News & Update

Vivek Singh lost his life during the Paradiso Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington State after suffering from a heat stroke due to extremely high temperature. His heart stopped pumping and suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

He was an organ donor whose organs will be transplanted to save seven people’s life. Aged 23, he took his last breath at the Vancouver General Hospital in Canada this after being transferred for further treatment at Vancouver.

If something needed to be done he was there for everyone, and made everyone feel very alive and loved, he was a role model and considered a very responsible person, said his younger sister, Kirad Pandher, describing her brother.

The Grant Country Sheriff Department told reporters the temperatures were “in the triple digits” Fahrenheit.

Vivek’s family members told the Province:

“He was a very charismatic person,” said Kirad Pandher, who travelled to Vancouver from India with her family. “Whom soever he talked to, he left a really good impression on them.”

He was set to graduate next year from the University of B.C., where he was studying electrical engineering. While going to school, he took photos and was a videographer.

Kirad Pandher said her brother was an inspiration and kept a list of things he wanted to do, such as skydiving, and checked them off as he completed them.

“He lived completely and fully. He wrote that he was in the one percent of people who have that kind of happiness and satisfaction in life,” she said. “He encouraged other people to do what they wanted to do.”

He blessed 7 with the gift of life. This is true spirit of Chardikala, thinking as a well wisher for others even after undergoing a huge loss!

He shall reside as a blessing in the hearts of many, especially those who were given a new life!

Share so the WORLD knows about this humanitarian act!

~ Source: DailySikhUpdate

A two-day exhibition was put up at a gurdwara in Singapore on Saturday to display the artefacts belonging to a Sikh saint-soldier.

The exhibition, put up at Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road in the Bukit Merah area of Singapore as part of a month-long festival to honour Sikh saint-soldier Bhai Maharaj Singh, features some of his personal items such as a “salottar” (wooden stick used as a support and weapon), “dastaar chakkar” (turban steel quoits used to retain the shape of a turban) and a “mala” (rosary) belonging to the spiritual leader, reported by The Straits Times .

The items on display are on loan until July 5 from his descendants in India.

Bhai Maharaj is believed to be the first Sikh in Singapore. He was taken to Singapore in 1850 after he was arrested by the British out of fear that his detention in India may cause unrest as he was revered by the Sikh community in India for his spirituality, patriotic fervour and for standing up against the British dominion.

Bhai Maharaj was lodged in Outram prison in Singapore where no light or fresh air could enter. Six years later, on July 5, 1856, he passed away after losing his eyesight and developing throat cancer.

“We are very privileged to be able to exhibit some of Bhai Maharaj Singh’s personal artefacts this year. With this, people can learn even more about this great saint-soldier. Having served the community and having endeavoured to be a good human being through the attainment of high spirituality, Bhai Maharaj Singh is an embodiment of the concept of “miri piri” (spirituality and community service),” gurdwara chairman Baljit Singh said.

Bhai Maharaj, who was taken to Singapore in 1850, is believed to be the first Sikh in the country. He was arrested by the British out of fear that his detention in India may cause unrest as he was revered by the Sikh community in India for his spirituality, patriotic fervour and for standing up against the British dominion.

This year marks the 159th year of his death.

~ Source: Hindustan Times

The Right to practice your faith freely should never be a Dream!

He faced daily humiliation and yet stood firm on his faith. Finally his prayers were heard and he was granted the freedom to practice his religion.

Gurdit Singh was employed as a mail carrier at the popular amusement park in 2008 but was told by his Disney bosses that he would not be permitted to run mail routes visible to park guests because his religious appearance “violated” the company’s ‘Look Policy,’ according to the rights group Sikh Coalition.

A Sikh-American employee at the Walt Disney World in Florida, who was barred from working in view of the guests due his religious appearance, for seven years, has achieved a significant victory, with the company agreeing to end the segregation and accommodate his religious beliefs.

This “segregation” relegated Singh to a mail route that had a greater workload than other routes.
It created “animosity” among his co-workers because he could not assist in operating other routes and it precluded his opportunities for professional advancement.

Following the intervention by Sikh Coalition and ACLU, Walt Disney World finally reversed its decision and granted Singh a religious accommodation.

Singh will no longer be kept hidden from public view of Disney visitors because of his turban and beard, and he will be permitted to run all mail routes just like every other mail carrier, Sikh Coalition said. “No one should have to face daily humiliation because of his or her religious beliefs. I am also grateful to Disney and hope this decision opens the door for other Sikhs and religious minorities who wish to work for this company,” he said in a statement.

The ACLU said, “Because Disney is a major multinational corporation, its decision to grant Singh a religious accommodation is an important step forward in achieving workplace equality for Sikhs and others of minority faiths, and Disney should be applauded.”

