News & Update

Hardeep Singh is a MCA degree holder and computer teacher by profession but an artist by heart, who creating superbly illustrated Gurbani. Since, he easily relates with colours, thanks to his interest in painting, his work is a class apart when it comes to choosing colour combination for the sheets.

The great grandson of Bhai Gian Singh Naqqash, who has worked on a portion in the sanctum sanctorum just above Har ki Pauri in the Harmandir Sahib, Hardeep is busy preserving the invaluable artwork of his father, grandfather and great grandfather in digital format.

~ Source: Facebook.com/JoBoleSoNihal

April 1, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – Last night, the U.S. military granted a Sikh American officer a long-term religious accommodation allowing him to continue serving his country while maintaining his articles of faith. The landmark decision makes Captain Simratpal Singh, a decorated combat veteran, the first active duty Sikh soldier to receive approval to maintain his articles of faith while actively serving in the U.S. Army.

“My military service continues to fulfill a lifelong dream,” said Captain Singh. “My faith, like many of the soldiers I work with, is an integral part of who I am. I am thankful that I no longer have to make the choice between faith and service to our nation.” Captain Singh will continue in his battalion operations staff position at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.

Captain Singh graduated from West Point with honors in 2010, but was then forced to make the untenable choice between his religion and his career. Following failed attempts to obtain an accommodation, he cut his hair and shaved his beard. After successfully completing Army Ranger School, a Bronze Star tour in Afghanistan, and receiving numerous other military accolades in various military positions, Captain Singh filed a religious accommodation request on October 21, 2015.

Throughout this process, the Department of Defense made attempts to delay and prohibit his accommodation, including a March 3rd court-denied attempt to subject Captain Singh to unprecedented, prejudiced testing. After this hard-won legal victory, and months after submitting his accommodation request, Captain Singh has finally realized his dream of becoming spiritually whole.

“Captain Singh again proves to our military that the religiously mandated turban and beard do not hinder the ability to successfully serve,” said Sikh Coalition Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur. “This decision gives hope that our nation’s largest employer is making progress towards ending a policy of religious discrimination.”

“Captain Singh’s case is a painful study in the onerous hurdles for observant Sikh Americans who want to serve their country,” said McDermott Will & Emery partner, Amandeep Sidhu. “With this historic accommodation, we hope that the U.S. military will finally move past protracted, case-by-case religious accommodations and recognize that the time for permanent policy change is now.”

“No American should have to face religious discrimination to serve their country—especially not top-notch, battle-tested soldiers like Captain Singh,” said Eric Baxter of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which serves as co-counsel in the case. “We will continue fighting for the right of all Sikh Americans to serve without violating their faith.”

~ Source: Sikh Coalition

This day is marked as the New Year in the Sikh calendar and the Gurgaddi Diwas (enthronement day) of the sixth Guru, Sri Guru Har Rai Ji, who is remembered in Sikh history for his deep sensitivity to nature, its preservation and the well-being of animals. He maintained an extensive herbal garden for medicinal purposes in Kiratpur Sahib in Punjab. Spearheaded by EcoSikh, which works to offer a faith-based response to the challenges of global climate change, the move to switch to organic is getting enthusiastic response from the Sikh community spread across the world.

The first time the idea of Sikh Environment Day was mooted was in 2010. More than 400 gurdwaras, schools, business, and communities marked the occasion. And today, after six years the participation figures have reached nine times in which Sikhism’s largest organizations SGPC, Khalsa College institutions, 960 schools of Guru Nanak Multiversity, 419 schools under Punjab School Education Board, Guru Nanak Engineering College in Ludhiana, 269 schools of Satnam Sarab Kalyan Trust, all joined to mark this day. EcoSikh had organization in USA, Norway, Australia, Canada, China, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Argentina, Peru, Kenya and UK celebrating this day.

Over 3500 Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions took part in celebrating the Sikh Environment Day (SED) on March 14 and many marked it with a week long actions all across India and the world. SED has been popularized by the Washington based organization EcoSikh since 2010 and this year’s focus was to go organic.

Golden Temple in Amritsar, center of Sikhism, gave a huge nudge to this step by switching to organic langar (free food and community meal) being served to 100,000 people every day. A special prayer and service was organized by SGPC at the Golden Temple.

Dr. Rajwant Singh, President of EcoSikh, said, “Focusing to go organic received an enthusiastic response from the Sikh masses particularly from the farming community in Punjab, which has seen economic hardships recently. Hundreds of gurdwaras and Sikh households made a commitment to go organic and it seems that this is the best tribute to Guru Har Rai, who had inspired Sikhs to live their lives sling minimum harm to their surroundings. It is heartening to see that Sikh individuals have led efforts at the local levels in India and all across the globe to take meaningful green actions dedicated to this day.”

EcoSikh South Asia Project Manager said, “Organic food is necessary to revive the true spirit of langar, which is sharing healthy food with the humanity. The campaign aims to convert pesticide-free food served at over 50,000 Gurdwaras where nearly 5,000,000 people partake in Guru’s kitchen, world-wide. And this is definitely going to impact the demand of organic food, support organic farmers and boost the health of all life on the planet.”

