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First kirtani of the night is Bhai Gursharan Singh of Amrit Bani Radio. You can listen to tonight's kirtan darbar from Southall Singh Sabha live only on Naujawani:Radio at www.Naujawani.com Please post what you think of the quality of our live audio... we think it is pretty good, despite the non-stop messing with the mixing desk by sevadars!!

Tune in right now, Tuesday 14th April, 7:30pm - 9:30pm [uK time] to Naujawani:Radio on the internet at www.Naujawani.com for the live Vaisakhi Darbar from Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Havelock Road, Southall ...with Bhai Niranjan Singh (Jawaddi-kalan) Bhai Amarjit Singh (Nanaksar) & Bhai Gursharan Singh (Amrit Bani) Please pass on this information to whomever you can online as we only received permission to broadcast about 20 minutes ago!! Thanks and tune in!

What is wrong with that photo? Just a question...

At what point in this video did they go into a club? I didn't see it. Personally I saw a wicked video that expressed the way that a group of individuals' feel about life. In what particular way did this video and song disrespect Sikhi? If you are talking about the fact that they go into clubs to perform, part of their careers as DJ's, I'd like to ask if you feel the same way about corner-shop/newsagent/cash&carry owners who sell alcohol and tobacco? What about financiers, bankers, stock brokers who lie and cheat? (I know they all don't by the way, just most of them!) At what point do you draw a line? I think rather than looking at what other people do and how they reflect on Sikhi, people should look at themselves first. BIG UP TIGERSTYLE and KANWAR GILL. This video rocks. Additionally, as Gurbani is timeless it does not need to be changed in order to inspire and teach people about life. I know that isn't what some of the posters above meant, but thought i'd make it clear. This record and video, like all art, is a form of personal expression that provokes people to think, to discuss and to progress. There is very little modern Sikh art. This is one very good example of it.

I'm not British, rather English, but in reply to your thread question I would say people from other countries think we are ugly and snobbish because really they are jealous of our good looks and feel inferior to our talents. What is the problem here? You base your entire judgement of almost 65 million people on one radio show, a news story and 2 banned organisations that by the time they were banned were not actually doing anything of any value for anyone. That would be like us velati's assuming all Canadians and Americans were ignorant, gun-toting, illegal immigrant thugs. There is plenty of good in the UK up and down the country. The V&A, British Museum and British Library are excellent places to go and are not full of namdhari propaganda. The Royal Geographical Society recently held a fantastic exhibition celebrating Punjab in the last 200 years which had wonderful photographs of Sikh relevance. Open up your mind and do yourself a favour - walk away from your PC, the internet and your bedroom for 20 minutes and get some fresh air. Big wide world out there and none of it bad - all is of the Divine Design!

Err, maybe some of you just need to start using Lynx? I and many other young turbaned, bearded Sikh men I know, never had a problem finding members of the opposite sex who were attracted to us. Explaining to them that we didn't date was more of the problem. I didn't bat them away every day, but it wasn't the way some of you guys put it across. Anyone who has this problem, maybe you should think less about the turban & beard and more about the Colgate and the soap?

It is sad that people are brainwashed in this manner, but conversely some people from outside Sikh circles would argue that we are brain washed into Sikhi. In my humble opinion, live and let live. It might be hard to take seeing these emails flying about and then being publicised further online in forums, but it really isn't fair naming people and planting photos of them. I know the people who the email purports to be from. They are pleasant enough people going about their daily grind. If they chose this path and think Mr Grewal answers their questions better than we or any other Sikh does, who are we to argue? Use this opportunity to look at yourself, ourselves, and ask what we are doing to make ourselves stronger, better; how can we fulfill what these people had to find elsewhere. Anyone who doesn't like Mr Grewal, and I don't particularly, can meet him and try to impact upon his life. But then again, which of us inside is the true epitome of Guru Gobind Singh's Khalsa that upon meeting another soul can show them the true path? Who amongst us is Bhai Vir Singh? Baba Maharaj Singh? Don't feel sorry for anybody; these are all grown adults who have made their own choices, brain-washed or not. There are plenty of people who meet Mr Grewal and don't give 2 hoots! When all is said and done, particularly to everybody posting in this thread, Mr Lakhan, unlike the rest of us, will be etched into the ages for 'The Warrior Princess' a book that inspires thousands of young kids into Sikhi every year. Do you honestly think in 100 years anyone will care or even know that he later cut his hair and wandered into the abyss of a man who resides in Luton, that well known, highly reputable place for life changing experiences?! Sorry peeps who are from Luton, only joking!

