News & Update

Thousands of applicants applied and the list went through its first round of selection. 100 applicants made it and Taranjeet is among them. He is the only Sikh on the list. From these 100, 24 will ultimately be selected for a one way trip to Mars to start the first colony on the red planet. Taranjeet Singh is good mannered, well humored, open-minded, intelligent, adventurous and spiritual. If humans meet martians surely an earthling like Taranjeet will leave a good impression. Here is our conversation with him and going to Mars.

Can you tell us a little more about yourself and your background?

Born and raised in India and Sikh-Punjabi heritage, I am pursuing the doctoral degree in computer science at the University of Central Florida in USA. I served two consecutive years as chairperson in Indian student association spreading Indian cultural awareness and bringing universal integrity among various student organizations. Past two summers, I have taken responsibility of welcoming new Indians student at UCF by arranging airport pickups and temporary accommodations. Outside campus, I have been involved in the various events organized by Interfaith Council of Central Florida and raising awareness of different issues such as anti-bullying in schools and hate crimes in the community.

My hobbies include serving community, exploring scientific knowledge, and spreading smiles. My parents and two elder sister who are married live in Indore, India. I am very simple person who believe that we are spiritual beings on human experience in this world. I value compassion and caring for all people, including self.

Do you have further aspirations for education?

I planned to enter academia after completing my current education. I have been teaching since first years in bachelors. I can understand very mindset of students in order to explain the problem. I love school and its learning environment.

If you are selected for the mission, what will be the first thing you’ll do when you arrive on the red planet?

Obviously, it is very difficult to express emotions and feeling of landing on Mars. It will depend on the mental condition, circumstances as well as hardship involved. One thing is certain that I will pay my gratitude to Waheguru for the safe journey and blessing for the life on Mars. I will stretch my body and take a run on red planet after spending seven months in small transit habitat for sure.

What do you think of the prospect of never returning to earth?

Yes. It is a one way trip to Mars and they have no plans to bring back us as of now. I think it is one incredible opportunity to leave your footprints in the course of human history. Getting people to Mars will be bigger than any single leap of exploration people of this planet ever taken. Regarding the clause “point of no return” also has brighter side to it. This clause actually provides extra motivation to astronauts and prevent them FROM HOMEsickness or mental trauma to pass the time anyway and go back to Earth as nobody will come to take them home and they have to accept Mars as their new home. The separation from loved ones, which will occur certainly at someone point in life, so why having fear of it. As somebody once told, “Future does not belong to the faint hearted, it belongs to the brave”.

Is there anything in Sikhi that helps to inspire you about Mars One?

As a member of the Sikh community, I strongly believe that Sikhi helps me a lot to prepare my mind for this mission. Removing the fear of death, a detachment of worldly things, and taking a righteous stand in the society is all part of the Sikh tradition. Sikh scripture talk about the existence of other worlds where life exist and we are not alone in the universe. I am committed to living my life with Sikh way of life style which includes earn honestly, share with needy and serve selflessly. Living in the Rehat makes me ideal candidate for this mission. Treat others with kindness, abandon any intoxicating substance, and maintain a healthy mental and physical state are valuable teaching of Sikhi.

Do you have a message for the youth?

manas ki jat sabhe eke paihcanbo – recognise all of mankind as a single caste of humanity. It is a great illusion when we think that people living with us in home as our only family. We understand the importance of neighbors when we visit other states. Two Indians share happiness seeing each other in other countries. Similarly, we will understand the importance of being human species together as a family when we start journey out of this earth and start looking for life on another planet. This thinking will give us motivation to unite and bring ends to all wars.

~ Source: sikhnet.com

. The word Nihang literally means crocodile. They describe themselves as the “Akaali,” which means undying or immortal army. They have dedicated their whole lives to defending their faith.

Known for their martial arts, sword fighting abilities, military expertise and bold blue attire, their traditions have changed very little over the past 300 years.

They were initially established by the later Sikh Guru prophets to defend the defenseless (during this time huge amounts of Hindus were being decimated by the Mogul invaders), and to guard Sikh Gurdwara temples.

Today many Nihangs have jobs such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and artists, among other occupations. Many Nihang Sikhs live with very little material wealth and a possession, living spiritual lives, in prayer, training in martial arts and taking care of themselves and helping their communities. Nihangs are saint soldiers – despite being warriors they are a symbol for world peace.

They exist to spread love and preserve peace.

Photographer Mark Hartman traveled to Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, northern India, for the annual Hola Mohalla festival celebrating Holi, a tradition set by the tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh in the 17th century.

