News & Update

Hope in Unity!

Recently, Saharanpur was in news because of Sikh Muslim riots. It was disheartening. India is a land of diverse religion and culture. We belong to same color but different religion and this marks the major reason for all riots in India.

Back in 2011, UK riots were in limelight. There was destruction everywhere. The police wasn’t able to control the boisterous mob. The Sikhs and Muslims were in limelight too, for a different and a noble reason though. When Birmingham was facing the ravages of time, audacious Sikhs of Britain took over the streets to defend homes, businesses and places of worship. Armed with swords, and carrying hockey sticks, the rebellious Sikhs guarded their temples. And they were ready for any coup de main. They not only guarded their temples but also stood guard outside Mosque when Muslims were offering their Ramadan prayers. After this bravado act by Sikhs, Muslims also came forward and they stood guard outside Sikh temple when Sikhs were offering their prayers at night. Sikhs and Muslims not only guarded temples and mosques of the city, but they united to guard Churches of the city too. Social media, be it twitter or facebook, newspapers were brimming with this lion-hearted act. No matter what, Sikhs always stand against evil and this quality they have got from their ancestors and teachings of their Gurus. Since childhood Sikhs have learned that – “Maanas ki jaat sabai ekai pehchanbo” or “Aval allah nor upaya kudrat ke sab bande” meaning everyone belongs to ONE CREATOR.

There is harmony in unity, and peace in harmony. And there is a hope in unity!

~ Gurpreet Kaur
~ New Delhi, 9th Aug ’14

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14 years ago an article in a UK newspaper on pitiful condition of Sikligar, Vanjaras and Satnami sikhs inspired Kulwant Singh Dhesi and Tarsem Singh Deol alongwith like-minded individuals to found British Sikh Council UK in 2002. Initial surveys in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh having a sizable population of Sikligar, Vanjara and Satnami Sikhs revealed inspite of alarming levels of poverty, lack of sanitation,dismal health and education facilities people have a staunch belief in the Sikh value system. Hair was maintained unshorn.

With the sincere efforts of Malkit Singh Bal, President, Gurmat Parchar Sanstha (Nagpur) and Gurcharan Singh, Coordinator in India (BSC), with the UK natives the first Gurdwara was constructed in 2003 at Warud, Maharashtra. 10 Gurdwaras in Maharashtra, One school in Aaron (district Guna) and two Gurdwaras in Mathana (district Ashok Nagar) were constructed in Madhya Pradesh. Scottish Sikh Council assisted with construction of homes and the tribal Sikhs emerged out of their shanties to move into a life of dignity. The transition has been fascinating and marvellous Their language, customs, lifestyle and skill should be respected and preserved. In the last 12 years British Sikh Council has achieved remarkable success with the contribution of the sangat of Europe. Local governments had marked the tribal Sikhs as denotified tribes and their weapon making skills occasionally put them on the wrong side of the law. Intervention and conselling by British Sikh Council UK and Malkit Singh Bal has encouraged the tribal Sikhs to educate their children and explore better job options. Change is happening but there is lots more work to be done.

~ Source: www.britishsikhcounciluk.org

It’s been two years since six people were shot to death at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, and members of Stanislaus County’s Sikh community commemorated that event by dedicating Saturday to public service.

“I feel like I’m actually making a difference today,” said Tejinder Atwal, 23, from Turlock. She was among about a dozen Sikhs who volunteered to help build Habitat for Humanity houses in west Modesto. “Selfless service is what everyone should do.”

Sikh volunteers Saturday also assisted in cleaning up two parks and distributing free meals to homeless and hungry people in Modesto. Sikh groups nationwide provided similar services.

No one is quite sure what motivated the shooter in Wisconsin to open fire that day because he ended up taking his own life. But Atwal and other Sikh volunteers hope such violence can be avoided in the future by introducing themselves and their culture to the public at large.

“Whenever someone asks us questions, we’re happy to tell them about our culture,” said Atwal, who was born in India. She moved to America when she was 16, learned English and now is a student at California State University, Stanislaus.

The Sikh religion originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, and a couple of thousand of its members reside in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

Kelly Gill is among them. She, too, attends Stanislaus State, lives in Turlock, is 23 and donated her labors Saturday to building Habitat for Humanity homes.

“We learned to install windows today. That was my first time doing that,” Gill said. “We wanted to do something very hands-on.”

Khush Samra of Turlock also used her hands – and strong back – as she removed weeds from the construction site. The 40-year-old mother is an attendance clerk at Keyes Elementary School, and she wanted to set an example for her children by donating her time for the public good.

Her husband, Amrik Samra, and son Navdeep Samra joined in working on the Habitat homes.

So did 23-year-old Lovinder Johal of Turlock, who quipped: “Instead of going to the gym today, I exercised by picking up windows. They’re pretty heavy!”

