Premi

She'll probably get reduced sentence on 'diminished responsibility' or something similar due to mental issues.

M Gandhi will be forgotten about in a hundred years

"What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway." I would say to this "don't place all your eggs in one basket".

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C07%5C21%5Cstory_21-7-2013_pg7_13 Sindh Police not so serious in resolving Sikhs’ concerns By Amar Guriro KARACHI: Instead of visiting the place in person to probe the case, as ordered by the Chief Secretary Sindh, Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Police (Special Branch) Shahid Hayat will conduct his enquiry into desecration of Sikh books in interior Sindh from Karachi, Daily Times has learnt. The Chief Secretary had asked AIG Hayat to probe into the two cases in which most sacred book of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahab was desecrated in northern Sindh district. It has been learnt that AIG will not visit these cities where incidents happened but will conduct his enquiry from Karachi. On Thursday, eight member Sindh delegation of Sikh Council of Pakistan met with Chief Secretary Sindh and asked him that they have no trust on the district police of Sukkur and Shikarpur districts where these incidents held and requested him to constitute special team comprises on the officers from Karachi. CS Sindh assigned AIG Hayat on this case but now he, instead of visiting the cities where these incidents held, will probe both cases while sitting in Karachi. When contacted by this scribe to get his statement, he refused to talk. “I am not allowed to issue any statement,” said Hayat. Sikhs with a tiny population in Sindh is considered as a minority within minority and after these incidents they are afraid of the local powerful Hindus. Despite two consecutive incidents of desecration of holy book, no one from the leadership of mainstream political parties including PPP, PML-N, MQM and PTI or anyone from Sindh government has so far contacted Sikhs of Sindh to assure them the justice in these incidents. Not any single Non-Muslim parliamentarians, who were selected in the assemblies on the seats of religious minorities, took notice of the issue or have raised it in any assembly. Despite happening of these incidents, the Sindhi newspapers and private television channels or even FM Radios did not report the cases, as Sindhi press always remained vibrant, otherwise. Even when Sikh Community contacted provincial leadership of ruling PPP, they received no response. “We sent a letter to CM Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah who is also PPP president Sindh to give us time so that we can explain him all three incidents and demand justice, but despite passage of weeks, there is no response,” said Chairman Pakistan Sikh Council Sardar Ramesh Singh. On June 18, 2013 in a local temple run by local Hindu Panchyat, (unofficial community organisation) in Pano Akil town of Sukkur district, some unknown people tore the Sikh’s holy book Guru Granth Sahab. Sukkur police refused to register case saying that Hindu parliamentarians are forcing them to resolve the issue at community level. After massive protests by Sikhs, at last police registered the case. Before police could arrest the culprits, another incident occurred in Shikarpur, where in a Hindu temple some unknown people again torn 24 pages of the holy book. The actual tussle started when a Hindu caretaker of a local temple Narain Bhajan embossed Hindu symbol on Guru Granth Sahab and signed his own signature and took the photo of the signing ceremony and posted them on social media networking site. Local Sindhi Sikhs reacted severely and rushed to the temple and asked religious leader to issue apology for disrespecting their book. “Both incidents could possibly be a reaction, in which our Sikh friends asked the Hindu leader to render apologies, but we are not sure and now it’s up to the police to find out actual reasons and the culprits behind this,” said Sardar Ramesh Singh.

