Worldwide Day Of Protest

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

FREE COACH TRANSPORT FOR THE LONDON CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL - 17 JANUARY 2006

If you live in or around west London there will be coach transport provided to attend the LONDON Candle Light Vigil outsidse the Houses of Parliament that will be taking place between 5-7pm.

Coaches will be leaving at around 3.30pm from outside Akash Radio Studio in Southall (near Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Park Avenue). The address is as follows:

Akash Radio

Unit 14, Arches Business Centre

Merrick Road

Southall

Middx

UB2 4AU

United Kingdom

Please ring Akash Radio as soon as possible on 020 8843 0999 to book your place on a coach.

EVERYONE IS URGED TO MAKE SURE YOUR LOCAL MP ATTENDS THE LOCAL VIGIL OR THE ONE IN LONDON.

ALSO DON'T FORGET TO CONTACT MEPs FOR YOUR AREA

DON'T ACCEPT ANY EXCUSES FROM THEM.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

BIRMINGHAM CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL

Chamberlain Square

17 January 2006 (5-7pm)

Contact Bhai Tarsem Singh - 07968782868

Apologies to local sangat for the delay- its been confirmed that the Canglelight vigil will go ahead as planned in Birmingham City Centre in Chamberlain Square (outside the Birmingham Library- same place as where past Candlelight vigils are usually held).

If local sangat could also bring banners and posters that would also be appreciated so that John Smith knows why we're there 

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BIRMINGHAM, NOTTINGHAM AND MANCHESTER all need more postacrds for distribution on 17 January at their respective Candle Light Vigils. Can Sikhs in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Derby, Leicester etc. help.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Kashipur incident a bad oven for Punjabi and Sikh farmers

It needs a permanent solution along with Constitutional guarantee

It was way back in 1998 when the International Human Rights Organisation (IHRO) had asked the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) to withdraw its support to the Vajpayee government, in case it did not exclude Udham Singh Nagar district from the proposed Uttaranchal state, while suggesting the Centre to legislate Udham Singh Nagar district and its adjoining Terai areas, included in Rampur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri districts of UP, as a union territory where minorities, including the Sikhs, could live peacefully and feel safe as they have been facing various troubles during the past. The IHRO had also urged in a letter to Atal Behari Vajpayee to exclude Udham Singh Nagar from the proposed Uttaranchal Pradesh. This, the IHRO had said, would definitely promote the integrity of the BJP, otherwise bracketed communal and extreme right-winger party by many people and political groups. But this suggestion fell on their deaf years. Not only that, its coalition partner SAD (Badal) clandestinely connived with BJP leadership, whose brainchild was Uttaranchal state, in their “mission” and ditched the Sikh and Punjabi farmers. It needs no elaboration, and that was the reason why Parkash Singh Badal had sold his land from near Bazpur in Udham Singh Nagar, now included in Uttaranchal Pradesh. Thus, Badal betrayed the farmers of that area just to please the BJP leadership for his personal and political gains.

Now the eviction of Punjabi and Sikh farmers from about 1200 acres of farmland near Kashipur, declared surplus, following a Supreme Court order, has flared up into a bristly issue. It has opened up underlying wounds for residents, who originally did not favour joining Uttaranchal when the state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh five years ago. The Supreme Court had delivered its judgment last year. It had held that the said land was ceiling surplus and asked the Uttaranchal government to get it vacated from M/s Escorts Farms Ltd. Factually, this land was taken over by about 250 Punjabi families over 30 years ago when it was declared Ceiling Surplus by the Commissioner. At a rally in held at Kashipur, Harbhajan Singh Cheema, MLA, has said, “When the state was formed we accepted our fate and even announced that we are one state but the eviction has betrayed us.” Protests were held by Sikh and Punjabi youth who blocked roads and held up trains over the weekend. They also protested the ban on the Nagar Kirtan procession that was held on Guru Gobind Singh’s Parkash Purab. The agitating leaders said it was not just an issue of Sikh farmers but of the entire Terai region. “Such an action is what we had feared five years ago,” thundered a former MP, B S Bhunder, while reminding the audience that the sacrifice of Sikh farmers had been forgotten when they turned the jungles of Terai into money-spinning crop-growing lands.

Simranjit Singh Mann, President Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), condemned the recent tragic incidents, which took place in the state of Uttaranchal. Mann asked the Centre Government to intervene in this matter and help the Sikh farmers. He asserted that the atrocities committed against Sikh in Kashipur were preplanned. Whereas this event caused many to loose their properties, including houses and businesses, many were left physically injured. Simranjit Singh Mann also expressed grief that the current Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, has failed to do anything for the betterment of the Sikh community of Uttaranchal.

