Try a bike

Adding onto prior posts concerned about the environment, it’s interesting that the Transport Minister of Punjab made a statement today by riding his bike to work.parrot_on_a_bike.jpg

In a rare display of a public official and a cabinet minister and that too the transport minister of a state at its austere best, Master Mohan Lal, Transport Minister of Punjab on Thursday chose a rather conventional mode of transportation to reach his office at Civil Secretariat, here… Master rode a bicycle from his official residence in Sector 39 to attend his office. [link]

His one day bicycle ride was in response to increasing oil prices. Like Earth Hour, statements such as these are beneficial, but ultimately ineffective unless backed up by real, sustained efforts to change peoples’ actions on a daily basis. So – great statement Mohan Lal ji, but is it just a show?


New Theater Play about 1984 Sikh Genocide

A recent play seems to have caught my attention. I provide the description here in length:

dangalnama.jpgDangalnama is a gripping account of sectarian rioting in India since the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984. It is also the story of a younger generation making sense of their history.

Through the voices and personal testimonies of Indian journalists, students, artists and politicians, director Prasad Vanarase presents survival stories, which shed light on the current social, economic and political climate in India today and the wide disparity between the poor-rural and modern-urban population. Performed in five languages (Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, English and Kannada), this eye-opening and satirical take on Indian’s recent past also looks forward to a more unified future.

Dangalnama boasts a cast of 14 drawn from across India. Using satire and comedy, Dangalnama shows us the human side of India’s complex and often hidden issues in this powerful 90min production followed by a lively 30min discussion with the cast and director. [link]

Dangalnama A Flame Production directed by Prasad Vanarase
A Lift commission / UK Premiere
Fri 13 – Wed 18 June 13, 14, 15, 16, 17: 7.30pm – 9.30pm
15, 18: 2.00pm – 4.00pm

An immediate observation leaps out at me from the description. It is striking though that the play in being performed in five languages, yet the main language of the victims of the genocide, Punjabi, is left out. I wonder why?

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UPDATE: Signature’s Finale

In a day of updates, I figured I should update this one as well.

Although losing out on the 100,000 pound grand prize, the dynamic duo of Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh have been invited by Michael Jackson to join him on his comeback tour in the UK. The newspaper report is a bit ambiguous suggesting that Signature may also perform with MJ in Las Vegas as well. Amazing job fellas! I am sure they are on cloud 9.

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We’ve been following Signature over the last few months. From their audition appearance, to their semi-final Thriller, to even an interview with me highlighting their place in British Bhangra, before we all suffer from Signature overkill here is Suleman Mirza (often misspelled as Suleiman ) and Madhu Singh’s final performance.

Our dynamic Muslim and Sikh duo finished second on Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) to the dancing talent of George Sampson. While I was hoping for a “Beat It” performance, Madhu’s busy work schedule at PC World may not have allowed him to come up with a new routine. They stuck to their bread and butter of Tigerstyle’s Nachna Onda Nahin. A fine performance fellas. You even got Simon Cowell and the rest of the dorky judges to dance in their chairs.

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UPDATE: Navraj Bassi – Sikh CFL Football Player

Since the Sikh community first learned about Navraj (Nuvraj) Singh Bassi, many on the internet have rushed to create facebook groups, orkut groups, and other fan displays.bassi_camp.jpg I think the CFL in general, but the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS, in particular, will see a new group of excited fans.

Many have wondered about Nuvraj Singh Bassi’s status and luckily here in The Langar Hall, we have made friends with some great Roughrider fans, including Behaving Bradley, photographer Downtown Aaron Brown, Giventofly (GTF), and others on the Roughrider Fan Forums.

So from what I gather, Navraj is still a ‘raw’ player, but many are excited about the player he may become. He seems to have suffered a foot injury, but is still in attendance at training camp. We hope him a speedy recovery and the Roughriders a great season! We’ll try to keep you updated with the help of Behaving Bradley and others from the forum!

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A long time ago, my fellow Langa(w)r-iter, posed the question:

Can a kesdari Sikh man excel at high levels of athletic competition in the U.S. and practice his faith? [link]

Back then she was introducing us to Darsh Singh, Trinity University’s keshadhari (turbaned) Sikh starter and co-captain.

Today, I introduce you to Navraj Singh Bassi.

