KUALA LUMPUR: UNITED SIKHS MALAYSIA, a non-governmental organisation from the local Sikh community, plans to undertake a 300km goodwill walk from Singapore to Malacca beginning Saturday until May 24.

Rishi Singh Randhawa, a radio deejay better known as “The Flying Singh”, will lead the walk starting at 5 am from the Silat Road Gudwara Sahib in Singapore. The goodwill walk also aims to raise awareness and funds for the Gurpuri Foundation.

Gurpuri, which means “Place of the Guru”, intends to build a Sikh temple, a school and a home for orphans, widows, single mothers, handicapped children and the elderly on a seven-hectare site in Bentong, Pahang.

“We hope to raise a minimum of RM100 per km and we will walk for an estimated 10 hours a day for eight days,” Rishi said. There will be stops along the way, including Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) in Johor Baru, Batu Pahat and Muar.

Rishi said the walkers hoped to reach Malacca Gurdwara Sahib at 6 pm on May 24 to coincide with the annual celebration of the late Sant Sohan Singh Ji, a renowned local humanitarian and community leader who had helped many Sikhs and non-Sikhs during his lifetime.

Every year, thousands of Sikhs from across Malaysia gather in Malacca to honor Sant Sohan Singh Ji and the event also attracted Sikhs from Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong.

The goodwill walk organisers have also invited well-known Sikh Kirtan or hymn singer Dya Singh, who is based in Melbourne, for the walk.

“I am in for the goodwill walk and I am bringing along Vikram Singh Ji for this good cause,” said Dya, whose last long distance walk was in 2011 from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca.

Vikram, the former Vic Briggs of the 1960s pop group The Animals, took on his present name after he discovered Sikhism.

Rishi said this year’s walk would also be dedicated to the passengers of MH370 and he had invited Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Idris Haron to be at the finishing line.

There will also be special prayers at the Malacca Gudwara Sahib for MH370 passengers on that day.

Rishi said UNITED SIKHS MALAYSIA had in the past raised funds for the victims of the tsunami in Acheh and an earthquake in Pakistan.

“This year we also hope to raise funds for children in Syria affected by the ongoing political turmoil in their country,” he added. — BERNAMA

By ~ New Straits Times
Source ~ www.nst.com.my

With his kirpan, a traditional Sikh sword, poking out of his blue pin-stripe blazer, Martin Singh used his speech to NDP voters to paint himself as the quintessential Canadian: different in many ways, but similar all the same.

In the last of seven showcases Friday, the pharmacist from Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S., said his religious devotion and military background, both unusual for an NDP candidate, paired well with his reputation as a family man and staunch environmentalist.
Singh, all but written off as a viable leadership candidate, then used his speech to settle any differences he may have with his rivals. He was fined $1,100 earlier this month for calling candidate Brian Topp a liar.

“I know I’ve made some of my opponents a little upset with me at times and I may not appear on the Christmas card list this year,” he said, “but I would like to say . . . to all the leadership candidates, despite our differences . . . any one of you would make fine leaders of our great party.”

He said the NDP must remain united to “stop Stephen Harper’s Conservative assault on Canadian values.” Once again Singh pushed his national pharmacare program, which would provide all Canadians with equal access to affordable medication. He talked about growing up with a pharmacist father, who sometimes gave out drugs to those who couldn’t pay. “There are some families who can’t afford to pay for their medication,” Singh said his father told him. “But their health is worth more to their family than a few dollars is worth to ours.”

Source ~ Josh Tapper, www.thestar.com

Finally construction work started on the site of the new Sikh Temple in Voorbaai on 2nd May 2014. It took five years to obtain re-zoning permission and to get the building plans approved for the construction of a Sikh place of worship in Mossel Bay.

ASG-KKG (10K)Sikhs have contributed to the welfare and economy of every country where they have settled and Mr Ajeet Singh Gill, (see pic right) who spearheaded this project had said time and again that once a place of worship has been established for the community in the area, we would see more and more Indians of all denominations flocking to the town, both as Tourists as well as Investors.

For the last two weeks a number of Sikh families from the UK have been exploring the area. Two members of the party are practising Architects – one is a Sikh and his wife, who is Japanese, is also an architect. One person is a Structural Engineer and one is in IT Engineer.

They spent a lot of time with the officers of the Building and Planning Departments of Mossel Bay Municipality discussing technical and legal issues. They also researched Immigration implications with the Home Affairs Office in George before deciding to settle in Mossel Bay. They flew back to the UK this week, having purchased four stands on which they intend to build designer properties. Their total investment into Mossel on these projects will be in the region of R20 million in foreign currency.

