I’ll admit…when I first saw emails and facebook posts titled “Save The Gurdwara”, I immediately dismissed it, thinking it was yet another mismanaged Gurdwara falling in to bankruptcy or one group trying to overthrow another. But after I read the website and confirmed some of the details with contacts in Austin, I was shocked by what had occurred.
By now most of you know that in 2007, the city of Austin, Texas approved the building of a permanent Gurdwara on land the Sikh community had purchased back in 2003 and where they’ve since been having regular weekly services in a makeshift home. Shortly after construction began, a couple who recently moved nearby the Gurdwara (the Bollier’s), filed an injunction to block construction on the grounds that it would be an eye-sore, increase traffic, and lower property value. In March 2009, a district court denied the couple’s injunction in favor of the Austin Sikh community and construction of the Gurdwara was allowed to proceed. Unfortunately, this victory would be short-lived. Sixteen months after the original victory and construction now complete, an appeals court has overturned the lower court’s ruling and has ordered the entire structure to be torn down – needless to say, the Austin Sikh community is devastated!
As many of us would, I immediately thought this was a blatant act of racism, but as I read the website several times, I noticed there is no accusation of this being racially-motivated. I applaud the Austin sangat for taking the “high road” and not pulling the race card until there is clear evidence of racism or bigotry, but I must say…it sure does smell like it! I mean, “Lower their property’s value?”…really?
Somewhere in all the disappointment and frustration of this situation, I am still impressed with how Sikhs manage to come together in a time of need. Emails are circulating through all the networks, people are dedicating their facebook pictures and statuses to the “Save the Gurdwara” movement, and some of our talented MC’s have written songs to help rally and inspire the community.
Many years ago, I attended a demonstration where thousands of Sikhs gathered in the city. Onlookers were curious as to who we were and why we had gathered. As I was handing out information pamphlets, a passerby approached me, took one of the pamphlets, quickly looked it over and in a thick British accent said, “Ah yes…Sikhs! Wonderful religion…wonderful people…brave soldiers…” Then he leaned over to whisper something in my ear and said “…but whoever handles your public relations sucks!”
As I see patterns and trends on the way Sikhs are portrayed in the media, that incident always comes to mind. Seeing how positive acts from Sikh individuals rarely mention the word “Sikh” yet negative acts from Sikh individuals turn in to an “exposé” of our community, I started to wonder how non-Sikhs were learning about us and what can we do to proactively present a more accurate image.
Here in North America, our approach to public relations and education is largely reactionary. After a violent event at a Gurdwara, we explain to the public how Sikhs are not violent. After September 11th, we explained how we’re not terrorists. It seems we spend more time explaining who we’re not rather than who we are.
There are some positive efforts as well. Traditionally, many Sikh communities flood the interfaith networks as a means of outreach. I’ve participated in many interfaith events over the years, and although it may be beneficial for relationship building and dialogue, its impact on educating large parts of society over time is debatable.
In the past few months, somewhere in the plethora of press release emails I receive from Sikh organizations, I learned of two significant initiatives by the Sikh Coalition that seemed to pass quietly without much fanfare.
Last year, Maple Leaf Sikh highlighted a revolutionary event which occurred in Toronto and brought together young Sikhs to pay homage to 1984. The event, hosted by the Sikh Activist Network, returns this year and brings together artists such as Hoodini, Mandeep Sethi, Selena Dhillon and Yudh Gatka Akhara and more. For those of you who are dealing with post-Sikh-conference-blues – When Lions Roar II promises to be yet another excellent event bringing together Sikh youth in an impactful way.
A Night of Hip Hop, Poetry, Spoken Word, Gatka and More…
To Remember 1984
Friday June 25
Mirage Banquet Hall
Admission: Pay What You Can
All Ages – Doors Open at 6pm
Guestblogged by Brooklynwala
Yesterday morning I was reading the ubiquitous, free “AM New York” newspaper on the subway on the way to a 
meeting and was disturbed and saddened to learn about a protest of 1,000 people in lower Manhattan against an Islamic Center being built near Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks. Holding signs with slogans like, “No 9/11 Mega Mosque” and “Don’t dishonor my son’s grave,” these protestors represent the growing backlash against the 13-story community center and mosque being built by the Cordoba Initiative.
