We have the next two-and-a-half weeks to figure out the best player in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps a bunch-scoring senior such as Creighton’s Doug McDermott or Louisville’s Russ Smith. Maybe a lottery-ticketed freshman such as Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins or Duke’s Jabari Parker. But there’s no question who’s the biggest: It’s 7-foot-5, 355-pound New Mexico State […]
We have the next two-and-a-half weeks to figure out the best player in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps a bunch-scoring senior such as Creighton’s Doug McDermott or Louisville’s Russ Smith. Maybe a lottery-ticketed freshman such as Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins or Duke’s Jabari Parker.
But there’s no question who’s the biggest: It’s 7-foot-5, 355-pound New Mexico State center Sim Bhullar, hands (the size of dinner plates) down. Bhullar, a native of Toronto who is of Punjabi heritage (the “Slammin’ Sikh” nickname doesn’t seem like it will get off the ground), isn’t just an oversize curiosity.
The 21-year-old sophomore behemoth — who was 6-foot-5 by the sixth grade, and now has size-22 feet and an 8-foot wingspan — can play a tiny bit. He put up 10.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.4 blocks while averaging 26.2 minutes per game for the WAC champion Aggies. No. 13 seed New Mexico State opens against No. 4 San Diego State on Thursday night in Spokane, Wash.
“He’s so vastly improved,” San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said of Bhullar, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “He’s a force.” His not-so-little brother Tanveer, who stands only 7-foot-3, is a freshman at New Mexico State.
PANJA SAHIB, GURDWARA, at Hasan Abdal in Attock (or Campbellpore) district of Pakistan Punjab, is sacred to Guru Nanak, who briefly stopped here on his way back to the Punjab from his western uddsi or journey which took him as far West as Mecca and Baghdad. According to tradition popularized by Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri […]
PANJA SAHIB, GURDWARA, at Hasan Abdal in Attock (or Campbellpore) district of Pakistan Punjab, is sacred to Guru Nanak, who briefly stopped here on his way back to the Punjab from his western uddsi or journey which took him as far West as Mecca and Baghdad. According to tradition popularized by Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Guru Nanak Prakash, Guru Nanak and his Muslim companion of long travels, Mardana, halted at the foot of a hill. On the top of the hill lived a Muslim recluse known in those parts as Wall Kandhari.
Feeling fatigue and thirsty and seeing no water in the vicinity, Mardana climbed up to the Wall`s hut and begged him for water to quench his thirst. Questioned as to who he was and what had brought him to that place, Mardana said that he was professionally a musician and had come in the train of a great saint, Baba Nanak. Wall Kandhari refused to give him water and quipped instead that if his master was so accomplished a saint, he should not let his follower go thirsty.
Mardana walked back disappointed and told the Guru what the Wall had said. Guru Nanak asked Mardana to go once again and supplicate the Wali with humility. Mardana obeyed, but returned only to report the failure of his mission. Guru Nanak there upon touched the hillside with the tip of the stick he was holding. Instantly, water spouted forth from that point and Mardana drank his fill. But simultaneously Wali Kandhari`s reservoir on top of the hill began to ebb and soon dried up. The Wali, blind with rage, rolled down a big boulder towards the travelers.
Guru Nanak gently raised his arm and the rocky mass, as goes the tradition, stopped in its downward career as it came in touch with his palm, {panja, in Punjabi). The impression of his palm was left on the stone which is still shown to the visitors to the place, now famous as Panja Sahib, the Holy Palm. A Gurudwara was built at the site during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to which he made a handsome land endowment and which he visited more than once during his lifetime.
He’s a few days shy of 103, and still lacing up for his daily run. It’s the closest you can come to immortality!
Fauja Singh is so light on his feet that he could be treading on air. He runs past mustard fields, a gentle breeze making the bright yellow flowers bow to him. He runs past shimmering wheat fields, sentinel lines of poplars, and tight little mango groves. As he enters a gnarly brick lane that runs through a warren of two-storey houses, Singh slows to a trot, then comes to a stop in front of an old house in yellow and blue, now being refurbished. This is Beas Pind, a village near Jalandhar, with the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway running past.
“This is where I was born,” he says, a gleam in his eyes. “And this is where my children were born. It’s changed a bit now.”
No doubt. It’s been almost 103 years since Singh was born. His ancestral house has been rebuilt many times since then, but Singh is still standing here, his silver and grey beard blowing in the wind, the sharp shafts of sun, filtered through black clouds, giving it a preternatural wizard-glow. Singh’s not just standing, he is still running.
