A few months ago, RP Singh wrote a wonderful review of a new children’s book called A Lion’s Mane by Navjot Kaur.  The book takes young readers on a journey to cultures around the globe to explore the meaning of the dastaar.  The book does an excellent job at celebrating diversity and encouraging inquisition in young readers.  While the main character in the book is a young Sikh boy, the author and illustrator worked hard to create a story that was accessible to both young boys and young girls.

Educators are now asking – how can we create gender neutral curriculum and cultivate an environment of bias-free learning?  In a webinar titled, “Gender Neutral Teaching: A Sikh Context,” the Sikh Research Institute will be opening this topic up for discussion and looking at gender neutral teaching from a Sikh context.  We have an important role as a community to help to facilitate these discussions and ensure that our children and their children have the opportunity to learn in an environment that celebrates diversity.  Below you will find information on how to register for this webinar.  It sounds like an enlightening and much needed conversation!

Gender Neutral Teaching: A Sikh Context

Presenter: Jasmine Kaur, Director of Education at the Sikh Research Institute

March 20th, 2010

11:00am – 12:30pm CST

Register here.

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 to Grasshoppers”.

This reading is a charity event for the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir (IPTK).  The proceeds will be used to institute the Peace and Justice Grant For Scholarship and the Arts In Indian-Administered Kashmir for those residing in Indian-administered Kashmir.  The grant will be housed at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.

An interesting infographic circulating the Web has many people talking about the relationship between wealth and religion.  The graphic, titled The Almighty Dollar, was created by GOOD and Column Five Media and breaks down income levels in the U.S. by religion.  Data is based on information from the Pew Forum and it compares the income level of each religion to the national average.  From the website: It’s no secret that the distribution of wealth is inequitable in the United States across racial, regional, and socio-economic groups. But there is a distinct variance among and within America’s faiths as well.

If you click on the image above, it will enlarge and you’ll see information broken down by several religious groups such as Jewish, Christian (divided into several groups), Buddhist, Mormon, Muslim etc. You’ll notice that Sikhism is not one of them (not sure why?). There are five income brackets (Less than $30,000 to $100,000+) listed and numbers signifying what percentage of each religious group falling into which income bracket.

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We’ve occasionally touched upon the choice that today’s youth make in choosing a career or path.  Enough of our peers are already in, or heading towards medicine, and no encouragement is needed in that direction.  But good news- now you pre-med students have more options in the U.S.!

There has long been an imbalance in the demand for seats in medical schools, and the supply of seats available.  Bright students have had to travel internationally to study, sometimes learning to study without reliable electricity.  However, during the 80s and 90s, only one new medical school was established.  This is finally changing.  Nearly two dozen medical schools are opening, or might open in the near future. [NYT]

The proliferation of new schools is also a market response to a rare convergence of forces: a growing population; the aging of the health-conscious baby-boom generation; the impending retirement of, by some counts, as many as a third of current doctors; and the expectation that, the present political climate notwithstanding, changes in health care policy will eventually bring a tide of newly insured patients into the American health care system. [NYT]

The interesting aspect of this growth is that many of the creators of these new programs aim to create doctors different from today’s.  They claim they will produce doctors who aim to serve immigrant and underserved communities.

Many of the developing medical schools are well aware of such arguments, and are billing themselves as different from traditional medical schools, more focused on serving primary care needs in immigrant and disadvantaged communities. Administrators say that they expect that approach to be buttressed by a shift in state and federal reimbursements from specialists to primary care doctors. [NYT]

In any case, they’ll be closer to home!

College bhangra competitions used to be rare.   Now, every region is home to multiple competitions.

It’s great to see bhangra, as an artform, thriving.  Though as a competition, it sometimes feels as though the art is lost amongst the flips and pyramids.  However, the last few years have seen a movement going back to the basics of the traditional art form, which has been wonderful to see.

In the crowd of competitions, it is natural to try to distinguish oneself.  This year, DC will play host to an invitational bhangra competition called the “Elite 8.”  It won’t change bhangra competitions, but it may heighten the profiles of the teams who were invited.

Check out more info for the competition and teams competing, here.

Amarjit Kaur, 39, was critically shot on Wednesday afternoon in Vallejo, California as she sold ice cream out of an ice cream truck near a school.  The Bay Area television news reported last night that police believe the reason for the shooting was two fold. First it was a robbery by a 15-year male.  Secondly, Kaur’s inability to understand that the English-speaking 15-year old was asking for money caused him to shoot her out of frustration and anger.