We are terribly sorry for the downtime, the Radio has been tuned into by immense numbers of people tonight! We hope you have enjoyed the quality of both the content and the audio this evening. Unfortunately, our live broadcast comes to an end around 12:30am. Thank you for listening and for your continued support.

We are live from the Darbar right now for those of you who can't get tro Baba Sangh Gurdwara in Smethwick. Tune in, listen live and be a part of the experience!! www.Naujawani.com P.S. Pass it on...

Sikhi has no need of mass numbers unlike the Abrahamic traditions. If people choose to convert to a different way of thinking that is their prerogative. No Sikh likes to see people leaving Sikhi, but SunnyBondSingh84 don't make throw-away comments like "most Sikhs converting to Islam or Christianity" ... you are better than that. What do you define as most? Do you ignore the huge number of American white people who converted to Sikhi or is this some kind of league table where we are in competition with other faiths? 'Sava lakh se ek larau' - all ask yourself if you are one of those Sikhs? If not, get off this forum and follow Guru Nanak's path and become one. Worry less about everybody else until you are in a position to reach that point. No wonder "some" Sikhs want to leave the faith; look at what great minds amongst us inspire them today! We always look back to historical personalities, but where is today's Banda Singh Bahadur, Nawab Kapur Singh, Hari Singh Nalwa, Maharaj Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha? They exist alright, but the point was never to point to them to enhance your own standing. We need to become like them ourselves. Before anyone asks, I consider myself willing to fight a hundred thousand and I do my utmost to be true to the path of Guru Nanak every day in my every endeavour. Neo4ride, no offence mate, but in my opinion this really isn't a 'Panthic' issue. Personally I never did the whole dating thing, nor do I endorse it. But dude, how can your girlfriend have another boyfriend at the same time as you, irrespective of what faith he is? Ditch that two-timer fast, have a bit of self-respect. Don't try and keep her in the faith so she stays with you. Man-up so she wants to stay with you. I'm not sorry if that offends you, you need to hear some tough love. She should think, 'what do I want to go with him for, when I have the embodiment of Guru Gobind Singh here in the flesh?!' You need to ask what you have done to that end. At the risk of going off-topic: Sikh men who moan about girls not wanting to marry them as Sardars etc. Behave in such a manner as befits the King of Kings, Guru Nanak ad you won't have a problem. Do you possibly think that there is a woman alive who would have turned down the opportunity to marry a great Khalsa, a great man? If they do so today, it is less to do with MTV and Pepsi, more to do with foul-mouthed, disrespecting, common-as-muck Singh's who haven't got a pair.

Glad you are seeing somebody about this and are taking on board what people here have said. I think if you talk to somebody about it you will find it really helps. Perhaps you might want to talk to some other close friends about it too? I disagree with the poster below who advises to steer clear of Punjabi's; personally I would try to follow in the path of Guru Nanak and treat all people as the same. If you find a good friend stick to them regardless of what nationality, faith or social standing they are! I hope you know that everybody feels really low and can be driven mad when they picture somebody laughing at them or even disagreeing with them. See the posts above for perfect examples of that! As you mentioned on your most recent post this is the main problem for you, I can only advise that at that particular moment think of something else or do something else. The red mist soon ascends! Unlike some of the posters here however, I disagree about you having God on your side and somehow having an upper-hand over these girls; don't think like that. Those same girls have God on their side too. Sometimes it is difficult to understand, but the Akaal Purkh is without hate, without fear, without rival and self-existing. Everything that we can see and everything that we cannot see, all that we comprehend and all that we cannot, it is all the same One light. God is near, far and within. I don't believe that the Akaal Purkh is testing you; there is no need for the all-knowing, destiny-writer to do that. This is just something that is happening. How you react to it will affect your life and perhaps that of others, but I wouldn't go down the road of contemplating what will or will not happen to your tormentors as a result. These things are pre-ordained; our lifetimes are a give and take, a dream. As I advised previously, contemplate, reflect and relax. Take this time of hurt in the manner that Guru Nanak says we should take a time of great joy: both are imposters and neither worthy of extreme emotion! Time will heal what you are feeling right now.