“Seven to eight kilometres every day,” he says. “I walk some, jog some, and run some, but I am slowing down a little.”
By slowing down, he means that he is not going to run a marathon again. He ran his last race, a 10K, on 24 February last year in Hong Kong, just a month short of his 102nd birthday. He finished it in 1 hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds, on a muggy day with a light drizzle.
“I was nervous because it was my last race,” he says, sitting on the terrace of his house. “I asked my coach, will I finish this one? And he said, ‘Of course you will.’ But there were so many people, so many flash-bulbs going off, that at first I could not even figure out if I was running in the right direction.”
After he had gone past the 5km mark, Singh says he felt confident that he would finish the race, but after another kilometre, he fell badly, bruising his knees. “People rushed to help me, because every time I fall, I think people are scared that I will not get up again,” he says, laughing with uninhibited glee. “But my time has not come yet. People tried to make me drink some water, but I refused. I got up on my own, and began running again. And then while I was running, someone came and sprayed something on my knees, and the pain went away.”
For a moment, he hallucinated—he thought there were pretty women in traditional Punjabi clothes dancing the bhangra and the giddha—but they were young local girls who were cheering him from the sidelines.
“When I crossed the finish line, I felt so light, so painless,” he says. “I thought, God was running with me.”
“When I crossed the finish line, I felt so light, so painless. I thought, God was running with me.”
And there it was, the end of the most extraordinary long-distance running career that can be imagined: first marathon at 89, and nine more since, and a half-dozen lesser distances; the oldest man to run a full marathon, when he completed the Toronto Waterfront Marathon at 100; and a fantastical timing posted in 2003, 5:40:04 at the Toronto Marathon, at the age of 92, prompting Adidas (which sponsored him) to include him in their Impossible Is Nothing ad campaign, alongside David Beckham. The tag line of the ad said: 6:54 at age 89. 5:40 at age 92. The Kenyans better watch out for him when he hits 100. Since then, Singh has had tea with Queen Elizabeth II, a woman he is impressed with: “Maharani England di tagri hegi-ae” (the queen of England is a strong woman); run with the Olympic torch during the London Games in 2012; developed a serious fetish for suits, ties and shoes (he has over a hundred suits, colour-matched with nearly that many pairs of shoes—“a strange thing,” he says, “considering I spent 90 years more or less wearing the same type of white kurta-pyjama”); and of course, run more marathons.
The year Singh was born, the British Imperial capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi, and Elizabeth II’s grandfather, George V, was crowned the emperor of India. Singh is a time machine. How the world has changed since his birth would make a fascinating book—two world wars, the discovery of penicillin, stainless steel, short-wave radio, electron microscope, ad infinitum. Through most of this time, Singh was just a simple boy born to a family of farmers, unschooled except in farming, born emaciated and with weak legs which did not allow him to walk till he was 5. When he did walk, he quickly gained a reputation for being the most active boy in the village, always climbing trees, jumping into ponds, and running after kites (he’s still fidgety and garrulous, and hardly ever sits still). But running as a sport, or just for the joy of it, was forgotten as the child turned into a man, took over the farm, married and had six children—three daughters and three sons. One by one, his children migrated, to England and Canada, and Singh and his wife Gian Kaur worked their ancestral farm with their fifth child, Kuldip. Occasionally, the family would visit their children in England, and that’s how, in the early 1960s, Singh’s date of birth was registered as 1 April 1911 in his passport—birth certificates were not common in India till 1969.
In 1992, Gian died, Singh was 81. “She had a good life,” Singh says, “and I thought, surely my time is near, and I was at peace with that.”
Two years later, Singh’s peace of mind was shattered in the most gruesome of ways. It was July, the monsoon had arrived, and Kuldip and he were fixing an irrigation ditch next to an outhouse on the periphery of their farm, when a storm hit them. As they were hurrying back to their house, the corrugated metal roof of the outhouse was wrenched out by the storm and came flying at Kuldip, slicing his head off as Singh watched.
Everything changed after this. His youngest child, Harvinder, says that Singh began losing his mind. He would not speak for days, and when he did, it was to pick a fight. He would wander aimlessly around the village, crying, at all times of the day and night. The doctors advised his family to take Singh away from his village, and this is how, towards the end of 1994, he found himself living with his eldest son in London. He visits his village in India once a year.
“I was there to forget, yes,” Singh says, looking listless for the first time in the day. “But I kept coming back here. Nothing seemed right.”
