Premi5

Just saw this topic, and I might be wrong, but it has been mentioned a few times here that Sikhs need to be careful that we are not just a 'langar service'. I know that many Gurdware have good income, but will Sikhs just continue to provide Langar for 'all and sundry' ? And put our community's needs second (or not even address other issues we have first, with the same manpower and funds) Langar concept if I am right, is meant primarily for those who come to Gurdware. It's good and necessary to have 'outreach' in some situations, but some groups could be using it as a publicity tool. Absolutely I agree that the homeless should be helped, but in situations such as below, If Gurdware/Sevadaars have given an example of service , why is the NHS not seeing this and providing food for its workers and volunteers? https://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/19828810.swindon-sikhs-give-hundreds-meals-steam-vaccination-centre-medics-volunteers/ 7th January Swindon Sikhs give out hundreds of meals to Steam vaccination centre medics and volunteers By Daniel Angelini Adver_DanielReporter VACCINATION centre volunteers at the Steam Museum have received free meals from Swindon’s Sikh community as a thank-you for their lifesaving efforts. Every weekday since December 27, members of the Sikh Gurdwara temple in Gorse Hill have been cooking up dozens of delicious dinners to deliver to people who have given up their time to support the Covid vaccination rollout. They hope to continue doing this for as long as Steam’s Great Hall is used to provide protection against the disease - and are on track to give out 2,500 meals by February. Pharmacist Gurinder Singh described how this daily donation is part of a long-standing tradition in the Sikh faith known as Langar, a common kitchen or canteen where food is served for free and without prejudice, regardless of race, religion, and background. The 32-year-old added: “We heard the centre was opening for longer over the festive season and thought the least we could do was to ensure they don’t have to worry about provide a hot meal to recharge their batteries. “The NHS staff work on the frontlines day in and day out, giving up time they could have spent at home or with their loved ones enjoying the festivities. Plus, this operation would not have been possible without all the dedicated volunteers. “When we put a callout for our own volunteers, we had so many that we had to turn people away, everyone wanted to help the NHS. These are truly trying times but we can help each other, bring the community together with a common goal and be a light in the darkness. “I hope this togetherness, energy and positivity continues after the pandemic.” A rota system ensures five people cook the vegetarian meals - rice, curry, flatbread, samosas, wraps - and another two deliver them to Steam promptly. One temple volunteer said: “We have a strong community-building tradition and there is such a need for every person and every community to join in this national effort. "We are very proud to be of service and to continue our humble efforts of support wherever we are called.”