http://sikhsangat.org/2013/the-sikh-stamp-on-italian-cheese/ The Sikh stamp on Italian cheese Iltay: House No 37 in Village Olmeneta, near Cremona area of Italy, quintessentially represents the Sikh contribution of keeping the Italian formaggio (cheese) and dairy industry alive. Not only this, its habitants Onkar Singh, Balveer Kaur and their family typify the struggle of Punjabis, particularly Sikhs, who landed in large numbers in Italy in the nineteen hundred and eighties during insurgency in Punjab and created a mini Punjab on Italian soil. “My father is one of the earliest Sikh settlers in this area; he started working on the dairy farms in the early 1990s,” says 22-year-old Jaspinder Kaur, as we walk from the Olmeneta train station to her house, where I would spend two days to experience firsthand the Sikh stamp on the Italian dairy industry. “He came here as a young man, leaving his village, Pandori, in Hoshiarpur district, in search for a better life,” adds Jaspinder as she ushers me inside the house. As the story goes, the Italian youth after getting educated did not want to pursue low-skilled jobs of milking and grazing the cows at dairy farms. Enter: Sikhs in search of greener pastures, as Punjab boiled, back in the 1980s and early 1990s. Taking full advantage of the asylum benefits offered by Italy, thousands of low-skilled workers from Punjab landed in this European haven, ready to do any job, as long as they could get their foothold in Italy. Well, so strong is the entrenchment that ask any Punjabi sitting in the local train where he works, catch me if he doesn’t say ‘Stalla’, meaning dairy farm. Believe me, it’s the only patch of land in the world where Italian is spoken in a Punjabi accent and cows understand only Punjabi. And of course, the maa di, bhen di version of it! “I don’t know what the Sikhs tell my cows, but they (cows) behave very well,” laughs Alfredo Villa, a dairy farm owner, who has employed only Sikhs for the past two decades. “Jokes apart, Sikhs are one of the most honest and hardworking people I have met in my life,” he says. Italy is full of immigrant labour from all over the globe, but nothing beats the Sikhs. Other than human qualities, they are skilled to do jobs in agriculture and dairying and don’t take much vacation, something very crucial to the dairying industry, adds Alfredo. Onkar Singh, who received me with open arms, narrates his journey as we eat dinner at his house. Pizzas roll out from the oven like chapattis and I gorge on them greedily, knowing fully well that this is not a household that believes in peg and tandoori chicken. A man of very soft demeanour, Onkar Singh says he had to do many temporary jobs, including working as a driver in a circus, before he could find a stable job here in the Lombardy region, which is known for its agriculture, dairying, beef and piggery. “I finally found a job in a dairy farm in the early 1990s and I worked with the same owner for over a decade, living on the Stalla itself with my family,” says Onkar, whose job profile included milking of cows at 12.30 am, feeding them and milking them again in the evening — a routine which he still follows, except that he lives in his own house. Onkar Singh also drove me to his work place and showed me the dairy farm operations and the manner in which the cows were milked. Next morning Jaspinder makes an effort and takes me to visit one of the largest cheese factories in the region. The factory, Latteria Sorseina (meaning dairy or store selling milk of Sorsenia region) produces cheeses such as the grano padano, parmigiana, reggiani, provolone and mozzarella. Jaspinder’s meticulous planning assures that we are received by the top management of the company, which lauds the contribution of the Sikhs to the dairy industry. “We certainly owe it to the Sikhs for keeping the business of cheese alive,” says the director general, Aldo Cavagnoli. The might of the Sikh contribution can be gauged from the fact that Latteria Sorsenia, which processes milk of approximately 43,000 cows from about 200 farms, has a mind boggling 89% of the immigrant work force and 54% of the total labour at these dairy farms comprises of Indians, majority being Sikhs. On our return from the cheese factory, we head for other dairy farms, including the largest one in the Cremona area with 750 cows. Four Sikh families tend to this dairy farm. They are all related, a hallmark of the emigration pattern of the Sikhs in Italy. The oldest member, Dilbagh Singh of village Jandiran in Jalandhar district, has been working on the dairy since 1997. “It’s been a hard life,” he claims as he herds a bunch into the milking chambers. “When I came here in 1991, I saw no future for myself in Punjab,” he adds. But today, the circumstances are different. If the youth put in this kind of labour back home in Punjab, I’m sure they can progress much more and contribute to the state’s economy,” he says. And as we head home, a resolute Onkar Singh tells me that his children will not do these low-skilled jobs. His daughter, Jaspinder, who has completed her graduation in international trade and now pursuing languages, is seeking newer opportunities. Gurminder, his 18-year-old son, besides his craze for driving guests (he just got his drivers licence), is pursuing a course in architecture. Salute to the spirit of the Sikhs, who even when in Rome, do it the Punjab way. - See more at: http://sikhsangat.org/2013/the-sikh-stamp-on-italian-cheese/#sthash.xGW6Sroi.dpuf

It is 2013 now, and the above did not happen. Can you show me the quote you got this from?

