News & Update

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.

“I felt a need to contribute in some way to the younger generation who is deprived of listening to the Saakhi’s (stories) related to the ten Sikh Guru’s and thus I have come up with an mobile application called ‘Saakhi’ which would connect them to the life histories of the Sikh Guru’s,” says Bahrain-based Gurpreet Singh over a telephonic interview with Hindustan Times.

“Today the Sikh community is passing through a turbulent phase because we are getting detached from the rich history and teachings of the Gurus which are imbibed in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib,” adds Gurpreet, who was born and brought up in Jalandhar and now lives with his family in Bahrain and is working as business manger in a food company .

Singh took long years to compile the knowledge base for this mobile application but technically it took him three months to launch it.

While elaborating on the need to launch this application, he says, “There is decadence in our society because the bedtime saakhis (stories) that we heard from our grand-parents are no longer being passed to the next generation. However, now the tech-savvy youth can directly be in touch with the history by downloading the mobile app.” he says.

“In Saakhi, stories are presented as audio files and not in written form. It contains short audio stories of four-to-six minutes each. Users can listen to one story everyday along with their children. Each story ends with a short message to make the learning relevant to modern times. A folder of ‘Sawaal-Jawaab’ (FAQ’s) is also there, with frequently-asked questions on the Sikh way of life. Interestingly, I have added a section of photography on Sikh parenting,” he reveals.

~ Source- Hindustan Times

In India, there are hundreds and thousands of jokes made on Sardars and the famous one is “Sardar ke 12 bajgaye.” People usually associate the dialogue BARAH BAJ GAYE (its 12 ‘0’ clock) with Sardars (Sikhs). It is a remark which means that they go into a ‘mad’ mood at twelve o’ clock and start acting crazy and do all sorts of crazy things. We even say this dialogue to anybody who acts really foolish at any point of time.

And, what’s even worse, we leave no opportunity to reduce any Sikh we know to a mere joke. But not many of us are aware of the story behind the origin of this dialogue. It’s time we tell you how the ’12 baje gaye’ phrase got associated with the Sikhs.

During the 18th Century, India was invaded by Nader Shah, the Shah of Persia. Nader Shah’s army raided Delhi in the year 1739 and looted Hindustan. Countless Hindus and Muslims were killed and the women were held captives. The only people who stood against these people were the Sardars. Sardar Jassa Singh who was the Commander of the Sikh army at that time decided to attack Nadir Shah’s Kafila. With ‘guerilla’ tactics, they attacked the Muslim camps and liberated the Hindu women from the clutches. They even helped those rescued women return home safely.

The usual time of such attacks was either at noon or midnight. The attacks were so ferocious, that the Muslims began dreading the expected attacks of the Sikhs at 12 o’ clock, midnight or noon.” After that time when there occurred a similar incidence, people started to contact the Sikh army for their help and Sikhs used to attack the raider’s at Midnight, 12 O’clock.

History Behind ‘Sardarji Ke 12 Baj Gaye.’

It was these people who coined the phrase that “Sardaron ke barah baj gaye.” But over time, the Hindus started referring to this kind gesture in the form of the 12 o’clock joke without even realizing that had it not been for those Sikhs, their women wouldn’t have survived.

The irony is that descendants of the rescued people are making fun of the rescuers. They went out of their way to help their brothers and what they got in return was an insensitive joke that stereotyped their community on a ridiculous level.

It’s easy to joke on a Sardar, but it’s too difficult to be a Sardar. We think it is time to stop joking about this incident. So now I guess anybody who reads this might reconsider before using this dialogue.

-Chaitanya Konduru

~ Source: allindiaroundup.com

On 2 March 1945 on the road between Kamye and Myingyan, Burma (now Myanmar), where the Japanese were strongly positioned, Naik Gian Singh who was in charge of the leading section of his platoon, went on alone firing his tommy gun, and rushed the enemy foxholes. In spite of being wounded in the arm he went on, hurling grenades. He attacked and killed the crew of a cleverly concealed anti-tank gun, and then led his men down a lane clearing all enemy positions. He went on leading his section until the action had been satisfactorily completed.

On 2nd March, 1945 on the road between Kamye and Myingyan, Burma, where the Japanese were strongly positioned, Naik Gian Singh who was in charge of the leading section of his platoon, went on alone firing his Tommy gun, and rushed enemy foxholes. In spite of being wounded in the arm he went on, hurling grenades. He attacked and killed the crew of a cleverly concealed anti-tank gun, and then led his men down a lane clearing all enemy positions. He went on to leading the section until the action had been satisfactorily completed.