Though many organizations have sent commissions to investigate this matter, very little substantial actions have been taken so far to help the troubled Sikhs. Some have been noted as using this incident as a tool for political gain while others use it as an occasion to cast blame on the Congress party. The controversy over eviction, seemed ended on January 9, following a compromise thrashed out at an emergency high-level meeting. Officials of the Uttaranchal Government, an 11-member Bharti Kisan Union delegation and BJP MLAs of the area, along with Punjab Congress men, tried to sort out the matter. That all evicted families, irrespective of the size of their land holdings, would be given compensation. The same was agreed upon by the Uttaranchal Chief Minister. Earlier the Uttaranchal Government had offered 3.5 acres to farmers with land holding of less than 5 acres. These were just 103 families while the affected families were 251 in number. Another 39 people had built houses. Under the compromise formula, all married members of a land-owning family would get 3.5 acres each. The 39 people whose houses were demolished would get actual compensation. The meeting had been convened after the chief of the BKU, Mohinder Singh Tikait threatened to forcibly take possession of 1200 acres and hand it over to the farmers.

This formula did not work well with the affected people. They rejected the compromise as conspiracy to ditch the rest of the farming community in future. During this resentment, the Punjab Rights Forum (PRF) decided to standby the affected families and held an emergency meeting of its constituents on Thursday at Circuit House, Ludhiana. The meeting was attended by SAD (A) president SS Mann, SAD (Longowal) president Prem Singh Chandumajra, SKD chief Bhai Daljit Singh, BKU leaders Pishora Singh and Balbir Singh Rajewal, besides representatives of human rights groups and other social organisations, including Damdami Taksal. The PRF has decided to protest against the eviction on January 17 at all district headquarters in Punjab. A team of PRF high command will visit Kashipur, meet affected people and decide the next course of action there and then. Meanwhile, the high profile team of the Rights Forum will meet Uttaranchal chief minister and Governor to suggest ways and means in order to give justice to the farming community. Let us all express our sympathy and solidity with the uprooted farmers and make efforts to reach at logical conclusion of the matter that needs a permanent solution with constitutional guarantee.

D S Gill

Chair IHRO

Note: The protests on January 17 at all district headquarters in Punjab will be co-ordinated with the Worldwide Candle Light Vigils.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

For contact details and the flyer for the Canadian Candle Light Vigils visit:

http://www.sikhstudents.ca/wp-content/uplo.../01/protest.jpg

Canadian_Flyer.bmp

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Leicester Mercury

ANTI-DEATH PENALTY VIGIL

10:30 - 14 January 2006

Campaigners opposed to the use of the death penalty in India will hold a candlelit vigil in Leicester this week.

The silent protest, organised by the Sikh Federation, will take place at the Clock Tower in the city centre between 5pm and 7pm. The event is part of an international campaign for an end to the death penalty and the detention of political prisoners in India. Protests will be held on the same day in more than in over 100 cities across the world including London, Paris, Toronto, New York as well as in major Indian cities. It is supported by politicians, trade unions and human rights groups.

[anjaan]

]

BIRMINGHAM, NOTTINGHAM AND MANCHESTER all need more postacrds for distribution on 17 January at their respective Candle Light Vigils.  Can Sikhs in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Derby, Leicester etc. help.

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can provide Birmingham - will get in touch with Jatinder Singh

[anjaan]

FINAL MEETING 5PM 14/01/2006 @ GURU NANAK GURDWARA SEDGELY ST W-TON TO FINALISE DETAILS FOR W-TON/WALSALL VIGIL @ QUEENS SQUARE WTON

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meeting changed to 6pm

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

FINAL DERBY FLYER FOR THE CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL

17 JANUARY 2006

[Young Sikhs UK Birmingham]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Thank you Anjaan Bhainji, also one more request to the Sangat, from Birmingham, but i think it applies to all vigils.... please bring a candle.

Many Thanks, remember sevadaar's are still needed in the B'ham Vigil so please please do contact Daas (Jatinder Singh Khalsa) 07751 843 742, for futher information, try and bring along or arrange as many posters, flyers, banners ANYTHING relating to this protest.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

For contact details and the flyer for the Canadian Candle Light Vigils visit:

http://www.sikhstudents.ca/wp-content/uplo.../01/protest.jpg

Canadian_Flyer.bmp

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http://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?showtopic=16465