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Sad and Disturbing

In Ceres, California an 86 year old Sikh bibiji, Jagir Kaur Johal, was found stabbed to death in her home. The Modesto Bee reports:jagir.jpg

She died as a result of loss of blood from a stab wound to the chest and multiple slash wounds to the face, arms and legs, the Stanislaus County coroner’s office said.

Authorities said today the woman’s husband, 85-year-old Piara Johal, likely will be arrested.

Johal had a knife wound on his hand. The man was “suffering from some kind of confusion. He’s not sure what happened,” McKay said. “He acted as if he didn’t know of her injuries.”

“This is a hard case,” McKay said. “He’s old. He’s feeble. We don’t even know he if knows what he did — if he did it.” [link]

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Punjabi Sikh Women And The City

3_girl_movies.jpgAbout a week ago, Sex And The City (SATC) hit theaters. Many may resist an association with the dating scene that the movie and show explored with the lives of Punjabi Sikh women, and wonder whether this is appropriate for The Langar Hall. But the stories and characters of SATC reflect broad ideas that apply to all women and since every woman I know has seen or is planning to see the movie, I’m curious about how these themes apply to Punjabi Sikh women in particular and how our experiences compare with other groups. This post does not promote anything portrayed in SATC, but instead explores the stereotypes in the characters and questions how our Punjabi-Sikh-ness affects how much of those stereotypes we embrace. First, what is SATC really about?

the three-girls-in-the-city movie… a cinematic staple since the 1920s, has been an unusually enduring and lucrative one, exploiting each succeeding era’s anxieties surrounding women’s changing roles and helping define those eras’ new ideas of modern life. In them, audiences can watch women negotiate and sometimes subvert the forces that limn and limit their choices. [link]

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UPDATE: Avoid the Late Fee! Jakara Sikh Youth Conference

Prices go up after Monday. Take a moment at work, take a quick break from your finals, but take it now! A commenter asked to for a meet-up at the conference. A few of the bloggers will be in attendance so come meet a few of the faces behind the nonsense we write! Register now at www.jakara.org

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From our discussions on dividing Gurdwaras to Green Gurdwaras; from confronting the demons within to forging a new consensus; from questions of grassroots movements to moving beyond generation two blues; all are invited to attend JAKARA 2008 and discuss face-to-face these important issues.

jakaraconf.jpgThe Jakara Movement Sikh youth conference is only three weeks away with registration closing on June 16th. REGISTER NOW to avoid late fees.

Who: YOU!
What: JAKARA 2008: Growing with our Gurdwara

Where: FRESNO, CA

When: June 19-22, 2008
Why: Because YOU need to be there. Visit the website for more information.

Yes I had urged all to attend in a different post, but consider this a friendly reminder.

Plan to attend, even if you just want to see life beyond bhangra or shoooooooooot, because you just want another Sikh T-shirt (no, you don’t get those ones).


Celebrating Triviality

WARNING: This is MY opinion and DOES NOT not represent anyone else on The Langar Hall. Hopefully, unlike Ennis, I won’t have to take this one down.

I am sure I am going to be labeled as a hater. I don’t care it must be said.

Scouring the news I came across a recent press release by the Sikh Council on Religion and Education. I almost feel even more embarrassed by highlighting it. SCORE, for the uninitiated, is a Sikh organizationrajwant.jpg based out of Washington DC. It is the child of Dr. Rajwant Singh, a Maryland-based dentist. He is definitely one of those guys that likes to ‘speak for Sikhs.’

Like many Sikh organizations, SCORE is a one-man show. Don’t believe me, check out the pictures on the website, you’ll find few without Dr. Rajwant Singh. He may be the most pictured Sikh-American. (Look to the right, I just added one more!)

Now I really don’t know what SCORE does, other than look for photo opportunities, but to Dr. Rajwant Singh’s credit, he has established relationships with many political figures in Washington DC and has ingratiated himself as the ‘Sikh’ representative in many interfaith functions and communities in DC. DC loves interfaith functions! That is a good thing. Sikhs should have a representative and in the meantime we have Dr. Rajwant Singh.

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Sikhs March for Peace in Berkeley

Guest blogged by Mewa Singh

Yesterday’s post by Sundari got me thinking. When I saw the videos of the from the BBC footage from those days in 1984, I began wondering can the Sikh community mobilize like that again? Under what circumstances could it or even should it mass mobilize?