Hopefully this is just the beginning and Mossel Bay may yet see a lot of Sikhs coming in with large investments. Most Sikhs are businessmen or professional people. As is well known, one Sikh family has already invested a lot of foreign money into Mossel Bay, South Africa in the last five years, especially with the development of the magnificent Eden Plaza in the CBD.

Since starting the Punjabi Kitchen for Indian foods in June 2013, they have brought directly from overseas almost 300 Indian tourists into Mossel Bay in partnership with major Tour Operators in India, England and USA.

The Temple will have a major influence in attracting more Indian tourists into Mossel Bay

~ Source: www.mosselbayadvertiser.com

May 22, 2014:  HUISH Episcopi Academy [Somerset, U.K.] students whipped up a traditional Sikh meal as part of their GCSE religious studies.

Around 200 students and staff enjoyed the ‘langar’ meal at school to help them learn about Sikhism.

Year 10 catering students prepared, cooked and served the vegetarian meal and it was eaten in the authentic way by sitting on the floor.

The langar, meaning ‘kitchen’ is a common feature in a gurdwara, which is the Sikh place of worship.

Diners were also offered Karah Parshad, a sacred sweet pudding known to symbolize God’s blessings.

Courtesy ~ www.westerngazette.co.uk

The First World War was a seminal event in modern history, touching every continent and involving millions of civilians and soldiers throughout the British Empire. The role of Sikhs in the Great War is a largely unknown but fascinating part of the story of the Allied War effort is the participation of the Sikh soldiers in the Dominium forces of Australia.

It appears that the first Sikhs arrived in Australia, somewhere in the late 1830s. The Sikhs came from an agrarian background in India, and thus fulfilled their tasks as farm labourers on cane fields and shepherds on sheep stations. Sikhs were recorded as being present on the gold fields of Victoria during the time of the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s and ’60s. Seven Sikhs were part of the Australian Armed Forces during the First World War, which fought in Europe. Six of these soldiers returned safely after the War ended in 1918, but one of them (Sarn Singh) died in action in the bitter fighting in France and Flanders.

Private Ganessa Singh

Private Ganessa Singh was born in the Punjab, India, and enlisted in 10TH Battalion on 11TH September 1916. He was a 37 year old farmer. The 10TH Battalion was an Infantry Battalion of the Australian Army, which served as part of the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, together with 9TH, 11TH and 12TH Battalions; it formed part of 3RD Brigade, 1ST Division. It served at Gallipoli from April to December 1915, before being transferred to the Western Front in France in March 1916 where it took part in bitter trench Warfare until the Armistice in 1918. The last detachment of men from 10TH Battalion returned to Australia in September 1919.

Trooper Desanda Singh and Trooper Sirdar Singh

Trooper Desanda Singh was born in the Punjab, India; he was 38 years old and enlisted in 3RD Light Horse on 1ST November, 1917. Trooper Sirdar Singh was born in the Punjab, India; he was 39 years old and enlisted in 3RD Light Horse on 8TH, October, 1917. The Regiment had arrived in Egypt in the second week of December, 1914. The Regiment was deployed in Gallipoli and landed there on 12Th May 1915. It left Gallipoli on 14TH December 1915. Back in Egypt; the Regiment was deployed to protect the Nile valley from bands of pro-Turkish Senussi Arabs. In Egypt it joined the forces defending the Suez Canal, and played a significant role in turning back the Turkish advance on the canal at the battle of Romani on 4TH August. The 3RD Light Horse joined the Allied advance across the Sinai in November and was subsequently involved in the fighting to secure the Turkish outposts on the Palestine frontier – Magdhaba on 23RD December 1916 and Rafa on 9TH January 1917. The Regiment’s next major engagement was the abortive second battle of Gaza on 19TH April. Gaza finally fell on 7TH November. With the capture of Gaza, the Turkish position in Southern Palestine collapsed. The 3RD Light Horse Regiment participated in the advance to Jaffa that followed, and was then committed to operations to clear and occupy the West bank of the Jordan River. It was involved in the Amman (24TH-27TH February) and Es Salt (30TH April-4TH May) raids and the repulse of a major German and Turkish attack on 14TH July 1918.The final British offensive of the campaign was launched along the Mediterranean coast on 19TH September 1918, with the ANZAC Mounted Division taking part in a subsidiary effort East of the Jordan aimed at Amman. Turkey surrendered on 30TH October 1918. The 3RD Light Horse Regiment sailed for Australia on 16TH March 1919, where the troopers Desanda Singh and Sirdar Singh were demobilized.