As a widowed mother of three and a recent immigrant to the United States, Kaur’s case highlights the struggle that immigrant woman go through to support their families.  Her strength to sell ice cream out of a truck while not completely understanding English shows perseverance during adversity but also highlights the risk new immigrants take to build lives for themselves and their families in the United States.

You would imagine that selling ice cream to primarily children would not be high risk. However, Harish Joshi reported that he was held-up twice while operating an ice cream truck in Richmond (California Bay Area).

Kuldeep Malhan, Kaur’s brother-in-law said a fund has been set-up to help support the family at Bank of America, account No. 488019845001.  Please donate to help with Kaur’s medical bills and other living expenses while she is unable to work because of her injuries.

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.  You only need a heart full of grace.  A soul generated by love. “   – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Last week, in celebration of Dr. King’s legacy, the DC Metro satellite of Kid’s Against Hunger drew volunteers all across the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area for a hugely successful meal packaging event.

Kid’s Against Hunger (KAH) is a non-profit organization with the mission to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the United States and to feed starving children throughout the world.  This is accomplished through partnering with satellite organizations who raise funds, organize volunteers, and arrange events where meal packets (consisting of soy, rice, vegetable blend, and flavored vitamin powder) are filled, sealed, and packed for a population in need.  Meals are then transported through KAH’s broad network of humanitarian organizations.

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Months ago we announced the first Sikh graduate student conference – SIKHOLARS, being hosted by the Jakara Movement and Sikh Spirit Foundation.

Today, the confirmed participants have been announced:

• Ajeet Singh Matharu, Columbia University, History, N/A
• Arvinder Singh Kang and Amanpreet Singh Brar, University of Mississippi, Computer Science, Extending Gurmukhi Script into Twenty-first Century & Beyond
• Bandana Kaur, Yale University, Environmental Management, Reclaiming Natural Histories: Biodiversity and Landscape in Pre-Green Revolution Punjab
• Erik Resly, Harvard Divinity School, Divinity, (Re)figuring the Sikh: Theodicy, Discipleship and Narrative in Ethical Perspective
• Harjant Gill, American University, Anthroplogy, From Putt Jattan De to Munde UK De: The Transformation of Masculinities in Punjabi Cinema
• Iqbal Kaur Gill, University of British Columbia, Counseling Psychology, First Generation Canadian Punjabi Sikh Parents Beliefs  about Adolescent Suicide and Suicide Related Behaviours
• Kamal Arora, York University, Social Anthropology, The Politics of Pain: Gender, Mourning and the Punjab Crisis
• Mandeep Kaur, University of Texas (Austin), Nursing, The Sikh Patient: A Review of the Nursing Literature
• Mette Bach, University of British Columbia, Creative Writing, The Changing Faces of Suburbia
• Preet Kaur Virdi, York University, Socio-Legal Studies, Silence: Resistance or Acquiescence? Sikh women’s perspectives on Canadian law

A thorougly diverse and intriguing display of scholars.  We eagerly await for the conference.  We hope others can attend February 20, 2010 at Stanford University.

For more information and to read the abstracts, see here.

A few weeks ago, Maple Leaf Sikh said that “We often lament the state of our gurdwaras but we should just as often stop and think about how much we have accomplished.”  How very true!  How often do we highlight communities where things are working well for the Sikh diaspora?  A recent article tells us how a small town in Central California, Livingston, is helping to bridge a gap created by a cultural, linguistic and religious divide between generations.   Recognizing that language is the link to religion for Sikhs, the sangat in Livingston has ensured that children in the area have the opportunity to attend Punjabi classes and learn the language.

There’s a lasting link between the 35-character alphabet used to write Punjabi and the Sikh religion. The Sikh scriptures and the Punjabi language of many Sikhs were written in a script known as Gurmukhi. So to be fully initiated into the religion, you must know how to read it… Tripat Grewal, who helps teach Punjabi language classes, said that for many Sikhs the fact that their children couldn’t understand what was being said in the temple was at the heart of the effort to create Punjabi-language classes. “The religious part was very important,” she said. [link]

When the space at the local Gurdwara became too cramped, the leaders secured classroom space at a local elementary school.  While these efforts aren’t the first of its kind, it’s always great to hear a community coming together to address a need.  For those of us who are familiar with the small towns scattered across central california — these punjabi classes are vital to bridging the divide between generations.  With large immigrant populations and many living in joint families – being able to communicate effectively with one another is and will continue to be an important part of the diaspora.