Suneet Tuli, EcoSikh board member and CEO of Datawind, said, “It is imperative that the spiritual centres of all religions, including gurdwaras, commit to stopping the damage to Mother Earth for the future generations. Our message is simple – Eat Organic, Buy Organic, Grow Organic and be Organic!” Datawind organized a farmer’s meet to give them tips on the given topic.

Harveen Kaur, youth volunteer with EcoSikh in Norway, said, “This is the best way to practice Sikhism’s compassionate teachings which is to help everyone in every way.”

A special interfaith organic langar was organized by EcoSikh in Ludhiana which was attended by various religious leaders. A Sikh Organic farmer, JS Ghulal, who provided all the ingredients for the langar, stated, “I have dedicated my life to providing nourishment and health through my food. I appeal to all the Gurdwaras to join the campaign and provide healthy food to their communities.”

Deputy Shahi Imam, Usman Ludhianvi ji said, “It is necessary to protect the purity of our food to secure the future of your generations. Sikh Environment day is a huge initiative that can save Punjab and its farming traditions.”

Farmer family hailing from Chandigarh, Malvinder Kaur and Darshan Singh Rudel who attended an organic farmer fair at Mohali Phase IV, expressed, “the revolution was underway in Sikhism and the spring is round the corner.”

Gurpreet Kaur, EcoSikh’s special program coordinator, said, “Scores of young people are excited about this effort since it gives them the opportunity to relate to their faith in a unique way.’

Jugraj Singh, founder of Basics of Sikhi, a popular online teaching forum with a large following, issued a special video on SED exhorting Sikhs to take green action and this video went viral all across the internet. Punjabi and Sikh media serving a large Sikh diaspora in all continents helped spread the message globally.

This year’s appeal reached over 1 million Sikhs across the world thanks to social media. There were over 45,000 engagements on EcoSikh’s Facebook account and hundreds of Sikh groups across the world shared this idea which inspired green action in many places. EcoSikh staff and volunteers in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mohali, Norway and Washington had coordinated this largest environmental direct action by Sikhs across the globe.

Source : sikh24

Houses tend to look at daughters as liabilities, because the assumption is that she will need to be married off, but bring no income to the household. In several poor and impoverished households, the birth of a daughter is looked at as a sign of bad luck. In fact, in many affluent households, the scenario is the same. As a contrast to families who think this way, stands Bibi Parkash Kaur, who was abandoned 60 years ago herself, and whose aim was now to give homes to those whose families have disowned them.Established on 17th May 1993, the Bhai Ghanayya Ji Charitable Trust or Unique Home in Jalandhar has been looking after unwanted, unclaimed and orphaned children.

Daughters are usually found on roadsides, dumped near running water, and even abandoned outside the home. A look around Unique Home will show you several young girls, all between the ages of four days to 19 years. Like Siya, who was found in a drain, wrapped in a black polythene bag, when she was hours old. Unique Home works with one aim only, to work for the “Moral, Social, Cultural and Economic uplift of orphan children without any distinction of Caste, Creed and Religion.” Unique Home is, at present, home to around 60 abandoned girls, to whom Parkash Kaur is mother. In fact, she isn’t just providing them a home, she’s providing them with a good education, and a shot at a career, and a future they can build for themselves. “They are my own children,” says Kaur, “They are never made to feel like abandoned children.”

A girl named Reva, who was just a newborn when her parents dumped her near the highway off Kapurthala, or like Razia and Rabiya, who were a few days old when they were found in the fields outside Jalandhar. The girls at Unique Home are brought there so young, that they have no memories of being brought there, but that barely matters. The love and affection they receive wipes out any traces of bitterness or resentment they may still harbour.

No stranger to reality, Parkash Kaur is fully aware that the life she has chosen is not easy, but her faith keeps her strong. “Yeh uparwaale ka kaam hai. Jab ussney yeh zimmedaari di hai to himmat bhi wohi dega. Jab aaj tak mujhe koi mushkil nahin aayee to aagey bhi nahin aayegi. Neki key kaam mein kabhi koi rukawat nahin aati (This is the lord’s doing. If the lord has given me this responsibility, then the strength too shall come from the lord. There have been no hardships yet, and I’m sure there won’t be any in the future either. There is never any obstacle in the path of noble work),” she says. And it is obvious she isn’t just saying these words for the heck of it, but actually believes in them, considering she doesn’t let her age stop her from making rotis herself for all the inmates thrice a day, all seven days of the week.

Kaur’s work is never done, and will not end until female foeticide is completely eradicated. While Unique Home rescues many children from death, and terrible fates, there are several they are unable to, simply because they do not know about them. Unique Home and Parkash Kaur will do as much as they can, but let’s hope there comes a time when Parkash Kaur can rest, because no one abandons their baby girls.