According to their website, Cordoba “aims to achieve a tipping point in Muslim-West relations within the next decade, bringing back the atmosphere of interfaith tolerance and respect that we have longed for since Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in harmony and prosperity eight hundred years ago.” The Cordoba Initiative’s proposed Cordoba House located two blocks from Ground Zero “is about promoting integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion through arts and culture. Cordoba House will provide a place where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, will find a center of learning, art and culture; and most importantly, a center guided by universal values in their truest form – compassion, generosity, and respect for all.”
A few weeks ago, Tea Party leader Mark Williams, a frequent guest on CNN, stated that “the monument would consist of a Mosque for the worship of the terrorists’ monkey-god.”
Guest blogged by Brooklynwala
There’s no shortage of reasons why progressives and people who believe in social justice should be gathering together in the US now more than ever. With US wars raging on in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, the financial meltdown taking its toll working and poor Americans, and one of the most catastrophic ecological crises in the history of humanity currently destroying Gulf coast, we have a lot of work to do.
This June 22-26th, thousands of grassroots activists from around the country will be convening in Detroit, MI for the second United States Social Forum. Building off the World Social Forum process that began in 2001 in Porto Alegre Brazil, the US Social Forum was created with the assumption that in order to change the world, we must change the United States (the belly of the beast, as may of us often refer to our home).
Here is a clip of poet/actor Jessica Care Moore plugging the gathering:
Guest blogged by Brooklynwala
While many of us were celebrating 311 years of the Khalsa at Sikh Day Parades and Nagar Kirtans this weekend, thousands of immigrants and their allies gathered in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday to protest what is being called the 
most anti-immigrant legislation in the United States, Senate Bill1070. Signed into law by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on April 23rd, this measure allows local law enforcement authorities to question individuals based solely upon the suspicion that they may be undocumented.
According to the New York Times, “The law…would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Opponents have called it an open invitation for harassment and discrimination against Hispanics regardless of their citizenship status.”
President Obama stated that the law threatens “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”
Guest blogged by Brooklynwala
A few days ago, a friend sent me this powerful open letter she wrote in order to spark critical thinking and dialogue on the pitfalls of calling the police and relying on the criminal (in)justice system to deal with issues in our neighborhoods and communities. We live in New York City, which has a police force widely known for its excessive use of force and violence, especially against people of color. Sundari recently did a post on the NYPD shooting and killing of a Sikh man in NYC, Satnam Singh, just last week.
In a context in which police by and large cause more harm than get us closer to justice and where the prison system dehumanizes people instead of rehabilitating them, the author of this piece, along with a growing movement around the U.S., are challenging us to think of alternative ways of responding to harm. She states,
“Many of us don’t believe in calling the police. Right now, right here, even before we’ve sufficiently built all the alternative structures for responding to harm. Both in an attempt to create the world we want to live in, and/but also because the impact of prisons and policing is brutal, oppressive, racist, traumatic. We see almost no good coming of it, certainly no transformation, no making things better. We don’t trust police, we don’t think of them as the “good guys,” and we don’t think calling them is going to change anything.”
My friend’s compelling piece “Feeling for the edge of your imagination” got me thinking about what a Sikh approach to justice is. While there is clearly not a simple answer to this question, I tend to think a Gurmukh would place love, forgiveness, rehabilitation, accountability, and recognizing the Divine in all at the center, despite questionable or even horrific actions one has perpetrated. Think about Bhai Kanhaiya Ji’s seva for “enemy” soldiers in need, who saw the injured soldiers’ humanity before he sought vengeance for their attacks against the Sikhs.
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 first ever semi-annual Sikh basketball camp. The camp was held at Khalsa Care Foundation and next door at Pacoima Middle School. Registration began at 9 AM at Khalsa Care Foundation, and by 10 AM, over 100 participants ages 8-18 were stretching and preparing to run basketball drills in the Pacoima Middle School gym.
The camp offered athletic training- the kids ran drills- dribbling, passing, doing layups.
The camp was also part social training- members of the Singh Sensations discussed sportsmanship, teamwork, and how kids should behave on a court.
And finally, the camp was part mentoring on growing up as a Sikh- the Singh Sensations talked about how sports can be used as a metaphor for living as a Sikh. They shared problems had experienced when playing sports in high school and how they had worked through those problems.
Sports are a great way of getting kids together and engaged, and then weaving in topics – like dealing with bullying in the locker room, when growing up Sikh- that might be uncomfortable to talk about otherwise. Sounds like a great initiative!
