News & Update

Harjit Sajjan was a Grade 9 student at Sir Charles Tupper secondary when a teacher engaged him in conversation about the Royal Canadian Navy and the role of Sikh soldiers in World War II.

The teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and Sajjan, no more than 15 years old, sheepishly replied something about being a pilot, followed by something about not being smart enough.

“Why not?” the teacher asked.

It was a question Sajjan had never really considered before, and it was also a day that changed his life. He switched schools, found a new group of friends, and upon graduating from high school, joined the Canadian Forces as a reservist.

“I realized that I’ve always wanted to be the person who helped other people,” he said from his election office on Victoria Drive. “Once I got that bug, I really wanted to do something for people on a practical level.”

Today, Sajjan is a decorated soldier, a combat veteran, and a former Vancouver Police detective. He’s also the Liberal candidate for Vancouver South, and believes politics is the next step in his commitment to community service. “Through all my military and policing, I realized that when you see a problem right in front of you, you have to do something about it,” he explained.

“As much as I love the hands-on practical work… I’ve realized now that I do have a skill set and experience, and if we can influence policy, we can prevent a lot of problems from happening in the first place.”

He believes solutions come from understanding the causes of a problem, a formula he has tested on the battle field.
“We looked at preventing recruitment into the Taliban while we did the fighting,” he said of his deployments in Afghanistan. “Everything is connected whether it’s your society, your business, or your government.”

Bringing the concept to a local level, Sajjan said as a member of parliament, transforming youth in his riding would be one of his major areas of focus.

As a young person, Sajjan experienced many of the trials linked with his status as an immigrant, including racial discrimination and poverty. He also experienced many of the trials of his neighbourhood, including proximity to gangs, violence, and crime.

Years later, as a police officer in Vancouver South, he had the opportunity to examine these challenges through a different lens, and interact with youth who face them today.

“I realized the same challenges that we faced still existed, so if we did a little bit just to mentor the next generation, you can actually prevent them,” he explained.

“If we focus on our kids and make sure they’re inspired, they have the right resources moving forward; imagine what they can do down the road.”

It’s all about the ‘ripple effect’ he said — creating a series of positive changes that grow bigger and bigger with time.

“I didn’t get into politics to create a name for myself,” he explained. As long as the person who wins represents the best interests of the public, Sajjan said he won’t be disappointed if it isn’t him.

Election Day is Oct. 19, 2015.

~ Source: VancouverObserver

I always loved Cinderella’s story
A slave girl with a dream
Abused, exploited, worked to death
Then rescued by a team
A team of pumpkin, rat and mice
A coach, coachman and horses
A gem deprived of glow, but found
By a prince and prince’s forces
O’ Lord, I ask, beseech, I seek,
A coach to get me away
Enslaved, battered, daily hurt
I plead, I cry, I pray
Where is my pumpkin, where the rat
Where did you hide the mice?
Where is my fairy godmother?
Is she no longer nice?
A ‘God’ without a trace of grace
A ‘God’ without a tear
What good is he, who never cries?
A cry who doesn’t hear
I urge all fathers, mothers alike
To make a prideful choice
A daughter born, you don’t despair
Make her a Kaur, rejoice
You teach your daughter, self-defense
So no one dares to beat her
No one would then exploit her
No one would dare mistreat her
And then she needs, no unfair fairies
Pumpkins, rats or mice
No fake misogynistic ‘God’,
Nor men, who aren’t so nice
It’s better than, a tortured life
To die with a hand on sword
And if she dies, in self-defense
She’ll meet her One True Lord
The One True God – the Ik Onkar
The sole Creator of all
Who dwells in women, men alike
And equally loves us all

~ Dr. Satpal Singh

Dr Satpal Singh is an associate Professor at the University of New York , Buffalo in the Dept of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He is also a Chairperson in the World Sikh Council. He frequently speaks on Sikh Philosophy and Sikh Way of Life.

The soft spoken Sikh cab driver in his latest movie, Sir Ben Kingsley describes the feeling of the turban on his head as “really gratifying” and termed the discrimination and racial abuse faced by the community in the US as “totally regrettable”.

Kingsley plays a soft-spoken and righteous cab driver, proud of his Sikh identity, who settles in New York after getting political asylum in the country. Apart from working as a cab driver, Tur is also a driving instructor.

Kingsley said city-based social activist Harpreet Singh Toor provided valuable help during the shooting of the movie, telling him about the minute mannerisms of a Sikh and helping him tie the turban.

“To feel the tightness of (the turban) on my head was really gratifying. As Sikhs are warriors, I felt I was putting on my armour, which is a glorious feeling,” Kingsley told a select group of media persons during an interaction here.

He said the Sikh community in New York was “very generous” during the filming of the movie and invited the crew to shoot scenes in the local Gurudwara.

“The crew was so grateful to have had the opportunity to work there. The temple is a beautiful island of order, decency, worship and family in a sea of neurosis. It is a calm island in the middle of Queens,” he said.