Unfortunately my dear, you will find this happening all too often as you get older. It happens to us all, myself even today. When you are the victim of it at a younger age, as is the case with you, it can seem like the end of the world or totally unjust. It might very well be unjust, but it is not as bad as it seems. Time is the greatest healer of all and as you are young and relatively inexperienced you will have to take my word for it, but in the long run, this incident is just small talk. It can take a stranglehold over you if you allow the feelings of fear and hurt to fester; they might develop and affect you. But that is true of everything that happens to us throughout our lives. Obviously you should speak to somebody about this, perhaps somebody at your Gurdwara or a family member who you respect; personally i'd suggest a child support group like Childline. But as you've asked for assistance from a Sikh point of view, might I suggest that you take some time to contemplate and reflect alone when everybody else in your house is asleep. I can't suggest anything else to read because different people like different things! But if you take some time to think and perhaps concentrate on either the word Vaheguru, the mool mantar, an image of Guru Nanak or whatever else it takes to focus your mind, rid it of all secondary thoughts, you will find that you are at least a little calmer. That being said, you will still be irritated and even a little anxious of these people, but in time all will be better. I promise. There are 3 things that cannot be returned once they are done: time spent, an arrow struck & words spoken. Why dwell on something that cannot be revoked? As somebody earlier said (I know it's easy to say, hard to do) ...you are a Dhillon! Those other chumps aren't worth what you are.

Congratulations! Perhaps when you have children you might return to heed some Sikh advice about the Punjab? It'd be nice to know where there nanny came from!! (I bet your thinking, one step at a time mate!!) Wishing you the very best in your future!

Naujawanidotcom will be broadcasting the Darbar from approximately 6pm - midnight/1am live on Naujawani:Radio this Saturday for those of you who will not be attending. Tune in and enjoy.

Harinder Singh, Try reading The People's History of the World by Chris Harman. It'll put most of the doom and gloom theories into perspective whilst giving you a good dose of the World's history, or at least 'the people's' take on it! There will certainly be no more blood than usual, but perhaps the imperialist Mr Ferguson doesn't value blood spilt in the 3rd world? Before you champion his opinion in this article, you might like to read some more of his work concerning European colonialism. The fact that he doesn't believe in a pre-destined future is enough for me to be put off! I'll read him, but with a pinch of salt and certainly won't get my kachherra in a twist over it!

I bought a copy of the book back with me from Punjab late last year. I like some parts of it, don't like other parts of it. Some of our staff really like it and a few others don't even want to touch it. Horses for courses really. It is quite a specialist book, not really for beginners, but then that is true of most books that have some controversy surrounding them. If you are looking for books to read about Sikhi and haven't yet read say Puran Singh, Dr Ganda Singh or Macauliffe, then why get into something like this?! Similarly for the well-read, if you haven't read this book, you will find it difficult to take up issue with the authors. Same deal goes with Gurtej Singh, Pashaura Singh, Harjinder Singh Dilgeer and other writers. I think 30 quid is quite steep, but when you actually hold the book, you'll realise why - heavy!! As stated in our video report, the image reproduction is second-to-none as is the quality of publishing. Our video wasn't intended to support the authors nor to demonise them further, simply to report on a contemporary issue. If you have an event or issue of relevance, if nobody else will give it fair professional coverage, and if you can get through to us maybe you could be on a future video by Naujawanidotcom.