Private Gurbachan Singh

Private Gurbachan Singh was born in the Punjab, India, and on immigrating to Australia he enlisted in 56TH Battalion on 5TH April, 1916. He was 43 years old. Arriving in France on 30TH June 1916, the Battalion entered the frontline trenches for the first time on 12TH July and fought its first major battle at Fromelles a week later. After a freezing winter manning trenches in the Somme Valley, in early 1917, 56TH Battalion participated in the advance that followed the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line. Later in the year, 56TH’s major battle here was at Polygon Wood on 26TH September. The 56TH fought its last major battle of the War, St Quentin Canal, between 29TH September and 2ND October 1918. It was resting out of the line when the Armistice was declared on 11TH November. Soon after, members of the Battalion began to be returned to Australia for discharge.

Private Davy Singh

Private Davy Singh was born in the Punjab, India, and on immigrating to Australia; he enlisted in 33RD Battalion on 12TH February 1916. He was 34 years old. The 33RD Battalion became part of 9TH Brigade of 3RD Australian Division. It left Sydney, bound for the United Kingdom in May 1916. Arriving there in early July, the Battalion spent the next four months training. It crossed to France in late November, and moved into the trenches of the Western Front for the first time on 27TH November, just in time for the onset of the terrible winter of 1916-17. The Battalion had to wait until the emphasis of British and Dominion operations switched to the Ypres Sector of Belgium in mid-1917 to take part in its first major battle; this was the battle of Messines, launched on 7TH June. The Battalion held the ground captured during the battle for several days afterwards and was subjected to intense Artillery bombardment. One soldier wrote that holding the line at Messines was far worse than taking it. The Battalion’s next major battle was around Passchendale on 12TH October. The battlefield, though, had been deluged with rain, and thick mud tugged at the advancing troops and fouled their weapons. The battle ended in a disastrous defeat. For the next five months the 33RD alternated between periods of rest, training, labouring, and service in the line. When the German Army launched its last great offensive in the spring of 1918, the Battalion was part of the force deployed to defend the approaches to Amiens around Villers-Bretonneux. It took part in a counter-attack at Hangard Wood on 30TH March, and helped to defeat a major drive on Villers-Bretonneux on 4TH April. Later in 1918, 33RD also played a role in the Allies’ own offensive. It fought at the battle of Amiens on 8TH August, during the rapid advance that followed, and in the operation that breached the Hindenburg Line at the end of September, thus sealing Germany’s defeat. The 33RD Battalion disbanded in May 1919.

Private Hazara Singh

Private Hazara Singh was born in the Punjab, India, and on immigrating to Australia he enlisted in 13TH Battalion on 28TH December 1915. He was 33 years old. He had previously served in 32ND Sikh Pioneers during the Northwest Frontier operations, before immigrating to Australia. The 13TH Battalion with 14TH, 15TH and 16TH Battalions formed 4TH Brigade. The Brigade proceeded to Egypt, arriving in early February 1915. The 4th Brigade landed at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli in the afternoon of 25TH April 1915. From May to August, the Battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the Anzac front line. In August, 4th Brigade attacked Hill 971. The hill was taken at great cost, although Turkish reinforcements forced the Australians to withdraw. The 13th also suffered casualties during the attack on Hill 60 on 27TH August. The Battalion served at Anzac until the evacuation in December. After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the Battalion returned to Egypt. While in Egypt the Australian Imperial Force was expanded and was reorganised. The 13TH Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for 45TH Battalion. The 4TH Brigade was combined with 12TH and 13TH Brigades to form 4TH Australian Division. In June 1916, 13TH sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918, the Battalion took part in bloody trench Warfare. Its first major action in France was at Pozières in August. In February 1917, Captain W. H. Murray, who had transferred to 13TH from 16TH Battalion, earned the Victoria Cross for his actions during an attack near Gueudecourt. He became one of the most highly decorated Officers in the AIF. The 13TH Battalion, along with most of 4TH Brigade, suffered heavy losses at Bullecourt in April when the Brigade attacked strong German positions without the promised tank support. The Battalion spent much of the remainder of 1917 in Belgium advancing to the Hindenburg Line. In March and April 1918, the Battalion helped to stop the German spring offensive. It subsequently played a role in the great allied offensive of 1918, fighting near Amiens on 8TH August 1918. This advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General Erich Ludendorff described as “.the black day of the German Army in this War…”.The 4TH Brigade continued operations until late September 1918. On 18TH September Maurice Buckley, serving as Sergeant Gerald Sexton, was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour near Le Verguier. At 11 am on 11TH November 1918, the guns fell silent. In November 1918 members of the AIF began to return to Australia for demobilisation and discharge.

