Sikh Medicine and How Babay Bhangra Paunday Nay
As you read this, you may want to press play to hear the accompanying music.
During my elementary years, my dhadhi would always give me a spoonful of a foul-substance that was called ‘sayth’ (health). For years, everyday, I would take a spoonful from the hands of my dhadhi without crying...
Pardes Hoya Pardes
A recent article carried by Asian News International claims that many Pardesi Punjabis are sending their children back to Punjab for education. Citing Christian evangelism in places such as Canada, a desire to ‘imbibe Punjabi values and tradition,’ and learning the Punjabi language were all reasons...
Updated: Failed Assassination Attempt on Dera Sacha Sauda Cult Leader
Earlier today, Gurmeet Ram Rahim narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when someone from a truck passing by his motorcade threw an explosive object.
While members of his entourage were injured, the Dera Sacha Sauda leader walked away unscathed. The rumor mills are buzzing and expect the words “RDX”...
Patchwork towards Justice
There is a fascinating article in this week’s Wired Magazine. The article discusses a new software that is being developed by German computer scientists that may be able to take shredded documents and piece them together. Before the Berlin War came down, the East German Secret Police, the Stasi...
No Nishan Sahib = No Gurdwara
I often take many trips to Fresno to visit my friends and on this day I was visiting one of their work places. A number of people had told me about the new Gurdwara that was nearby and in seeking to pay my respects to our Guru, I went to pay a visit.
While the building was large and beautiful, something...
You a African? Do you know what’s happenin?
Posted by Jodha in General on 01 28th, 2008 | 23 Comments
The Dead Prez song remains one of my favorites. For the past month or so, the violence and allegations of rigging following Kenya’s election has led the country to a dangerous standstill.
Since we concern ourselves with issues of the diaspora, too often our discussions are centered in the US, Canada,...
SAAN 2008 and Vote or Die
Posted by Jodha in Events on 01 28th, 2008 | 15 Comments
Guest Blogged by Mewa Singh
Partially due to the rave reviews found at Sepia Mutiny, I flew out to Michigan this weekend to attend the annual SAAN (South Asian Action Network) Conference on the Ann Arbor campus. I had a number of different motives, not the least of which, was to make connections with...
Bruised Body, Mourning Mind, Soaring Spirit
Some readers to this blog may be aware of the great work done by Ensaaf in advocating for human rights. Jaskaran Kaur, Sukhman Dhami, Jasmine Marwaha and the rest of their team deserve the community’s praise for their tireless work advocating for justice in Punjab and beyond. They are among a number...
Between Martin and Malcolm
Posted by Jodha in General on 01 21st, 2008 | 7 Comments
Today across the country, many Americans, but by no means all, will come together to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. (true, others will just enjoy the day off). Many Sikhs, undoubtedly, will attend interfaith functions, make promises for more interfaith functions, and never talk to those...
Baby Boys and their BMWs
The news of the tiger attack in the San Francisco Zoo made national headlines. A few days later it was revealed that two of the three people attacked came from a Sikh background. Paul, 19, and Kulbir, 24, Dhaliwal were hospitalized but recovered from the attack, unlike their friend Carlos Sousa Jr....
Insaaf Zindabad
Although this article is over 3 months old, I still thought it was necessary. While the press has all but forgotten Burma, the struggle still continues. In the aftermath of the devastating brutality unleashed by the junta, I found a new hero.
Surinder Singh Karkar AKA U Pancha (The Punjabi) seemed...
Rocket Roger and Raging ‘Roids in Rural Raikot
* (the asterisk)
This symbol should be assigned to most of the professional baseball’s records over the last two decades. From Barry Bonds to now Roger Clemens, most of the greats of this baseball era have had their images tarnished by allegations of cheating. Whether the baseball owners and...
Travesty Theatre: Iran, the Los Banos Reservoir, and RDX
While most Americans spent Wednesday with their attention focused on the New Hampshire primaries, in hope of the 2008 presidential election, the current president was continuing the travesty that is his presidency.
Reminiscent of the Gulf of Tonkin incident that was used to begin action in Vietnam, US...
Update! It’s Happening in the Bay
Posted by Jodha in News on 01 11th, 2008 | 6 Comments
Tragedy falls upon our community again. Just two days ago, two Sikh men were killed in cold blood inside their Richmond, CA (Bay Area) “Sahib” restaurant. Paramjit and Ravinder Kalsi seemed to be well-liked recent immigrants in the East Bay community. Members of the Berkeley Sikh community may remember...
The Nightmarish Joke that is the Punjab Police
I just saw this post on Sepia Mutiny on Ruby Dhalla’s recent trip to Punjab. As previously blogged by Anandica, Dhalla, the Canadian MP of the Brampton, was there to attend the Punjabi NRI Sammelan. It seems one of her staffers had her bag snatched in the village Pohir. Dhalla was in the village...
Looking Beyond.
Guest Blogged by Mewa Singh
Fresno is home to one of the United States’ larger Sikh populations and the Fresno Bee is often the battleground for local Sikhs. Articles on Sikhs appear rather frequently so it is no surprise that this weekend had another (thanks Sundari).
The article details the life...
Prisoners Rebel in Jalandhar in Defense of Sikhi
This morning 1500 prisoners in a Jalandhar jail rebelled due to the attack by prison guards on the Sikh religious icons. Initial reports seem to indicate that the guards forcibly cut the hair of the Sikh inmate and others had prisoners had been pressured to cut their hair as well. The acting superintendent...
Womb for Sale
This article didn’t sit well with me. While the author tries to maintain some sort of ‘objective’ tone to voice the ‘ambiguities,’ it all read as a surreal story of perverted neo-colonialism and dominant commodification.
The NY Times author writes about the spread of a ‘surrogate mother...
Top 5 Sikh Successes of 2007
Although this blog is new, I couldn’t resist getting the in the ‘countdown’ spirit with another useless list. Oh well, the end of the calendar year (although not the Nanakshahi Sikh calendar) gives us some time for thoughts and reflections. Here is my list of this year’s top 5 events that will...
No Longer Alone.
Yesterday, we received a special request for a blog topic. The urgency and pain expressed in the comment inspired me to write.
In 2006, the Jakara Movement sponsored an online survey that revealed a horrifying 1 in 4 women that took the survey revealed that they had been the victim of sexual abuse,...