I've spoken to Charanpreet Singh a couple of times since this venture was launched on the internet and he seems to be a very pleasant chap. As he has suggested on this thread a few times, do get in touch with him by email (or telephone, as appropriate) if you want to make any suggestions, support the venture or query anything. There is nothing wrong with people voicing concerns over these types of issues when money is involved as some users have above and I don't think it is discouragement at all. Charanpreet certainly seems to take it all in his stride and continues to request that you speak to him if you are genuinely interested, so let's not make anyone out to be hounding him which I don't think they really are!! A little love and faith goes a long way from both sides of course!! I have never (knowingly) met him before and although at Naujawanidotcom we would hope that one day there was a channel that we could produce content for, we are totally impartial in this venture. From my conversations with him I have gathered that this is a commercial venture in the sense that the channel will be run with a professional infrastructure, waged employees(!) and vested parties responsible for paying the bills, signing the cheques and of course perhaps reaping the rewards. However, that all is a long way off and as has been stated in this thread, go to the website where you will find greater clarity in the coming weeks as to costs etc. This sounds like a great initiative that has been tried numerous times before, mostly unsuccessfully. However, unlike past ventures, we (the sangat and World at large) are being brought in to advise and contribute to the direction of the channel. This is why the station is described as the sangat's channel. It is a viewer-driven and interactive channel. I certainly would like to believe in Charanpreet's vision of a parchar-based channel whose goals and direction are not money-orientated. From naujawanidotcom, we will be meeting him very soon to talk more about the sikh channel and give people a greater insight into what is being put forward. We do, as all Sikhs here, wish him the very best!

The costs totalled above fall ways hort of what it costs to run a digital TV station in the UK. Singh is King did you set up a station abroad?! Most of the costs are less but believe it or not the licence from OFCOM actually only costs around £5k. You have to work hard tog et it though and then not fall foul of the guidelines as 3 different asian broadcasters did last year (theye were subsequently fined 5 figure sums!) KSUK, the biggest jump from Radio to TV is the uplinking and content. Whereas on radio it isn't too difficult to monitor audio levels and maintain a strong signal, TV requires 24/7 monitoring and detailed measuring of the video. In regards to content, on radio you can simply stick on a cd/cassette (how many of the UK radio stations do this way too often!) with television you have to have something visual. To start with I can imagine lots of video stock footage being broadcast with kirtan playing over it, but as a serious broadcaster I'd expect you to build to real programming and content!

I think GuruManeyoGranth has asked some valuable questions above and KSUK has to his credit addressed them also. Zindagi, there is a point in asking these questions as if you are giving over your hard earnt cash, blind parchar is not a good enough reason, you want to know who to and what for. Take the current digital radio station financial model as an example. People support Punjab, Akash, Amrit Bani and Sukh Sagar through donations and sponsorships to keep them on air. In doing so they pay the costs of running those stations and also the wages of the people owning those stations. If the station becomes successful (a la Punjab) then the owner alone reaps the dividend having initially been supported by the sangat. (BTW Personally I find the idea of selling an ardas quite irreconcilable to the sikh ethos however we do it every day in our Gurdwaras throughout the UK so why not these guys?!) Having been on the inside of 2 of the above radio stations before launching naujawanidotcom I can honestly say I see little professionalism and benefit for the World from there endeavours. That is my opinion, not fact. Topics of real substance are not discussed at length, taboos are not challenged, progression is not made. That is why we launched Naujawanidotcom to try and achieve these goals. We have made some in-roads but admittedly not as much as we'd hoped. This is a very tough industry. However, this tv station hopes to buck the trend. If they go the route of employing professionals with experience in broadcasting rather than 'have a go desi's' they might get somewhere and I wish them well. But like a lot of people here I won't be pledging money until I know what my shareholding will be in the prospective company!!