Then, slowly, he began making friends with fellow Sikh expats in London, many of whom were of his vintage. He found out that they often went running in the morning, and desperate for any kind of distraction, he joined them one day.
“I found out that I could run faster than all of them,” Singh says. “And I could run on and on.”
His first major run was a 20km charity event in London, and he loved it so much that everyone in his family, and all his new friends, began encouraging him to take part in more such races.
“And that’s how I began running,” Singh says. “And that’s what keeps me alive. One day I will be running, and the earth will claim me back and it will be wonderful. How can you be scared of something like that? But that day is still a little further away.”
Meharban Singh is a prominent Sikh living in Singapore. In the decade of 1970’s, I was also living there and Meharban Singh narrated to me a very interesting incident. He said that he, along with his family, had gone to Pakistan for paying obeisance at the Gurdwaras over there. General Ayub Khan was the President […]
Meharban Singh is a prominent Sikh living in Singapore. In the decade of 1970’s, I was also living there and Meharban Singh narrated to me a very interesting incident. He said that he, along with his family, had gone to Pakistan for paying obeisance at the Gurdwaras over there. General Ayub Khan was the President of the country in those days. He invited us to his residence over a cup of tea. When we entered his drawing room, I was taken aback on seeing the front wall of his room. It was painted with the words Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad, with two frames hanging underneath. Mool Mantra from Ik Onkaar Satnaam till Gurparsaad was inscribed in Punjabi in one frame and in Urdu in the other.
As I felt curious to know the background of these frames with Mool Mantra, I did not take much time in exchanging the initial pleasantries and said, “General Sahib, if you kindly permit me, then I would like to know about these lines of Gurbani over there (pointing my finger towards the frame with the Mool Mantra)”. For a moment he became emotional and then poignantly replied, “It is indeed Guru Nanak Sahib’s Kalaam (verse) because of which I am able to reach this highest post of the President of Pakistan.”
General Sahib went on to narrate his childhood experience connected with the Mool Mantra, with the following words: “I was studying in a school in Abbotabad and was very weak in my studies. As a punishment, I invariably used to get bashed in the class. One day, I thought of bunking the school simply to save myself from the daily ordeal and instead went to the Gurdwara Sahib, falling in the vicinity, to take shelter.
The Baba Ji (head Granthi of the Gurdwara Sahib), who was known to me, noticed my actions and enquired, ‘Ayuba, where are you loitering, is it not the time for you to go to school?’ I said, ‘Baba Ji, I will not go to school today. The teachers beat me up daily, I am unable to take it anymore.’ He took me fondly into his arms and said, ‘Henceforth you will not get any bashing. Recite this Kalaam continually on your way to school.’ I did the same and went to school. It was the first day, I did not get any bashing and it so happened that I never got any punishment after that.
“I started feeling a lot of change in my life and became more serious towards my studies, work and duties. The final exams approached and I went to the same old man again to request him to pray for me so that I get through the exams. Baba Ji said, ‘Ayuba, Guru Nanak’s Kalaam of Mool Mantra is with you.
Understand it, meditate on daily basis and never leave it wherever you go. Whatever you wish for, you will get.’ Today, I have reached this highest post of the country by the grace of Baba Nanak’s Mool Mantra and shall ever remain thankful to him for his blessings.”
In the year 2000, I got an opportunity to visit Pakistan. I was taking a round of the market in Lahore when I suddenly recalled the above narrated incident of President Ayub Khan. I went to a book stall and asked for a biography of the General. The shopkeeper showed me a book titled Friends not Masters. I went through the pages of the book hurriedly and verified the incident narrated by Meharban Singh. Eminent historian Principal Satbir Singh has also referred to the above incident in one of his books.V.P. Menon, former Foreign Secretary and India’s Ambassador to Russia, in his autobiography, shares a memorable experience during a visit to England to appear for an exam: “I visited the Southall Gurdwara to spend a night.
The Head Granthi of Gurdwara Sahib welcomed me. In the morning, when I was leaving for the examination center, I requested the aged head Granthi to pray for me so that I am able to pass the exam with good marks. He gave me a piece of paper by writing Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad and advised me to remember these words of Guru Nanak Sahib in my heart all the time and recite the same in case of any problem during exam and said, ‘Go and Guru Nanak Sahib will help you out.’ I don’t know what magic was there in his saying. His words entered my body in such a way as if I had an electric shock. I felt electrified when I reached the examination hall to appear for the exam. On reading the question paper, I started sweating. Then I remembered the advice of the Granthi Sahib. I took out that piece of paper from my pocket, recited the name of Guru Nanak and read those words Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad and started writing the paper. The result was astonishing and beyond my expectation. I went to thank the Granthi Sahib and asked the old man ‘Baba Ji what magic is there in these words?’
