News & Update

Delaware State Assembly has passed a resolution to proclaim April as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month’, amidst increasing hate crime incidents against Indian-Americans, particularly the Sikhs, in the US.
A resolution was passed unanimously by both the chambers of the State Assembly — the Senate and the House of Representatives. The move was welcomed by the State Governor, John Carney, who in a meeting with the Indian-American community assured all kind of help to the community, which he said of late has been experiencing a spate of hate crimes in the US.

“We have fear mongering going on at the national level, and stereotyping…and all of that. It is an embarrassment on America as a country,” Carney told a delegation of Indian-Americans led by local businessman and community leader Charanjeet Singh Minhas.

Such kinds of attack or vandalism are “completely unacceptable,” the Delaware Governor said.

Introduced in the State Senate by Senator Brown Townsend, the resolution said Delaware stands with the Sikh community in denouncing hate crimes directed towards any individual on account of their religious beliefs.
“Since September 11, 2001, the Sikhs are often mistaken for Taliban or followers of Al Qaida, owing to the commonality of their beards and turbans, and subjected to a disproportionately high rate of hate crimes, and Sikh boys suffer bullying at least twice the national bullying rate for other boys,” it said.

Minhas said Delaware, which has a small Sikh community as compared to the other States like California, New York and New Jersey, has taken lead in showing its solidarity with the people of this ethnic religious minority. — PTI

-Tribune

ਸੰਤ ਅਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੇ ਜਨਮ ਦਿਹਾੜੇ ਨੂੰ ਮੁਖ ਰੱਖਦੇ ਹੋਏ ਗੁਰਦਵਾਰਾ ਨਾਨਕਸਰ ਚੀਮਾ ਵਿਖੇ ਨਗਰ ਕੀਰਤਨ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਇਕ ਸਥਾਨਕ ਸ਼ਰਾਰਤੀ ਅਨਸਰ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਉਰਫ ਤਾਰੀ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਗੁਰਦਵਾਰਾ ਬੜੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਮੁੱਖ ਬਾਬਾ ਇਕਬਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਤੇ ਕਿਰਪਾਨ ਨਾਲ ਕਾਤਲਾਨਾ ਹਮਲਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ| ਜੈਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਾ ਖਾਸ ਮੁਲਾਜ਼ਮ ਹੋਣ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਨਾਲ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਉਰਫ ਤਾਰੀ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਰਿਕਾਰਡ ਵਿਚ ਇਕ ਹਿਸਟਰੀ ਸ਼ੀਟਰ ਵੀ ਹੈ|

ਆਪ ਜੀ ਤਸਵੀਰਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਬਾਬਾ ਇਕਬਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੀ ਗੱਡੀ ਤੇ ਹੋਏ ਕਿਰਪਾਨ ਦੇ ਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖ ਸਕਦੇ ਹੋ| ਸੰਗਤ ਨੇ ਆਪ ਅੱਗੇ ਵਧ ਕੇ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ ਕਾਬੂ ਕੀਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਤੋਂ ਸਖਤ ਕਾਰਵਾਹੀ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ ਕੀਤੀ| ਇਸ ਪੂਰੀ ਘਟਨਾ ਵਿਚ ਬਾਬਾ ਜੀ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਦੀ ਮੇਹਰ ਸਦਕਾ ਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤ ਹਨ, ਪਰ ਸੰਗਤ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਸ਼ਰਧਾਲੂਆਂ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਰੋਕਦੇ ਹੋਏ ਇਕ ਸ਼ਰਧਾਲੂ ਤਾਰਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਗੰਭੀਰ ਤੌਰ ਤੇ ਜਖਮੀ ਹੋ ਗਏ|

A group of 28 cyclists, including a female, under the banner of ‘Turbanators: The Pedallers’ arrived here on Saturday evening from Delhi to help NGO United Sikhs in its ‘Rescue a Family’ project and spread awareness about significance of fitness and environment issues.

While talking to TOI, founder member of ‘Turbanators: The Pedallers’, Jagdeep Singh, said they had set off from Delhi on February 23 and traversed a total distance of 485km.

Upon reaching here, the cyclists offered thanksgiving prayers at the Golden Temple and took bath in its ‘sarovar’ (sacred pond).
Some of the participants were banned from participating in cycling event because they wore a turban. “I was disqualified from cycling in 2015 because I refused to wear helmet in place of turban. I tried to put forward my views and facts to the organizers to ensure my participation. They were not ready to accept my logical arguments,” said Jagdeep adding that despite being disheartened, he decided to take part in the event.

Under ‘Rescue A Family’ project, United Sikhs provides monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to the widows of farmers who committed suicides in Punjab, help them fend for their families and send their children to school instead of engaging them in intensive farm labour, said international legal director of Untied Sikhs Mejinderpal Kaur. She said the cyclists were from diverse fields of life including finance specialists.

A big-hearted group of volunteers has started providing free hot meals to the homeless and needy in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Sikh Volunteers Australia has started providing freshly cooked vegetarian food to those in need in three suburbs, Tooradin, Hampton Park and Lynbrook every Wednesday and Saturday.

Manpreet Singh of Sikh Volunteers Australia said the group recently acquired a van to transport food to these suburbs by pooling in $25,000 for which each volunteer chipped in with $1,000 each.

“All the volunteers felt they should do something for the community since all of them call this place their home,” Mr Singh told SBS Punjabi.
The group is self-funded and all their finances are sourced from the contributions made by the volunteers themselves.

“We have 15-20 volunteers who make regular contributions to the cause,” he said.

Following the principal of Daswandh,- putting aside one-tenth of one’s income for charity- the group members pool in not just the required finances but also the physical effort to prepare and serve the meals.

The food is cooked in a community centre where the volunteers and their families join hands every week to prepare pasta, noodles, rice and curries.

Manpreet says the initiative isn’t about religion. isn’t to propagate the Sikhism, but to follow the Sikh principles.

“It is not to propagate Sikhism but to follow the principles of Sikhism. We are doing what Sikhism teaches- which is to seek the good of all humanity and we are just doing our bit.

“The people who get meals from us include drug addicts, someone would be smoking standing right there while we hand him food. We don’t judge anyone, we just go out to offer help,” said Mr Singh.