Growing up is a struggle for everyone. We constantly seek the acceptance of our peers and modify ourselves to fit into the crowd. But being a Sikh and staying a Sikh in this modern world is definitely a lifetime challenge on a whole other level. I was born and raised in Singapore; a country which […]
Growing up is a struggle for everyone.
We constantly seek the acceptance of our peers and modify ourselves to fit into the crowd. But being a Sikh and staying a Sikh in this modern world is definitely a lifetime challenge on a whole other level. I was born and raised in Singapore; a country which publicizes itself as a cosmopolitan and multi-racial society.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that racism does not exist.
Blending in was never an option for me; I would go to school every day with my hair in a long and oily braid: compliments of my mother. While I do not have any memory of being ridiculed or bullied as a kid, I do remember the curiosity of my classmates as they would ask me why I did not cut my hair.
I would always respond with a practiced reply, “It’s not allowed in my religion.”
As a child, I rarely questioned what my parents taught me about Sikhism. Since most people believe that inquisitiveness is a sign of intelligence, I would probably have been labeled as naïve or dull-witted.
I, however, would call myself innocent.
My innocence allowed me to have faith in the saakhis my mother told me every night before I slept. I was proud of being a Sikh because our Guru Sahibs were like real-life superheroes who saved lives and risked their own.
Soon enough, science or what we call “logic” got in the way of faith and the saakhis seemed more like childhood fables. Reality became cruel and so did people.
I encountered a girl in Primary School who occasionally threatened to cut my braid off just because it irked her to see me have such long hair. I was too afraid to face up to her or get my parents involved. That’s when I took my chances and turned to the last resort I had: Ardaas.
I bowed my head and put my hands together and stood in prayer in front of the Guru Granth Sahib every morning before school and asked for Baba ji to help me through this problem.
Sooner than I could have imagined, the girl stopped bothering me and school life became more bearable as I made friends with people who had no issues with Sikhism and didn’t pressurize me to stray from it.
Doing ardaas became a daily routine and it has kept me strong when life has tried to throw me off my feet.
I can count on Baba ji whenever I need him.
I won’t claim that I have unwavering faith; that would be a lie. There are times I break down and want to give up and I wonder how Baba ji could possibly get me out of my troubles.
But he always proves me wrong and I can never thank him enough for being the only solid rock in my life.
Blessed Students of Akal Academy – Theh Kalandar celebrated Baisakhi by singing devotional Kavishris, Shabad Kirtan, inspirational speeches on the auspicious occasion marking the Birth of Khalsa. With the distinct Khalsa identity and consciousness of purity, Guru Gobind Singh gave all Sikhs the opportunity to live lives of courage, sacrifice, and equality. Like & Share […]
Blessed Students of Akal Academy – Theh Kalandar celebrated Baisakhi by singing devotional Kavishris, Shabad Kirtan, inspirational speeches on the auspicious occasion marking the Birth of Khalsa.
With the distinct Khalsa identity and consciousness of purity, Guru Gobind Singh gave all Sikhs the opportunity to live lives of courage, sacrifice, and equality.
Like & Share the efforts of these kids cherishing Guru Gobind Singh’s gift to Khalsa Panth!
Students of Akal Academy, Theh Kalandar presented a skit to display the importance of water and it’s how its wastage & scarcity can have serious ill effects on the environment. Students were educated on useful conservation tips on water. All students are given equal opportunities to enhance their stage performance skills. The skit aimed to […]
Students of Akal Academy, Theh Kalandar presented a skit to display the importance of water and it’s how its wastage & scarcity can have serious ill effects on the environment. Students were educated on useful conservation tips on water.
All students are given equal opportunities to enhance their stage performance skills.
The skit aimed to create awareness among children about the need of conserving the precious resource water and involving them in this Noble Cause. Such Activities are a great way to get students and teachers involved in educating their families, communities and schools. Schools or classrooms conduct at least one in-school activity and one outreach activity of their choosing to explore protection and conservation.
Like & Share to appreciate the efforts of the little ones.
Like, Every year Akal Academy Gomtipul celebrated the programme of Baisakhi on 14-04-2015 with full zeal and religious attributes. The function was celebrated with the teamwork of school management, staff members, students and sang at. All the students of the academy celebrated the Khalsa Sirjana Divas week. On 11-04-2015, students from Class VII-XII participated in […]
Like, Every year Akal Academy Gomtipul celebrated the programme of Baisakhi on 14-04-2015 with full zeal and religious attributes.
