Saanjh Sikh Scholarships

The Saanjh Sikh Scholarship project is awarding 4 scholarships totaling $6,000 to Sikh students who are graduating California high school seniors or community college students pursuing higher education.  The scholarships are need & merit based.  All California Sikhs who are graduating high school seniors starting the first year of undergraduate studies at a 4-year university or community college in Fall 2010 can apply for the scholarships. Also, current community college students who will be transferring to a 4-year university in Fall 2010 are eligible to apply for the scholarship.  Go-online for more information at www.saanjh.org/scholarship. The deadline is April 01, 2010 April 15, 2010 by 11:59 PST (and no that is not a April fools joke).

The Saanjh Sikh Scholarships are one of the projects that came out of  Saanjh-The Bay Area Sikh Retreat in August 2009. The project’s mission is  to work with parents, students, and community members to encourage higher education for California Sikh students by providing need and merit-based scholarships to selected students entering their initial years of undergraduate studies. Awarding the scholarships to enterprising California Sikh students is a good way to support higher education in our community in an effort to create more human and social capital to address the issues impacting the Sikh Quam.

• Join the Saanjh Sikh Scholarship group on Facebook to stay informed!
• Saanjh Sikh Scholarship Sevadars can be contacted at: saanjhscholarship@gmail.com.
• More details about the scholarship and online application can be found at: www.saanjh.org/scholarship.

The four Saanjh Sikh Scholarships are named after contemporary Sikh activists.  More information about them and the amount of each scholarship can be found below the fold.

Sardarni Balbir Kaur was only 22 years old when she and her 3 year old son were martyred in the first Jatha of the Jaito agitation, an organized and peaceful resistance to the hegemony of the British in 1924.
***Awarded to 1 high school senior entering a 4-year university in Fall 2010. ($2,000 Scholarship)

Sardar Kartar Singh Sarabha an alumni of UC Berkeley, was a leading Sikh-Indian revolutionary during India’s bid for independence.  He supported his education at Berkeley by picking fruit in orchards, and during his time in California, became the editor of the Ghadar newspaper and a leading Ghadarite..
***Awarded to 1 high school senior entering a 4-year university in Fall 2010. ($2,000 Scholarship)

Sardarni Kishan Kaur was an undercover spy and nurse during the Jaito resistance.  Disguised as a lady of the Hindu trading association, she collected intelligence about government’s plans and preparations for the Jaito jathas.  She was later arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to 4 years of rigorous imprisonment for nursing the wounded in the Jaito massacres. ***Awarded to 1 high school senior entering a community college in Fall 2010. ($1,000 Scholarship)

Sardar Ditt Singh was an eminent member of the Singh Sabha movement, was a powerful speaker and writer.  He helped found Khalsa College, authoring many of the first textbooks, and served as the editor of Khalsa Akhbar.  He penned over 40 books and pamphlets on Sikh theology and current issues and was a powerful comparative religious debater. ***Awarded to 1 community college student transferring to a 4-year university in Fall 2010.                   ($1,000 Scholarship)

• Saanjh Sikh Scholarship Sevadars can be contacted at: saanjhscholarship@gmail.com.
• Online application can be found at: www.saanjh.org/scholarship/application.                                                   (Deadline: April 01, 2010 April 15th, 11:59pm PST)
• Hard copies of the application & promotional material can be downloaded at: www.saanjh.org/scholarship/scholarshipforms.