Arjan Singh

The Icon, a biography of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, was released on his 91st birthday on Wednesday, even as a demand was made to confer the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, on him.

The former IAF chief had played a stellar role in India’s decisive victory in the 1965 war against Pakistan.

Walking down memory lane, Arjan Singh told the gathering: “I called my squadron ‘the number one squadron’ because whenever they fought, they fight like tigers.”

Speaking on the occasion, former foreign secretary M.K.Rasgotra said: “Wisdom may dawn upon the political fraternity and they must confer the Bharat Ratna on him”.

No Indian armed forces’ officer has thus far been conferred the Bharat Ratna. Some have, however, been conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian honour.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major released Arjan Singh’s

This is for your kind information that VAISAKHI–  KHALSA SAAJNA DIVAS will be celebrated today 14th April 2009 at Indian Community School for girls (Senior) School, Salmiya, from 6.00 pm to 8.30 pm.

Kirtan Program by Children : 6.00pm to 7.30pm.

Kirtan by Bhai Chamanjeet Singh Lal : 7.30pm to 8.30pm.

Just now a good news came that Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar will not contest the polls for Lok Sabah. It is due to the heroic effort of protest  by Jarnail Singh and the efforts of all the sikh brother and sisters protesting in Delhi against the co-accused of 1984 anti-sikh riots and mass murdering of sikhs, congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar.

I think it is a great day for the whole sikh community, but it does’nt end here as the justice is still to be served.

A justice delayed is a justice denied.

Wahe Guru Ji the Khalsa Wahe Guru Ji the Fateh.

Amandeep Singh Saini, in white, cut his hair and discarded his turban, the most visible symbol of Sikh identity, at 14.

CHANDIGARH, India — Text messaging with one hand and holding a cup of milky tea in the other, spiky-haired Amandeep Singh Saini, 27, recalled the year-long battle he waged against his traditional Sikh parents to cut his hair.

The act was blasphemous to his father, who tied his long hair in a turban, the most visible marker of Sikh identity.

“I was 14 then. I wanted to jump into the village pool and play in mud. The long hair and the turban were always in the way. It took half an hour to tie the turban every morning,” said Saini, a student pursuing a doctorate in Punjabi literature.

After he cut his hair and discarded the turban, his two brothers followed suit. “My mother wept, my father was angry, but I was stubborn,” he said. “At that age, you don’t think about right and wrong. I look around the campus today, and there are so few turbaned Sikhs.”

The rapidly shrinking number of young Sikhs who wear turbans and have unshorn hair has alarmed many in this religious minority of 20 million. Although there are no formal surveys, community groups say that only 25 percent of Sikhs younger than 30 follow the practice. Many young Sikhs say the daily tedium of combing and tying up their long hair and a desire to assimilate are pushing them to give up the turban, a sacred symbol of a religion founded in the 15th century.

Now, a court case about college admission quotas for Sikhs is threatening to alienate hundreds of thousands of short-haired, un-turbaned youths.

In August, four students petitioned the high court after they applied to a medical college under a Sikh quota but were denied admission. The college said the students, who had cut their hair, did not fit in the category of Sikh. In the ongoing legal proceedings, religious bodies and scholars have testified about the importance of uncut hair to Sikhism.

Fort Gulistan. Another fort, another action in the NWFP Rising of 1897-98. Pictured here are the survivors of a Gulistan sortie party, with Afridi tribesmen they captured during their attack. Gort Gulistan stood in the Samana range of hills, south of the Khyber Pass. The forts here were held by the 36th Sikhs and this was to be that Regiment’s first action since it’s creation in 1887.

BATTLE OF SARAGARHI
(An unparalleled act of Bravery)

September 12,1997 is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of

Saragarhi- one of the “ten most famous battles ” of the world. On this day, exactly 100 years ago, a handful of Sikh soldiers- 21 to be exact – of the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment (then XXXVI Sikh) formed part of the British Indian Army and fought thousands of Pathans in the North Western Frontier Province (now Pakistan). All 21 Sikh soldiers died in the battle as they fought to the last man and last bullet; but they did not yield even an inch of ground that they were defending.

This epic battle is worth recounting as a singular example of unmatched courage, absolute devotion to duty, unflinching loyalty and giving supreme sacrifice of life for a cause.

In the later half of 19thcentury,boundaries of the British Indian Empire extended right up to the borders of Afghanistan, through the rugged and hostile terrain of Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province inhabited by fierce Pathan and Afridi tribal warriors who refused to acknowledge the British supremacy and often attacked and raided anything British.

In order to protect these long lines of communications passing through the Kurram valley, the Samana range had been occupied by the British troops for almost five years. When the Afridis and Orakzai clans rose against the Government of India in 1897, the 4th Battalion of the Sikh regiment (XXXVI Sikh) was holding the forts and the fortified piquets on the Samana ridge which has the Khanki Valley on the North and the Miranzai Valley on the South.