After spending the morning on construction, several of the Sikhs headed to their temple to prepare Indian food for distribution to those in need. They made two vegetarian dishes – a sholay rice with garbanzo beans and curry, and a samosay fried pastry filled with potatoes.

The food was handed out in downtown Modesto, along with bananas and cold water.

~ Source: www.modbee.com

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Guru Gobind Singh Ji was famed for his blue colored horse, in fact Guru Sahib Ji is sometimes known as ‘Neelay ghoray whalla’ or the owner of the blue horse and many a folk songs and vars sing the exploits of ‘Neelay Ghoray Te Swaar’ the rider of the blue horse.

Just as his grandfather Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, Guru Gobind Singh instructed his Sikhs to make offerings of arms and horses in readiness for the turbulent times ahead. In anticipation of this Guru Gobind Singh Ji learnt the art of horsemanship from an early age under the guidance of his maternal uncle Bhai Kirpal Chand.

A Painting of Guru Gobind Singh JiAs Guru Sahib Ji grew up he became an accomplished horseman and would spend time travelling the country side on horseback blessing his people who would inevitably gather wherever he went.

It is not clear where the blue horse, affectionately known as Neela, was acquired from, it may have been a gift from a royal dignitary or from a devotee. Even today the lineage of the stallions continues at Hazoor Sahib, Nanded. The horses are kept in stables and are bred from the original stallion belonging to Guru Sahib Ji, although over time the blue colour has been diluted down to a grey white. No one is allowed to ride the horses as a mark of respect and they are brought out on the festival of Holla Mahalla or gurpurbs when they are beautifully decorated with tassels and riding gear. On occasions, especially on the festival of Holla Mahalla, it has been said that the horse will get extremely sweaty and agitated, as if it is being ridden.

It is difficult to get information about Guru Sahib Ji’s horse, even more so about a blue horse. These horses are very rare and many people are sceptical that such horses exist. Well, blue horses do exist. The colour is officially known as Blue Roan.

Roan horses have solid coloured coats, but with white hairs interspersed (roaning). The white hairs are not actual spots, but single white hairs mixed with the darker coat colour. These horses have a specific colour gene and this roan gene can be applied to any colour of horse. The most common are Red Roans and Bay Roans. There are also Palomino Roans, Red Dun Roans, Dun Roans, Buckskin Roans and the Blue Roan. The roan gene adds white hairs into the body of the horse. Roan is a stable colouration throughout life, whereas Grey and Varnish Appaloosa are progressive.

The legs and occasionally the head are not affected and will remain darker then the body (note in the above painting, Guru Sahib Ji’s horse is shown as blue, but not the legs).The mane and tail are usually not affected, but some may have some white hairs mixed in. A Blue Roan is a dark coloured horse with the roan gene.The roan gene gives the horse interspersed white hairs on his body and this gives a general blue hue or sheen to the horse. Blue Corn is a variation of Blue Roan, in which speckles and spots of the base colour (black) appear, making a mottled appearance.

The gurdwara at Putthi Sahib (Punjab) commemorates the incident when Guru Gobind Singh Ji arrived at this place from a long journey on their way back to Anandpur Sahib. They say a man working at a furnace (putthi) baking bricks. Upon enquiring from the local artisan if there was a place to rest, the local gestured at his furnace and said mockingly “If you call yourself Guru why don’t you rest here in the furnace?” This posed a direct challenge to the Guruship, and whereas Guru Sahib Ji would much rather have not revealed the full extent of the divine seat of Guru Nanak in this case there was no option. Guru Ji ushered Neela forward who trampled on the mud surrounding the furnace and put one of his hooves on the side of the furnace. Whereas a furnace would normally take a week or so to cool down the furnace became instantly cool. Guru Ji demounted Neela and rested for the night in the furnace. The gurdwara that now stands there has been built around the now solidified mud which still has the impressions of Neela’s hooves.

Source – http://www.info-sikh.com/

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Glasgow: Indian powerlifters Rajinder Rahelu and Sakina Khatun stole the limelight on the penultimate day of the 2014 Commonwealth Games winning the silver and the bronze medal in their respective events here on Saturday.

Rahelu, whose legs were affected with polio, won the silver medal in the men’s heavyweight category at the Clyde Auditorium. Rahelu picked up a total of 180.5 kg to get the silver while Nigerian Abdulazeez Ibrahim clinched the gold with a lift of 197 kg. Malaysian Jong Yee Khie got the bronze with a lift of 178 kg.

Sakina won the bronze in the women’s lightweight (up to 61 kg) category, which was the first medal of the day. Sakina lifted a total weight of 88.2 kg to finish third.

Esther Oyema (136 kg) of Nigeria took home the gold while England’s Natalie Blake took home the silver with a 100.2 kg lift.

But there was disappointment from para powerlifter Farman Basha, who failed to finish in men’s light weight group B. Farman’s first lift of 145 kg was declared ‘no lift’ while his second attempt of 147 kg was a ‘good lift’ after which he pulled out.

~ Source: http://sports.ndtv.com/

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