Has anyone yet tried it? What were the results?

The world must have been a much better and simpler place before all of TV/Cinema/Internet was here. It would be very hard to imagine living in such a world if these things have always been in your life. But I would imagine one could achieve a lot more 'shanti'.

Crazy

.

Looks like it was a nice place to live.

Sad story.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_175917547_5?ie=UTF8&docId=1000731823&nav_sdd=aps&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-B1&pf_rd_r=0P6BMZ8R8GX9NNF8NX9G&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=415939847&pf_rd_i=468294 In 2007 Maninder Sahota started selling scarves online under the Lovarzi brand to supplement his income as a software engineer and satisfy his interest in fashion. He invested his own time and money in this project, but after his first year of trading the business was struggling to attract customers and gain visibility. Maninder said, “I had great quality products but customers just weren’t finding them, so in December 2008 I started selling on Amazon’s Marketplace. After that, my business grew exponentially.” In 2009 Maninder quit his job to concentrate on building the Lovarzi business from his Hertfordshire home. Even with additional staff to pack the growing number of Amazon orders and answer customer queries, he was still struggling to meet demand. It is at this point that Maninder decided to use Fulfilment by Amazon. “FBA has helped us in a big way. All we do now is send our products to Amazon’s warehouse and when they sell, Amazon handles all the picking, packing, shipping, customer service and even returns. As a result, we have more time to focus on sourcing new products and exploring growth opportunities.” Beyond the UK borders Maninder also used this additional time to promote his brand and grow his business outside the UK. It was easy for Maninder to start selling on Amazon in France, Germany and the US – it only took a few minutes to set up. “I don't think we could have achieved this much success by selling our products in a physical store. It takes years and a lot of money to develop a chain of shops across several countries. Thanks to Amazon we are now selling in the USA, German and French marketplaces without having had to take out a loan or invest vast amounts of money and time.” Turning a small niche business into an international brand Having an international footprint allowed Maninder to become an official licensee for the BBC Doctor Who scarf range in 2012. This range was such a success over the holiday season that he is now working on five new projects with the BBC. “Amazon’s Marketplace and fulfilment programme have allowed me to turn a small niche business into an international brand. Amazon customers feel confident in us as a business and as a brand when they see our feedback on Amazon. It was easy to set up and Amazon’s support team is always quick to respond to queries.” Lovarzi sold thousands of scarves in 2012 and is looking to double sales in 2013.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23421826 A woman believed to be the world's oldest person has died at the age of 115 years and 199 days. Sant Kaur Bajwa, from Southall, west London, was born on 1 January 1898 in Pakistan, according to her passport. She has lived in the UK since 1969. Her family said they believed she was the oldest person, however they have not had this officially verified. The Guinness World Records said to verify a claim, it needed to see abirth certificate and a passport. Her grandson Sanjeev Singh Rai said: "Back in the day I don't know if they even issued birth certificates, but her passport has her birth date down as 1 January, 1898." Up until her death on Friday, Ms Bajwa was believed to be the oldest person in the world. According to Guinness World Records, the oldest surviving person is Misao Okawa, from Japan, who is 115 years and 99 days old. Grace Jones, who is 113, is the oldest person in the UK, according to Guiness. Secret to longevity Ms Bajwa lived through three centuries, two world wars and the India-Pakistan partition. "That was a really difficult time for her," her grandson Sukhinda Singh Rai told the BBC. "To be uprooted from where she was born in Sialkot in Pakistan to Gurdaspur in India was hard." Although Ms Bajwa's children died before her, she is survived by 12 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. Her husband, Munsha Singh, was killed after just six years of marriage, which meant she had to bring three children up on her own. Mr Rai said: "As far back as I can remember she was my mother.Then, in 1972, her daughter died from cancer, leaving her to care for her daughter's four children, including twin boys. "My twin and I didn't know any different. She looked after us diligently." The family put their grandmother's longevity down to ahealthy diet of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as her Sikh faith. Son-in-law, Ajit Sing, who is now 86, remembers her visits to the local Sikh temple. "She was God-fearing woman who worshipped daily and went to the gurdwara to offer prayers." Charlene, the oldest great-grandchild said "she was the glue that has kept our incredibly large family together". Eleven-year-old Pasha said: "Although it's sad that Granny has passed away but I want to celebrate her long life."