I thought of the mobilization that occurred with the Ram Rahim incident last year. Then while reading the internet news, I came across this Bay Area video.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO (sorry the website doesn’t allow me to embed the video)

The media was given the title as the “Spiritual March for World Peace.” Although I have been out of the loop with friends for sometime with my Bay Area friends, what was the ‘real’ reason for the gathering? Was it celebrating the shaheedi of Guru Arjan? Do we really have Nagar Kirtans to remember martyrdoms in our history? Should the march be construed as an anti-war protest? Partially to raise awareness, but partially to learn about the initiative as well, I would love to hear about the background, perspectives, or even your thoughts on this Nagar Kirtan.


In Solidarity

Through various posts on this blog, we have discussed the idea of activism (and even lacktivism) within the Sikh community. Recently I have been thinking about what activism meant to our parents’ and grandparents’ generation and in what form they expressed their personal and political thoughts. Twenty four years later, as we remember the events of 1984, we are reminded of how much these events raised Sikh consciousness. It is also a historic event in another sense. The response to the events of 1984 allowed for our parents and grandparents to stand in solidarity with other Sikhs and in doing so, mark their place in Sikh history on both a personal and political sense.

During those days and weeks following the invasion of the Darbar Sahib, hundreds and thousands of Sikhs took part in protests. I remember hearing about these stories from my Dad who ardently took part in these protests in London and Liverpool. However, what was more striking to me, was the role my Mum Mom played in these protests. I remember visiting a museum whilst on a school trip (a few years after 1984) and seeing pictures of the protests on display. I was caught off-guard as I saw a picture of my mother with her fist in the air protesting alongside other Sikh men and women. That image has stayed with me – essentially the activism that has always existed and remains to exist within our community. I wasn’t able to find much press about these protests, but did come across this clip.

Please share your thoughts/memories.


Forgiveness: the Path of Contentment

While exploring the Sikh blogistan, I came across this link from Sikhswim (Thanks Savraj!) and wanted to share it with the rest of the Langar-ites.

Late last year, November 2007, a Sikh Seattle taxi-driver, Sukhvir Singh was brutally attacked by a drunken Luis Vazquez. Luis had been placed in Sukhvir’s taxi by two police officers, after he had been denied entry into Husky Stadium for public drunkenness and alcohol-induced bellicose behavior.

The story may have ended with the sentencing of Luis Vazquez, but it doesn’t. The story is also about the Sukhvir’s courage, faith, and forgiveness. Sukhvir was the vehicle for Waheguru’s forgiveness. Luis has been given another opportunity. The video is a bit extended, but well worth the watch.

Reflection for Monday by Guru Nanak from SGGS (p. 223) in Raag Gauri:

Khima Gahi Brath Seel Santokh

Extending forgiveness is the (true) fast, (the true act of) kindness, (the true path of) contentment


British Bhangra: Beyond Signature’s Suleman and Madhu

So we have seen two (here and here) performances by Signature. Although most Langar-ites did not seem to enjoy the second performance as much, it impressed enough people to propel the duo into the finals of Britain’s Got Talent. In fact they were the first team to be voted in by the public.

Now, in their first interview, Suleman (often incorrectly spelled Suleiman ) Mirza and Madhu Singh shed some light and perspective on their performance:

“Our routine is about togetherness and overcoming conflict,” said the rather handsome Mirza, who has been a Jackson fan since he was six years old. “I start the act with a Western dance, and then Madhu comes on stage. I look down on him because I don’t understand his culture. But he surprises me, and he works really hard, symbolising immigration, and then we work together, and show that everyone can get on.”[link]

Heavy stuff, but I’ll buy it.

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Karma Police

Sharon Stone’s recent comments about whether or not the earthquake in China was due to bad karma over Beijing’s occupation of Tibet has caused quite a stir.  Stone is now facing a backlash in China with her films being boycotted (Um, what films?) and luxury retailer Christian Dior pulling advertisements featuring Sharon Stone from stores.  The Chinese earthquake killed at least 68,000 people.  China has been under much scrutiny in recent months over Beijing’s policies in Tibet.  “I thought, is that karma – when you’re not nice that the bad things happen to you?” she mused at the Cannes Film Festival.  However, many people feel that Stone’s contextual use of Karma is simplistic and in fact, inaccurate (the actress later apologized for her remarks).