Private Sarn Singh

Private Sarn Singh was born in the Punjab, India, and on immigrating to Australia; he enlisted in 43RD Battalion on 15TH May 1916. He was 33 years old. The Battalion embarked in June 1916 and, after landing briefly in Egypt, went on to Britain for further training. The Battalion arrived on the Western Front in late December. The 43RD Battalion spent 1917 bogged in bloody trench Warfare in Flanders. In June the Battalion took part in the battle of Messines in which Private Sarn Singh was killed. The Battalion spent much of 1918 fighting in the Somme valley. In April they helped stop the German Spring offensive at Villers-Bretonneux. In July the Battalion was part of General Monash’s attack at Hamel. In August and September the Battalion helped drive the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line. The 43RD joined the advance that followed 2ND Division’s victory at Mont St Quentin. At 11 am on 11TH November 1918, the guns fell silent on the Western Front. The November Armistice was followed by the Treaty of Versailles signed on 28TH June 1919. Through 1919 the men of the 43RD Battalion returned to Australia for demobilizations and discharge having 386 of their comrades killed in the blood drenched fields of Flanders.

~ By Narindar Singh Dhesi

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau’s Liberals plan to unveil a “star” candidate in Vancouver South, a man who could be described as a war hero, who was portrayed as a role model in Ottawa’s latest Welcome to Canada booklet for immigrants, and who is first Sikh to command a Canadian Army regiment.

But Lt.-Col. Harjit Singh Sajjan’s expected candidacy in the federal riding, a former Liberal stronghold won by Conservative Wei Young in 2011, won’t necessarily be smooth sailing.

Sajjan, named in 2011 as commander of the reserve B.C. Regiment (Duke of Connaught’s Own), was showcased at the recent Liberal convention in Montreal.

The military has strict rules against overt political activities that raise questions about the military’s impartiality, though reservists like Sajjan have far more latitude than soldiers in the regular force.

If Sajjan seeks to become a candidate in the scheduled 2015 election, he will need permission from his superiors, according to the National Defence Department.

The former Vancouver police officer, decorated after serving once in Bosnia and three times in Afghanistan, could be in for a difficult fight for the nomination.

The other expected candidate is Barjinder Singh Dhahan, a successful businessman, philanthropist and past-chairman of the Canada-India Foundation.

Both men appear in photographs on Gov.-Gen. David Johnston’s website — Sajjan while receiving a Meritorious Service Medal last year for his “critical” intelligence-gathering efforts against the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Dhahan after joining Johnston on a state visit to India earlier this year.

The nomination could also shape up as a battle between the two major camps in the South Asian community.

Sajjan is supported by leading members of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, like former WSO president and veteran Liberal power-broker Prem Vinning.

The WSO consists of fundamentalist Sikhs and is a harsh critic of the Indian government. It was created after Indian troops launched a deadly assault against Sikh separatists at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984.

And Sajjan’s father, Kundan S. Sajjan, is a former WSO executive who was the leader of the losing side in a 1998 battle between Sikh fundamentalists and moderates over whether to allow tables and chairs at the Ross Street Temple.

However, his son’s political backers say Harjit Sajjan has never been involved in temple politics.

Dhahan, who doesn’t wear a turban, is former chairman of the Canada India Foundation, which was set up to foster stronger Canada-India relations. He also helped finance the Canada-India Centre for Excellence at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Dhahan, head of the Sandhurst Group that operates a number of Esso and Tim Hortons franchises in B.C., has along with his father established a hospital, a public school, and a nurse training program in India.

There has been speculation that Sajjan is a Trudeau favourite after he was chosen to introduce an even higher-profile Liberal recruit, retired Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, at the Montreal convention in February.

That raised questions about whether the Liberals will take steps to ensure Sajjan, if he becomes a candidate, gets the nomination.

The Liberals have in the past used its so-called Green Light Committee to bar candidates who stood in the way of the leader’s attempt to recruit stars or bring in more female candidates.