SHARE & SREAD this SIKH Braveheart!

~ Source:

Sikh Coalition partnered with the White House Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative (AAPI) to launch Act To Change – a national campaign aimed to raise awareness of bullying in our nation’s schools.

We are pleased to report that this initiative is already having incredible and immediate results.

The Sikh Coalition’s Law and Policy Director, Arjun Singh, joined three Sikh community members, all of whom have long advocated for anti-bullying reform, for a high-level meeting with senior administration officials at the White House.
Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett joined Arjun Singh, Dapinder K. Ahluwalia, Aasees Kaur, and Tejinder Singh for a roundtable discussion that featured the Sikh perspective along with a broader discussion on how federal agencies can better combat bias-based bullying.

Aasees and Tejinder are the sister and father of Japjee Singh – a Sikh student from Georgia who courageously contacted the Sikh Coalition after being bullied for years. Dapinder’s son was bullied so badly in a private school in New York City that when the school refused to properly respond, she was forced to relocate to a new school district in New Jersey.

My brother spoke out and with the support of the Sikh Coalition, we refused to let the DeKalb County school district ignore the problem of bias-based bullying,” said Aasees, who also volunteers as a Sikh Coalition Advocate. “Now we’re at the White House working to ensure that the rest of the country addresses the problem too.”

Dapinder (19K) Dapinder, like so many Sikh families across the United States, faced the horrible choice of speaking up and tackling the problem publicly or fearing that publicity would make the problem worse for her son. “The bullying of my son has altered our lives forever, but to be at the White House, working with the Sikh Coalition, and talking about this problem head on makes me believe that the future for the next generation of children in our schools will be better.”

An effective response to bullying must begin with the acknowledgement that bullying is an epidemic and is prevalent in classrooms across the nation. We must stand up, reach out and speak up.
As always, we urge all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly.

~ Source: Sikhnet

Two Amritdhari (initiated Sikhs) named in the Canadian cabinet after an election that saw the following Canadian Sikhs elected, including 5 who wear turbans, 5 women, and 4 who have been named cabinet members:

Harjit Singh Sajjan was sworn in as Minister of National Defense; Navdeep Singh Bains was appointed as Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

Harjit Sajjan immigrated to Canada from India with his family when he was five years old.

Having grown up in South Vancouver, he benefited from everything this diverse and culturally rich community had to offer. While attending local elementary and high schools, Harjit was active in many of the sporting and athletic programs.

Harjit is married to Dr. Kuljit Kaur Sajjan, a UBC-educated family doctor, and together they have two young children.

Harjit Sajjan has four operational deployments; one to Bosnia and three deployments to Afghanistan. He has been awarded the following honours in recognition of his service to Canada:

Order of Military Merit
Meritorious Service Medal
Southwest Asia Service Medal (Afghanistan)
General Campaign Star (Afghanistan)
Mention in Dispatch
Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
NATO Service Medal (Bosnia)
Golden Jubilee Medal
Diamond Jubilee Medal
Canadian Forces’ Decoration
US Army Commendation Medal
Chief of Defence Staff Commendation
Deputy Minister Award (Department of National Defence)

Harjit Sajjan was a member of the Vancouver Police Department for 11 Years serving in South Vancouver and was selected as a Detective for the Gang Crime Unit. Harjit has long been advocating for education and mentorship programs that engage the youth to become more active members of society, while strengthening youth defense against the rule of gangs and drugs.

Born in a small village in India, Harjit learned the importance of the very basic human necessities at a young age. He is immensely grateful for the privilege of being a Canadian and now participates in humanitarian efforts where ever he can make a difference. He and his wife have four sponsored children and support many charities that promote health and education to impoverished children.

Navdeep Bains

Mississauga-Malton MP Navdeep Singh Bains has been named Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
Having served as the MP for Mississauga-Brampton South from 2004 to 2011, Bains, 38, a long-time Trudeau friend and advisor, gained extensive experience as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and as the Liberal Critic in a number of portfolios.

Bains, a former Brampton resident and Turner Fenton Secondary School graduate, was the first MP for Mississauga-Brampton South when that riding was created in 2004 and, after last month’s election,he returns to Ottawa to serve as the first MP for Mississauga-Malton 11 years later.

Bains, an accountant/financial analyst and visiting professor at Ryerson University, said in a tweet he’s “honoured” to be Canada’s next Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

-DailySikhUpdate