The statue made by Surjit Singh Gill is restored at Desh Bhagat Park in Ghall Kalan village. Situated at a drive of nearly one hour and 15 minutes from Bathinda, the park is full of statues of martyrs, sports personalities, freedom fighters, social workers, musicians, singers and those who have contributed in the other fields.

“I left Punjab government’s job to fully indulge myself to create such statues by which people, especially youngsters and children could learn something. My aim is to build as many statues of people who have contributed for the society in one way or the other,” Surjit said.

The statue instills a spirit of sports among those who come and see such a huge statue standing tall among the others.

Surjit is busy these days making statue of the president of a Chandigarh-based NGO who is fighting against drunken driving and consumption of drugs by creating hole in his own pockets without any outside help.

Appreciating the efforts of Surjit Singh, the SSP said the development of park by Surjit, without getting any government grant, was a great Endeavour.

~ Source: Tribune

Balwant Singh, the owner of a poultry farm woke to a rude shock early Diwali day, seeing a tiger attacking chickens. Despite being unarmed, he fought the big cat for over two hours before other villagers arrived on the scene and beat the tiger to death.

Singh who works at the farm was conducting his normal routine of feeding the animals when he noticed a tiger who immediately charged at him. The Singh quickly grabbed a hold of his spear and battled the tiger.

While battling the tiger, the Singh was badly wounded and lost one of his arms and legs. The courageous act of the Singh is being appreciated by the villagers. The incident occurred at 4AM in the morning.

~ Source: TOI

Ban Plea: SANTA-BANTA Exit

Comedian drop Stages Names, To Be Now Known as Shugli-Jugli

Santa-Banta have made way for Shugli-Jugli. You got it right, the plea seeking a ban on Sardar jokes online has claimed its first casualty in Punjab. Two Sikh comedians, who have been performing under the names of Santa and Banta for the last 18 years, have announced to drop their stage names and adapt new ones.

Jalandhar-based Gurpreet Singh and Prabhpreet Singh adopted the names Santa and Banta, respectively, in 1997 and rose to fame with their stage shows on social issues; their video productions especially famous among the urban population.

However, a recent plea seeking a ban on sardar jokes egged on them to give up their famous names and choose new ones. They will now be known as Shugli (Gurpreet) and Jugli (Prabhpreet). Together, they would be known as Shugli Jodi translated as the comic pair.

So, are they hurt? Not really, they say.

“For the last few years, we too have been feeling that jokes on sardars are intended more at ridiculing the community and showing it in a bad light; it is no more about healthy humour. We also felt that people might be thinking of us when they read or saw distasteful jokes online,” they said while announcing their decision here on Sunday.

And this wasn’t an unfounded doubt. “So many times have we received calls and messages from people asking us if we were churning the jokes,” they said.

“After the petition was filed in the Supreme Court, the issue precipitated for us also and we finally decided to drop these names,” said Parbhpreet. He said that some local Sikh organizations also advised them to take a call on the issue.

They said they always believed in healthy comedy. “We never failed to make people laugh and did so without having to resort to show the community in a bad light. Negative stereotyping of a community is not good and comedians must refrain from doing that,” the comedians said.

One step closer in bringing a Positive Change

~ Source: Times Of India, Chandigarh

People all across the world woke up to the terrible news of the unfortunate terrorist attacks in Paris.

One tweet among the several thousand tweets that has caught our attention belongs to a #SIKH Rohan Singh Kalsi.

“Anyone who is stranded in Paris & needs shelter or a safe place, any Sikh Gurdwara will be happy to accommodate”

As the country reeled from a string of attacks leaving at least 120 dead, people from Paris and all across the world have opened their hearts and doors to those stranded because of the attacks.

The tweet received an overwhelming response and was retweeted around 11k times. Clearly not expecting such a response, he wrote:

It is heartening to see people from all countries and religions come together during this unfortunate time.

