News & Update

Community’s Star Contributor & famed Columnist Ms. Inni Kaur shares ‘Colors of Creation’ through Paint Art.

We seek the pleasure in introducing Ms. Inni Kaur with our members. Inni Kaur is an avid columnist and a gifted painter; she serves on the Board of The Sikh Research Institute. She is also the author of a children’s book series, “Journey with the Gurus” – which is an interestingly informative work of literature based on lives and teachings of the Sikh Gurus, especially complied for children ages 7 and above. On the writing front, she is also producing a bi-lingual book (English/Panjabi) titled “Bed-time Sakhi’s with Naniji’s.” These are 12 short stories (1000 words) on the Guru Nanak Sahib. Every story ends with a Sikh Teaching which the children can relate to in their present day life.

Besides being a modest contributor in spreading the message of the Gurus through her writings amongst the members of the community, Inni Kaur is also a graced and blessed Paint Artist. She has shared a few of her works with us in the spirit of sharing, check out her work at http://goo.gl/bFGnzS

Another of her recent much appreciated work is translation of ‘Inter-Faith Dialogue: From the Pen of Bhai Veer Singh’ inspired by Guru Nanak’s “Siddh Gosht”  (Dialogue with the Siddh Mendicants), translated from Bhai Vir Singh’s book, “Guru Nanak Chamatkar.” Read this interesting passage at http://goo.gl/Rddxa2

Our team at the Kalgidhar Trust of Baru Sahib is currently mulling options for a productive collaboration with Inni Kaur Ji to adapt her stories to animation to make them more interesting for the children. We are certain that with the blessings of almighty & benevolent support of our members this endeavor will be a great success & help us promote & convey the message of our gurus amongst young children.

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 28th Mar ’14

Amritsar, 27 March, 2014 – The social and religious organisation, Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, organised a function, Sikh Sports’ Star Award, to honour sports personalities here today. The organisation honoured Sikh sportspersons who have excelled at school, college, national and international level.

The function was presided over by veteran athlete Fauja Singh. Former Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Kewal Singh, former Jathedar, Commissioner of Police, Jatinder Singh Aulakh and Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha, were present on the occasion.

A cultural function was also organised wherein Davinderpal Singh of Indian Idol fame and Hargun Kaur of India’s Got Talent fame, mesmerized the audience. Fauja Singh said he felt honored to felicitate Sikh children who have excelled in their sports along with being Sabt Surat Sikhs. He congratulated Akal Purakh Ki Fauj for organising this function.

He said Sikh children must preserve their distinct identity and should stick to their roots. “No one can achieve anything if he is easily swayed by popular beliefs. The Sikh children must preserve their identity,” he said.

Director of Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, advocate Jaswinder Singh, said the aim of the programme was to create awareness among children. He said the Sabat Surat Sikh sports personalities had set an example for others. The director said following tenants of one’s religion could never be an obstacle in the way of excellence.

Watch the ‘Guru Ki Kashi’ song sung by Davinderpal Singh of Indian Idol fame which got him much appreciation – http://goo.gl/SHvJqd

Mar 27, 2014: BRAMPTON— Most co-op students just expect to complete their hours and learn something for future use— and not receive an award for their work.

Education at Work Ontario (EWO) has named Sheridan College student Hargurdeep Singh of Brampton as recipient of its provincial Co-op Student of the Year award.

The honour recognizes outstanding students of 2013 and is awarded yearly to one college and one university student who demonstrated exceptional job achievement, outstanding community service, high academic performance and a strong contribution to co-operative education. Singh is a student in the Mechanical Engineering Technology –Design & Drafting Co-op program. His placement was completed at the Centre of Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies in Brampton where he worked as a product designer.

During his placement, Singh focused on studying and learning the company’s newly-acquired, cutting-edge 3D production technology. He used his new found expertise to create assistive devices for students with disabilities. He is an ambassador for co-operative education and has spoken at campus open houses, and to the media on its value. Singh has been acknowledged before for his academics and extra-curricular activities. He received the Student Ambassador Award from Sheridan, and last year he was the only college student in the world to receive funding for Student Leadership Training at the ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition.

Another Sheridan student, Kristen Metz, received the Canadian Association for Co-op Education (CAFCE) Student of the Year award. CAFCE gave Singh an honourable mention for the national award, and EWO gave Metz an honourable mention. Sheridan offers over 100 diploma, certificate, and bachelor degree programs in an environment that encourages creativity and innovation.
By – Brampton Guardian

March 22, 2014: Half of Sikh children reported that they are bullied in school, according to a study released Thursday — a number that rises to more than two-thirds if they wear a turban that covers their long, uncut hair in accordance with their religion.

The study also found that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are an important factor driving persecution of children wearing traditional garb. They endure bullying rates twice the national average, the report found.

“For two years we got bullied, came home crying every day,” a Sikh student, who is identified only by his initials, LS, said in the report, titled “Go Home Terrorist.” “I was in 5th grade [in California], and my dad took us to a barber shop, and he was like ‘it’s today.’ My mom was crying, my dad was crying.” It was the day he cut his hair.

Cutting the hair is “the most grievous injury imaginable for a Sikh,” Amardeep Singh, the report’s author and director of the Sikh Coalition, told Al Jazeera. “It’s like cutting your arm off, or a leg. Sikh history is replete with stories of Sikhs literally choosing death over having a haircut.”