~ Source: www.msnbc.com

RAAG DEVGANDHARI

Devgandhari is an ancient raag…
It is ideally performed in the morning hours.

Guru Ram Das Ji:

Ang 527: says…

I wander here and there, bewildered like a mad person….looking for my Lord.
And later… Now exhausted I have come and surrendered to You…seeking Your sanctuary.

Let me share my thoughts on this painting…
For this one…. I was guided by the exhausting effort…looking for The Lord.
This painting is a metaphor for the tremendous effort that the MIND must undertake in the journey to the Guru.

To show this in physical terms……like going past the trees in the foreground, through the forest, over the hills, across the river, and up the mountains with steeply rising peaks…
This exhausting physical effort is a metaphor for the arduous and challenging journey that the MIND must undertake in search for The Lord.

The source of the light is on the other side of the mountain….suggesting that the effort has to be made first. …..And then with Guru’s grace ….be blessed with Divine light.

~ Dr Navjeet Kaur

RAAG GUJRI.

This is historically an old raaga that was used to sing devotional hymns.

The ideal time to recite this raag is in the rainy season and in the early morning hours.

Guru Arjan Dev ji asks us to reflect:

Ang 495:
I have searched all Shastra’s Vedas and Simritis…they all affirm one thing; without a Guru there is no liberation…..reflect this in your mind. (Vichaaro)

The Guru asks us to reflect upon the guidance given…
How do I reflect? I am surrounded by distractions all around me.
In order to reflect…(to do Vichaar) I must be able to turn my attention inwards, to be able to find a quiet place within me. The inspiration comes from the shell that is curling upon itself, as if going further inwards, of nature giving inspiration. Inspiring me to turn inwards to reflect upon the words of the Guru.

~ Navjeet Kaur (Navi)

A Sikh MPP of Ontario Jagmeet Singh is currently in Taiwan representing the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Jagmeet Singh is one of the rising stars of the Sikh community in the world stage. He was re-elected as MPP of the Bramalea—Gore—Malton region of the Ontario Parliament last year with a wide margin.

Recently, he was denied a visa to India because of speaking out on human rights violations of India inside the Ontario Parliament.

Jagmeet is being well respected in Taiwan, he said, “I was made unofficial speaker of the Taiwanese city council for the day” which is quite an honor.

After the Taiwanese government heard that Jagmeet is a big fan of cycling, they organized a tour of “Taipei Cycle”, one of Asia’s largest bicycle conventions later in the week.

Jagmeet will be in Taiwan for the whole week with fellow MPPs from the Ontario Legislative Assembly. He described his visit as, “trip has been incredible so far!”

He also stated, “We’ve met with city councillors, ministry officials and policy developers. We’ve learned about Taiwan’s amazing island wide transit system and commitment to human rights.”

~ Source: Daily Sikh Updates

While the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced a new look Vaisakhi Festival. Office of Boris Johnson announced that the popular free event will take place on Saturday 11 April 2015 at City Hall and in The Scoop at More London, next to historic Tower Bridge.

London’s Vaisakhi celebrations are an opportunity for people from all communities, faiths and backgrounds to experience a festival that is celebrated by over 126,000 Sikhs who live in the capital and 20 million people across the world.

All are welcome to attend the family-friendly event, which as well as music and performance, food and children’s activities, will for the first time include films, talks and an exhibition. This year’s celebrations will also take place much closer to the official Vaisakhi festival – 14 April – than it has in previous years.

City Hall been working with representatives from the Sikh community, including Singh Sabha London East Gurdwara, EY Sikh Network and other groups, to create a culturally rich, enjoyable day that represents Sikh identity and culture.

The new location will enable a range of additional new activities to take place, such as film screenings, cultural talks and poetry readings, alongside a colourful outdoor programme of live performances. Visitors will be able to enjoy traditional dance, turban tying and Sikh spiritual music (Shabad Kirtan). Food (langar) will be prepared and offered by volunteers from the Sikh community.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘Vaisakhi is the holiest day in the Sikh calendar and I am delighted that it is coming to City Hall and The Scoop. We have been working closely with the Sikh community to create an even more wide-ranging programme of activities. It will be a joyous celebration and all Londoners are welcome. Happy Vaisakhi!’

Mankamal Singh, Gurdwara Singh Sabha London East, said ‘The Gurdwaras are excited to be involved in this year’s Vaisakhi celebrations at City Hall. The Sikh community are an integral part of the London landscape, whilst maintaining a very visible and distinctive identity. This year’s event gives London the opportunity to share British Sikh talent as well as offering great activities, that all Londoners can get involved in.’