British officers and Sikh soldiers of the 45th Sikhs, pose for a photograph after the relief of Chakdara Fort. Circa 1897. Defence of Chakdara Fort by six British officers and 240 Indian soldiers of the 45th Sikhs and 11th Bengal Lancers against 14,000 Pathan tribesmen, must rank as one of the greatest feats of arms in military history.

For six days and seven nights, these men drove off all attacks upon the fort and covered themselves and their regiment with glory. The officer on the extreme left is Haldane Rattray, who received a neck wound after leading a charge to retake the hospital in Chakdara Fort for which he was awarded the DSO. He later commanded the 45th Sikhs during World War I and was tragically killed in Kut, Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) after it was lost to Turks, during a long siege. The 45th Sikhs was decimated in this battle.

THEY looked in silent admiration at each of the rare photographs displaying Sikh soldiers’ bravery in war.

Others snapped photographs at an exhibition of over 200 black and white photographs of the soldiers who had served in the British Indian army during World War I and II.

Amarjit Singh, who was busy clicking away with his camera, said he felt inspired by the photo-graphs.

“This kind of exhibition is not common. It is a good opportuni- ty for me to build my own small library,” said the 49-year-old policeman from Batu Gajah.

VIP visitors:British High Commission defence adviser Col Paul Edwards(in uniform)and Indian High Commission defence adviser Col P.K.Siwach(right)looking at the photographs on display at the exhibition.

Kabul, Afghanistan: The beleaguered Sikh community in  Afghanistan could not have had a better role model.  At 25, Anarkali Kaur Honaryar is a doctor, an activist, a Radio presenter and a member of the independent Afghan Human Rights Committee and the official Constitution Committee. With the dupatta decently covering her head, she presents an image which makes every Sikh proud of her.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Free Afghanistan (RFA)’s has declared her as the Person of the Year and Sikhs worldwide are quite happy to learn that.

The Sikh society is male dominated and the society in Afghanistan is terribly male-oriented. With the shadow of the Taliban looming large, the grit and determination of Anarkali Kaur can easily be compared with the legendary courage of Sundri of Bhai Vir Singh.

Since the last decade or so, a sizeable chunk of the community has fled Afghanistan to reside in India, Europe and the United Kingdom.  A large number of them have been granted asylum and the Southall Bazar, once the centre of Punjabi Sikhs is now virtually called the Afghani Sikhs Street. They are ubiquitous by their small and unique turbans and the brashness of their youth.  Not much is known about the status of their women, though. A large number of Afghani Sikhs live as stateless persons in India as India continues to grant them stay on a year to year basis, without confirming their residency.

Hamburg, Germany: In a first of its kind, a turbaned Sikh American Sonny Caberwal has become the international face of the prestigious German men’s magazine GQ.

Turbans, even if worn as symbol of Sikh religion Sikhism. Sonny, 30-year-old Sikh has been featured in GQ’s style Germany Spring Summer-2009.

He will go down as a “footnote in history for being a stereotype buster,” the newspaper the Mail Today noted Thursday. “It’s not about me, but about Sikh identity and about our culture and traditions being shown in a positive light to people around the world,” the Mail Today quoted Caberwal as saying in Mumbai.

Caberwal has received hundreds of comments and e-mails from people around the world telling him how proud they were to see their own identity being represented positively.

Caberwal’s portfolio was shot in Hamburg, Germany, in January.

United Kingdom: Shocked worshippers have been arriving from all over London to witness the tragic blaze that is sweeping through a major Sikh temple in the East End. Many have been close to tears watching the flames sweep through the upper floor of the ornately decorated Gudwara Sikh Sangat with its classical pillared entrance.

More than 50 firefighters have been called to the sangat at Harley Grove in Bow where fire broke out at 2 pm. Ten emergency crews have been mobilised so far to tackle the blaze which has been out of control on the first floor of the temple, after the Fire Brigade received several 999 calls at 2.10pm.

Jagdish Singh Jhinda, president of the HGPC (Ad hoc), walks out of a meeting of the SGPC to pass the annual budget in Amritsar.

Amritsar, Punjab: The general house of the SGPC today passed its Rs 449-crore annual budget even as Jagdish Singh Jhinda, president of the Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (Ad hoc), and Gurwinder Singh Shampura, an opposition member, walked out of the meeting. The attendance at the general house was thin.

The house proceedings started with condolence of the untimely death of Capt Kanwaljit Singh, who died in road accident yesterday.

The general house criticised the Congress and the CBI for giving clean chit to Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were facing charges of engineering anti-Sikh riots in November, 1984. Another resolution passed at the house asked the Haryana government to introduce Punjabi as an elective subject in its schools from the new academic session.

The rift in the Haryana panel also came to the fore when no other SGPC member from Haryana followed Jhinda during the walkout. Another senior SGPC member from Haryana, Didar Singh Nalvi, however, presented a charter of demands, which were partially accepted by the general house.

Amritsar, Punjab: A 56-member delegation of Banjara Sikhs, including Sikligars and Lobanas of Maharashtra and Gujarat, on a two-day visit to the city, offered prayers at the Golden Temple here yesterday.