Practice your faith fearlessly, let all will fall into place!

Like & Share to be a part of this significant Victory for SIKHS!

~ Source: Sikh24.com

University Grants Commission (UGC) has conferred heritage status on reputed Sikh educational institution Khalsa College Amritsar. The UGC has done so with the motive to conserve Khalsa College’s more than 100-year-old historical campus which contains rare Sikh architecture.

Khalsa College Public Relation Officer Dharminder Singh Rataul told that the college had applied for the heritage status about six months ago. “We were informed over telephone about the development and various media sources have also disclosed it. However, the formal letter in this regard is yet to be received by us,” he said, adding, “The institution is expected to be issued a grant of Rs 1 crore under this status.”

As many as 19 colleges across the Indian sub-continent have got the status by the supreme regulatory body of higher study. The UGC has also announced to provide financial aid for maintaining the heritage buildings.

This College was founded in 1892 by Singh Sabha movement to spread Sikh religion. Its building was designed by Bhai Ram Singh, a famous architect of that era. The building started to be constructed in 1904 and was completed in 1911.

The college library contains over 6,000 books and new and old manuscripts. Besides, there are more than 115 artefacts depicting Sikh history, including ancient weapons, pictures of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and range of paintings, at the college.

It is worth mentioning that the college had recently constituted a five-member committee to work out how to get similar status from the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

~ Source: Hindustan Times

She has dedicated her life to the noble but onerous mission of rescuing unwanted and unclaimed newborn girls and giving them a secure home and future.

She has touched the lives of many who’ve been cruelly shunned by their own. She hails from Amritsar, Punjab. Her passion for this touching cause is commendable. She has adopted 80 girls and has raised them motherly warmth, taking care of all their nutritional & educational requirements.

She has dedicated her life to dispelling a bit of the darkness that engulfs Punjab, indeed all of India. It highlights the poisonous truth of gender inequality in India.

We salute her passion for this cause and for providing support to these beautiful children.

This Kaur is a Mother of Hope!

~ Source: India Today

The sport was an obvious childhood passion for Jasjit after coming from a village synonymous with Indian hockey, but it was not until he got into college after turning 18 that he seriously pursued the game, the report adds.

“I was a late starter and did not get serious about playing hockey until I got into college,” Jasjit tells the agency. “For one whose village is Sansarpur, the passion for hockey was always there. I used to play as a child, but ours is a family of doctors and the focus was scientific education,” said Jasjit, who scored two goals in the 3-2 win over Malaysia that placed India in the last-four round.

“It was as a student of Jalandhar’s Khalsa College that I got into hockey seriously,” he says.

The late-starter bloomed pretty quickly, making the national team in less than five years after playing his first competitive game. Jasjit made his international debut as a half-back during the 2014 World Cup at The Hague against Belgium. His big chance to make a mark came when India’s new coach Paul van Ass picked him as a drag-flicker and he got the opportunity to be the main penalty corner shooter in the absence of injured V R Raghunath and Rupinder Pal Singh.

Jagjit, 24, justified the faith with the two late goals from rising drag-flicks that went into the net and ensured India’s victory. These two goals, says Jasjit, were his first from drag-flicks in international hockey.

Sansarpur had till date given 14 Olympians, 19 internationals who represented India and other countries, 110 national-level players and another 132 who represented various military teams, said Popinder Singh Kular, a hockey player who also published his PhD dissertation on “Social, cultural and educational ethos of sports: A case study of Sansarpur village in Punjab”.

“It is in our blood. We are born to play and win. Our built and determination has made us winner in hockey since the beginning. The Indian Hockey team lost its winning streak after 1976. You may call it a coincidence, but after 1976 no one from Sansarpur was included in the team,” he was quoted in a 2014 article in The Tribune.

~ Source – AsiaSamachar

Avvall Allah Noor Upaya, Kudrat key sab bandey!

Inmates of all castes and religions stand united with the thread of faith during the Ramzan fast to spread the amazing message of communal harmony.

Sikhs, Muslims & Hindus set a new exemplary of communal harmony as they all come together, ignoring their caste and religion, to fast during Ramzan to show solidarity.

The rest of the inmates decided to spread the message of love during Ramzan. Since the Muslim inmates celebrate Diwali and Gurpurab with the same zeal, they all decided to reciprocate the gesture by fasting.

The loving gesture has drawn them closer. As these friends chat and spend time together all day and finally break their fast in the evening, they pray not just for their families, but for the families of all who have been keeping the fast with them.They have created a positive atmosphere in the Ludhiana jail in addition to spreading the message of love and communal harmony.

Camaraderie of faith that goes beyond religion!

~ Source: Indiatimes