Gurdwara Expansions and Community Relations
Posted by Camille in General on 11 21st, 2008 | 6 Comments
On the topic of gurdwara construction, the El Sobrante Gurdwara here in the Bay Area recently had its on-site expansion authorized by the county Planning Commission [link]. The gurdwara is located in unincorporated territory, so it’s not controlled directly by city government, and it’s petitioned...
Reconciling the Rights of Sikh Prisoners
Posted by Camille in General on 11 17th, 2008 | 4 Comments
Over the past ten years, we’ve seen a resurgence of concern over religious accommodation for Sikh prisoners, witnesses, and the accused, in the American courts. Four years ago a Sikh inmate starved himself to death. At the time, there were competing stories and speculation over whether this was...
Bienvenidos a la comunidad Sikh de la Argentina!
Posted by Camille in General on 11 7th, 2008 | 84 Comments
In the spirit of offering profiles of Sikh communities around the world, I wanted to share this article on a small but thriving Sikh community in Argentina:
The Sikhs originally came to Argentina in the early 19th century to work on a British-built railroad. Later, in the 1970s, others came after being...
Be Part of the Solution: Vote!
Posted by Camille in General on 11 4th, 2008 | Comments Off on Be Part of the Solution: Vote!
As readers may have seen, we’ve been swept up with the elections here at TLH, and many of us are out volunteering and (wo)manning the polls today. As a Sikh-American woman and the daughter of Punjabi immigrants, this day is especially important to me — my right to vote is the product of over...
Belgian Police Raid Gurdwara
Posted by Camille in News on 10 19th, 2008 | 10 Comments
As Belgian Sikhs celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, immigration police raided the Vilvoorde gurdwara, arresting 30 [link].
Police swooped on 19 suspected safe-houses in Brussels and surrounding suburbs during dawn raids on Saturday and discovered over 200 immigrants. The...
People of Faith and the Presidential Elections
The Christian Science Monitor recently ran a story on how the Democratic Party is outpacing Republicans in polls among people of faith [Hat tip, Ennis]. The article emphasized how norms have changed between generations, and how values have realigned towards inclusivity among younger voters who identify...
Community Institutions in Times of Crisis
Posted by Camille in General on 10 11th, 2008 | 8 Comments
The current economic meltdown has made me reflect more and more on the role of community organizations/institutions during times of hardship and uncertainty. Our current economy is in bad shape, and we’re likely to feel the fallout in lost jobs, lost job openings, and lost homes/assets for months,...
French Muslims Find Refuge In… Catholic Schools?
Posted by Camille in General on 10 1st, 2008 | 10 Comments
The NYT recently covered the rising admission of Muslim students in Catholic schools, unsurprisingly, because there is a greater freedom to practice their faith in Catholic school than in “secular” public schools:
“There is respect for our religion here,” said Nadia Oualane, 14, a student...
The kirpan and Montreal’s assault case against a Sikh youth
Earlier today I stumbled on this article in the Montreal Gazette detailing the suspension, and now calls for a speedy trial, for a Sikh boy accused of assault:
The teenager made his first appearance on the charges in Montreal Youth Court yesterday where he pleaded not guilty to three counts alleging...
From Paneer to Parmigiano
I got this cute video link via ASATA and wanted to share it with TLH. It talks about Italy’s desi-Sikh minority, relations between Italians and Sikhs, and the role of Sikhs in Italy’s cheesemaking industry
Pakistani Sikh delegation takes a tour
A delegation of representatives for the PSGPC traveled to the U.S. and UK to discuss congregational needs, socioeconomics, and Muslim-Sikh relations in Pakistan [ed note: forgive the confusing grammar from the news source; the translation is imperfect].
The delegation did quite a bit of fundraising,...
New Zealand welcomes its first turbaned Sikh officer
Jagmohan Malhi has become New Zealand’s first officer to wear the custom police turban. Following in the footsteps of the British constabalry (who also have specially tailored turbans), and the MTA, New Zealand adopted the new attire after Malhi’s campaign to include the turban in the uniform.
Interestingly,...
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...
Sikh Summer School
In light of the recent post on Punjabi classes in California high schools, I ran into this article in the Chronicle Herald about Sikh summer school:
A couple of years ago Aman Tut’s seven-year-old daughter asked her if she could wear a Christian cross. Tut was surprised because she and her husband...
On Whose Watch?
Like many, my family and I watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics last night. In the middle of the parade of nations, the commentators off-handedly remarked that the country of Georgia had just been invaded by Russia, over an escalated territorial dispute (note that this region of the former-USSR...
Hard Kaur (Revisited)
Updated and extended, August 9
I try not to do this too often, but I realized I may not have adequately contextualized what I was getting at when posting on Hard Kaur. I’ve tried to extend the analysis and conversation below:
I’ve been thinking about Hard Kaur (Taran Kaur Dhillon) a lot...
Southall
I was in London last week and stopped off in Hounslow, Ealing and Southall to just walk about and visit family. In the past 50 years, Southall has become a huge pass-through and historic cultural and political center for Punjabis, especially Indian and Sikh Punjabis, in London and the greater UK. I...
Breaking News: Sarika Singh Wins Kara Case in UK High Court
Some of you may have followed the case of Sarika Singh, a Welsh-Sikh student who was barred from school when the organization adopted a dress code that prohibited wearing jewelry, including religious items. Instead of conforming to the dress code or transferring schools, Singh appealed to the school....
Recasting Gender for Sikh Women
When I was an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to attend the World Sikh Council – North America Region‘s conference on Women in Sikhi. The conference hosted panelists and speakers to discuss three broad categories: the depiction of women in Scripture (SGGS Ji), the treatment of women...
Granthis and compensation: de facto clergy?
This recent article about a granthi in Leeds suing for unfair dismissal brought me back to the topic of granthis in general. Given Sikhi’s very clear edict AGAINST the institution of a clergy, I always found it distressing to see whole gurdwaras managed and oragnized by hired granthis. If a sangat...
