Thursday, July 31, 2008
Advani meets PM, focus on blasts, Amarnath protests
Two children die in two days in Asaram\'s ashram in MP
Rajnikant apologises, Kuselan to be released
UN reauthorizes Darfur peacekeeping
Youth held for sending email threat to Japanese embassy
Gautami Express catches fire; 8 dead
PM expresses shock over Ishmeet Singh\'\'s tragic death
The Prime Minister was saddened after hearing about the tragic death of Ishmeet Singh, a PMO official said.
Dr. Singh shares the grief of Ishmeet\'\'s parents and other family members, the official said.
The 19-year-old singer was drowned on Tuesday in a swimming pool at a beach resort in the Maldives. He had gone to perform for the \"Star Voice of Maldives\" contest to be held on August 1.
A second year Bachelor of Commerce student of MNC College in Mumbai, Ishmeet haled from a middle-class family in Ludhiana. (ANI)
First Sikh Doc in Pak History Vows to Treat Patients Without Discrimination
A registrar with the prestigious Mayo Hospital, he has topped the Diploma in Child Health exam of Services Institute of Medical Sciences. Singh became the first Pakistani Sikh to pass the DCH. Singh said that the Sikh community did not have access to such professional institutes because of a lack of quota system.
\"I am the first Sikh MBBS doctor in the country\'s history and want to serve my country. My Muslim patients like me a lot. I do not discriminate against my patients on the bases of caste, colour, creed or gender,\" said Dr Mimpal Singh on Sunday.
The Sikh doctor was born in Nankana Sahib.
He said he had set up a clinic \"Sardar Ji Health Clinic\" at Shadbagh. Singh and was also running a non-government organisation Guru Nanak Mission. \"Literacy rate among Pakistani Sikhs is low. There is only one Sikh officer in Pakistan Army and one is serving as a traffic warden in Lahore,\" the Daily Times quoted him as saying.
He said the government should review its policy regarding minorities\' rights. Poor but talented Sikh youth should be admitted to government and non-government educational institutes to help them get higher education, said the doctor.
http://www.sikhpress.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Fourteen-year-old Sikh girl wins High Court battle to wear religious bangle at school
Sarika Watkins-Singh was excluded after insisting she be allowed to wear the Kara – a bracelet worn by many Sikhs as a symbol of faith – despite her school's ban on jewellery other than wristwatches and ear studs.
The 14-year-old, who had been a prefect at her school in South Wales, said tearfully that she was 'overwhelmed' by her High Court victory and described herself as a 'proud Welsh Punjabi Sikh girl'.
The ruling means no school can stop a Sikh pupil from wearing the Kara to classes.
The High Court has previously refused to uphold a teenager's right to wear a chastity ring at school as an expression of her Christian faith and a 13-year- old Roman Catholic girl's right to wear a crucifix on a chain.
But Mr Justice Silber said today that the Kara fell into a 'very exceptional' category of religious jewellery and that Aberdare Girls' School had discriminated against Sarika on the grounds of race and religion over her half-inch wide, plain steel bangle.
While not a requirement of her religion, he accepted the Kara was of 'exceptional importance' to Sarika's racial identity or religious belief.
The judge said there was 'no evidence' that the wearing of a crucifix was regarded in the same way as the wearing of the Kara.
'In other words the school is not justified in having any fear that granting an exemption to the claimant to allow her to wear the Kara would create any further exemptions,' he said.
However, it has been claimed that the judgment could lead to legal challenges, particularly relating to 'unobtrusive' items of religious significance.
Julia Thomas, head of legal services at the Children's Legal Centre which supported Muslim schoolgirl Shabina Begum in her unsuccessful attempt to be allowed to wear the jilbab – head to toe religious dress – at school, said she thought it would anger those who had fought to wear religious items and failed.
'There are devoted Catholics who would regard wearing a crucifix as just as important, and there was the recent case of the young lady wanting to wear a chastity ring.
'I think there could be a little bit of a problem there with the judge interpreting religion and making an assumption which is possibly not justified.'