Farmers seem to have it bad worldwide, not just in Panjab. There's too many people for the world and its resources to cope with, so the situation will just get worse and worse.

Definitely some good points made, however, I am not sure about the need for walking after eating food. How does this help? Thank you

I can't see the rise in number of Muslims being a good thing. It really may be possible with their birth rates that they may actually run the UK in our lifetimes

" SURYADEV Posted 01 November 2012 - 03:10 PM SOmehow I see Harjap Bhangal as a desi version of Boris Johnson. (our future Prime Minister!)" I don't really get the resemblance. Both are jokers, but one is a very posh English public schoolboy, and the other is very chatty and down-to-earth.

I think everyone is on sikhsangat, as it is a lot more popular in terms of posts made there compare to here.

How can I donate to this cause?

I saw the video below on the Sikh Channel. Although it was not directly a joke about Sikhs, the presenter, Chris Addison still made an offensive comment, saying "Towelhead". The original show was shown on 4th Nov 2010. I am quite disappointed because I have often watched this show in the past. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmzqoucHqIE&feature=player_embedded Please complain at https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/?id=K6K2CH6KR853BDA922ANSQKD34&uid=514527053

This is extremely sad and upsetting.

Please all, download and print this letter from: http://www.sikhfederation.com/pdf/Standard_letter_for_UK_Sangat_Prof_Bhullar.pdf And read the following from http://www.prisonerwelfare.com/images/Fact_Sheet.Bhullar.pdf : Background: Mr Bhuller whose best friends were killed and father was disappeared by the Punjab police in 1991, and whose family was repeatedly harassed, went to Germany in December 1994 to seek political asylum. The German immigration authorities returned him to India but in his absence a Higher German court overruled the decision (VerwaltungsgerichtFrankfurt,Case8E50399\94.A(1)). Mr Bhullar has been in prison for the last 16 years since being arrested upon arrival after his deportation to India following an unsuccessful asylum application in Germany in January 1995. The Chairwomen of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid has made representations to the President of India, whilst declaring, “the German authority carrying out the Deportation had committed grave procedural errors”. The German government has been expressing its concerns since the death penalty was first given by the TADA court in India. The German Embassy has been sending representatives to all the court hearings since. Mr Bhullar was arrested, detained and tried under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), which is no longer in force. The United Nations condemned these laws as “disturbing and completely unacceptable”. TADA was a controversial law that was not only contrary to international law, but considered to be unconstitutional by some authorities. Although allowed to lapse under international pressure, cases predating its lapse are still tried. TADA was strongly condemned by the United Nations and virtually every international institute that examined it. Designated courts under TADA are the only courts in which a confession made to a police officer is admissible evidence, this deviates from the Indian Evidence Act sections 25 and 26, under which confessions made to police officers are not admissible. The procedures laid out in TADA resulted in 76,000 detentions, less than 1.8% of which actually reached conviction, despite this highly extraordinary rate of failure, the Supreme Court of India has relaxed these procedures further. TADA requires the confession to be hand written or an audio/video and a record of it to be kept. The authenticity of typed confessions is doubted in the courts. Contrary to procedure, the confession was neither hand written nor recorded but typed on a computer by a police secretary, the ‘confession’ document was not saved. Mr Bhullar was then taken before an ‘executive’ magistrate (appointee of the government). TADA requires the confession document be sent to the magistrate before appearance of the persons that the magistrate is in a position to examine it. The confession document was not sent to the magistrate. The Delhi police transfer red him to the infamous Punjab police for 2 months. The Punjab police is notorious for extra judicial executions and torture. The Supreme Court itself has granted people the protection of the Central Reserve Police Force, against the Punjab police. Trial: Mr Bhullar wrote to the court at the first opportunity of release from Punjab police custody