Stay strong, Paris. We are with you.

~ Source: scoopwhoop

Twenty-seven retired U.S. Generals have signed a letter calling on the U.S. Department of Defense to eliminate the ban on observant Sikh Americans serving in the military.

The letter, delivered to Defense Secretary Carter by the Sikh Coalition and McDermott Will & Emery LLP, unequivocally states that no American should have to choose between their faith and the right to serve our nation

Sikhs have long been known and admired for their military prowess.

~ Source: Sikh Coalition

Harjit Sajjan is a decorated military veteran who served three tours of duty for the Forces in Afghanistan, and one in Bosnia, and worked as a detective in the Vancouver Police Service.

Canada’s newly-appointed Sikh Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has allegedly faced racist remarks by a soldier on social media, prompting the Canadian Armed Forces to launch a probe.

The offensive post, which was written in French, was quickly removed. A Forces spokesman said the army’s chain of command is probing the matter.

The incident of disrespect to the minister prompted Chief Warrant Officer Kevin West to send an e-mail to soldiers warning against such conduct, the newspaper said.

The Forces issued a strong statement Wednesday condemning the behaviour. “We are very much aware of an incident in which a Canadian Armed Forces member wrote inappropriate comments on social media about the new Minister of National Defence,”

Forces spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said. “Racist attitudes are not compatible with military ethos and with effective military service. Any conduct that reflects such attitudes will not be tolerated,” he said.

“The institution is entirely committed to the principle of equality of all people and the dignity and worth of every human being,” the Forces spokesman said. –

“As previously stated by Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance, bullies have no place in the organisation.”

The physical, psychological, spiritual, exploitation and subjection of Sikhs or Sardars by others have to stop. These are racist and insulting remarks should be stood for , when a Community which contributes so much for the society is its VICTIM.

Sign the petition at www.Change.org/BANSikhJokes

If you feel NO SIKH should be ridiculed on the basic of ethnicity!

Mr. Navtej Singh Sarna, presently Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.

A press release from the MEA said Mr. Singh, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1980 batch, was expected to take up his assignment shortly.

Mr. Singh, who is also a well-known author and columnist, had earlier served as Joint Secretary (External Publicity) and official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs between October 2002 and September 2008 in the longest stint for anyone so far in that key position.

He was later posted to Israel as the Ambassador of India before returning to MEA headquarters here.

He has also served in the Indian missions in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Tehran and Washington.

His books include “We Weren’t Lovers Like That”, a novel; “The Exile”: a novel based on the life of Maharaja Duleep Singh; and “The Book of Nanak”, a work of non-fiction.

He has been contributing regularly to journals and newspapers in India and abroad including The Times Literary Supplement, The Hindu, India Today, Outlook and so on.

Mr. Singh will succeed Mr. Ranjan Mathai, who has been holding the position since October 2013 after serving as Foreign Secretary for a little over two years.

~ Source: NNN

Bardish Kaur Jhagger has been sworn in as Minister for Small Business and Tourism. The 35-year-old single woman is more passionate about politics and community service than her own personal life.

A natural leader and organizer, Bardish Chagger is devoted to inclusion and community building. From assisting with recreational sports for kids to volunteering with seniors, Bardish is committed to strengthening the bonds of the Waterloo community.

In her role with the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre, Bardish has worked to foster diversity within the community providing opportunities for social and economic engagement. As the former executive assistant to former Member of Parliament Andrew Telegdi, Bardish has a deep understanding of the issues that are important to residents of Waterloo, including manufacturing, technology and innovation.

Passionate about community involvement, Bardish has lent her support to many different causes and organizations including The Rotary Club of Waterloo, Interfaith Grand River, and the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin. She considers herself part of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms generation, and has participated in policy conferences on many issues including the advancement of same-sex marriage rights and the national manufacturing strategy.

