Interview with Shonali Bose, director of Amu and Margarita, with a Straw
Posted by Brooklynwala in Film on 09 4th, 2014 | 66 Comments
Shonali Bose, writer and director of the acclaimed 2005 film Amu (which powerfully uncovered the brutal realities of 1984) has just completed a new feature film called Margarita, with a Straw. Premiering next week at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film is a coming of age love story about...
Lalkaar NY 2014 ReCap
Posted by Mehmaan (Guest) in General on 07 29th, 2014 | 30 Comments
Guestblogged by Jagga Singh.
It was a hot June day, and I was stuck in traffic. This was the last place I wanted to be today. As the cars in front of me inched little by little, I imagined myself in my frigid air conditioned room reading a book or watching Netflix. Instead I was sweltering in the...
From Khalistan to Palestine
Guest blogged by Moninder Singh
I am for Palestinian statehood, and at the same time I am for the existence of the state of Israel. I am against rockets fired into civilian areas killing innocents indiscriminately, but I am even more against what can only be seen as purposely targeted air strikes...
Punjab 1984: An Opportunity for Discussion
Posted by Mehmaan (Guest) in Film on 07 15th, 2014 | 76 Comments
Guest blogged by Shahe Kaur
 On June 27, 2014, Punjab 1984, directed by Anurag Singh, was released by White Hill Production and Basic Brothers Productions. Kirron Kher and Diljit Dosanjh play the starring roles in the film as mother and son. This is not the first movie released which discusses...
Solidarity with Oppression? The Danger of a Sikh-Israel Alliance
A rally in Brooklyn, NY in support of the BDS movement on Monday.
Monday evening in Brooklyn, about 50 people gathered to protest Israeli apartheid and encourage the boycott of Israeli goods, a part of the growing boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. Inspired by the effective use of boycott...
Dharti
Sometimes I wonder where 1984 went
Sitting across the dinner table from my parents
Frozen
Me stuck at the age of 1
The annihilation of my mind
I touch my long braid to make sure it’s still there
My brothers dressed as girls to pass through another village for safety
Terror rises
And I dance
Making...
The Indian Disconnect
In a process that took three decades, Sajjan Kumar, a leader in India’s Congress Party, was recently acquitted for his well-documented involvement in the anti-Sikh pogroms during November 1984 in which thousands of Sikhs were murdered in three days in the country’s capital city. Five co-accused...
State-sponsored Genocide from Guatemala to India: A step towards justice
In 1984, as the Indian government was terrorizing Sikhs in northern India, mass campaigns of state-sponsored extermination were occurring in the Americas as well. The small Central American nation of Guatemala, under the rule of US-backed Efrain Rios Montt, was one such place. While Indira Gandhi’s...
“Sadda Haq” and the role of the government and media
Guest Blogged by: JSD
Today, the government of India has once again proved why it’s claim to being the world’s largest democracy is laughable. Not to mention the media in India, which claims to be fair and democratic in nature, however, this is simply not the case. India’s media...
Indian Government representatives at Sikh Events
Posted by Mehmaan (Guest) in USA on 10 14th, 2012 | 64 Comments
Guest blog by: Rocco
One of the highlights of fall in NYC is the Sikh Arts and Film Festival which showcases the story of our community via films and is being held November 2-3, 2012. Along with that is a Heritage Gala which is being held November 3, 2012 “to celebrate the rich heritage, culture and...
#10DaysofTerror
Guest blogged by @NSYF (National Sikh Youth Federation)
The Sikh community in the UK is once again preparing to mark the anniversary of the June 1984 Indian army invasion of their holiest place of worship. Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple located in Amritsar, was invaded in an unprecedented...
Sikholars Canada 2012 – Call for Papers
Posted by Jodha in Events on 04 5th, 2012 | 27 Comments
Following the success of the third Sikholars conference in February, the Jakara Movement is allying with the Canadian Sikh Coalition to bring the conference to British Columbia.
This unique forum brings together researchers, budding scholars, and community members in conversations about some of the most...
21st Century Lynching with Impunity
17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s life was taken away from him a few weeks ago in a gated community in Florida simply because of the color of his skin. On his way back from picking up a pack of Skittles and an iced tea at the local 7-11, he was shot dead by 26-year-old George Zimmerman, who was a...
Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana
See UPDATED post from TLH here at The Wonder of the Shaheed.
On March 31st, Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana is set to be executed in Punjab for his involvement in the assassination of former chief minister of Punjab, Beant Singh. It will be the first execution in Punjab’s history in 24 years.
Chief...
What Happens When Lions Roar?
Toronto is abuzz. This weekend the IIFA [International Indian Film Academy] awards are being held in Toronto to many a South Asian’s delight. We are, however, delighted about Toronto for another reason. This weekend, The Sikh Activist Network will be hosting When Lions Roar 3 – a night of...
Does this look like 6,000 people?
You can repeat your lies….This one comes from the Times of India:
The organisers claimed a figure of 25,000, but the Scotland Yard put the number at 6,000. The ‘Remembrance March’ began at Hyde Park and concluded at Trafalgar Square.[link]
But the truth will get out and you will look...
Moving Past “the Event” of 1984
Posted by Mehmaan (Guest) in General on 01 12th, 2011 | 14 Comments
Guest blogged by Navdeep Singh Dhillon
The reformist, humanitarian wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President of the United States) – and “first lady of the world” – Eleanor Roosevelt once famously said, “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”
Over...
1984: Between Bhopal and Delhi
Posted by Jodha in Human Rights on 06 7th, 2010 | 7 Comments
The year 1984 saw unimaginable calamities in India. This is the story of the two most well-known.
One was caused by a callous corporation and a complicit government. When thousands of people were exposed to horrendous toxins and poisonous gases in Bhopal, Union Carbide first denied it completely,...
Why 1984 Still Matters – the furore around Sonia Deol’s BBC documentary
Guest blogged by Harbakhsh Grewal
At the start of this year BBC 1, Britain’s premiere tv channel, highlighted the importance of 1984 to the Sikh psyche with a film documenting the personal journey of a British Sikh woman, journalist Sonia Deol. The reaction from many Sikhs has been hostile and vocal....
REVIEW – 1984: A Sikh Story on BBC
Guestblogged by Joo Kay Singh
I’ve just spent the past hour watching 1984: A Sikh Story on BBC1 in the UK, and came away mildly disappointed, but not altogether surprised.
The documentary was framed as a “personal journey” for the presenter, Sonia Deol, to “unravel the events...