Granthi Ji said, ‘Never part with this mantra and always remember and recite these words. You will never fail in your life and succeed in all your ventures.’ Till date, whenever I start any work, I start it with Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad.”
Community’s Star Contributor & famed Columnist Ms. Inni Kaur shares ‘Colors of Creation’ through Paint Art. We seek the pleasure in introducing Ms. Inni Kaur with our members. Inni Kaur is an avid columnist and a gifted painter; she serves on the Board of The Sikh Research Institute. She is also the author of a children’s book […]
Community’s Star Contributor & famed Columnist Ms. Inni Kaur shares ‘Colors of Creation’ through Paint Art.
We seek the pleasure in introducing Ms. Inni Kaur with our members. Inni Kaur is an avid columnist and a gifted painter; she serves on the Board ofThe Sikh Research Institute. She is also the author of a children’s book series, “Journey with the Gurus” – which is an interestingly informative work of literature based on lives and teachings of the Sikh Gurus, especially complied for children ages 7 and above. On the writing front, she is also producing a bi-lingual book (English/Panjabi) titled “Bed-time Sakhi’s with Naniji’s.” These are 12 short stories (1000 words) on the Guru Nanak Sahib. Every story ends with a Sikh Teaching which the children can relate to in their present day life.
Besides being a modest contributor in spreading the message of the Gurus through her writings amongst the members of the community, Inni Kaur is also a graced and blessed Paint Artist. She has shared a few of her works with us in the spirit of sharing, check out her work at http://goo.gl/bFGnzS
Another of her recent much appreciated work is translation of ‘Inter-Faith Dialogue: From the Pen of Bhai Veer Singh’ inspired by Guru Nanak’s “Siddh Gosht” (Dialogue with the Siddh Mendicants), translated from Bhai Vir Singh’s book, “Guru Nanak Chamatkar.” Read this interesting passage athttp://goo.gl/Rddxa2
Our team at the Kalgidhar Trust of Baru Sahib is currently mulling options for a productive collaboration with Inni Kaur Ji to adapt her stories to animation to make them more interesting for the children. We are certain that with the blessings of almighty & benevolent support of our members this endeavor will be a great success & help us promote & convey the message of our gurus amongst young children.
Amritsar, 27 March, 2014 – The social and religious organisation, Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, organised a function, Sikh Sports’ Star Award, to honour sports personalities here today. The organisation honoured Sikh sportspersons who have excelled at school, college, national and international level. The function was presided over by veteran athlete Fauja Singh. Former Jathedar of […]
Amritsar, 27 March, 2014 – The social and religious organisation, Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, organised a function, Sikh Sports’ Star Award, to honour sports personalities here today. The organisation honoured Sikh sportspersons who have excelled at school, college, national and international level.
The function was presided over by veteran athlete Fauja Singh. Former Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Kewal Singh, former Jathedar, Commissioner of Police, Jatinder Singh Aulakh and Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha, were present on the occasion.
A cultural function was also organised wherein Davinderpal Singh of Indian Idol fame and Hargun Kaur of India’s Got Talent fame, mesmerized the audience. Fauja Singh said he felt honored to felicitate Sikh children who have excelled in their sports along with being Sabt Surat Sikhs. He congratulated Akal Purakh Ki Fauj for organising this function.
He said Sikh children must preserve their distinct identity and should stick to their roots. “No one can achieve anything if he is easily swayed by popular beliefs. The Sikh children must preserve their identity,” he said.
Director of Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, advocate Jaswinder Singh, said the aim of the programme was to create awareness among children. He said the Sabat Surat Sikh sports personalities had set an example for others. The director said following tenants of one’s religion could never be an obstacle in the way of excellence.
Watch the ‘Guru Ki Kashi’ song sung by Davinderpal Singh of Indian Idol fame which got him much appreciation – http://goo.gl/SHvJqd
Mar 27, 2014: BRAMPTON— Most co-op students just expect to complete their hours and learn something for future use— and not receive an award for their work. Education at Work Ontario (EWO) has named Sheridan College student Hargurdeep Singh of Brampton as recipient of its provincial Co-op Student of the Year award. The honour recognizes […]
Mar 27, 2014: BRAMPTON— Most co-op students just expect to complete their hours and learn something for future use— and not receive an award for their work.