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 Cabinet Minister of Road Transport and Highways. It was on many of those same roadways in Delhi that Kamal Nath in 1984 personally led thousands of paid goons in the government-sponsored pogroms against the Sikhs. Thousands were bloodily massacred; thousands were raped; many lives destroyed and devastated. Many eyewitnesses have testified that Kamal Nath lead groups to attack the Sikhs seeking shelter at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj (the historic site where the body of Guru Tegh Bahadur was cremated after his shaheedi), killing many Sikhs and destroying the grounds of the Gurdwara.
Ensaaf’s report provides detailed information on Kamal Nath’s leadership and involvement during those dark nights in Delhi. The Sikh Activist Network in Canada (one of the spearhead groups in the coalition) has also prepared a short report, highlighting specific sections written by lead human rights attorney for the Delhi widows – HS Phoolka – in regards to the role of Kamal Nath.
Now, this month he has been invited to Toronto to lecture. As Sikhs, as Canadians, as people of conscious, as humans – we must act now.
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 Correctional Center in New York City. That’s right, solitary confinement, debatably a form of torture, for almost 3 years – not at Guantanamo Bay, but in downtown Manhattan. Fahad is awaiting trial and has not been convicted of any crime.
Journalist Chris Hedges wrote, “The case against Hashmi, like most of the terrorist cases launched by the Bush administration, is appallingly weak and built on flimsy circumstantial evidence… If it were a matter of evidence, activists like Hashmi, who is accused of facilitating the delivery of socks to al-Qaida, would probably never be brought to trial.”
I wrote a letter to Fahad last week, which you can read in its entirety below. Check out all the letters published in SAMAR here. To me, there is a deep connection between Fahad’s unjust incarceration and the discrimination and racism we as Sikhs face throughout the world. I hope that more of us get involved in the movement to free Fahad Hashmi and stop the draconian policies of the U.S. government, which continue under President Obama’s leadership.
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 trip to the region, as we were driving between pinds, my relatives pointed out the jeeps, distinctive with their black lights, that carried young drug dealers. The young men sitting inside were all in their teens.
In response, Ajmer Aulakh, a well known Punjabi professor and writer has written a play, “Avesle Yudha Di Nayika” (An Unsung War Heroine), that recently attracted a large audience at the Government College for Boys in Ludhiana.
Aulakh is a noted playwright, artist and winner of Sahitya Akademi Award. He has dedicated his life to theatre and generally works on issues and problems confronting the common man. [TOI]
This much-needed play had students riveted, incorporating Punjabi poetry.
The play highlighted the menace of drugs, delineating how a family loses everything to the evil. Jodha Singh, a villager landlord, is survived by his wife and two children. Satwant Kaur, wife of Jodha Singh, wants their kids to go to school and study, but owing to drugs, the family property is lost. The play portrays the consequent struggle. It depicts how she fights odds to enable her children to continue their studies. The play was performed by artists who are part of Lok Kala Manch and was supported beautifully by Punjabi poetry. [TOI]
Something remarkable has been happening over the past week. When an earthquake hit Haiti last week, individuals rallied together to raise awareness via facebook updates and email messages to raise funds and send aid to the devastated area.
In a similar way, the entire Sikh community came together this week to support two Sikh organizations who were competing in the $1 Million Chase Community Giving Campaign. Emails were sent out in support, facebook and twitter updates were constantly being posted, Sikhs were reaching out to each other and also to non-Sikhs to involve them in the process. The potential of building the first Sikh Museum in North America got the global Sikh community excited about the impact a group of committed people can have. Imagine a building dedicated to Sikh history, a place for future generations to pay homage to the deep and meaningful history of the Sikh Qaum. The point is, we no longer have to imagine these dreams. The possibility is real and if we, as a community, can mobilize – there isn’t anything we can’t do.
There is still time to VOTE. All it takes is one click on Facebook to support these initiatives and participate in one of the most notable mobilizations we’ve seen in our community. Voting ends in 24 hours – don’t delay, vote now!
VOTE for Jakara Movement: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/674186
VOTE for Sikhcess: http://www.sikhcess.org/
The opportunity is now. We can make the first ever Sikh Women’s Domestic Violence Shelter.
Did you know a woman is battered in the US every 9 minutes. We cannot stand idle. We must take a stand!
HOW: you need to vote NOW: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/674186
HOW DO I VOTE: You can only vote if you are a ‘fan’ of Chase Bank Community Giving. If you are not sure how to do this, follow this simple instructional video
WHAT DO I DO AFTER VOTING:
1) Donate your profile picture for 1 week, until January 22nd. Use the purple SILENCE HIDES VIOLENCE on the right.