Sarika, her 38-year-old mother Sinita and stepfather Satnam Singh, welcomed the ruling.
'I am overwhelmed by the outcome and it's marvellous to know that the long journey I've been on has finally come to an end,' said Sarika outside the court in London.
'I'm so happy to know that no one else will go through what me and my family have gone through.'
Sarika, whose Welsh father, a Christian, died when she was a baby, was the only Sikh pupil at her 600-pupil school.
She was 13 and had worn the Kara for two years when a teacher asked her to remove it in April last year because it contravened uniform policy.
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She requested an exemption but was told she could not attend classes wearing the bangle and was taught in seclusion then excluded. In February she joined Mountain Ash Comprehensive, which allows her to wear the Kara.
Her mother said that although it was a good school, the education of her daughter, an A and B-grade student, suffered as a result of the move.
She added it had been Sarika's decision to fight the case.
Aberdare Girls' School has agreed to take Sarika back in September, but her mother said her daughter needed time to think about that.
'The hardest thing for me is she is going to look back at her schooldays and remember this, it will never go away,' she said.
Mr Justice Silber said the Kara – narrower than many watch straps – was regarded universally by practising Sikhs as an important part of their religious observance.
An Aberdare school governor's attitude that wearing it was roughly similar to displaying the Welsh flag in that it engendered emotion was 'seriously erroneous', the judge said.
But he stressed that the judgment was 'fact-sensitive' and that there was an 'enormous difference' between the 'unostentatious' Kara and a very noticeable garment such as the Muslim niqab or jilbab.
However, Anna Fairclough, legal officer for the human rights group Liberty who was representing Sarika, said the judgment could have an impact in potential future cases.
The governors and head of Aberdare Girls' School said: 'The decision to defend this action was taken after careful consideration by all concerned, and in good faith.
'Should Sarika wish to return to school in September, in accordance with the judgment, she will be offered help and support to reintegrate her into the normal day-today life of the school.'
Ishmeet to be cremated with full state honours
Punjab government is also making special arrangements at its expanse to air lift the body of Ishmeet Singh from Delhi to Ludhiana.
Parkash Singh Badal has expressed profound grief and sorrow over the tragic demise of \' Star Voice of India-2007\' Ishmeet Singh who was snatched from all of us in the prime of his youth. Sukhbir Badal president of SAD also mourned the death of Ishmeet.
During an interaction with the media persons here in his office, Badal said that in the death of Ishmeet Singh the nation has lost a gem and a void had been created in the circle of singing fraternity which was difficult to be filled.
Badal also expressed his heart felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family and prayed to Almighty to give strength and courage to bear this irreparable loss and grant peace to the departed soul.
Meanwhile Ishmeet will be cremated on July 31 at Model Town Extension cremation ground, Ludhiana at 11 AM.
Information & Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia also expressed his condolences on the passing away of Mr Ishmeet Singh who brought laurels to Punjab through his rare of the rarest performance by winning the title of \'Voice of India-2007\'.
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal President Punjab Pradesh Congress has expressed heartfelt grief and sympathy on the most sad, sudden and untimely death of upcoming young singer Ishmeet Singh Bhattal said that Ishmeet was a bright and promising Youngman and had become heartbeat of the young Indians in a very short span of life.
Dr. Upinderjit Kaur Education Minister Punjab expressed shock and sorrow over the untimely loss of Ishmeet Singh and said that a void had been created in the circle of singing fraternity at the tragic death of Ishmeet Singh.
Manoranjan Kalia, minister for Industry said that Ishmeet would be remembered for ever and he will remain a source of inspiration for generations to come.
Former Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh has condoled the tragic death of the promising singer Ishmeet Singh in a tragic accident. In a statement issued from Dubai, Capt Amarinder said, it was too tragic to learn that the promising singer\'s lefe had been cut short in such a tragic way. He said, he was not just the pride of Punjab, but of the whole country.
Bir Devinder Singh Chief Spokes Person of PPCC mourned the death of Ishmeet Singh, the booming Voice of India. He said Ishmeet\'s voice which surged on the scene of melody would be silenced by the death so soon, one could never think of, even in the remotest thought.
