News & Update

Sikhs are getting aggressively targeted with unnecessary suspicion owing to their distinctive turbans and beards.

A man on a Jet Blue flight from New York to California made a 40 second video recording of a Sikh man asleep in the seat next to him and put it on YouTube with the caption, “Would you feel safe? Flying with Bin Laden”, CBS San Francisco reports. It’s true. This is what the world has come to.

The human rights advocates and the United Sikhs were alarmed at the bold stupidity and earth-shattering ignorance of this man.

The Internet rushed to the defence of the Sikh man, identified as Darshan Singh of California. The video which had received over a 100k views so far and has been bombarded with comments that decry the idiocy of the man recording. These commentors gave us hope that the World still unites against such derogatory remarks.

~ Source: scoopwhoop.com

US President Barack Obama has promised Sikhs to look into their demand to allow them to serve in the American military “without restrictions” on their articles of faith like growing a beard and wearing a turban, according to a prominent community organisation.

Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, met Obama at the White House on Wednesday and pressed him to allow Sikhs in US Armed Forces without any restrictions, the organisation said in a release.

Singh and his wife were invited to the White House Holiday reception hosted by the First Family.

“You have to allow Sikhs to serve in the Army without any restriction. They are only able to serve if Pentagon gives them an exception. This needs to go. Please do not leave office without taking away this restriction against Sikhs,” Singh told the President.

Obama, in turn, promised to look into the matter and agreed to follow up

“US President promised to look into the matter and agreed to follow up,” the release said.

It further quoted Obama as saying: “Sikhs are great warriors. I will look into it and will follow up.” Singh also pointed out to Obama that Canada has a turban wearing Sikh as its defence minister, which the President acknowledged.

Earlier this month, in a rare exception, an active-duty Sikh combat soldier in the US Army was granted a temporary religious accommodation that allowed him to grow his beard and wear a turban.

~ Source: The Tribune

At that time, Nadir Shah raided Delhi in the year 1739 and looted Hindustan and was carrying lot of Hindustan treasures and nearly ​18000 Hindu women along with him. The news spread like wildfire and was heard by Sardar Jassa Singh, who was the Commander of the Sikh army at that time. He decided to attack Nadir Shah’s Khafila on the same midnight.

He did so and rescued all the Hindu women and they were safely sent to their homes. It didn’t happen only once but thereafter, whenever any Abdaalis or Iranis had looted Hindustan and were trying to carry out treasures and Hindu women along with them for selling them in Abdal markets, the Sikh army although quite few in numbers but brave-hearted, attacked them at midnight,12 o’clock and rescued the captured women.

After that time, when there occurred a similar incident, people started to contact the Sikh army for their help and the Sikhs used to attack the raiders at midnight, 12 o’clock. Their continued success became a legend, that at midnightnearly at 12 o’clock, it is very difficult to fight against Sikhs as the Sikhs are endowed with supernatural power to defend Religion, Nation and Humanity. Nobody can fight and win against them at midnight. That is the legend behind the story today. Over time, a few smart alecks corrupted this into the line that at 12 o’clock, the Sikhs go out of their senses.

Courtesy – English Voice by
OP Rathore Famous RJ and VO Artist

Legal eagle Davinder Singh was named as Singapore’s best dispute lawyer at the inaugural Asialaw Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards 2015.

Drew & Napier, the Singapore-based law firm that he helms at the chief executive officer, took home two awards at the ceremony held on Sunday (Sept 24) in the republic.

Davinder received the “Disputes Star of the Year – Singapore” award while the firm won the award for the Singapore’s national law firm of the year and also the best domestic arbitration firm.

The 58 year-old lawyer had represented the late Lee Kuan Yew, the nation’s first prime minister, as well as his son and current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, in the courtrooms.He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1982 and joined the Litigation Department of Drew & Napier thereafter. He was in the first batch of Senior Counsel appointed in 1997, according to his profile available at the firm’s website.

Davinder, who has been a commercial lawyer and advocate for over 30 years, was also a former Member of Parliament for the Bishan-Tao Payoh Group Representation Constituency from 1988 to 2006.

~ Source- Asia Samachar

Amrik Singh was being robbed at gun point when suddenly his instinct caused him to chase the robber away. Initially, Amrik Singh was ready to give the robber the cash but suddenly he took his shoes and chased the armed robber out of his store.