The function was celebrated with the teamwork of school management, staff members, students and sang at. All the students of the academy celebrated the Khalsa Sirjana Divas week. On 11-04-2015, students from Class VII-XII participated in the poem composition titled as “Khalsa Sirjna Divas”
On 12-04-2015, Akhand Path Sahib had commenced, bhog of Akhand Path Sahib and 21 Sehaj Path Sahib (by students and staff) was conducted on 14th April approximately at 10:30 am in the morning.
After the bhog there were special Baisakhi celebration Samagam which included Shabad kirtan, several religious poems, speech, Vaars and Kavishri sung by the students of Akal Academy Gomtipul. Students of class Nursery to XII participated in the programme. The Programme of school Students, Ardaas wand Langar was organized for students and Sangat.
Emotions drained me from top to bottom when I heard the case of Dowry death in Dehradun, giving me Goosebumps of to what extent is a girl is exposed to the brutalities of the society. Marriage once looked upon as a beautiful lifelong commitment has turned into a brutal business. It has lost its meaning […]
Emotions drained me from top to bottom when I heard the case of Dowry death in Dehradun, giving me Goosebumps of to what extent is a girl is exposed to the brutalities of the society.
Marriage once looked upon as a beautiful lifelong commitment has turned into a brutal business. It has lost its meaning in the inhuman race for money. Kalyug has reached its zenith of savagery & brutality! Dowry menace has crippled our society, stained the mindset of people to an extent that it’s a curse to humanity.
A woman dies every hour in India due to the demands placed upon her family as a result of the dowry system, according to figures from the country’s National Crime Records Bureau.
Tragic Story of a distant relative Lakwinder Kaur (Sonia Kaur) who was burnt alive when her parents couldn’t meet the dowry demands of her in law family. The incident took place at Dehradun.
She tied knots to beautiful commitment on 7th July 2014 with Gurmeet Singh, stepping ahead in a new phase of life, not being aware of what a horrifying end that relationship will scare her with. This beginning gradually became the most torturing nightmare of her life. Her husband was the owner of a car rental business in Haridwar.
She was shunned, abused and tortured for dowry for Rs 6 lakhs from past few months when she expressed her denial to pay the amount her in laws demanded.
Adding to her grave situation, she was abandoned with hunger pangs for many days, she was exposed to every extreme form of brutalities from being physically tortured to emotionally exhaust.
The Couple decided to move to Dehradun for some time followed with her in-laws. On 13th April 2015 when the situation crossed every limit .She went to police station went to lodge a complaint on 13 April 2015 Dehradun, Patel Nagar. Police paid no heed to her miseries and refused to lodge the complaint due to her husband’s high influential power.
Gurmeet Singh’s Family and relatives exhorted to the most brutal attempt of setting her on FIRE, the girl died a miserable death as 99% body was burnt.
Accused is not arrested yet. No action has been taken yet apart from Registering FIR. Accused are freely roaming.
None of the following is a factor in India’s female genocide: economics, education, class, caste, religion, and community. It involves the educated and wealthy, as well as the poor and uneducated. The skewed sex ratio adverse to the female child is a sad mirror image of the social thinking even in the 21st Century.
Every son born into a family is greedily viewed as the ‘golden goose’ who will bring in the fantasized wealth through the dowry they will demand when he gets married. The worst cases of dowry death reflect the degree of that greed. The practice of easy wealth acquisition is engulfing the society having its worst victims as females!
As of yet the system of law and order in India has shown little inclination towards bringing this situation under control. It is riddled with corruption and incompetence, and many in the government offices, police and medical establishment themselves indulge in dowry and female foeticide. The possibility for change through the official channels therefore is bleak.
Are we ashamed enough?
Dowry is an age old custom where the wife’s family has to hand over endless amounts in cash and gifts at the wedding and beyond to secure her wellbeing.
It is illegal and the punishments are severe, but the number of cases is on the rise in a country that continues to grapple with the issue of violence against women. The system has far-reaching effects on Indian society. It is the primary reason for female feticide and infanticide. Activists estimate 500,000 female fetuses are aborted illegally every year. For many families it is the boy who brings in the riches while a girl continuously depletes it.