The tour programme was organised by the trust for the welfare of Banjaras and other weaker sections.

While talking to The Tribune, trust secretary Mohinder Singh said a large section of the Banjaras came into Sikh fold during the travels of Guru Nanak Dev and during the time of Guru Hargobind and Guru Gobind Singh.

However, they lost touch with the faith as they were classified as criminal tribes which resulted in their mass migration to the forests during the British regime. He said for centuries they remained neglected and after Independence, the government denotified the Banjaras class as nomadic tribes. Unfortunately, the constitutional benefits were yet to be restored to them. He said the trust had made an endeavour to conduct the pilgrimage of Sikh shrines in North India to make them aware of Punjab’s rich heritage and culture.

The group arrived here last night and was put up in the Golden Temple complex, where they interacted with members of the SGPC. Siropas were offered to them.

Patiala, Punjab: To curb the Dera Sacha Sauda effect in Malwa belt of Punjab SGPC has started  new schools and academic session began in seven out of total nine new schools affiliated with central Board of secondary education (CBSE).

According to sources SGPC has been concentrating on Malwa to down the effect of dera and to get premies in to main Sikh fold. The ongoing parliament elections are the main reason behind it and SAD will try to take its advantage in elections, sources added.

When contacted SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh  however denied any politics behind the move. He added that lower literacy rate in Malwa and other parts of state is the main reason behind it.

He said that has been these new schools will be in Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozpur , Amritsar and Kapurthala district. One school out of it has set up in Haryana.

Anandpur Sahib, Punjab: The Sikh bodies have finally managed to break the world record of Dera Sacha Sauda by collecting 18,207 units of blood in 16 hours during its massive blood donation camp held here on the occasion of Hola Mohalla.

Camp started at 7:25 pm on March 10 at local Khalsa College and ended at 11:25 pm with final donations reaching tally of 18,207. Earlier, the Sikh bodies have been claiming to collect 25,000 units of blood.

“It was a long and tardy exercise. Before organising it we never knew that there is any world record and nor did we aim at one. Gradually, from different quarters, we were encouraged to set a benchmark and contacted the Guinness Book of World Records authority,” said advocate Jagwinder Singh, the in-charge of Akal Purkh Ki Fauj, that organised the entire activity.

Seventy plus Manmohan Singh, with his light blue turban, almost as a brand of his middle of the road political management approach, looks destined to take over the reigns of the country again. The Bharatiya Janta Party is almost out of the race, even before it has actually begun.  With the burden of a Saffron agenda and with allies of its alliance in the NDA falling apart like nine pins, it only has an ever willing Akali Dal led by Parkash Singh Badal as its key supporter in the build up to the countdown to become the rulers of the vast sub-continent called Bharat by the natives and India by the world.

As we go further in the year, our recall of the past becomes heavier and painful. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister is happy news for the Sikhs. Almost. Manmohan Singh of the Congress party as the key leader of the country does not instill enthusiasm even twenty five years after June 1984 and November 1984.  Even in the last five years, at the country level the country may have much to boost, but the Sikhs do not.

The immaculate grace, unparalleled dignity, core honesty of Manmohan Singh and the amazing low profile of his wife and all other members of the family and the extended family are reasons to make Sikhs happy about Manmohan Singh’s persona. India has not seen in the last sixty years of its existence a person like him who carries no extra weight around him, literally and figuratively. His management skills, his fiscal and financial prowess, and his diplomatic coups –all deserve not only praise but commendation from Sikhs and everyone else. 

Assamese Sikhs visit Punjab for the first time to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Amritsar, Punjab: Assamese Sikhs, who do not know a word of Punjabi, today visited Punjab for the first time in search of their roots to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple here. Most of them even boarded train for the first time, says PP Singh, an Assam-based journalist.

However, as they can read Gurmukhi, the Punjabi script, they can read and recite Guru Granth Sahib. They speak Assamese and generally follow the local code of conduct regarding food, social discipline and dress. But they are aware of their Sikh identity and do wear the five Ks.

Interestingly, three Assamese Sikhs, including Waryam Singh, Lalit Singh and Amar Singh, are elected “Gaon Buddha” (sarpanches). Waryam Singh, Sarpanch of Lanka, said the Sikhs were popular among local people there.

Bhai Daljit Singh Jee – Sri JapJi Sahib File Size – 15.3 MB Duration – 16m : 46s

New Zealand: Some Sikh men studying in Invercargill have been repeatedly labelled terrorists and racially abused to the point where one student went against his religious beliefs to protect his safety.

Five students out of a group of 25 who arrived in Invercargill this month to study at the Southern Institute of Technology said they have experienced 16 incidents of racial abuse in the past 12 days.

The five said they have all been called terrorists and told to “leave our country” by pedestrians and motorists in the city.

Four of those targeted are Sikh and wear turbans, which they said made some “ignorant” people confuse them with Arabs or Muslims and target them for racial abuse.