He told a local newspaper that he hadn’t planned on charging at the robber but that something inside him told to do something. He was quoted in the Poughkeepsie Journal as saying, “I tried to give him money. I don’t know really, what happened.”

The robber was described as a 5’10″ white male who came inside the Route 9 Mini Mark at Staatsburg, NY with a shotgun and wearing 2 masks.

While Singh chased the gunman out of the store, the man was able to fire a shot at the feet of Singh.

The man is still on the loose and police has released surveillance video to identify the suspect.

“Don’t you feel hot under your turban?” asked a colleague. I smiled, and replied to his curious question “No king has ever felt hot under his crown. And for Sikhs the turban is their crown”.

I am sure many of my Sikh brothers and sisters would have been asked this question and would have given a similar reply.

In over the years I have found a deeper answer to this question. What is the importance of a turban? A Sikh turban symbolizes the virtues and values that our Gurus have taught us. Everyday a Sikh ties his/her turban (yes. A kaur too ties a turban), he/she promises to abide by the values.

So what are these values and how is it connected to the turban?

A Sikh turban has folds or laads as we call it in Punjabi. Each laad signifies a value — Truth, Honest Hard Work & Satisfaction, Fearless Seva (help), faith and Equality.

Truth — The first laad is a promise to the almighty that as a Sikh I shall always stand and support the truth. No situation will shake my belief in truth and I am ready to face any consequence to support it.

Faith — The second laad is a promise to have faith in the almighty and to surrender yourself by chanting his name (naam japna).

Honest Hard Work & Satisfaction — The third laad is a promise to work honestly and be satisfied with what one has, and to thank the almighty for this. This is one of the reasons why you may not find a Sikh begging but working hard to earn his/her living.

Fearless Seva — The fourth laad is a promise to serve humanity without any fear. If you see someone in need of help, don’t think twice and offer your help.

Remember Harman Singh who removed his turban to save a young boy’s life?

Or how two Singhs (Inderpal Singh and Kamalpreet Singh) saved four people from drowning?

Or do we remember the 12’clock joke that has always been cracked, which is actually a true Sikh history of bravery where Sardar Jassa Singh (commander of the Sikh Army) and his army saved the lives of women and children from the oppression of the Mugals (Nadir Shah)? 12 o’clock (midnight) is the time when a small army of Singhs led by Sardar Jassa Singh attacked the sleeping Mugal army using guerrilla warfare.

Equality — The fifth laad is a promise to never discriminate anyone based on his or her cast, creed, gender, race, colour, wealth, etc. Every human, plant and animal has been created by the almighty and his birth has a certain duty to be performed. So a true Gursikh will always respect others by welcoming them by saying Sat Shri Aakal.

One of the best examples of equality is the Langar Seva. People of all faith and religion are welcomed to have guru ka langar. Whatever may be your status quo, you will be made to sit down on the ground along with the sangat to have the meal.

The other example of equality comes from Guru Nanak Dev ji’s verse (Raag Aasaa Mehal 1, Page 473) where he values the importance of women.

From woman, man is born;
within woman, man is conceived;
to woman he is engaged and married.
Woman becomes his friend;
through woman, the future generations come.
When his woman dies, he seeks another woman;
to woman he is bound.
So why call her bad?
From her, kings are born.
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.
That is the true value of the turban. It is not a piece of cloth tied to one’s head. It is a promise to serve humanity and share goodwill.
So the next time you see a Sikh welcome them by saying Sat Shri Aakal. By doing so you are honoring the values the person stands for. And in return you will get a smile and a friend for life.
And that is my answer to how hot I feel under my turban. Hope you all agree.

Charanjeev Singh
Source- Singhstyled.com

Many people are becoming the victims of the so called ‘ Islamophobia’ because of their beards and turbans.

Harmeet Singh has written a message to those who confuse Sikh and Muslims, keeping in mind the rising levels of hate crime towards Sikhs. He explains the values of Sikhism and how both faiths must stand in solidarity against #Racism.

Harmeet Singh posted this on Facebook, “They say the average American does not know the difference between a Sikh and Muslim. They tell me the average American associates a turban and a beard with ISIS, Taliban, or Bin Laden. That’s ok because the average Sikh does not have fear in their vocabulary.