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In predominantly Christian countries like the U.S., Christmas has become a cultural holiday that even non-Christians celebrate to some extent.  Most of us enjoy, at least, taking advantage of days off, eating lots of cakes and pies, and spending time with family and friends.

The Times of India thinks Christmas can do even more than give us a day off work… like heal the wounds caused by police brutality in Ludhiana against Sikh protesters of Ashutosh and the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan. Of course, TOI also mischaracterizes the conflict at issue as one between migrants who now feel left out of Ludhiana’s social fabric and Sikhs.

Christian organizations are planning to celebrate the festival by reaching out to the migrants, who have been feeling left out after the riots they were involved in and to Sikh protesters, who got hurt in police action.

“Christmas celebrations have the twin themes of peace and prosperity. We will be going to the areas like Dhandari, which have many migrants staying there and witnessed a lot of clashes during the riots,” said Albert Dua, president of Christian United Federation. [TOI]

TOI journalists may not have much of a grip on reality, and are probably overestimating what one holiday and a few days off can do.  Still, I do hope you enjoy the holidays, however you spend them.  Happy holidays!

On a remotely related note, if Santa were Punjabi….

Healthcare reform, immigration reform, banking reform, and the list goes on.  This past week a diverse coalition lead by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill) are laying down the marker in 2009 for comprehensive immigration reform by introducing the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity (CIR-ASAP) Act of 2009.  This bill has not been passed yet; it has only been introduced.

In a country built on the hard work of immigrants, it is imperative that this group be protected in the United States.  Recently, there was a report that 1/3 of Los Angeles’s economy is dependent on immigrants.  Also, immigrants are known for their entrepreneurship in small businesses. Tuyet Le, Executive Director of the Asian American Institute, says: “Family-based immigration has long created the foundation for strong, entrepreneurial communities across the country. This bill will reunite immigrants with their loved ones and will also provide some increases in high-skill temporary worker visas.”

This legislation focuses on undocumented students, family reunification, and worker visas-issues affecting our Punjabi Sikh community in America.  For example, CIR-ASAP would allow undocumented high school graduates who came to the United States before the age of 16 to attain legal residency.  This residency would open up educational and financial aid opportunities.  This portion of the bill is modeled after the DREAM Act of 2009, except that it shortens the six-year wait period to three years and removes fines.

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A charity based in Southall, called the Drug and Alcohol Action Programme (DAAP) will be joining forces with local Gurdwaras to address high rates of alcohol abuse taking place at Asian, particularly Punjabi Sikh, weddings.  Perminder Dhillon, CEO of the charity states that “it is no longer acceptable to ignore the dangerous levels of alcohol drinking at these events.”

There is a mistaken view in Asian communities that religious and cultural backgrounds act as a barrier to the kind of drunken scenes so often seen in so many town centres all over the country. She said: “Many parents feel pressurized to provide a huge quantity of alcohol at weddings even if they themselves are non-drinkers”. [link]

She goes onto say that there are huge expectations on families to provide alcohol at weddings – often demanded by the groom’s side.  This problem has become so extensive now that it is likened to demanding dowry and by partaking, “we end up supporting users with alcohol-related health problems during the binge-drinking period”.

Research published in the British Medical Journal suggests that men of South Asian origin in Britain are four times more likely to die of alcohol-related liver problems than other ethnic groups.  Eighty percent of those South Asians who are vulnerable to alcohol-related mortality are Sikhs.

The charity has stated that the strategy they will use to combat this issue is simple – they will “name and shame” those involved and publicly condemn individuals on their website.

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Vishavjit Singh’s work hardly needs any introduction in Sikhdom.  Since 2003, his Sikhtoons have become ubiquitous on those webpages where Sikhs are found.  It was the events of 9/11 that first pushed this Sikh activist and 1984 survivor to tell his story and the stories and thoughts of so many more to pick up his pen.

From politics to 1984, from sports to Hindutva, few topics are beyond Vishavjit’s interest.  This past fall, as so many Sikhs sought to remember 1984 in their own ways, Vishavjit Singh had a gallery display his artwork.