Education at Work Ontario (EWO) has named Sheridan College student Hargurdeep Singh of Brampton as recipient of its provincial Co-op Student of the Year award.
The honour recognizes outstanding students of 2013 and is awarded yearly to one college and one university student who demonstrated exceptional job achievement, outstanding community service, high academic performance and a strong contribution to co-operative education. Singh is a student in the Mechanical Engineering Technology –Design & Drafting Co-op program. His placement was completed at the Centre of Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies in Brampton where he worked as a product designer.
During his placement, Singh focused on studying and learning the company’s newly-acquired, cutting-edge 3D production technology. He used his new found expertise to create assistive devices for students with disabilities. He is an ambassador for co-operative education and has spoken at campus open houses, and to the media on its value. Singh has been acknowledged before for his academics and extra-curricular activities. He received the Student Ambassador Award from Sheridan, and last year he was the only college student in the world to receive funding for Student Leadership Training at the ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition.
Another Sheridan student, Kristen Metz, received the Canadian Association for Co-op Education (CAFCE) Student of the Year award. CAFCE gave Singh an honourable mention for the national award, and EWO gave Metz an honourable mention. Sheridan offers over 100 diploma, certificate, and bachelor degree programs in an environment that encourages creativity and innovation.
By – Brampton Guardian
Bhagat Singh (28 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was an Indian socialist and a revolutionary. He is considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. Born in a Sikh family, his family had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj. When Bhagat Singh was a […]
Bhagat Singh (28 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was an Indian socialist and a revolutionary. He is considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement.
Born in a Sikh family, his family had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj. When Bhagat Singh was a teenager, he studied European revolutionary movements. He became attracted to anarchist and Marxist ideologies.
He became involved in numerous revolutionary activities. He quickly gained prominence in the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and became one of it’s chief leaders.
He made a plan to bomb the Central Legislative Assembly. He partnered with Batukeshwar Dutt for this task. He bombarded the assembly with two bombs. They were shouting slogans of revolution and threw pamphlets.
After the bombarding, they surrendered. They were arrested. He was held on this charge in prison. He underwent a 116 day fast in jail and so he did not have food for that long. He did this to demand equal political rights for both British and Indian political prisoners. In response to this determined protest, he gained nationwide support. This day today Bhagat Singh was executed for the 1929 Assembly bomb throwing incident and was hanged till death!
Hail the efforts. Dhan Sikhi! Dhan Khalsa!
A pair of shoes of Bhagat Singh – Bhagat Singh gifted this pair to Jaidev Kapoor, friend and co-revolutionary.
Shirt of Bhagat Singh – Full sleeves Khaki shirt with Italian collar, market Bhagat Singh on the collar.
Pen – This pen has historical significance as it was used by the Judge to write death sentence to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in Saunders Murder Case. Inscribed on the broken nib is the name of the manufacturer, The Latem, Hinks Wells & Co. Registered, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Inkpot bombs, 1916 – These brass inkpot bombs were recovered by police from Lahore. They were meant to keep on Judges table and designed so as to trigger the explosion as soon as the lid was opened.
FIR (Urdu) of Bhagat Singh in Assembly Bomb Case – This FIR was registered at a police station in New Delhi against Batukeshwar Dutt and Bhagat Singh for throwing of bombs in the Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929. Both the accused were arrested under section 3 and 4 of Explosive Substance Act.
Poster of the Hunger Strike – This small poster was distributed during demonstration in Punjab highlighting hunger strike. The slogan of the poster was coined by Bhagat Singh printed by The National Art Press, Anarkali, Lahore.
Watch of Bhagat Singh – Bhagat Singh gifted this watch to Jaidev Kapoor, his friend and co-revolutionary.
Bomb shells recovered by CID from Lahore. These became part of exhibits in the Assembly Bomb Case.
March 22, 2014: Half of Sikh children reported that they are bullied in school, according to a study released Thursday — a number that rises to more than two-thirds if they wear a turban that covers their long, uncut hair in accordance with their religion. The study also found that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks […]
March 22, 2014: Half of Sikh children reported that they are bullied in school, according to a study released Thursday — a number that rises to more than two-thirds if they wear a turban that covers their long, uncut hair in accordance with their religion.
The study also found that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are an important factor driving persecution of children wearing traditional garb. They endure bullying rates twice the national average, the report found.