We are not the victims of mistaken identity, we are in fact doing exactly what our identity was supposed to do. It was supposed to absorb hate and ignorance so others would not have to. See, you mistake us for something we are not however you do not know exactly who we are. Our heritage teaches us tolerance, to love the enemy and to protect even those we do not agree with. These seemingly progressive values, of equality, freedom of religion, justice for all that you thought were American are actually something Sikhs have been living, and dying for centuries over. Our history is full of examples how Sikhs protected others before themselves, put humanity first and their own life last. We are taught from a very young age that our identity comes with responsibility, it will come with its own set of challenges, and we are in fact ready for anything and more your hate can dish out.

We have learned through our forefathers that hate does not last, and love, and truth eventually overcome. You may feel big by attacking us, but with each blow you only strengthen our resolve. You have bullied our children in schools, attacked our places of worship all in your skewed misinformed and small view of the world. Yes we look different but we are not foreign to this type of treatment. Everywhere a Sikh goes they know they stand out, they know their identity comes before all else that is presented about them, and even in the face of extreme intolerance they are willing to not reciprocate the hate but shower love instead.

You think if you intimidate us we will go running ‘back to our country’ as you heckle commonly, however we will not go back but only dig our heals stronger to prove that not only are we not afraid but we have the resolve to overcome your anger. Our religion provides us the guidance that there is no other, there is no difference, there is no better, there is only divine light which shines in all.

A Sikhs strength lies in their identity, it goes hand in hand with their existence. You might use images of the media to shape your world view through the bias lens, but we use spiritual power to shape our resolve. A Sikh will stay steadfast in a storm because we know the real battle does not rage externally rather internally is where the conquest really counts.

My hope is of a better America, where tolerance is not just a word that is thrown around, but actually practiced by every individual. Where diversity is not seen as a weakness but our core strength and what makes this nation great. Till then you will never see us hiding, the ‘Average Sikh’ will be out there with our turbans and beards easy to spot and ready for any challenge that may be presented.”

Well said, Harmeet Singh!

But, does any religion Deserves such HATRED? No Religion preaches Terrorism!

The man behind the awe-inspiring mural of Punjab at Anandpur Sahib’s Virasat-e-Khalsa is renowned Indian graphic artist and designer Orijit Sen

Long considered the gateway to the Indian subcontinent, the Punjab is a vast geographical area with a long and storied history. Sen’s epic mural renders this culturally rich region in compelling ways that blend busy human populated landscapes with a diverse natural world of flora and fauna that is increasingly under threat from modernization.

The mural from Punjab, with Love blends history and the everyday with festivals, weddings, women washing clothes, shopping, cooking; men ploughing the fields, tying turbans, riding motorcycles; children flying kites, enjoying school life, playing sports—a panorama of traditional and modern Punjabi life.

Orijit Sen writes about the inspiration for the mural: “The parallel realities of the past and the present seem to bring to their [Punjabis’] everyday existence a special something: a sense of life that is lived in the here and now, of joys and sorrows that are experienced and expressed without reservation; something that remains open-hearted and generous, and laughs in the face of troubles. It is a special something that I have set out to capture through my artworks, which I hope serve at the very least as a reflection and affirmation of the irrepressible, indomitable Punjabi spirit.”

About the Artist:

Orijit Sen studied graphic design at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. He is considered one of India’s first graphic novelists with River of Stories published in 1994 and often works in a miniature style combined with his own distinct graphic style. Sen has done several exhibitions and museum design projects in India, the United Kingdom, and Russia and is a co-founder of People Tree, a centre for design, crafts and sustainable living based in Delhi.

Source- www.surrey.ca

A man named Charlie became the new Killacam British Welterweigh Champ this past Saturday at Gravesend UK. The man was seen in a Gurdwara seeking blessings from Guru Sahib the night before his match.
After his victory, he celebrated with a Khanda flag to show his respect for the Sikh warriors and warrior spirit. Charlie’s trainer is a Sikh named Raminder Singh who inspire the young fighter and taught him about Sikhs.

The number one cage fighter in the UK gives immense respect to the Khanda and to the Sikh warrior tradition.

Source – DailySikhUpdates