Because of this, as well as the eyebrow-raising after Sajjan appeared at the Liberal convention (he wore civilian clothes), neither man was made available for an interview.

Neither has registered with the party as candidates, but Dhahan said by email that he will seek the nomination.

And the Vancouver South riding president confirmed that both men are expected to be candidates.

“I’m very happy with both of them, they have excellent resumés who would make I think a lot of Liberals proud and would make their constituents very proud to represent them in Ottawa,” said Stewart McGillivray.

He said he hopes for an open race.

“Having a contested nomination brings more attention and excitement to the process,” McGillivray said of the riding, which was Liberal red 1962 to 1972 and then from 1993 to 2011.

Former federal Liberal minister and ex-B.C. New Democrat premier Ujjal Dosanjh won the seat over Young by just 20 votes in 2008, but lost to her by just under 4,000 in the last election when the Liberal vote plunged across Canada.

If demographics is a factor in the next vote, however, the advantage would go to Young.

Statistics Canada’s data says there were 121,380 residents in the riding in 2011, with 70,670 identified as immigrants.

Among visible minorities, Chinese were by far the highest total at 51,245. The South Asian community total, including immigrants from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, totalled just 18,800. Broken down by religion, 12,085 were identified as Sikh.

Liberals who want Sajjan as the candidate are counting on his credentials as a Canadian patriot. While a member of the Vancouver Police he joined the B.C. Regiment in 1989, and in his first Afghanistan deployment in 2006 he played a key role in intelligence-gathering in advance of a 5,000-troop NATO offensive against the Taliban.

In a written evaluation Maj.-Gen. David Fraser said Sajjan, who used his both his police and language skills (Punjabi is similar to Urdu), was “nothing short of brilliant.”

Sajjan, who told The Vancouver Sun’s Daphne Bramham in 2011 that he experienced dozens of “close calls” during combat operations, was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal last year.

The citation read, in part, that his knowledge of local culture and tribal dynamics, and his willingness at “every opportunity” to enter danger zones, “provided critical situational awareness and reduced the Taliban’s influence in Kandahar province.”

Sajjan, if he formally enters the race, would likely have to leave his post as B.C. Regiment commander, or face severe restrictions.

Rules limit the ability of reservists to use their military experience as a “promotional factor” in their candidacy, defence department spokesman Daniel Blouin said in a written statement Wednesday.

~ Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/

Metro Vancouver, B.C. – The RCMP officer credited with increasing acceptance and equality among Canada’s national police force will receive an honorary degree from Kwantlen Polytechnic University this spring.

Staff Sgt. Baltej Dhillon, who is the Non Commissioned Officer in charge of the RCMP’s Federal and Serious Organized Crime intelligence unit, is a KPU criminology alumnus who never anticipated the media firestorm and subsequent federal policy change that would ensue when he initially told an RCMP recruiting officer he wished to wear his turban while on duty.

It was a trying time for the young Sikh, but he looks back now without a single regret.

“It was definitely not anything I saw coming, and nor was it something I thought I would have to overcome to serve as a police officer in Canada,” says Dhillon, a Surrey resident.

KPU president and vice-chancellor Alan Davis lauded Dhillon for the courage he’s shown in both his personal and professional lives.

“Baltej has given other Sikhs in Canada the opportunity to achieve their dreams without compromise, and for that reason and many others, he is an exemplary recipient of our honorary degree.”

Born and raised in Malaysia, Dhillon lost his father to complications from the flu when he was just 16. The tragedy prompted his family’s move to Canada on a winter day in 1983 with only $400 between Dhillon, his mother and two sisters.

In his early twenties, Dhillon enrolled in the criminology program at Kwantlen and started volunteering with his local RCMP detachment.

Although he initially wanted to become a lawyer, even back then Dhillon demonstrated a particular aptitude for police work and applied to the RCMP instead. His refusal to remove his turban in favour of the traditional RCMP Stetson divided the country, but on March 16, 1990 the Canadian government announced policy changes that would allow Sikh members to wear their turban will on active duty in the RCMP, and Dhillon became the force’s first turbaned cadet. And later, he had tears in his eyes when he was presented with his badge.

“It was a long journey and in some ways a very hard journey,” he recalls. “It was a very powerful moment for me and I will never forget it.”

In his RCMP Red Serge and turban, Dhillon became a symbol for equality, acceptance, the changing face of the RCMP and Canadians in general. It wasn’t a role he asked for, so when the RCMP recruited the next turbaned Sikh cadet seven years later, Dhillon phoned the young man to offer a warm welcome.