“For two years we got bullied, came home crying every day,” a Sikh student, who is identified only by his initials, LS, said in the report, titled “Go Home Terrorist.” “I was in 5th grade [in California], and my dad took us to a barber shop, and he was like ‘it’s today.’ My mom was crying, my dad was crying.” It was the day he cut his hair.
Cutting the hair is “the most grievous injury imaginable for a Sikh,” Amardeep Singh, the report’s author and director of the Sikh Coalition, told Al Jazeera. “It’s like cutting your arm off, or a leg. Sikh history is replete with stories of Sikhs literally choosing death over having a haircut.”
The bullying against LS continued despite the family’s desperate attempt to stop the harassment, so they moved to Indiana, where they became a part of a larger Sikh community and the bullying subsided slightly.
The study, presented by the Sikh Coalition in a briefing to the Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus and the American Sikh Congressional Caucus, surveyed more than 700 students across the country and found that Sikh children had been punched and kicked and had their turbans ripped off by fellow students. Slurs such as “terrorists,” “go back to your country” and “bin Laden” were yelled during the assaults.
Singh, who himself was bullied in school, said the study’s findings reminded him of his youth.
As a child, he was physically assaulted, he said, and frequently called “Gandhi.” The name calling evolved through the years in line with the political agenda of the United States. “During the Iran hostage crisis I was told to go back to Iran, during the first Gulf War I was told to go back to Iraq, and after 9/11 I was called ‘bin Laden.’
“What’s scary is that the dynamic hasn’t really changed much on the ground. The statistics have been yearly consistent,” he said, indicating that the situation could have remained “pretty static” since his childhood.
Singh said the data is “incomplete” because the government does not collect federal data on bullying among Sikh children.
Crude stereotypes of terrorists and damaging media images made their way into the classroom, the study noted. Textbooks refer to Sikhs only in relation to the assassination of the Indian prime minister in 1984, Singh said. And Sikh parents suffer discrimination at work and at airport security, leading to a “trickle-down effect,” said Singh, with non-Sikh children taking cues from the behavior of adults.
The study mirrors a 2013 Stanford University survey, which showed that 70 percent of turban wearers in the U.S. are misidentified as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Shinto. The study, titled “Turban Myths,” also found that nearly half of all Americans believe that the Sikh faith is a sect of Islam, and that even more people associate the turban with Osama bin Laden.
Thursday’s study also noted that schoolteachers and principals do not make sufficient efforts to curb violence.
“The majority of Sikh children from the coasts to the heartland say that bias-based bullying is a part of their experience in school,” Singh said in a press release. “We need the help of educators, administrators, lawmakers, agency officials, the media, parents, and children if we are going to end this troubling dynamic.”
Upon release of the study Thursday, Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., a Japanese-American who experienced “the effects of ignorance and racism” while growing up in the United States after World War II, pledged his support to “eradicate bullying.”
“As an educator and school administrator for more than 20 years, I have seen firsthand the impact of bullying on our nation’s students,” he said in a statement. “The Sikh Coalition’s study and report reinforces the need for research, attention, and education to address bullying.”
BRAMPTON— Students at various schools in Peel and Eastern Ontario have organized events to create a greater understanding of the Sikh religion amongst the general public. These events are being held in March to celebrate Sikh Awareness Month. The Sikh Youth Federation, along with Sikh Student Associations at high schools, colleges and universities are hosting […]
BRAMPTON— Students at various schools in Peel and Eastern Ontario have organized events to create a greater understanding of the Sikh religion amongst the general public.
These events are being held in March to celebrate Sikh Awareness Month.
The Sikh Youth Federation, along with Sikh Student Associations at high schools, colleges and universities are hosting activities to celebrate the Sikh religion and shed light on aspects of the faith many in the community may consider a mystery.
Organizers hope to answer questions like why do Sikhs tie a dastaar (turban)? Why do Sikhs carry a Kirpan? What/Who is Vaheguru (God) according to Sikhi?
“The events are for everyone,” said Prabhjot Kaur of the Sikh Youth Federation in Waterloo.
A variety of activities are planned at the individual events, including seminars, group discussions, Sikh martial arts displays, turban tying booths and free cuisine.
There are events scheduled at a number of schools, including the University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson and the University of Waterloo as well as Harold Brathwaite Secondary School in Brampton.
“It’s just opening up people’s minds,” said Kaur.
For more information or to find a local event visit www.TheSYF.com/.