Meanwhile, All educational , medical and other institutions under SGPC including its office remained closed today on the announcement made by SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar in condolence of the death of Ishmeet .
Pakistan will not press for vote on Indian deal at IAEA
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Ishmeet dies in Maldives
NCERT to remove objectionable portions on sex-education
Hindi row turns ugly in Nepal
Threats cast shadow on Olympics
Welsh-Sikh teenager wins right to wear kada to school
Voice of India 2007 winner Ishmeet dies in Maldives
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Woman Army officer alleges \'harassment\' by seniors
Agreement will not impinge on strategic programme: PM
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sikh as PM a non-issue: Badal
\"Don\'t drag me into non-issues like the Prime Minister being a Sikh,\" he told reporters here when asked whether his party would vote against India\'s first Sikh Prime Minister during the confidence vote.
\"SAD is a constituent of the NDA and we will follow the stand taken by it,\" the Punjab Chief Minister said.
Badal remarks came amid reports that some Sikh bodies have approached the Akal Takht for a directive to community\'s MPs to support the Prime Minister during the trust vote.
It may be recalled that the party had supported former Prime Minister I K Gujral, a Punjabi, and did not field any candidate against him from Jalandhar constituency.
The SAD had also supported Gaini Zail Singh, a nominee of the Congress for the post of the President, as he was a Sikh.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Kirpan-Wearing Sikh Forced to Leave Chuck E. Cheese
Daljeet Singh, who has gone to that same Chuck E. Cheese for more than 20 years with his children, told India-West he was baffled by the incident.
Akalis for N-deal, but will vote against govt
The second part of the party\'s stand - that it would oppose the government - came on Thursday, perhaps after a careful review of its earlier support to the deal, which was also construed as the party\'s eight Lok Sabha members abstaining or even voting for the government.
\"The deal is good because the country is facing an energy crisis. In Punjab, for instance, we cannot give six hours of electricity to the farmers every day. Industries in the state are getting closed,\" SAD parliamentary party leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said.
\"But that does not mean that we have forgotten what the Congress has done to the Sikhs. We will definitely vote against the government during a trust vote,\" he said, adding that a formal decision would be taken on July 15 after the meeting of the party\'s apex body. SAD, a religio-political party, draws inspiration from the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC).
The Akali leader said as an independent political party, SAD was free to have an independent view on the nuclear deal even if it was a part of NDA. He said their support for the deal had nothing to do with the Prime Minister being a Sikh. \"The PM is a Sikh but he belongs to the Congress. We can never forgive the Congress for what it has done to the Sikhs. The PM\'s apology for 1984 does not make a difference to our position,\" Dhindsa clarified.
Reminded that Shiv Sena, also a part of NDA, had favoured Pratibha Patil as President because she is a Maharashtrian, the Akali leader said that \"Maharashtirans never underwent anything like the Sikhs\" and, therefore, the two cases were different.
According to SAD, the UPA government should have \"solved\" the nuclear deal issue much earlier without letting the situation blow into \"such a massive crisis\". \"I personally feel that the communists have been consistent in their opposition to the deal while the SP has changed colours many times. We are getting to know that a lot of extraneous factors have driven the SP stand and it is not good,\" he said.
Spanish police apologises to Sikh for removing turban
Jaswant Singh Judge, who was in Chandigarh on Friday, said the incident had occurred on March 12 this year when he and his wife were returning to England after a week-long vacation in Tenerife, Spain.
\"We were placing our hand luggage on scanner belt, when we were approached by a security guard who asked me to remove my turban. I explained to him that I am a Sikh and my turban is an integral part of my faith and I am not supposed to take it off. But he called his senior who also insisted on removing the turban,\" he said.
Judge said that when all attempts to convince them failed and the flight was about to leave, he was left with no alternative other than removing the turban.
He said Lee Scott, MP from Ilford North in London, took up his case with the Spanish embassy and the Interior Ministry of Spain.
The Spanish police has finally apologised to him and issued instructions to consider religious feelings of Sikhs during security check at airports, he said.