We as human beings belong to a social group at birth and our development and growth is influenced largely by that groups’ philosophy. Being a Sikh woman by birth I have seen women being glorified as goddesses as well as downgraded. My soul was in a search for an explanation, and recently I have turned to the Sikh Scriptures (Sri Guru Granth Sahib) for an answer.
And the answers says
Guru Nanak writes.
“From the woman is our birth, in the woman’s womb are we shaped;
To the woman we are engaged, to the woman we are wedded;
The woman is our friend and from woman is the family;
Through the woman are the bonds of the world;
Why call woman evil who gives birth to the leaders of the World?
From the woman is the woman, without woman there is none”.
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 473)
The Guru reprimands those who consider women as inferior to men. He sees them as active partners in advancing goodwill, general happiness and the collective moral values of society. This declaration definitively requires women to be placed in high esteem.
Sikhism condemns prevalence of female Infanticide and the ritual of dowry in Indian society.
“O’ my Father! give me the Name of Lord God as a gift and dowry.
Let the Lord be my wear, His Glory my Beauty, that my Task be accomplished.
Blessed is the Lord’s worship; the True Guru has blessed me with it.
In all lands, nay, in all Universe Pervades the Glory of the Lord; the gift of the Lord’s (Name) is matchless;
All other Dowry displayed by the self-willed is false egoism and a vain show.”
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 78/79).
The Guru’s called this giving of gifts an “offer for show” of the guests and a “worthless display” which only increase the “false egotism”.
Where have we failed, as parents, teachers and leaders, that our children have forgotten all tenets of decent behavior and respect for women?
Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.
The country’s future will remain both visible and elusive “if we do not discover the ability to continually cleanse ourselves of retrograde habits and social ills.
As the worthy children of our Gurus, we must pledge to place Women elevated on the same standards of thinking as propagated by our gurus.
It’s time to drill our society with some sensitivity of acknowledging themselves as humans!
Gagandeep Singh has been working as Tennis coach in Akal Academy Baru Sahib since 2011. Having a coaching experience of 12yrs & an umpiring experience for 8yrs, He has been offering the best of his training services & skills to the students of Baru Sahib. His Personal Training has helped the students to lead in […]
Gagandeep Singh has been working as Tennis coach in Akal Academy Baru Sahib since 2011. Having a coaching experience of 12yrs & an umpiring experience for 8yrs, He has been offering the best of his training services & skills to the students of Baru Sahib.
His Personal Training has helped the students to lead in many state level competitions and made them won many trophies & national awards. He works hard along with the students so that they can explore the best out of their potential. Akal Academy Baru Sahib has always had a strong sporting tradition and students enjoy excellent sporting facilities. Students are guided by a team of professional members.
Having served as a line umpire in five International Events, Gagandeep was recently chosen for his sixth International Tennis Competition – Fed Cup which is considered the World Cup of Tennis. Among 23 Umpires he is the Only Sikh umpire.
Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the women’s premier international team tennis event. This prestigious event, which is one of the cornerstones of the tennis calendar, gives players the chance to represent their country in an otherwise individual sport.
Launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ITF, it has continued to attract the best players in the women’s game.
Captain Hercharn Singh (born 1986) is the first Sikh officer to be commissioned in the Pakistan Army. He was born in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, which is also the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Hercharn passed his matriculation from Government Guru Nanak High School and passed his FSc (pre-engineering) in 2004 from Forman […]
Captain Hercharn Singh (born 1986) is the first Sikh officer to be commissioned in the Pakistan Army. He was born in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, which is also the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
Hercharn passed his matriculation from Government Guru Nanak High School and passed his FSc (pre-engineering) in 2004 from Forman Christian College, Lahore. He then passed Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB) examination in 2006 after failing once and joined the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) at Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Hercharn passed out from PMA and was commissioned into the Pakistan Army on 27 October 2007.
Hercharn had told reporters, “It is a matter of great privilege and an honor for me that today I am standing in front of you in the khaki uniform. I have been given a great responsibility”
He was commissioned in Baloch Regiment. Currently, he’s serving as an ADC to a Corps Commander.