Manraj Singh Othi, Co-founder EY Sikh Network, said ‘We are pleased to be part of the organisation of this Vaisakhi celebration. As both Londoners and Sikhs, we feel the grassroots approach to the programme that has been created in collaboration with City Hall will produce a day that is inclusive for both Sikhs and non-Sikhs, and be an opportunity to learn and celebrate together through a diverse range of displays and activities.’ ENDS

Event: Vaisakhi Festival

Location: City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA

Date: Saturday 11 April 2015

Time: 12pm-5pm

Entry: FREE – ALL WELCOME

Information: www.london.gov.uk/vaisakhi

~ Source: dailysikhupdates.com

Faridkot is a small city and a municipal council in Faridkot district in the state of Punjab, India. It’s a division with headquarter at Faridkot consists of three Districts Faridkot, Bathinda and Mansa. There are 8 Sub Divisions, 8 Tehsils and 9 Sub-Tehsils within these Districts.Total area of the District is 1475.70 Sq. K.M.
Prior to independence large part of the district was under the princely rule of Maharaja of Faridkot and later it became part of the Patiala & East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) in 1948. Faridkot was carved out as a separate district on 7 August 1972 out of the areas of Bathinda District (Faridkot Tehsil) and Firozpur District (Moga and Muktsar Tehsils). However in November 1995, the Faridkot District was trifurcated when two of its subdivisions viz Muktsar and Moga were given the status of independent districts.

It has been named after the great Sufi Saint Baba Sheik Fariduddin Ganjshakar, whose verses are mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib the holy book of Sikh religion.In 13th century, this town was founded by Raja Mokalsi, the grandson of Rai Munj, a Bhatti Chief of Rajasthan and named Mokalhar after his name. A famous Sufi Saint Hazrat Baba Sheikh Farid happened to pass through this town during the same time. Baba Farid was captured by the soldiers of Raja Mokalsi and put to bonded labour for the ongoing construction work of the fort at Faridkot. The basket full of earth while being carried by Baba Farid was seen floating over his head. On seeing this miracle, Raja touched the feet of Baba Farid and begged pardon. Baba Farid pardoned the Raja and meditated at a place near the fort, where he penanced for forty days. From that day the name of Mokalhar was changed to Faridkot.The place, where he stayed, is still called, ‘Tilla Baba Farid’, and ‘Baba Sheikh Farid Aagman Purb Mela’ is celebrated each year in the month of September, commemorating his arrival in the city.

The main crops of the city are wheat, paddy and cotton. Industries of the town include cotton handling, from ginning to baling, as well as manufacture of machine tools, sewing machines.

Faridkot State The history of the Faridkot District pertaining to the ancient period has been traced to the Indus Valley Civilization. A few sites explored in the Moga Tehsil(Now a separate District) link it with Indus Valley Civilization sites explored in the Rupnagar District. A vast area, including the present area of Faridkot District was under the influence of Indus Valley Civilization.

Princely flag of Faridkot The ruling dynasty of Faridkot State claimed descent from Rawal Jaisal, who founded Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in 1156. The town was founded in the 16th century by his descendant Bhallan of the Burai Jats.The ancestor of the Faridkot principality, Bhallan was an ardent follower of 6th Sikh Guru Har Gobind. He helped the Guru Har Gobind ji in the battle of Mehraj. He died issueless in 1643. Kapura, who was a nephew of Bhallan, succeeded him. Kapura founded the town of Kotkapura in 1661. Nawab Kapura was the Chaudhry of eighty-four villages. He was a Sikh but did not want to earn the ire of the Mughals and help Guru Gobind Singh Ji and fight with Mughals. The famous last battle of Muktsar (Khidrane Di Dhaab) now a historic town, happened after Nawab Kapura declined Guru Gobind Singh’s request to use his fort to fight Mughal Army. Otherwise the last war between Mughals and Guru Gobind Singh Ji was destined to happen at Kotkapura. Guru ji moved from Kotkapura to Dhilwan Kalan from there to Talwandi sabo via Guru ki Dhab. However, later in the battle of Muktsar in 1705, Nawab Kapuray, helped Guru Gobind Singh Ji in an underhand manner. Kapura was slain by Isa Khan Manj in 1708. He had three sons named Sukhia, Sema and Mukhia. Mukhia killed Isa Khan and took control of the entire area. Sema was also killed in this battle in 1710. Kapura’s elder son Sukhia again came into power in 1720.

Faridkot State Stamp A dispute between grandsons of Kapura (sons of Sukhia) led to the division of the state in 1763. The older brother, Sardar Jodh Singh Brar, retained control of Kotkapura, and his younger brother, Sardar Hamir Singh Brar, was given Faridkot.