Canada was once quite racist https://www.asian-voice.com/Opinion/Columnists/Sikh-migration-and-Canadian-history Dear Readers, Hello from sunny Markham. The weather here couldn't get better. We celebrated Canada Day on July 1, Monday. It was a whole new experience for us participating in the revelry, which stood in a complete contrast as opposed to how India celebrates August 15. There were fireworks, barbecues, air shows and free musical concerts. The day was colourful and bright. Reflecting on the vast history of the country, I saw several names that rang a bell with me. The Sikh community has been associated with Canadian history since its inception. As I got curioser and curioser, I rang up on Sikh history in Canada on the internet. The first Sikh settler in the country is believed to be a Risaldar Major in the British India Army, Kesar Singh. He was part of a group of Sikh officers who arrived in Vancouver on a ship named the Empress of India, in 1897. On way to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the Sikhs found work in laying tracks of the Canadian Pacific Railway, lumber mills and mines. They openly earned lesser than white workers, but managed to make enough money to send some of it to India and get their relatives to migrate to Canada. History depicts that the first Sikh pioneers came to Abbotsford in 1905, and originally worked on farms and in the lumber industry. As years passed, while the white Canadians were opposed to Asian workers, industrialists of British Columbia, which hosted around 90 per cent of the Sikh population, were short of labour and relied on the community. Through them, the Sikhs were able to get an early foothold at the turn of the 20th century in British Columbia. Most of them were British army veterans and their families. In 1907, the Khalsa Diwan society was set up in Vancouver with branches in Abbotsford, New Westminster, Fraser Mills, Duncan Coombs and Ocean Falls. While its intentions were purely religious, educational, and philanthropic, problems pertaining to Indian immigration and racism severely affected its existence. Facing resentment from the white population of Canada, the Sikhs by this time, were facing pressure from the government who believed they were unsuitable to adapt to the climate of the country. In 1908, they were asked to leave voluntarily and settle in British Honduras, Latin America. A Sikh delegation was sent to now Belize, and upon return they asked their community members to strictly say no to the offer. On one hand, 1,710 Sikhs left British Columbia in the same year, while on the other, first plans to build a gurdwara were made. A property was acquired and the settlers carried lumbers from a local mill on their backs all the way up a hill to construct a gurdwara. The Canadian government then passed two laws, which were specifically targeted at Punjabis. One provided that an immigrant had to have 200 dollars, while the other authorised the Minister of the Interior to prohibit entry into Canada to people not arriving from their country of birth by continuous journey and through tickets purchased before leaving the country of their birth or citizenship. The laws resulted in a dropping of Sikh population from 5,000 people in 1911, to a little over 2,500. The Gur Sikh Temple opened on February 26, 1911. Sikhs and non-Sikhs from all over British Columbia attended the ceremony. A local newspaper even reported the event. This was not only the first Gurdwara in North America, it was the first anywhere outside of South Asia. The Khalsa Diwan Society eventually built gurdwaras in Vancouver and Victoria. Sikhs who had fled to California as a consequence of Canadian immigration rules, founded the Ghadar Party in America in 1913. Thousands of Ghadar journals were published highlighting the racism encountered by Sikhs. Then happened the infamous Komagata Maru incident in the subsequent year. A Japanese ship filled with Sikh migrants was denied permission to dock. The fate of the men on the ship was tragic. Only nine Sikhs are known to have served with Canadian troops in World War I. Private Buckam Singh, served with the 20th Canadian Infantry Battalion in the battlefields of Flanders in 1916. He later died at the age of 25 in 1919. His grave is the only known World War I Sikh Canadian soldier's grave in Canada. Today, he is not only celebrated as a Sikh hero, but also a Canadian hero. Fast forward to 1943, a twelve-man delegation, including members of the Sikh Khalsa Diwan Society, demanded voting rights for the South Asian communities. They explained that without them, they were nothing more than second-class citizens. While the Premier then only gave voting rights to those who had fought in World War II, in 1945, two years later, all South Asians had the right to vote due to the perseverance of the Sikh Khalsa Diwan Society. Major immigration of Sikhs truly began in the 1950s, and in the later centuries, a new dawn of hope shown as tens of thousands of Sikhs, many skilled and educated, decided to settle across Canada, mainly the urban corridor of Toronto to Windsor. The process of migration has remained never-ending since then. What has truly changed is the Canadian government's attitude towards them and other South Asian communities.