Karma is an important concept for Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs. Translated from the Sanskrit, it means simply “action”. Because karma is used in a number of ways and contexts this can be confusing…Stone’s take on karma is common – glossed over as an outcome that is the result of something done in the past – or even a past life.  But the law of karma states that it’s the motive behind one’s actions that affects the outcome of that particular act. “The earthquake in China or the cyclone in Burma have much to do with environmental factors,” says Dhammadassin. “To invoke karma is more to do with our desire to nail things down and find someone to blame. But that’s not ours to do.”  [Link]

 So, it got me to thinking about what Sikhi says about Karma.  Sikhs use the term generously (and sometimes, not so generously) but perhaps we don’t have a solid understanding of what it really means.  The doctrine of karma, according to Sikh belief, is a part of the Divine law (hukam). “The whole universe,” says Guru Arjan, Nanak V, “is bound by action, good or bad” (GG, 51).  Guru Nanak declares in the Japji that “all forms, beings, greatness and lowliness, pain and pleasure, bounties and wanderings are subject to the indescribable hukam and there is nothing outside the realm of hukam,” (GG, 1) and then adds that “karma determines the kapra, i.e. body or birth we receive and that it is through nadar (God’s grace) that one secures the threshold of moksa” (GG, 2). [Link]

Do you believe in Karma?


Census of farmer suicides

The Punjab government has finally allocated funds to assess the breadth of farmer suicides in the state.

khararfarmer.jpgThe Punjab Government seems to have finally woken up to the need of having a census on farmers’ suicides in the state. The state government, it is learnt, has the [sic] entrusted the arduous task of completing the census to the Punjab Agricultural University. As per Dr R.S. Sidhu, head of the Department of Economics, PAU, “The state government has asked us to do the work and we have taken it up as a research project. Though whole of Punjab is to be covered under the study, the state government has asked us to do a pilot project in two districts of Punjab, Gurdaspur and Sangrur initially.

The census will be conducted by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), based in Patiala Ludhiana. During the first phase of the survey, PAU will conduct a door to door survey in about 1,500 villages in Gurdaspur and about 575 villages in Sangrur out of the 12,000 villages in Punjab. The report from this initial phase is set to be completed in four months from the beginning of the survey, which is set to begin in the next couple of weeks.

The census will take into account farmer suicides occurring after April 1, 2005, excluding suicides of farm laborers.

Rising pesticide and fertiliser costs, shrinking land holdings, declining soil fertility and heavily-subsidized farming in wealthier countries are some of the factors blamed for these suicides.

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Are our Gurdwaras dividing us?

In recent months I have witnessed the ceremonial openings of three new Gurdwaras in the Central Valley area. The number of new Gurdwaras are continually growing. Some people may applaud this action as an indicator of our success for having the ability to build million dollar Gurdwaras. But is this the right direction for our community to be heading?

gurdwara.JPGBy building more Gurdwaras, we are dispersing as a community rather than emerging as one. Growing up in the UK, all the people we knew growing up attended the one Gurdwara in our town. After some time, the space capacity was too constrained and people began complaining about not being able to sit with the Sangat. Since there was no additional space around this Gurdwara, there wasn’t any expansion work that could be performed. As a consequence, another group opened a new Gurdwara in the same town which fufilled the capacity issues, since it was almost three times larger. So slowly the Sangat at the smaller Gurdwara began to dwindle due to more and more people attending the larger Gurdwara.

Why wasn’t it possible for the community to come together and move as a “whole” to the larger Gurdwara? In the Central Valley there are so many choices of Gurdwaras to attend, but I personally feel this is dividing us. Politics and ego are at play when these associations and groups get together to begin implementing a “bigger, better, more expensive” Gurdwara.

Have any of you witnessed similar divisions happening within your communities and Gurdwaras in your area? Do any of you think this is a positive progression? Is there anything we can do as a younger generation to unite the community?


Signature is Brilliant (Again!)

I may be stealing Anandica‘s UK thunder, but I couldn’t resist.

A month ago, we were introduced to Signature, a phenomenal dance act by a Muslim, Suleman (too often misspelled as Suleiman) Mirza and his Sikh partner, Madhu Singh on Britain’s Got Talent.

However a big question remained. After their brilliant previous performance, Simon Cowell (better known to us Yankees as Simon of American Idol fame) asked, “Now that we know what the surprise is, what do you do in the next round?” Suleman answered, “We keep on surprising you.”

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Anyone want to put money for their finals presentation: “Beat It“, “Bad” (although I always liked Weird Al’s Fat better), or “Smooth Criminal.” Any other possibilities?