The New Century Artists is a nonprofit gallery caters to underrepresented communities and is among 15 galleries housed in a building located in Chelsea.  From November 17th to November 28th they played host to the exhibit – When A Big Tree Falls.

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Blogged by: Amol Singh

In events and programs highlighted at remembering 25 years since 1984, the most vocal criticisms of these remembrances revolve around a desire to forgive or forget.  For many it seems regressive and contradictory to highlight these tragedies while India hoists its Sikh Prime Minister to the world’s stage. On November 18, Amnesty International released a public letter to President Barack Obama, to mark Manmohan Singh’s impending visit to Washington, in which they highlighted grievances of not only Sikhs against the Indian Center, but also those of Muslims, the victims of the Union Carbide tragedy in Bhopal, the entire Northeast, Kashmir, Dalits, Adivasis, Chattisgarh, Manipur, etc.

Even though India is the world’s largest democracy, serious and disturbing human rights abuses are ongoing, including rape, extrajudicial executions, deaths in police and military custody, torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, arbitrary arrests, and dowry deaths. The Government of India not only fails to prevent these abuses, but also shelters members of security forces from facing justice. People living in several of the northeastern states of India and in Kashmir, religious minorities, those belonging to the lowest social order called “Dalits”, and indigenous communities called “adivasis” face the brunt of these abuses. Other socially and economically marginalized groups including women face discrimination at the hands of the police and criminal justice system. Although laws were passed to address some of these human rights abuses, serious concerns remain about the implementation of such laws.

Some of the specific contexts in which mass abuses were or continue to be committed include:

Mass killings of Sikhs: Over three thousand Sikhs were massacred when the governing Congress Party incited mob violence targeting Sikh civilians in reaction to the 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Scores of women were gang raped and some were burnt alive. After two decades, a judicial commission concluded that members of the governing Congress Party were involved. Twenty five years have passed since the massacre, but only a few have been brought to justice for this mass killing. [Read Full Text]

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In the coming New Year spend January attending two Sikh events-one in Canada and the other in the United States.  The Toronto Sikh Retreat and Surat Sikh Conference will be taking place during the first half of January 2010.

Toronto Sikh Retreat is a 4-day retreat in the outskirts of Toronto in a winter wonderland.  It will take place from January 7-10, 2010. Sikhs of various ages from around the world come together to learn, discuss and reflect on various Sikh issues to better understand ourselves and the world around us from a Sikh perspective.  With a limit of 65 spaces, the retreat provides an intimate environment for intellectual and spiritual growth through small group discussions, lectures, kirtan diwans, and creative projects (in-door and outdoor).  Visit the retreat website and watch the video for more information.  Registration is NOW open- take advantage of the early bird special!

The Surat Sikh Conference will bring together 180 Sikh professionals in New York City & New Jersey during Martin Luther King Jr. long weekend (January 15-18, 2010) to share, learn, and reflect on the theme “A Journey Through Ardas”.  Through guest speakers, workshops, and a nonprofit poster session, the goal of the conference is to provide a space of introspection for participants on how to view the world through a Sikh perspective. Participants attend kirtan diwans, have intellectual conversations and enjoy outdoor activities. Visit the conference website and watch the video under the “About” section  for more information. Registration will open on December 5th!

Recent coverage on The Langar Hall led us to celebrate the victory in Surrey of the YOUTH SLATE.  Now here in the United States we have the formation of the SIKH SLATE.

8 Sikh organizations (Ensaaf, the Jakara Movement, SALDEF, Sikhcess, Sikh Research Institute, Surat Sikh Conference, The Sikh Coalition, and United Sikhs) have teamed up and are calling on all Sikhs to vote for the slate on Facebook.

Just a few clicks could gain $200,000 for our community through the Chase Bank Community Giving.

CLICK HERE to vote and for links to all the Sikh organizations.

Now enjoy the Return of Billa in Part Deux and most importantly follow his advice – VOTE NOW!

Make sure you join the SIKH SLATE Fan Page on Facebook.

Please circulate widely to your family/friends (Sikhs and non-Sikhs)!

25 seconds of your time could lead to $25,000 for your community.  Don’t get Billa angry!

Vote for ALL Sikh organizations.  You get 20 votes!  For links to the groups and directions on how to vote click here.

Please help spread this video to all your friends and family!  Most importantly, make sure they follow Billa’s advice.  GET OUT AND VOTE!  Brothers and sisters, Singhs and Kaurs throughout the world – WE NEED YOUR VOTES and SUPPORT!