The state was captured in 1803 by Ranjit Singh, but was one of the Cis-Sutlej states that came under British influence after the 1809 Treaty of Amritsar. During the Sikh wars in 1845, Raja Pahar Singh aided the British, and was rewarded with an increase of territory. The state had an area of and its 642 square miles (1,660 km2), and a population of 124,912 in 1901. It was bounded on the west and northeast by the British district of Ferozepore, and on the south by the state of Nabha. The last Ruler of Faridkot was Lt. HH Farzand-i-sadaat Nishan Hazrat-i-kaisar-i-hind Raja Sir Harindar Singh Brar Bans Bahadur. Before partition there was majority Muslim population in Faridkot. There are many mosques in Faridkot which are taken care of by Sikh villagers.

Faridkot has played a leading role in the politics of the state of Punjab with a number of chief ministers and even a president hailing from the area. Although the separation of Moga and Muktsar left this district considerably smaller, the area remains an important political arena.

~ Source: www.faridkottimes.tv

The Battle at Saragarhi is one of eight stories of collective bravery published by UNESCO. It has been mentioned as one of the five most significant events of its kind in the world .

On September 12, 1897, 10,000 to14000 afgans attacked the signalling post at Saragarhi in the Tirah region of NorthWest Frontier Province (now in Pakistan).The contin-gent of the twenty-one Sikhs from the 36th Sikhs was led by lshar Singh. The heroes of Saragarhi, barely 21 in number, They all chose to fight to the death. The battle lasted over six hours and one by one the defenders kept falling while trying to protect their post But they did not surrender.

The tribals later admitted to figure of a miniuim of 600 – 1400 were dead and many more wounded.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

According to British Historian G.W Leitner in his work published in 1881, The number of students attaining education dropped nearly 50% from Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Sikh empire to British Colonization. Punjab had more scholars and intellectuals then anywhere but after the British took over all changed.

The notion that with the fall of the Sikhs in 1849 the British East India Company ushered in the ‘modern age’ in the Punjab, especially in Lahore, is one that we need to revisit. What went wrong, and remained wrong subsequently, is a subject that we all need to reconsider.

When the Lahore Khalsa Darbar collapsed, the EIC, thanks mainly to the Lawrence brothers, set about trying to win over the Punjabis, especially the Sikhs. There was a cogent reason for this. The EIC, after a survey, discovered that education in Lahore, and the Punjab, was far superior to the education the British had introduced all over ‘conquered India’. In Lahore alone there were 18 formal schools for girls besides specialist schools for technical training, languages, mathematics and logic, let alone specialised schools for the three major religions, they being Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. There were craft schools specialising in miniature painting, sketching, drafting, architecture and calligraphy.

Punjab Ahead of Europe in Education

The Company concluded that the Punjabis were years ahead in the field of education than the so-called ‘enlightened’ Europeans. Every village in the Punjab, through the Tehsilar, had an ample supply of the Punjabi ‘qaida’, which was compulsory for females. Thus, almost every Punjabi woman was literate in the sense that she could read and write the ‘lundee’ form of Gurmukhi. To overcome this, and yet keep the Punjabis ‘in line’, a deliberate campaign to burn all Punjabi ‘qaida’ was planned. The events of 1857 provided them this opportunity, even though it was because of the ‘loyalty and sacrifices’ of the Punjabis that the British regained India.

But how did the British rulers, now formally under the Crown after the EIC was dislodged after becoming bankrupt because of expense incurred in 1857, gauge the situation? Here we have an amazing book from the legendary G.W. Leitner, the founder of Government College, Lahore, and the Punjab University and undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest ever linguist, who studied ‘Indigenous Education in the Punjab’ in amazing detail in 1882. His conclusions make much better sense today, for they were ignored by the British during the years of their rule. Not that we today care for what the great man said then, yet it seems sensible to bring the matter to our readers’ attention.

In the ‘Introduction’ to his original 1882 publication, he starts off by stating: “… in spite of the best intentions, the most public-spirited officers, and a generous Government that had the benefit of the traditions of others provinces, the true education of the Punjab was crippled, checked and nearly destroyed … our system stands convicted of worse than official failure”. The Punjab has this tradition whereby the “most unscrupulous chief, the avaricious money-lender, and even the freebooter, vied with the small land-owner in making peace with his conscience by founding schools and rewarding the learned. There is not a mosque, a temple, a dharmsala that had not a school attached to it”.