Selling drugs gets higher prison sentences than sexual deviancy

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-59913673 Derby-run drugs gang who made £400k a day is sentenced Published 15 hours ago Share IMAGE SOURCE,DERBYSHIRE POLICE Image caption, Paldip Mahngar ran the group from a terraced house in a suburb of Derby Members of a drugs gang who imported more than £165m of cocaine into the UK have been jailed. The Derby-based ringleader Paldip Mahngar bought around 100kg of the drug from contacts in Dubai using encrypted mobile phone messages. Police said it was then sent across the country with the group at one point making an estimated £400,000 a day. The 21-strong gang were sentenced after multiple trials, with Mahngar being jailed for 18 years and three months. IMAGE SOURCE,DERBYSHIRE POLICE Image caption, Jaswant Kajla (l) was in charge of moving the drugs, helped by another lieutenant Ranjit Sandhu Mahngar, 45, ran the operation from his terraced house in Willow Close, Darley Abbey. Officers said the logistics of moving the drugs was organised by Jaswant Kajla 41, of Bluebird Drive, Coventry, who also collected money from the gang's customers. The money was dealt with by the gang's accountant Manraj Johal, who kept detailed Excel spreadsheets that showed the incomings, outgoings, and expenses of the gang. Using another encrypted phone Johal, 32, of Turnpike Drive, Luton, would then contact the suppliers of the drugs to update them about how much money was being made. IMAGE SOURCE,DERBYSHIRE POLICE Image caption, Manraj Johal (l) was the gang's accountant and Manvir Singh headed the Derby "office" The gang had two "offices" in Luton and Derby, with an estimated £18.6m being made by the gang between 16 March and 30 April 2020, said police. The Derby office was run Manvir Singh, 33, (also known as Manveer Khakh) who would sort bundles of cash, assigning an individual token number to each before giving them to couriers for distribution. Officers believe the gang's total earnings over the 408-day conspiracy to be £165,208,208. Derbyshire Police said they were already investigating the gang when detectives were supplied with further evidence after the secure EncroChat phone system the gang were using was taken down. The system, which was used by criminals across the world, was infiltrated by law enforcement in Europe who then passed the information to UK authorities. IMAGE SOURCE,DERBYSHIRE POLICE Image caption, During one raid, police found more than £500,000 when they raided a London apartment. Police then intercepted 7kg of cocaine being transported in Derby in April 2020. The extent of the cash being turned over was shown in June 2020, when officers found money counter Nimrat Bahia mid-way through bundling £530k at a London apartment. DCI Tim Walters, who led the investigation, said: "It was huge. "We saw bags of thousands of pounds being handed over on street corners, we saw holdalls of cash being transported in taxis. "They were using both residential and business properties as banks, which would hold between £1m - £2m at a time." Following four trials last year, members of the gang were sentenced for a variety of counts at Derby Crown Court. Count 1 - Conspiracy to supply cocaine Count 2 - Conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert or transfer criminal property Count 3 - Conspiracy to supply heroin Count 4 - Conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert or transfer criminal property Count 5 - Possession of cocaine with intent to supply Count 6 - Possession of cannabis with intent to supply Count 7 - Possession of false identity documents Count 8 - Possession with intent to supply heroin Count 9 - Possession of a stun gun Count 10 - Possession of a smoke grenade The defendants were: Paldip Mahngar, 45, of Willow Close, Derby - Count 1 and 2 - 18 years and three months. Jaswant Kajla, 41, of Bluebird Drive, Coventry - Count 1 and 2 - 15 years and three months. Manraj Johal, 32, of Turnpike Drive, Luton - Count 1 and 2 - 15 years and eight months. Manvir Singh AKA Manveer Khakh, 33, of of Harpur Avenue - Count 1 and 2 - 13 years. Ranjit Sandhu, 49, of Carrington Street, Derby - Count 1 and 2 - Six years and 10 months. Basharat Iqbal, 46, of Cromwell Road, Derby - Count 1 and 2 - Seven years and nine months. John Castledine, 63, of Harrington Street, Derby - Count 2 - Seven years and three months. Michael Karim, 36, of The Arena, Standard Hill, Nottingham - Count 1, 2, 7, 10 - 10 years. Kelly Williamson, 57, of Mansfield Road, Papplewick, Nottinghamshire - Count 1 - five years and three months. Joseph Davidson, 41, of Browning Street, Sunnyhill, Derby- Count 1, 3, and 5 - 10 years and two months. Nathaniel Collymore, 39, of Spinney Road, Burton on Trent - Count 1 and 4 - Seven years and five months. Mohammad Shafiq, 38, of Stenson Road, Derby - Count 1, 2 and 9 - 12 years. Nimrat Bahia, 26, of Black Swan Lane, Luton - Count 2 - Seven years and one month. Banaras Iqbal, 42, of Cromwell Road, Derby - Count 2 - Four years and nine months. Jermaine Callender, 44, of Westerdale, Luton - Count 3 - Three years. Shimei Connell, 38, of Pearson Avenue, Coventry - Count 3 and 6 - Seven years and nine months. Marvin Johnson, 41, of Kestrel Way, Luton - Count 3 - 11 years and six months. Adil Saddique, 35, of Portland Street, Derby. - Count 2 - Four years and seven months. Three other gang members will be sentenced at a later date.