My vote is for “Beat It.” I just think it would fit their format much better, plus Madhu would look great in that white ‘gangsta’ bomber jacket. Suleman would HAVE to wear that red zipper leather (or pleather) jacket. I can’t lie, I had one back in the day. It might not fit, but that might make it even work better. I am sure I could dig through the old stuff and let Suleman borrow mine. The knife scene between the two would be classic. Hopefully they can get in touch with Tigerstyle to do a mix for them. So Madhu and Suleman, here is your first vote! What about the rest of you?


Justice for Jassi? A Pyrrhic Consolation?

Many of us either saw or heard of CBC’s broadcast (for those of us here in the US, it was on Dateline NBC) of “Forbidden Love” chronicling the death of a Sikh Canadian, Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur Sidhu.

The basics of the story are as follows:mithu_smiles_th.jpg

Jaswinder, or Jassi, was 25-years-old when she was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the spring of 2000 after going against her family’s wishes and marrying Mithu.

Mithu, a poor auto-rickshaw driver, was hacked by swords and left for dead after his wife was whisked away.

After several weeks in a coma, he awoke to be told that Jassi, whom he had secretly married, had been brutally slain. [link]

Punjab Police later revealed that Jassi’s family had paid up to $50,000 for the hit on their daughter. (I have commented a few times on the rise in contract killings in Punjab here and here) However, even after the death of his beloved Sukhwinder Singh “Mithu” still could not find peace. Jassi’s family was able to find a false witness, a former employee of theirs from their village, to lodge a false case against Mithu claiming that he had raped her.

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UN spotlight on racism in the US

UN_LOGO_copy.jpgWe’ve had a lot of discussion recently about various forms of identity discrimination. It seems that the UN is also paying attention to racial discrimination in the US:

A U.N. expert on racism and xenophobia arrived in Washington yesterday for a three-week fact-finding visit to examine human rights lapses in the United States.

Despite Obama’s recent speech acknowledging racial tension, which was a long time coming, US representatives continue to deny that there is a problem.

“I think it’s important for the [U.N.] Human Rights Council to spend its time on real problems and the problems of violations of human rights of countries that are notorious violators,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, offering a list of suggestions. [emphasis added]

Mr. Khalilzad is well respected in comparison to his predecessor John Bolton, but that wasn’t too difficult of a feat, considering Bolton infamously stated “there is no such thing as the United Nations,” and that “the Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost ten stories today, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.” [link]

Mr. Khalilzad’s blatant denial of the problem of racial discrimination in the US is embarrassing, even for a diplomat. And the strategy of redirecting attention to other nations to divert attention from the very real problems at home is getting tiring- the US has no moral currency left in the international community with which to continue condemning others while allowing discrimination at home to fester.

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Confronting our own Demons

Usually on Friday, I like to post something musical, something funny, or even something just plain stupid. However, when I saw this news article, I was just so incensed. Yesterday I commented in another discussion that Sikhs need to begin to confront our own Muslimophobia. Another pervasive demon is our prejudice against those of African descent (and yes, dark skin in general).

Apparently at a cricket match at the Mohali Stadium, two black British cheerleaders were asked not to participate by an organizer due to their skin color. The women even allege that the organizer used the ‘n-word.’

Newton told a newspaper: “An organiser pulled us away. He said the people here don’t want to see dark people. The ‘N’ word was used and they said they only wanted beautiful white girls. We were crying. I could understand if it were the crowd, but they were very receptive.”[link]

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Turbans For Non-Sikhs: Just Part Of The School “Uniform”?

Many of us have taken part in discussions on how the turban is being commodified and a target for hatred. Understandably there is a strong religious argument for why a turban shouldn’t become another fashion accessory or replaced with a beanie. This argument is anchored in the Sikh meaning of the turban.

The symbolisms of wearing a turban are many from it being regarded as a symbol of sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage and piety but the reason all practicing Sikhs wear the turban is just one – out of love and obedience of the wishes of the founders of their faith.

The turban serves as a mark of commitment to the Sikh Gurus. It distinguishes a Sikh as an instrument of the Guru and decrees accountability for certain spiritual and temporal duties. It is a mark of the Guru and declares that the Sikh wearing a turban is a servant of the Divine Presence.

But what happens to this meaning when the turban is being forced upon non-Sikhs? The Cheema Mandi (near Sangrur), Punjab branch of Akal Academy Buru Sahib is requiring all non-Sikh children to wear a patka or dastaar (i.e. type of turban). Most of these children are practicing Hindus who don’t spiritually identify with Sikhi.

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