of the UK? Getting back to the original point of the question: Would You Move to Punjab? No one will. Why give up Eastenders (I assume u watch that or are you a Hollyoaks fan?), Starbucks, clean streets, polite people and relatively good law and order to live in a primarily agricultural, theocratic state sandwiched between a economically thriving nation of 1.2 billion and a corrupt Islamic republic?

Some of you make me laugh!! KhalistaniGunMan and TigerForce You don't have the courage to go to the Punjab today and support your fellow Sikhs in their 'independence struggle' - but once, THEY have spent their energy and perhaps given their lives for Khalistan - then you will fly over and land at Amritsar Airport to enjoy the fruits of their struggles!! Would the great Sikh warriors and our Gurus have behaved in this fashion?? That is pathetic... If you are such supporters of Khalistan (I am not), go now and join the 'struggle'

I don't support the idea of an independent 'Sikh' nation carved out of the current Punjab and possibly some neighbouring states.....and neither do the majority of people born into the Sikh faith....and it is not because they are naive and ignorant...it is because they are thoughtful and take a rational view. A nation is a political construction and has nothing to do with the practice of the Sikh faith. Name one nation which is a theocracy that is democratic, prosperous and respects the needs/rights of minority faiths?? Sikhs in India are free to practice their faith. Yes, there are extremist groups who cause communal violence in the name of faith (e.g. the Godhra Riots) and yes, the events of 1984 and the subsequent insurgency were appalling and the guilty should be brought to justice...but...The often poor treatment of minority/excluded groups in India is not primarily about faith - it is about political influence, corruption and power. Ask the indigenous people of the North East states or the Muslims in Gujarat. We all live abroad in our comfortable, secular countries preaching about the apparent difficulty of being a Sikh in India ...I am afraid it is nonsense. A 'Khalistan' would rapidly become a narco-economy built on acting as a transit point for drugs into India from Pakistan/Afghanistan. No one would invest in jobs, infrastructure, education and every 'Khalistani' would be desperate to go abroad. How many of you are planning to go back and live there??

This is my local gurdwara. They put an English translation up on a screen during kirtan.

I don't know if you have published this press release yet, but there is an error in the last paragraph... "bared" is to be naked or undressed - I assume that is not what you mean. You can say '...please bear with me..' to indicate to someone to be patient. I am not sure you would write..."....who beared the weather...." It maybe better to say something like..."The Sikh Federation would like to thank all those who put up with the poor weather and marked the remembrance day..." Hope it helps.

I smell a lot of envy here!! Typical in our community.... You may not agree with him 100%, but at least give the guy some credit for encouraging others to delve into this area of Sikh traditions and history. Get up from your PCs and actually put forward some evidence (which can be verified) to challenge him.

If I can offer a different perspective on this issue....the UK has very strict rules on the impartiality of news and current affairs. They have been in place for decades and have made sure that we don't have the kind of rubbish that is broadcast in the US on channels like Fox News. It is not enough to say that if someone wants to put a different opinion, they can come to our studio and we will let them.... the programme maker has a responsibility to ensure that an 'alternative viewpoint' is put forward during a broadcast - Sikh Channel has not been doing this on its programmes. These rules also protect Sikhs from other groups putting forward views that we would find abhorrent and misleading.

OK. Another made up fact. I suggest you go and read the historical census data on India to understand how literate Indian in general - and more specifically, the Punjabis were - in the 1800s.

The facts (which can be quite useful) is that France has maintained a strong separation between the State and religion since its revolutionary days in the late 1700s - because of the influential and oppressive role played by the Catholic establishment.

France has a secular constitution with a strong separation between state and religion..they are not going to amend for the benefit of the Sikhs.

Where have you been?? This man was a tyrant responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people....

Seriously, where did you see figures saying that the literacy rate was 80% plus in the 1800s?? How would literacy rates decline so much? In the 1930's, literacy rates among Indian women were only approx. 9%

Why do you preface every topic you start with the words Sikh Federation?

English is bad - but are you sure the Sikhs wrote it? because it refers to 'our security control staff' - which could suggest that it was written by the Italian authorities. Maybe the Italian Sikhs cut and paste it onto their own letterhead paper?

So you are using a pirated version of Office 2007? That is why Microsoft have probably not been helpful!! If you can afford a laptop - you can afford the software for it....otherwise, use free stuff like Google Docs or Open Office.

If you are a student, you can get the latest Office 2010 for less than £40 (go to http://www.software4students.co.uk/Office2010 ). And sharing a product key?? who knows, you may be a Microsoft spy!!

Could you attach the letter, thanks.

What you are saying about the black community in the UK - holds true for the Punjabi Sikh community in cities like Vancouver - where our brothers, cousins and sons are running the drug trade and killing each other in turf battles.

It is sad that a tragedy like this brings out the racists and xenophobes on this website.

Incredibly sad story and many families have had their lives devastated ......but I couldn't see in the articles where it mentioned that the suspect was a "Christian Atheist"??

I will try and attend the convention. My fear is that the Sikh Federation is trying to build a veneer of respectability and community leadership among politicians and other "influencers" in the UK - when in fact, it does not represent the views of most Sikhs in the UK - most Sikhs in the UK do not support the concept of Khalistan. There is no place in a civilised society (which I think the UK is) for organisations that talk about dialogue and negotiation whilst promoting and funding violence - so I hope that the Sikh Federation doesn't fall into this trap.