Punjab & Haryana High Court to deliberate on who qualifies as Sikh under Gurdwara Act of 1925
Posted by Reema in General on 09 10th, 2008 | 3 Comments
On September 19, a full bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court will begin hearing arguments to decide the constitutional contours that define a Sikh under the Gurdwara Act of 1925. The decision will have important consequences, such as whether sahajdhari Sikhs ought to have voting rights in SGPC...
Religious Programming on the BBC
Posted by Sundari in Media on 09 9th, 2008 | 10 Comments
Is the BBC biased towards creating religious programs focused predominantly on Islam versus other faiths? Apparently so, according to Hindu and Sikh leaders in the UK who claim that a disproportionate number of programs have been made about Islam, at the expense of programs on their own faiths. The...
Punjab’s First Sikh University- high ambitions, and many obstacles
Posted by Reema in General on 09 9th, 2008 | 17 Comments
The Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, a project that has the potential to be groundbreaking, was announced in September 2004. As it’s currently being presented, it’s quite an ambitious project. From announcements, it seems that at least in its planning phases, a truly comprehensive education...
What’s in a Name?
“Towelhead” is the title of a forthcoming Warner Brothers movie. The Sikh-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) is not pleased. Today, SALDEF issued a press release in which it states:
“The word ‘towelhead’ is a crude and racist slur that is commonly hurled at Sikhs and...
On Cricket, Monty, Sikhi, and Potato Chips
Posted by Jodha in General on 09 8th, 2008 | 17 Comments
Once upon a time, a fellow langa(w)riter commented that you know you’ve made it as a ‘notable’ community, when you are featured on the game-show Jeopardy.
While she may or may not have been right, in today’s consumerist I think when a member of your own has a potato chip named after them...
Dhillon ’08
Public intellectual Patwant Singh observed that Sikh immigrants have “not only prospered in business, industry, and the professions; they are also beginning to participate in the political life” of their adopted homelands. Case in point — Harmeet Kaur Dhillon is currently seeking a seat...
Sikh march in Queens leads to change in school regulations
Posted by Reema in General on 09 5th, 2008 | 9 Comments
[updates in italics]
The New York City school system has established a new process for reporting bias and bullying, prompted partially by Sikhs marching in Queens, led by the Sikh Coalition, two months ago. 1.1 million students will be affected by the new regulations.
The new regulation — which is...
Demystifying the Sikh Parliament – SGPC
Posted by Jodha in General on 09 4th, 2008 | 21 Comments
Newspapers in Panjab have been buzzing about the recent proposal by the Sikhs in Haryana to form their own Gurdwara political body. However, the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, and head of the Akali Dal has been on a warpath trying to prevent such a move. Badal even went so far as...
Enlightened by Vogue India
Posted by Sundari in General on 09 3rd, 2008 | 14 Comments
Here at TLH we’ve have lengthy discussions about the potential commodification of religious symbols and also about problematic media representation of groups of people. So, I thought that the recent hoopla over the questionable photo shoot in the August issue of Vogue India would be a colorful...
Australian School Apologizes for Denying Sikh Admission
An Australian private school has agreed to apologize to a Sikh boy who was denied admission for his refusal to cut his hair and shave (as required by the school dress code). Surprisingly, this is the first time Australia has faced an anti-discrimination case of this nature:
The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal...
Mediation services needed in gurdwaras
Posted by Reema in General on 09 2nd, 2008 | 44 Comments
Many of you may have already heard about the shooting that occurred on Sunday afternoon at the Sacramento Sikh Society Sports Complex, next to the gurdwara. A cricket match, part of a sports festival, was being held when an ongoing argument took a fatal turn. So far, I’ve seen no news of the...
