Fauji Singhs
Posted by Jodha in USA on 03 31st, 2010 | 27 Comments
Last week, many in US Sikhdom celebrated the triumphs of Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan and Dr. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi. For why you may ask? See previous coverage.
The NY Times Printed this short brief:
Capt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, in a turban and full beard, graduated Monday at Fort Sam Houston in San...
A Community’s Loss
Posted by Sundari in News on 03 29th, 2010 | 16 Comments
I read about this story and it just broke my heart. The details are tragic in and of themself, however, the indication that our community somehow failed this family is even more heartbreaking.
On February 21st, 2010 – Satnam Singh was shot to death by NYC police. A few days later his mother,...
Sikh Man Has Longest Beard
Bhai Sarvan Singh, the head granthi at Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Vancouver has broken his own Guinness World Record of having the longest beard. His beard is now under 8 feet!
Initially Bhai Sahib was hesitant to take part in the competition because he did not grow his long beard for publicity. ...
Fraser Health Authority Apologizes (Again) For Cutting Sikh Patient’s Beard
Just over a year ago we read about a Canadian health organization’s apology for accidently shaving off a Sikh patient’s beard. In that case, a 70-year-old patient was admitted into the intensive care unit after a shooting and while under the care of the hospital, had his beard removed...
Sikhs in basketball- Singh Sensations
I recently heard about an interesting initiative happening in Southern California- a basketball camp for kids, put on by an all Sikh basketball team- the Singh Sensations. [Hat tip: Simrat]
On Saturday March 13, over 100 kids from Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego gathered to participate in the...
An “Amrit Vela” State of Mind
After following some of the recent on-line debates, and discussing the topic at our local Gurbani Veechar meeting, I’ve been reflecting a bit on the concept of amrit vela in Sikhi.
To summarize the debate, many feel that amrit vela is a specific time of day (roughly three hours before dawn) where...
URGENT ACTION NOW – Kamal Nath, Murderer of Sikhs
In some countries, those that perpetrate ‘crimes against humanity’ are punished. In India, too often (depending on the political party), the perpetrators are awarded at the ballot boxes or are decorated with cabinet positions. This is the story of Kamal Nath.
Kamal Nath is India’s current Union...
When Common Sense Isn’t So Common
Posted by Jodha in USA on 03 20th, 2010 | 2 Comments
Earlier this month a congressional hearing reviewing the Transportation Security Administration’s 2011 Fiscal budget occurred in committee. Representative, John Culberson (Republican from Texas) demanded to know why the US government refuses to engage in racial and religious profiling, when screening...
UPDATED: Gender Neutral Teaching: A Sikh Context
Due to unforseen circumstances, we were notified that the webinar has been postponed until Saturday, March 27, 2010. Register at the link provided below.
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A few months ago, RP Singh wrote a wonderful review of a new children’s book called A Lion’s...
Why 1984 Still Matters – the furore around Sonia Deol’s BBC documentary
Guest blogged by Harbakhsh Grewal
At the start of this year BBC 1, Britain’s premiere tv channel, highlighted the importance of 1984 to the Sikh psyche with a film documenting the personal journey of a British Sikh woman, journalist Sonia Deol. The reaction from many Sikhs has been hostile and vocal....
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti Returns with ‘Behud’
Many of you will recall the protests which emerged in 2004 when Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti went to stage her second play, Behzti. The play, which covered issues such as rape and violence within the setting of a gurdwara, caused an uproar in the Sikh community in Birmingham and was later canceled. Many...
Fire at Sacramento Dera
Posted by Jodha in California on 03 15th, 2010 | 13 Comments
The details are still very sketchy, but it seems that a dera associated with the highly controversial Maan Singh Pehowa was burned down in Sacramento this past weekend. Maan Singh has been accused of rape.
I write this post partially to clarify that it was not at a Gurdwara in Sacramento, as well as...
Arundhati Roy In San Francisco
Arundhati Roy, the author of “God of Small Things”, will be in San Francisco on March 26th at Mission High School Auditorium. The event will start at 7pm.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Roy will be reading from her latest collection of essays, “Field Notes on Democracy: Listening...
The Langar Hall Community Grows
Dear Langarites,
Over the next few weeks, we will be presenting posts by several individuals who answered our call for additional bloggers. We hope you welcome their writing and openly dialogue with them. Just this past week, you have seen two of our guest bloggers emerge. As a collective decision,...
No Longer a Silent Spectator
Guest blogged by Ajj Kaim
Two of my friends invited me to a Holi party in San Francisco last Friday(03/05/10). They told me the DJ was great and he always played awesome Bollywood/Bhangra music. Being an ardent dance lover this was enough motivation for me to say yes. The venue of the party was Supperclub,...
Gender Imbalance and the Status of Women
As communities around the world celebrated International Women’s Day yesterday, there were several interesting articles discussing the role of women in the world. Nicholas Kristof wrote about Three Proven Steps to Advance the World’s Women (education, micronutrients, and helping women start...
Amitabh and the Sikhs
Posted by Jodha in India on 03 8th, 2010 | 48 Comments
Of some note to Sikhs, members of the Bachchan actor family has caught the fancy of the Indian press in relation to our faith. It started with Amitabh Bachan’s blog post, where he wrote:
Abhishek shoots Bingo in the Holy City of Amritsar and his sister Shweta joins him to pay homage and prayer at...
Dear Fahad
Posted by Mehmaan (Guest) in Activism on 03 6th, 2010 | 33 Comments
Guest blogged by Brooklynwala
This week the South Asian Magazine for Action and Reflection (SAMAR) along with Theaters Against War (THAW), published several letters of support they solicited for Syed Fahad Hashmi, a US citizen who has been held in solitary confinement since May 2007 in the Metropolitan...
Saanjh Sikh Scholarships
Posted by Phulkari in General on 03 5th, 2010 | 5 Comments
The Saanjh Sikh Scholarship project is awarding 4 scholarships totaling $6,000 to Sikh students who are graduating California high school seniors or community college students pursuing higher education. The scholarships are need & merit based. All California Sikhs who are graduating high school...
Fighting drugs in Punjab through theatre
Amongst the male youth in Punjab, drugs are a serious problem today. With high unemployment rates, and a history of violence in the region, the environment is ripe for drug abuse. A Punjab government survey found that one out of three male students use at least a form of tobacco. And on a recent...