I would argue that it was a Punjab-Delhi conflict because as Sant Jarnail Singh said on numerous occasions, the crux of the issues pre-1984 were redirection of rivers, inequality of opportunity due to scheduling of castes, unnecessary State interference in matters of religion and disintegration of Punjabi language and script. These issues affected all Punjabi's whether they were Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Communist etc. As the major ethnic group Sikhs were bound to take the lead in these matters. But just as important is the natural Sikh instinct to fight injustice and intolerance, as was the fact that Sikhs had the most to lose from a proliferation of these policies, a fact not lost in Delhi. The following are vital reads on this topic by respected people who were there and in the case of Kapur Singh, decades ahead of his time. Can't stress that enough, VITAL!! To read in no particular order: - Chukravyuh by Gurtej Singh - Kanwal Kehndha Reha by Jaswant Singh Kanwal (Punjabi) - Veeme Saddi Di Sikh Rajneeti by Ajmer Singh (Punjabi) - Me Judice by Kapur Singh

Agreed. Interpretation is a major factor to this entire issue. It is interesting to see the different thoughts that people have on this issue. Apne, what in particular do you think is the difference between somebody who is a Sikh and somebody who is a believer in the Sikh Guru's?

Not everybody has the genuine yearning inside of them to keep kesh, despite the divine knowledge gifted to us through contemplation of the Almighty that this is the way to go. I never made this discussion about not keeping kesh, merely pointed out the fact that many Sikhs did not and today do not keep their kesh. Whether this is because they think they know best, are following their own matt or are simply not ready is besides the point. Why get so het up when I have said the same thing you have ie. keeping your kesh is the way to go for a Sikh?! Perhaps answering the following question will resolve where we disagree. I believe that even if you don't keep kesh you are still a Sikh, albeit one who should be on the path towards keeping your kesh. Apne, if you don't keep your kesh can you be considered a Sikh? ps I never said Bhai Nand Lal had cut hair, somebody else did in an earlier post

I don't think I have made this statement elsewhere Rupinder, and I know that I have not continuously highlighted the issue of cutting one's hair. In my last post I made it clear in bold terms that keeping one's kesh is an important part of being a Sikh. In any case why so aggressive? Nobody is adamant in proving their theory. This is a discussion forum which means people can discuss different opinions and views. That is all we are doing Let's read the lines rather than looking between them for something, that most certainly in my case, simply is not there. I totally agree with what you have said here, but looking back to the question asked by the original poster I don't think that making baseless statements and looking at our short history nostalgically is the answer. Just one small example, Pir Buddhu Shah; how do we explain his role as a non-amritdhari Guru-ka-Sikh? Not everybody is able to attain the level of being an amritdhari, although that should be our direction! Not everybody has the genuine yearning inside of them to keep kesh, despite the divine knowledge gifted to us through contemplation of the Almighty that this is the way to go.

Let me clarify what I wrote earlier: not all Sikhs before the British invaded Punjab were amritdhari or keshadhari or 'pagh wale' That particular point is a fact just as it is today. Not every SIkh is an amritdhari or keshadhari. However, at no point did I say that you didn't need kesh or didn't need to take amrit on your life journey. You do! But you are kidding yourself if you believe that everybody in Punjab was keshadhari or amritdhari before the British invaded!! Many were, i'm not denying that. The names that we all know from history were such and countless more whose names we don't know too, I'm sure, and yes Bhai Nand Lal too! But every single person? That was what the original poster asked and I tried to answer. Sarbloh, I can understand your feelings, but factually you were incorrect to use Sukhdev Singh Sukha and Harjinder Singh Jinda as examples. They were clean-shaven and cut hair young men when they joined the movement. Throughout their struggles they both kept and cut their hair, but towards the end of their journey's, still quite some time before they were hung, they did take amrit and keep their kesh. Were they Sikhs before they kept their kesh? I have no doubt they were. Is it vital for a Sikh to keep their kesh? Yes, but only when they yearn to do so from inside. Keeping kesh for the sake of it or as a general rule goes against the Sikh ethos: we don't get caught up in meaningless rituals and garbs. I agree with the sentiments of the posters above, but disagree with the logic. I don't believe that keeping kesh and taking amrit is a means to an end, I believe that it is the ultimate culmination, vital to emancipation. Some of us do it earlier, fine, but what are we saying here? That anyone who does not keep kesh is not a Sikh? One of the previous posters has made that very statement. I vehemently disagree. No-one can tell somebody whether they are a Sikh or not. You neither have the right, nor the position. From a Worldly point of view you can, but that is meaningless to anybody other than the census researchers or grant authorities.