Retired TV producer found guilty of possessing indecent images of children 21 December 2021|News, International and organised crime https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/retired-tv-producer-found-guilty-possessing-indecent-images-children A retired BBC producer has been found guilty of possessing 832 indecent images of children, hundreds of which showed sexual acts involving children. Victor Melleney, 76, was convicted on Friday (17 December, 2021) at Kingston Crown Court after the jury heard evidence from the Crown Prosecution Service over 4 days. NCA officers had raided properties in Sheffield Terrace, Kensington, and Royal Crescent London, Holland Park, in 2018 to find the hard drives containing material shared between Melleney and other users. They also discovered illegal stun guns belonging to Melleney, which he admitted to possessing at an earlier court hearing in February 2021. Ruona Iguyovwe, of the CPS, said: “Victor Melleney knew he was in possession of indecent images of children. The search history of devices recovered during searches of Melleney’s home revealed downloads of images depicting sexual activity involving children. Examination of the electronic devices also revealed software which can be used by users in sharing indecent images of children. “The hard drives, recovered from his home, his basement, and hidden in the pocket of a dressing gown he was wearing when he was arrested, contained sickening videos, part of a collection downloaded over years.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edky/pr/ohio-man-sentenced-30-years-traveling-sex-minor-and-receipt-child-pornography FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, November 30, 2021 Ohio Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Traveling for Sex with a Minor and Receipt of Child Pornography LEXINGTON, Ky.— A Powell, Ohio, man, Syed Sheraz Ahmed, 40, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison on Monday, by Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, after pleading guilty to traveling for sex with a minor and receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. According to Ahmed’s plea agreement, he admitting to meeting a minor in the Fall of 2015, through Facebook, using a fictitious name. Ahmed then communicated with the minor over Facebook and Snapchat; and in September 2016, he made plans to drive, from his residence in Ohio to Kentucky, to meet the minor in person. Ahmed admitted to picking up the minor from her school and taking her to a motel, where they had sexual intercourse. Later, Ahmed was stopped by police and found in possession of sexually explicit images of the minor victim. Ahmed pleaded guilty in July 2021. Under federal law, Ahmed must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life. Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Chief Rodney Richardson, Police Chief, Richmond Police Department, announced the sentence. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Madison County Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Greenfield. This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Can you summarise in a few sentences what you mean exactly ? These videos are a little 'slow'

Hopefully not. What makes you think this ? No one ever has cared for us except ourselves.

@SikhKoshJee, are you in the UK? How have you met and talked with so many Pakistanis ?

Basics of Sikhi 201K subscribers SUBSCRIBE Whilst out in California, USA in Dec 2015, Jagraj Singh recorded these amazing testimonials by the sangat there! Parampreet Singh came from a very strong Christian background and got into Sikhi from watching our Japji Sahib Katha in English. -- Basics of Sikhi is a project by Everythings 13, an educational charity dedicated to spreading the wisdom of the Sikh Gurus. Please SUPPORT our work www.basicsofsikhi.com/donate Vaheguru Simran in the Intro and Outro is how Sikhs chant Gods name. Its performed by Jagdeep Kaur of www.qi-rattan.com. You can download it for free from www.thekdp.com (Jam 2, track 6 = Waheguru Simran).

My MP doesn't seem the type who'd care or do much for this cause

Agree with this But your other points, it's ignorance. If Americans were more aware of Sikhi (which is difficult as it likely is not taught about at most schools, and most have no contact with Sikhs) then they would respect much more and we would see a lot less hate crime. That's an advantage of living in UK or Canada where there's much more awareness.