“It is totally regrettable,” Kingsley told PTI at the interaction when asked about the discrimination and racial abuse that members of the Sikh community continue to face, particularly in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

“The Sikh drivers after 9/11 turned off all their meters and were slowing down and asking people where is your loved one, I will help you find them. All the Sikh community in New York, beautiful,” he said adding that “it is a complete reversal of what they are stamped with.

~ Source: BusinessStandard

Amritpal Singh is a born-Kenyan-African-Sikh, and who experienced a miracle at Gurudwara Sahib Kericho. As a young child he never had any teeth. One morning at Amritvela he did an Ardaas in front of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, asking for teeth as the other children used to laugh and mock him. With Guru Sahib’s Grace, his body froze like a rock as he lay on the floor in front of Guru Sahib. Knowing something mystical was happening, the Giani Jee asked the few people sitting in the Darbaar Sahib to leave, and closed the doors.

Only Amritpal and Guru Granth Sahib were left in the Darbaar Sahib. After an hour or so he got up from the floor. When the Sangat and Giani Jee entered the Darbaar Sahib again they discovered that Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee had performed a miracle by blessing Amritpal Singh with a full set of beautiful teeth!

This is a true account that we have verified with Amritpal Singh who lives in Kisumu, Kenya. He is pictured here from a Sikh Youth Gurmat Camp held in Kericho in 2007 when he was 15 years old. He lives the life of an Amritdhari Sikh.

~ Source: kenyankalasingha

Former Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Gurpreet Singh became India’s fifth shooter to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games finishing fourth in the 10m Air Pistol category at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/ Pistol in Munich.

The 28-year-old shot a total of 154.8 points to finish fourth in the Final. Joao Costa of Portugal who shot a total of 201.4 in the event won the gold medal, according to a release.

The silver and bronze medal for the event went to Tomoyuki Matsuda of Japan and Chinese Yang Sun with scores of 200.4 and 177.3 respectively.

Gurpreet has been shooting steady for a while now and it was just Saturday in the men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol category, where he missed out on his quota place by the narrowest of margin after finishing fourth.

However destiny had it that he finally earned India its fifth quota place.

~ Source: indiatoday.intoday.in

“My journey from being a house cleaner to a CEO of Italy’s Third largest company has been no less than a roller coaster ride. But Destiny had a bright design tailored for me but whenever I recall the days of my struggle, it literally gives me Goosebumps. When I Came to Italy, I just had 1 Lakh worth of assets and investments and now I have grown so much that I have managed to invest 200 crores in my project.”- Harbinder Singh, CEO of Mediacom. Now he sets his new move of launching Italy’s Third Largest Company in India.

Born and brought up in Mehrauli, He has been staying in Italy since 15 yrs. He has been honored by the Italian Govt with the Peace Ambassador Award for his contributions. He is the Only representative of India to receive such glory. He represents the Sikh Community in the Italian Municipal Council.

Harbinder Singh Dhaliwal, Chief Executive Officer, Mediacom India said that the full HD range of water resistant phablets, tablets and mobiles begins at just Rs 6,000. The Company is targeting a turnover of Rs 500 crores to Rs 700 crores in the first year of launch. He said that the company is also contemplating to have manufacturing facilities in India with an outlay of Rs 1000 crores. He said that India is the second largest market in the world and the Company finds huge potential for new generation smartphones and phablets.

Lieutenant General Gurdeep Singh has taken over as the Chief of Staff (CoS), Western Command headquarters as reported byDefence spokesman.

Lt Gen Singh was commissioned into the Kumaon Regiment in June 1977 and is an alumnus of National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy.

Singh has a distinguished career spanning more than 38 years during which he tenanted various command, staff and instructional appointments in Western, Eastern and Northern Commands.

The General officer successfully commanded an Infantry Battalion in J&K including Siachen Glacier. He commanded an Infantry Brigade and Infantry Division with varied operational roles in J&K, the spokesman said.
The General Officer has attended prestigious professional courses including Defence Services Staff College and Senior Command Course, he said.

The General Officer was Commandant, Infantry School, Mhow prior to taking over as the Chief of Staff, Western Command.

Source- EconomicTimes

An Indian-American cardiologist has donated $1.5 million to the University of California -Irvine for creating a Sikh studies department on its campus .Dr. Harvinder Sahota donated the money to the university to create a department, to be named after Sahota’s mother, Bibi Dhan Kaur Sahota, reports India West.

The department will teach Sikh studies as a regular course.“My mother taught me never to degrade anyone and respect everyone,” Sahota was quoted as saying.“I still abide by the lessons she taught me as a child. I wanted to honor my mother for the woman she was and the man she helped me turn out to be,” he told the paper.

A graduate of the Patiala Medical College in Punjab, Dr Sahota created perfusion angioplasty balloon in the mid-1980s. Now it is being used throughout the world, including India, Mexico, Ukraine and Russia.

The syllabus will cover Sikh studies from 1469 to 2015, and beyond. The department will include graduate and undergraduate courses in Sikhism, and students will have the opportunity to visit Sikh temples as part of the study program. The university is also planning for the collaboration with Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Punjab.

The courses are expected to begin in September 2016.

~ Source: americanbazaaronline.com