B.C. celebrated this Vaisakhi with the historic charter signing of Canada’s first cadet corps formed by the Sikh community in Surrey and the annual parade in Vancouver. Vaisakhi marks the Sikh New Year, pays tribute to the harvest and commemorates one of the most important days in the Sikh calendar — the creation of the […]
B.C. celebrated this Vaisakhi with the historic charter signing of Canada’s first cadet corps formed by the Sikh community in Surrey and the annual parade in Vancouver.
Vaisakhi marks the Sikh New Year, pays tribute to the harvest and commemorates one of the most important days in the Sikh calendar — the creation of the Khalsa.
The Khalsa was founded in 1699 as a Sikh brotherhood and sisterhood to fight adversity and continues to be at the heart of Sikhism.
The charter signing gala for the 3300 BCR (Bhai Kanhaiya) Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps in Surrey was attended by Defence Minister Jason Kenney, National Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Minister of State for Multiculturalism Tim Uppal, B.C. Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services Amrik Virk, a host of MPs, MLAs, municipal politicians and about 400 guests and military personnel.
Rear Admiral Bill Truelove, Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, hailed the Sikh community for supporting the Bhai Kanhaiya cadets and saluted the efforts of Vancouver newspaper publisher Harbinder Sewak, the architect of what has become one of Canada’s fastest growing cadet units.
Kenney said the Bhai Kanhaiya cadets continue the long tradition of service by the Sikh community to the military and prepare young Canadians to become tomorrow’s leaders.
The formation of this unique cadet corps has triggered interest across Canada and as far away as London, England, in localities with sizable Sikh populations. On Saturday, the annual Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade attracted tens of thousands of spectators to southeast Vancouver and the neighbourhood near the Ross Street Temple where the festivities began.
We require the services of a few Auditors for the Audit of our academies in Punjab, Rajasthan, U.P. and Haryana. About 90% of the academies are in Punjab. Qualifications; SAS / A.O./AAO/ B. com with a knowledge of Computer. Must have his own Laptop The persons willing to join must be willing to travel in […]
We require the services of a few Auditors for the Audit of our academies in Punjab, Rajasthan, U.P. and Haryana. About 90% of the academies are in Punjab.
Qualifications; SAS / A.O./AAO/ B. com with a knowledge of Computer. Must have his own Laptop
The persons willing to join must be willing to travel in the Academies about 15 days in a month for Audit.
Boarding and Lodging arrangements will be made by the academies. The Auditor will travel by Train or by Bus. Necessary arrangement to pick up the Auditors from Railway Station or Bus Stand will be the responsibility of the Academy. Vehicle will be provided to send the Audit party and back to the academies for Audit.
Emoluments: Rs.17,000/- P.M. +Rs.2500/- as Fixed allowance to the Audit Party of two Auditors. They will be granted 2 Leaves is a month in lieu of the two tour of 8 to 9 days in a month. For the remaining days they will work in F-3, Rajouri garden and prepare the Audit Report.s of the academies audited.
Willing persons may please send their Bio data
to dpsvohra@barusahib.org or contact 9891145471.
As many as nineteen hundred and twenty-eight Sikh pilgrims on Saturday reached Pakistan from India to participate in Baisakhi Mela with religious zeal and fervour. According to details, over nineteen hundred Sikh pilgrims reached Pakistan via Wagah Border to participate in the Baisakhi day that will take place on April 13 in Hassan Abdal and […]
As many as nineteen hundred and twenty-eight Sikh pilgrims on Saturday reached Pakistan from India to participate in Baisakhi Mela with religious zeal and fervour.
According to details, over nineteen hundred Sikh pilgrims reached Pakistan via Wagah Border to participate in the Baisakhi day that will take place on April 13 in Hassan Abdal and Nankana Sahib.
The Sikh pilgrims received a warm welcome upon arrival in Pakistan. They will participate in various festivities in Hassan Abdal, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur.
Many of the pilgrims have anxiously waited for the day to visit the Sikh religious sites in Pakistan regarded as sacred for the adherents of Sikhism religion.
Besides India, over fifteen hundred pilgrims have arrived in Pakistan from other countries as well.
The sites in Pakistan are considered sacred for the adherents of Sikh religion worldwide and have a historic significance. These are the sites where 10th Master Guru Gobind Singh gathered Sikhs and established sanctuary.