Ignorance is different to being dumb. Sikhs need to do more Parchaar there. It will take time. It's not like the UK where many gore know of Sikhs military connections and respect us for that, and the India connection.

This could be a tactic used to delay/prevent legit Panjabi travellers to India

@GurjantGnostic ?

These Gursikhs are a 'bridge' to help us

? https://www.indiatoday.in/world/indians-abroad/story/indian-origin-sikh-taxi-driver-assaulted-turban-knocked-us-1897586-2022-01-08 Press Trust of India New York January 8, 2022 UPDATED: January 8, 2022 11:40 IST Indian-origin Sikh taxi driver assaulted, his turban knocked off by unidentified man in US An Indian-origin Sikh taxi driver in the US was assaulted by an unidentified man who knocked off his turban and also used expletives against him outside the JFK International Airport. In these screengrabs of the undated video, a man could be seen assaulting the Sikh taxi driver outside the JFK International Airport. (Screengrab/Twitter/@navjotpkaur) In a yet another case of suspected hate crime, an Indian-origin Sikh taxi driver in the US has been assaulted by an unidentified man, who knocked off his turban and also used expletives against him outside the JFK International Airport here, according to a video on social media. The undated 26-second video was uploaded by Navjot Pal Kaur on micro-blogging site Twitter on January 4, showing a man assaulting the Sikh taxi driver outside the airport. She said the video was shot by a bystander at the airport. The person can be heard allegedly using expletives against the victim. He repeatedly hits and punches him and knocks off his turban. “This video was taken by a bystander at John F. Kennedy International Airport. I do not own the rights to this video. But I just wanted to highlight the fact that hatred continues to remain in our society and unfortunately I’ve seen Sikh cab drivers get assaulted again and again,” Kaur tweeted. Further details about the driver or the cause of the incident were not available. The video led to angry reactions by the community members. “Another Sikh cab driver assaulted. This one at JFK Airport in NYC. So upsetting to see. But it’s crucial that we don’t look away What I am sure of is how painful it is to watch our fathers and elders get assaulted while they’re just trying to live an honest life. “For those who aren’t Sikh, I can’t put into words what it means to have your turban knocked off — or to see someone else’s turban knocked off. It’s visceral and gut-wrenching and just so disheartening to witness,” Simran Jeet Singh, author and Director for the Aspen Institute’s Inclusive America Project, tweeted. The National Sikh Campaign said, “we are only a few days into the new year and there has already been a hate crime committed against a Sikh. A bystander recorded an unidentified man attacking a Sikh taxi driver, ultimately knocking off the driver’s turban.” “No additional details have been released outside of the video, but we know this story too well. A Sikh person goes about their daily lives only to be senselessly attacked by someone. Common road rage between people can escalate when someone who is ignorant of who we are takes their disdain for our turbans and becomes violent,” it said. This is not the first time a Sikh taxi driver has been assaulted in the US. An Indian-origin Sikh Uber driver was in 2019 assaulted and racially abused in the US state of Washington in a suspected hate crime. The driver told the police that he believes his race promoted the attack. In 2017, a 25-year-old Sikh cab driver in New York was assaulted and his turban knocked off by drunk passengers.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeters-celebrity-ninja-cat-ruben-6454707 Exeter's celebrity 'ninja' cat Ruben is missing again sparking widespread search The black cat even has his own Facebook page due to his famous wandering adventures SHARE 1COMMENT By Anita Merritt 11:17, 7 JAN 2022 UPDATED11:19, 7 JAN 2022 Notorious wanderer Ruben - famed for being Exeter's 'celebrity' cat through all his adventures - is missing again sparking a widespread search across the city. The very friendly 10-year-old black cat has not returned back to his home in St Leonard's since Christmas Eve leaving his owners Charlotte and Jon Brammer anxious about his wellbeing. Since 2016, Ruben has travelled far and wide - to vast numbers of different addresses. He has ended up at Torquay Police Station, he has woken