“I said, ‘I’ve been waiting on you, so now we can share the load.’”

Dhillon’s aptitude as an investigator landed him on the Air India task force and the Robert Pickton serial murder investigation. Dhillon received a Commanding Officer’s Commendation in October for his work on the Pickton case.

Dhillon is reluctant to take credit for his many successes without acknowledging his faith, and his late father, Nachattar Singh Dhillon.

“My father was a humble man who moved through life with great integrity and nobility. He gave me the anchors I needed and relied on when I came face to face with the dark parts of my journey to becoming a police officer.”

He adds, “I was a young boy who wanted to be a police officer and I certainly had the opportunity to do much more than that.”

– www.kpu.ca

Promotes Right To Vote across 28 States, Riding Bike!

Sikh Boy Jaspreet Singh Monty from Bidar is the first and the only Sikh representative joining this sensational Bike Ride Campaign from South India. His association is being hailed as a moment of proud for the entire Sikh Youth and the Community. Checkout the details of their high-spirit sensational tour and the nationalist objective behind!

Moment Vande Maataram

It is the first and the biggest ever movement organized by the bikers to create awareness and motivate youth to VOTE. A large group of bikers rode to all the State Capitals of India meeting youth along the way. The movement was spearheaded by Bharadwaj Dayala, the first Indian to go around the world on motorcycle.

The Ride

Large group of riders rode to all the 29 State Capitals of India spanning 15,000 kms. They are not supported by anyone but the people of this country. No politics, no parties, no persons. It’s just the bikers and Call of duty! The ride started from Mumbai on 15th March 2014, and 470 bikers came to support the core team of riders. The rally ended at Mumbai on 27th April 2014.

Why This Ride?

This time, the average voting age in our country is 23 years which means young people will play the key role in upcoming elections. Unfortunately, most of our youth takes voting casually and don’t take the pain to go on a booth and vote. Currently, our country is at crossroads and a strong participation will only lead to better future. It is the responsibility of young people to take charge in moving the country forward. So, we are just appealing to the youth of India to exercise their power, go out and Just Vote!

Also, most of the people think, bikers are reckless and careless people but, it’s not like that. No doubt, we are passionate about bikes and rides but we also understand our social responsibilities.

Know more about us or Connect with us at –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vandemaataram2014

Twitter: @getspotted2014

Chandigarh/ Punjab (May 14, 2014): A four-day ‘Gurbani Impact Study Programme’ concluded at Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh Campus. This was an exclusive program to establish the teachings enshrined in the Sikh Scripture – Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

The programme was organized under the Major Project sanctioned by the University Grants Commission with Prof. Jaspal Kaur Kaang, Chairperson of Department of Guru Nanak Sikh Studies, PU as its Principal Investigator.

The main objective of the Project was to establish that teachings enshrined in the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib Ji can play a very significant role in treating ailments and solving all the other problems being faced by human beings in the modern age at the personal, social and global levels.

As many as 150 participants attended the program regularly on all the four days. The participants, male and female, included people from all walks of life and different age groups. At the Valedictory Function Prof. Kaang thanked S. Hardial Singh and his team, all the participants and volunteers, PU and U.G.C authorities and the Gurdwara Management for their association with the programme. She hoped that the achievements made through this programme will go a long way in making the U.G.C Project a highly successful and fruitful venture.

The programme was held at the Gurdwara Sahib of Sector 14, Chandigarh in collaboration with ‘Sarb Rog Ka Aukhad Naam Mission’, Chandigarh with S. Hardial Singh, a former I.A.S officer as its Head.

The mission has been active for the last three decades and has been organizing camps for healing through Gurbaani, regularly.

The daily programme, was divided into two sessions i.e. 8.30 AM to 11.30 AM and 5 PM to 8 PM.

Each session was devoted to Gurbaani- Keertan led by expert Raagis, Gurbaani Recitation, elaboration of Gurbaani teachings highlighting the healing effect of Gurbaani in diverse ways, Kirtan by Sangat, discourses inspiring adoption of teachings of Gurbaani for moral and spiritual upliftment.

Lively interaction also made part of each session Religious literature was distributed among participants and interviews were held.

Data was collected at the beginning and on the conclusion of the programme to assess the progress made vis-a-vis the impact of the experience gained by the participants.

~ Source: http://www.sikhsiyasat.net/