British Burnt Books in Punjab

This network the British set out to destroy. In the carnage of revenge that followed 1857, the British made it a special effort to search every house of a village and to burn every book. Even in the secular schools of Lahore which used Persian or ‘lundee’ as the medium of instruction, books formed the major bonfire than the British troops ‘cleansed’ the area. Leitner claims that before 1857 the Punjab had an estimated computation as he called it, 330,000 pupils learning “all the sciences in Arabic and Sanskrit schools and colleges, as well as Oriental literature, Oriental law, Logic, Philosophy and Medicine were taught to the highest standard”. Leitner claimed that after the events of 1857 the Punjab, by 1880, had, again a computed estimation, just 190,000 pupils. He says an entire tradition, far superior to what Europe had to offer, was destroyed.

To explain his claim, Leitner quotes from the Punjab Administration Report for 1849-51, paragraph 377: “The Musalman schools are nearly all connected with the village mosque, where the land is rent-free … the endowments are secular and religious to support temples, mosques, schools, village-inns … more of a monastic character”. An extract of report No. 335, 6th July, 1857, reaches the conclusion: “That elementary, and sometimes high, oriental classical and vernacular education was more widespread in the Punjab before annexation than it is now”. The report concludes that the events of 1857 destroyed the huge endowments that kept this ‘magnificent educational system intact’.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Spent More on Education then British in India

Here an amazing table brings the assertions of Dr. Leitner to the fore in his claim that the Punjab, and especially Lahore, was better off educationally in the days of Maharajah Ranjit Singh than in the British days before 1882, when his research was published. It shows that total revenue collected by Ranjit Singh in his last years, say 1838-9 as equalling 1.85 million pounds. The British managed 1.45 million pounds. Then comes the stunner. “The Sikh ruler, as a percentage, spent more on education than the Company from the revenues collected.”

Most Scholars in the World

In the Lahore District report of 1860, we see that it had 576 formal schools where 4,225 scholars taught. This being the case, if Lahore had so many scholars (teachers) in the year 2010, it could again become a ‘first world’ educational city and district. Dr. Leitner provides still more statistics. He says 41.3 per cent learn the Quran, 37.0 per cent learn Persian and Urdu, 8 per cent learn Nagri, 6.7 per cent learn Gurmukhi and 7 per cent learn Hindi or debased Nagri. “The teachers are all paid in grain by the local landlords, who also send in daily rations.” Special mention has been made of the extra amounts of grain sent to teachers in Sialkot. This probably explains the qualitative edge that Sialkot education has always maintained. Its manifestations in Iqbal and Faiz can easily be seen.

Sikh Empire has a Impressive Teach to Student Ratio

It would be of interest for us today to understand the schools of Lahore of those days. Schools opened from 7am and closed at midday. In no case was a class allowed to exceed 50 pupils. If any report of this number came forward, the ‘Subedar’ would send soldiers to arrest the teacher for trying to ‘destroy the future of our children’. Imagine! Can we ever imagine such care and love today.

Inside the walled city all the schools have been described in great detail. For example the Kashmiri Bazaar Mosque School had a teacher by the name of Allah Jewaya who taught the Quran and all subjects in Arabic. The Kucha Chabaksawaran School had a teacher by the name of Muhammad Abdul Aziz who taught in Persian and Arabic. In the nearby mosque of Faizullah, the teacher was Mahmood the Eunuch, who excelled in Persian and Arabic, and taught pupils how to learn the Quran by heart. In the advanced Arabic school in the Anarkali Mosque taught Maulvi Nur Ahmed, who taught grammar, logic, Muslim law and mathematics. In Suttar Mandi School taught Pandit Gauri Shankar, who taught mathematics, logic, medicine and Puran literature.

It is very clear that Lahore in the dying days of the Lahore Khalsa Darbar and the years before 1857 had a first rate educational system that was far superior to what the British had to offer. What amazes one the most is the fact that women were more educated than men, and this, Dr. Leitner observes, is what made sure that with every passing year, the literacy rate increased. Once this stopped, it progressively declined. What we are today is for all of us to think about. My way of measuring literacy, given the bias that a journalist would have, is the number of newspapers sold every day. In Pakistan the number barely crosses one million. For a population of 180 million, this means a Functional Literacy Rate of 0.55 per cent. Need one say more? The destruction continues.

A few years ago through this column we requested the Punjab government to rename Kutchery Road – from the District Court crossing to Nila Gumbad-Anarkali crossing – as Leitner Road. A ‘bright’ bureaucrat observed on the request “no one knows of this strange man”. Shahbaz Sharif agreed and dropped the request. I am not surprised. Luckily, he is not part of the 0.55 per cent figure, though he attended the institution Leitner founded.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

~ Source: Daily Sikh Updates