Source :Scoopwhoop

चंडीगढ़. दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालय ने फिल्म संता-बंता की रिलीज पर यथास्थिति बनाए रखी है। फिलहाल फिल्म रिलीज नहीं होगी। अदालत ने मंगलवार को इस संदर्भ में आदेश पारित कर दिया है। दिल्ली सिख गुरुद्वारा मैनेजमेंट कमेटी (डीएसजीएमसी) ने इस फिल्म की रिलीज पर रोक लगाने के मांग की है। अब क्या होगा…

– कोर्ट ने इस फिल्म को दोबारा सेंसर बोर्ड को भेजा है और इस पर पुनर्विचार करने को कहा है। अब सेंसर के जवाब आने के बाद कोर्ट इस फिल्म पर अपना फैसला सुनाएगी।

– इससे पहले डीएसजीएमसी ने फिल्म की रिलीज पर रोक की मांग उच्च न्यायालय में एक याचिका दायर की है।

– डीएसजीएमसी द्वारा याचिका में कहा कि फिल्म रिलीज होने की अनुमति दी गई थी, तो इससे सिख समुदाय की प्रतिष्ठा बेहद प्रभावित होगी। यह फिल्म “प्रचारित सिख समुदाय पर और अगर फिल्म रिलीज होती है तो यह पूरी दुनिया में सिख समुदाय के लिए अपूरणीय क्षति होगी।

~ Source : Dainik Bhaskar

Three Sikh soldiers — a reservist and two guardsmen — have joined in a lawsuit that accuses the Army of “blatant religious discrimination” and demands immediate approval of religious-accommodation requests made by the trio that would let them keep their long hair, beards and turbans in uniform.

Lawyers for Spcs. Kanwar Singh and Harpal Singh, along with Pvt. Arjan Singh Ghotra, maintain the Army’s regulations require such accommodations when they do not degrade mission readiness. Delaying such requests beyond the established 30-day requirement is illegal and has adversely affected the career paths of the soldiers in question, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

The suit names both the Army and the Defense Department, as well as several high-ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Ash Carter, as defendants. It seeks a permanent injunction “ordering Defendants to permit Plaintiffs to continue serving in the Army without regard to their unshorn hair, beards and turbans,” one that would follow the soldiers throughout their careers unless the Army presented evidence that the religious customs would interfere with their duties.

Lawyers with the Sikh Coalition, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and McDermott Will & Emery are representing the soldiers. The same group represents Capt. Simratpal Singh, a Bronze Star recipient who recently sued for similar permanent protection after spending his early Army career in compliance with grooming standards; his case is ongoing, but he did win a court order preventing the Army from continuing “any non-standard or discriminatory testing” involving the fit of his helmet and gas mask.

The three soldiers involved in Tuesday’s lawsuit are in similar situations, albeit with different Army components:

• Kanwar Singh enlisted in the Massachusetts Army National Guard in August, according to the complaint, after he was told his articles of faith prevented him from earning a commission via the ROTC program. He has yet to receive a uniform and has not been allowed to handle a weapon, the lawsuit states; he made a religious-accommodation request shortly after enlisting that has not been ruled upon. He’s scheduled to begin basic training in late May.
• Harpal Singh entered the Army Reserve in November through the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI, program. He requested religious accommodations about a week after signing his contract and also faces a May training date without an answer from the Army.
• Arjan Singh Ghotra enlisted in December and also has a May training date. Ghotra, a senior at a Northern Virginia high school, was interviewed by an Army chaplain during the religious-accommodation process and was asked “whether he would be willing to kill another Sikh in an opposing army if required to do so for his country,” the lawsuit states. Lawyers for the trio contend members of other faiths would not be asked a similar question.

At least four Sikh soldiers since 2010 have been allowed to maintain their long hair and beards and wear turbans while in service. Appearance rules on the books since 1984 had effectively banned service by Sikhs who follow those tenets and did not receive a waiver.

An Army spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit. Lawyers for the soldiers would not make their clients available for comment.

~ Source: Army Times

There is no iota of doubt that water which is the most amazing natural resource has potential of healing. This week Akal Academy Gomtipul organized on 22nd March 2016 to enlighten students about the immediate need of conserving water.

The week was celebrated by conducting Poster – making competition which started at 12:00 p.m and approximately one hour was given to the students. Team from outside named “US Water” came to organize the competition as the whole idea was brought up by the team to the School.

All the students participated eagerly as they were ready to express their views with colours. To appreciate the efforts of the students cash prize of Rs. 2000/-, Rs. 1000/- and Rs. 500/- to 1st position, 2nd position and 3rd position was given respectively on the School level Students who bagged the top three position are :-

a. Sumanpreet Kaur (Class VIIB) – 1st
b. Naryanjeet Singh ( Class VIII B) – 2nd
c. Harpreet Kaur ( VIII A) – 3rd

Heartiest congratulations to them and keep soaring high.

~ Jasvinder Kaur
~ New Delhi, 30th March ’16