Bardish graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Science. In 2012, The Waterloo Region Record recognized Bardish as one of “40 under 40” who would lead the Region of Waterloo into the future.

~ Source: s3.india.com

‘I don’t mean any disrespect. Nothing personal, yaar. There’s this surd joke I want to share’. This is how it begins. I do mind. I’ll laugh at myself if I want to, thank you very much.

I’m not usually a ban-friendly person. I like the freedom that comes with free speech and all of that. But a mention about the Supreme Court agreeing to hear a Public Interest Litigation regarding the banning of jokes about Sikhs on the front page of the newspaper did a better job of waking me up than any cup of coffee ever could. What started out as a regular, lazy Saturday morning has turned out to be quite thought-provoking. I was reminded of what I read somewhere recently: Tickling can be fun, pleasurable and laughter-inducing, but when it’s overdone, it is just a form of mock aggression.

Growing up in a cosmopolitan suburb of Mumbai was fun, but for one thing. No one except my teacher called me by my name. Each class had just one or two Sikh boys in a class of 40 -50 students. And so, for us it was always “Pape” (as in “Pa-pay”) or “Sardar”. It was almost as if we didn’t exist as individuals. I was just a generic member of a community that seemed destined to not have useful first names.

Then came Class IV. Humour kicked in. Kids in school started telling jokes – simple, dumb, crude jokes. At age nine or ten, you don’t understand much. You’re keen to make friends and to fit in. But, the daily reminder of the “12 o’clock” joke took things to a different level. I simmered.

Now, when I hear someone say, “I hope you don’t mind. I don’t mean any disrespect. Nothing personal, yaar. There’s this surd joke I want to share”, I tell them that I do mind because it would be disrespectful. I’ll laugh at myself if I want to, thank you very much.

No laughing matter

But, pause for a moment and think about where that nine-year old kid, who would have first started telling “Sardar” jokes, get those lines at that time? Radio or TV didn’t have any programme on jokes, let alone this kind. Newspapers didn’t have them, did they? Did kids hear them at home? On the dinner table? Or post-dinner while relaxing in the living room? Did the Dad tell such jokes or did the Mum? Grandpa? Uncle?

Although I didn’t think about all of this back then, I’m thinking about it now and I’m horrified at the possibilities of the genesis of such jokes that target members of a peace-loving minority community who are easy to identify, anyway. The mere thought that a dinner table conversation or a session of funny stories over tea could end up singling out and ridiculing a group of people who are largely hard-working, lively and helpful is worrying. Inadvertently or not, “with all due respect” or not, this isn’t fun and it reminds me of mock-aggression and it needs to stop.

It needs to stop because India needs to grow up and stop being the kid at the dinner table listening wide-eyed to and laughing at crassness. It needs to stop despite the fact that we all hold free speech dear.

Free speech is great but respect and empathy are an even bigger cornerstone of civilisation. When free speech is intended to hurt or hurts, then it must be confiscated until the impressionable little child grows up and understands the responsibilities that come with freedom. Satirists have their place in society – they reveal the silliness of certain folk, even making it clear to them. But telling jokes about a community, any community, and defending it on the grounds of freedom of expression is clearly doubly hurtful. Being laughed at and laughing with someone are two entirely separate things.

So, thank you petitioner Harvinder Chowdhury, for bringing this up. In my eyes, you’ve already won.

I’m not Santa and I’m not Banta and I don’t want to be tickled anymore.

~ Parampal Singh Syan

~ Source- Scroll.in

Navdeep Singh Nijjar has been appointed as a full-time deputy for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Texas!

Navdeep became the first turbaned and bearded Sikh to be accommodated by the HCSO from hiring. After a long journey, we are proud to announce Navdeep has graduated as a full-time Sikh deputy, becoming only the second observant Sikh deputy to serve at the HCSO after Sandeep Dhaliwal.

We also wish Navdeep the best of luck and thank him for paving the way for observant Sikhs to serve in law enforcement.