The bullying against LS continued despite the family’s desperate attempt to stop the harassment, so they moved to Indiana, where they became a part of a larger Sikh community and the bullying subsided slightly.

The study, presented by the Sikh Coalition in a briefing to the Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus and the American Sikh Congressional Caucus, surveyed more than 700 students across the country and found that Sikh children had been punched and kicked and had their turbans ripped off by fellow students. Slurs such as “terrorists,” “go back to your country” and “bin Laden” were yelled during the assaults.

Singh, who himself was bullied in school, said the study’s findings reminded him of his youth.

As a child, he was physically assaulted, he said, and frequently called “Gandhi.” The name calling evolved through the years in line with the political agenda of the United States. “During the Iran hostage crisis I was told to go back to Iran, during the first Gulf War I was told to go back to Iraq, and after 9/11 I was called ‘bin Laden.’

“What’s scary is that the dynamic hasn’t really changed much on the ground. The statistics have been yearly consistent,” he said, indicating that the situation could have remained “pretty static” since his childhood.

Singh said the data is “incomplete” because the government does not collect federal data on bullying among Sikh children.

Crude stereotypes of terrorists and damaging media images made their way into the classroom, the study noted. Textbooks refer to Sikhs only in relation to the assassination of the Indian prime minister in 1984, Singh said. And Sikh parents suffer discrimination at work and at airport security, leading to a “trickle-down effect,” said Singh, with non-Sikh children taking cues from the behavior of adults.

The study mirrors a 2013 Stanford University survey, which showed that 70 percent of turban wearers in the U.S. are misidentified as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Shinto. The study, titled “Turban Myths,” also found that nearly half of all Americans believe that the Sikh faith is a sect of Islam, and that even more people associate the turban with Osama bin Laden.

Thursday’s study also noted that schoolteachers and principals do not make sufficient efforts to curb violence.

“The majority of Sikh children from the coasts to the heartland say that bias-based bullying is a part of their experience in school,” Singh said in a press release. “We need the help of educators, administrators, lawmakers, agency officials, the media, parents, and children if we are going to end this troubling dynamic.”

Upon release of the study Thursday, Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., a Japanese-American who experienced “the effects of ignorance and racism” while growing up in the United States after World War II, pledged his support to “eradicate bullying.”

“As an educator and school administrator for more than 20 years, I have seen firsthand the impact of bullying on our nation’s students,” he said in a statement. “The Sikh Coalition’s study and report reinforces the need for research, attention, and education to address bullying.”

Source: america.aljazeera.com

BRAMPTON— Students at various schools in Peel and Eastern Ontario have organized events to create a greater understanding of the Sikh religion amongst the general public.

These events are being held in March to celebrate Sikh Awareness Month.

The Sikh Youth Federation, along with Sikh Student Associations at high schools, colleges and universities are hosting activities to celebrate the Sikh religion and shed light on aspects of the faith many in the community may consider a mystery.

Organizers hope to answer questions like why do Sikhs tie a dastaar (turban)? Why do Sikhs carry a Kirpan? What/Who is Vaheguru (God) according to Sikhi?

“The events are for everyone,” said Prabhjot Kaur of the Sikh Youth Federation in Waterloo.

A variety of activities are planned at the individual events, including seminars, group discussions, Sikh martial arts displays, turban tying booths and free cuisine.

There are events scheduled at a number of schools, including the University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson and the University of Waterloo as well as Harold Brathwaite Secondary School in Brampton.

“It’s just opening up people’s minds,” said Kaur.

For more information or to find a local event visit www.TheSYF.com/.

Source: Brampton Guardian

I am Harjeet Karan Singh, from Kalkaji, New Delhi. I am an alumnus of Eternal University’s Akal College of Engineering & Technology (ACET) , Baru Sahib, from where I completed my Electronics & Communication Engineering in 2012. I got my job placement at ‘PYRAMID IT Consultants’ as a Software Engineer through the University’s placement services.

There’s a lot more stored in the history pages of my life than described in the aforementioned stanza, for my life took transformational leap by the grace of almighty through the graduation years of my life as I happened to be at Baru Sahib by a chance of destiny, luck or gift of god you may call it.

It so happened, that I had met Baba Iqbal Singh Ji only once before in Delhi, and had little information about the Eternal University & Academy at Baru Sahib. Hence, after completing my schooling, when I was in search of finding a good college, I decided to visit Baru Sahib for once to check out the place that I had heard a lot about previously through others who have been there.

So I went to Baru Sahib for my counseling session at the Eternal University – in no time, I found out that I was in love with the place; and it wasn’t just about the great infrastructure of the college or the motivating counseling alone, it was about everything that surrounded me – the nature, the people, the complete atmosphere & the serenity infused by the presence of the Gurdwara and the children who do ‘Sewa’ there.

I finally took the admission & went on with my Engineering course – throughout the tenure my connection with the place just got more intense, the place and all its factors were adding to my performance & capabilities; plus I could feel the spiritual element getting imbibed into myself. It was at Baru Sahib that I received the company of highly ‘Gurmukh’ people, I feel lucky to have had such a great friend circle – it all inspired & motivated me to take up ‘Baptism’, so later I did ‘Amritpaan’ from Sri Harmandar Sahib – Golden Temple Amritsar.

~ Harjeet Karan Singh