up in someone else's bed and he even makes regular visits to the local primary school. Read more: Historic Pinces Gardens gatehouse could become a cafe His disappearances have become such a regular occurrence that Ruben even has his own Facebook page with fans as far as America. He has nearly 8,000 followers who are affectionately dubbed Rubenites. However, as he has now been missing for two weeks, his owners have taken to social media to help track down Ruben to make sure he is okay. Famous Exeter cat Ruben has gone missing again (Image: Charlotte and Jon Brammer) Jon said: "Given his wandering nature we give him two weeks benefit of the doubt/ grace period. His record is three months disappearing act so we are optimistic he is okay but are worried about our little friend all the same. "We have been told he was seen on Christmas Day in Barnardo Road and a potential sighting was made in Exwick on January 5. This is yet to be confirmed but thanks to a tremendous sharing effort, his missing post on Facebook has reached 30,000 people. "It's difficult to know why he goes off in the first place. We have a three-month-old baby so I don't know if it's recently because of that? What is happening where you live? Find out by adding your postcode or visit InYourArea here "When Ruben goes off he tends to head in one direction and the sighting on Christmas Day shows he was heading south-west so the sighting in Exwick probably rings true and he has been there before." Ruben last went missing for two weeks last summer and was found to have moved in with a yoga teacher in Exwick. Charlotte and Jon have had Ruben since he was eight-weeks-old and up until the age of five, Ruben didn't stray too far from home. However, one fateful day he got itchy feet and decided to go on his first adventure. Now he does it on a regular basis. Ruben is described as a ninja who manages to get into people's homes via windows or cat flats. He has even managed to get through a locked cat flap before - and ended up on someone else's bed. Ruben enjoyed a visit to Exeter's Buckerell Lodge last year (Image: Charlotte and Jon Brammer) In 2021, Ruben's prolific wandering saw him confirmed at more than 80 locations across the city - and that's only the ones his owners have been told about. "If Ruben wasn't chipped we would have lost him a long time ago," Jon said. "I think many people think that he is a stray cat because he doesn't like to wear a collar. "Last year was his most prolific yet for wandering. The last time he went off in a big way was about five years ago when he disappeared for five weeks and turned up at school in Polsloe. The longest time since he has recently disappeared for was three months before the Covid pandemic." His furthest adventure has been Torquay Police station after witnessing a crime being committed on Larkbeare Road. Ruben pictured in 2019 with owners Charlotte and Jon Brammer (Image: Devon Live) Jon said: "He had gone from the children's home, down the road and at the time a crime had been committed. "A man ended up getting arrested and Ruben was just there so the police then took him to the police station in Torquay." Ruben's love of wandering is why his owners set up a Facebook dedicated to their cat's adventures. Jon said: "Before we would just go out looking for him but now he is so well-known that people contact us via his Facebook page to tell us where he is and we post on there what he has been up to. "If we had our way we would have him back home but it is in his nature to go off. Sometimes he comes home of his own accord and other times we have to pick him up when we find out where he is. It's just become a thing and we just make a joke of it and keep it lighthearted on his Facebook page. "People just fall in love with Ruben. He has the sweetest nature and just climbs onto people for a cuddle and people don't want him to leave once they've met him. "There's obviously a lot of black cats in Exeter so when we have sightings reported we get people to send us a picture so we can see if it is him. Thankfully he is recognisable because he has tears on his left ear." Ruben is completely black apart from a few white flecks on his chest.

If we are judging the girls, same standard should apply to the boys.

Why would anyone, hypothetically want to wear jewellery ? I think it's largely unnecessary

He's over 35.

Ben Fogle does a show you'd like @GurjantGnostic https://www.channel5.com/show/ben-fogle-new-lives-in-the-wild