2) Encourage ALL your friends and family – Sikh and non-Sikh to vote by inviting them to this group, messaging them on Facebook chat, and telling them you will not leave them alone until they vote.
We are currently behind in the numbers, but if everyone on this list takes 20 seconds out of their time to vote, we will be in first place. IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU!
For more information, visit www.end-dv.com
We can do this together! Only together! Inspire and be inspired!
Gur Fateh!
Happy Lohri! 
Lohri is celebrated around January 13th every year. In Punjab, it marks the beginning of the harshest part of winter. Here’s what you need to get started with your celebration: a giant bonfire, popcorn, sweets, and songs about Dulha Bhatti, a robber who helped the poor.
Lohri is usually celebrated in the outdoors by friends and family who get together and have a bonfire in the evening. Lohri signifies onset of intense winter in Punjab and surrounding areas. Cold weather is good for wheat hence farmers celebrate Lohri so that their crops lead to a good harvest.
During the day, children go from door to door singing folk songs in praise of Dulha Bhatti, a thief in folklore who helps the poor and fights for their rights. These children are given sweets and savories, and occasionally, money. These collections are known as Lohri, and they are distributed at night during the festival. Some may be offered to the sacred fire. Peanuts, popcorn and other food items are also thrown into the fire as an offering to the God of Fire, Agni. [wikipedia]
Usually, in Punjab, families have an especially large Lohri celebration if a boy has been born in the family in the prior year. We’re talking DJs, catered food, and dancing all night in the streets (at least in the city).
This year, you can make Lohri special by donating to Ladoos: Pink & Blue.
Sikh history is about to be made in North America. In December, throughout the United States, 500,000 nonprofit charities competed on a competition on the popular internet website, Facebook, for the Chase Bank Community Giving contest. The top 100 groups advanced to the second round for a chance at 1 million dollars.
Out of the top 100 groups, a Sikh youth organization was amongst the top 20. That Sikh youth organization was the Jakara Movement. The Jakara Movement has hundreds of volunteers throughout California and has been organizing Sikh conferences, retreats, camps for the youth for the past 10 years. Now they have a unique opportunity for seva for their community. The Jakara Movement has publicly committed that funds won will go towards the building of a historic Sikh Museum in North America.
Earlier I described the success of Sikh organizations in a competition being held by Chase Bank Community Giving on Facebook.
Now the second round manifesto for the 1 million dollar grand prize has been publically announced.
The Jakara Movement is publicly committed to use ALL money for the construction of 2 projects – the first North American Sikh Museum AND the Mata Gujri Women’s Center and Domestic Violence Shelter.
By voting for the Jakara Movement from January 15th-22nd, you will make this a reality.[link]
Update: The SWAT team provided an update on their progress. See end of post.
The Sikh Welfare Awareness Team is a new charitable organization in the UK focused on bringing awareness to drug and alcohol abuse in our community and reducing involvement in crime by providing youth with activities and organized events to participate in. The organization’s primary goal is “to establish relationships amongst the youth and… aim to bring together the local Sikh Community and focus on projects which benefit the youth of today.” I came across information about this organization after viewing a troubling YouTube video about homeless Sikhs (since the video below has been made private by the owner, log on and you can also watch the videos on Facebook). The Sikh Welfare Awareness Team (or S.W.A.T.) is currently working to bring awareness to the growing number of Sikhs, many who are recent immigrants from Punjab and are homeless living on the streets of Southall.
A few months ago, RP Singh wrote a very timely post on compassion and what it means to Sikhs. In Gurbani, the word Daya often translates to compassion, a trait which is long known in our history. One of the Panj Pyara or beloved five was Bhai Daya Singh and thus, Compassion along with Justice, Courage, Discipline and Leadership are important elements of the Khalsa.
As a reminder of this and as we get ready to begin a New Year – I wanted to share with you the Charter for Compassion – “a call to bring the world together.” It is stated that, The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect. [link]
I would encourage you to watch the video below and sign the charter. It might be a passive form of activism, however, let it be a nudge to hold ourselves accountable in the coming years – to live compassionately and emulate Sikhi in one of it’s purest forms.
Thank you to all TLH readers that voted and participated in the Chase Bank Community Giving competition. Over 500,000 organizations competed and 2 organizations from our community find themselves with $25,000 to further the community and a chance for advancement in the next round – the Jakara Movement and Sikhcess.
So here’s the deal. What would be your 1 million dollar dream for the community? Send some suggestions here. A plan is on the way, but we need community feedback first.