The exciting part 2 will be released later this week – exclusively on The Langar Hall.

Almost two years ago I blogged about an NPR story that highlighted the issue of Runaway Grooms. Today, I once again write about the same issue – this time the media terms it “Holiday Brides” – a different name telling the same story.  We should be outraged that years after we first heard about this issue, we are still having the same conversation.  We are told that about 20,000 women have been deserted by men in the UK, US and Canada who promise to return to India and never do.  The most recent questions is then, why are Punjabi women still falling for this obvious scam?

In a dusty village in the Jagraon district of Punjab, northern India, 35-year-old Suman (which is not her real name), lives with her widowed mother in a small room in a crumbling building. Four years ago, the secondary school teacher married a British man in a wedding arranged by relatives. Shortly after the ceremony, her husband, who is in his 50s, left for London with the promise he would send for her. At first all appeared to go well. “He would visit two to three times a year. “Whenever he came to India, we had a good time,” she said. However, on one visit he claimed her application for a spousal visa to the UK had been refused. It was like being a prostitute you take along and have a good time with and then leave behind ‘Suman’, 35 ”He told me he had applied for an appeal. “But he has never shown me a copy of that appeal. He’s never shown me any documents.” The visits and calls ended, and for the past six months Suman has had no contact with her husband. “In hindsight, it was like being a prostitute you take along and have a good time with and then leave behind. [link]

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3 clicks are all it takes.  JPMorgan Chase Bank partnered up with Facebook to have sort of an “American Idol” of charity giving.  The 100 charities with the most votes by December 10th will receive $25,000.

CLICK HERE to vote  for the Jakara Movement.

There are a great number of Sikh charities that are participating.  The Jakara Movement has the most votes for the Sikh groups – and needs your support to bring $25,000 to our community to support projects by the Sikh youth.  This weekend alone, the Jakara Movement had 6 events.  There were 5 camps, titled, “A Nation Never Forgets” that were hosted in Los Angeles, Turlock, Stockton, Yuba City, and Orange County.  Here are some pictures from just one.

In the Bay Area, the Jakara Movement helped host the forum “Women and 1984”, bringing scholars and activists such as Cynthia Keppley Mahmood (author of Fighting for Faith and Nation and a champion for human rights), Navkiran Kaur Khalra (daughter of the late Shaheed for human rights, Jaswant Singh Khalra), and Jasmine Kaur (a human rights lawyer and member of ENSAAF).

To keep programs, like this going – WE NEED YOUR HELP.  We are asking for ALL Sikhs – whether in the US, UK, Canada, India, Punjab, Malaysia, Australia, Africa, and beyond to rally around the Sikh organizations and provide your support.  Get your non-Sikh friends to vote too!

Log into Facebook and click HERE to vote for the JAKARA MOVEMENT. And with your 20 votes, do not forget to vote for other great Sikh organizations (ENSAAF, SALDEF, and many others) too.  Inspire and be inspired; together, we are the movement.

Please forward and circulate this widely.  We Need the Entire Community to Rally Behind the Sikh Youth!

Flu season along with H1N1 are in full swing right now.  We worry about catching it at schools, in airports, and work.  Often we hear of recommendations for people to stay home if they are sick so they don’t infect their co-workers and give themselves time to get well.  However, for some staying home when you are sick comes at a large cost-a day(s) worth of wages.  According to the Union Voice, “Thirty-nine percent of us have a difficult choice to make when we’re sick: go to work and risk infecting our co-workers (and risk making our illness worse), or stay home and put our finances and our jobs in jeopardy”. (hat tip: Sonny)

Thus, Senator Chris Dodd and Rep. Rosa DeLauro are pressing forward the passage of the Healthy Families Act, which was first introducted by Senator Edward Kennedy.

The Healthy Families Act would provide 7 paid sick days to all workers at companies with at least 15 employees, and would prevent employers from retaliating against workers who get sick. The bill has 113 sponsors in the House and 21 sponsors in the Senate, and has been endorsed by the Obama administration.

This bill would ensure that 3/4 of workers in the food and service industry who do not get paid sick days will be able to stay home rather than come into contact with their co-workers and the public.  Taking action to pass this bill will be a positive step forward in fighting the spread of H1N1.

TAKE ACTION NOW by clicking here and sending your congressional representative an e-mail asking him/her to support this bill.