to Judicial custody, claiming that the ‘confession’ was involuntary and obtained under torture and fear of death. Mr Bhullar argues that he was made to sign on blank pieces of paper, which were later filled by a statement written and typed in by the police, under threat that if he did not sign he would be terminated by the Punjab Police in a false encounter, which is a very real threat. His own father had been disappeared by the Punjab police. Mr Bhullar was examined by a police assigned medical doctor. Although a highly educated man, Mr Bhullar's medical examination document is cosigned by him by a thumb print. Upon his alleged confession Mr Daya Singh Lahoria a second defendant in the case was acquitted because the only evidence against him was Mr Bhullar's confession which could not be relied upon in the case. Leading Judge, Justice M B Shah, 3 judge bench, acquitted by presiding judge, other two judges convicted him extraordinarily arguing: proof beyond reasonable doubt should be a guideline, not a fetish. And that procedure is “only a hand maiden and not the mistress of law.” Justice Shah went on to say that Davinderpal Singh could not be found guilty of conspiracy as this would require by definition that he conspired with another and as others named in the confession statement is acquitted, it is impossible for him to conspire with himself. In cases of a split decision, the death penalty is not handed down. However, while Mr Bhullar’s case was being considered by the Supreme Court, Kashmiri militants attacked the Lokh Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) on 13th December 2001. Many observers believe that heightened rhetoric about the threat of terrorism in India and a hardening of government views and policies may have influenced the judges' decision. No corroborative evidence has been offered by the prosecution. None of the 133 witnesses produced by the prosecution identified him, many witnesses claimed he was not the man they had seen. While he was waiting for the death sentence, Mr Bhullar was convicted of other charges by the Punjab Police. However on the 1 December 2006 in the Chandigarh and Haryana High Court the Judge acquitted Mr Bhullar on the basis of lack of evidence. Sh R.S.Baswana Additonal Sessions Judge held that there was no evidence on file to link the accused with the other alleged crimes and despite the fact that the prosecution had 15 years to gather evidence against Mr Bhullar, they were unable to produce evidence linking Mr Bhullar to the case against him. Current: Amnesty International has stated “Since 1983…scores of those arrested have been tortured to death or have otherwise been deliberately and unlawfully killed in Custody…while others have “simply disappeared “, the security forces refusing to acknowledge that they had been arrested”. Despite being a signatory to the Convention Against Torture, which is yet to be ratified by India ,it is well known that torture remains a pervasive and daily practice in everyone of India's 25 states, as acknowledged by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the State Department (US). This was made even more apparent by the statement of Nigel Rodley (UN Special Rapportuer on Torture) that torture is endemic in India. The Chahal case brought this very fact to the attention of the European Courts where the Judges unanimously considered that human rights violations in India were gross enough to stop Mr Chahal being sent back there by British authorities saying that while they respected the assurances of the Indian authorities to treat him according to law, they could not rely on them. MP Svend Robinson on the 3rd February 2003 has asked the House of Commons Canada “That this House call upon the govern ment to urge the government of India to commute the death sentence imposed by a majority vote of the Supreme Court of India on Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhuller after the illegal rejection of Bhuller’s asylum request in Germany and urge that he be given a fair and open trial in accordance with international judicial norms.” There has been no recovery of any incriminating evidence against Mr Bhullar and there has been no identification by any individual of the accused in connection with this case. Many of the legal procedures set out by TADA were not followed, there have been serious errors. Numerous Sikh religious and political bodies have made appeals to the Indian government seeking the release of Professor Bhullar. Professor Bhullar has been sentenced to death and is awaiting execution.

Who were these 3 Singhs?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Time-to-forgive-and-move-on-Chidambaram-to-Sikhs/articleshow/8996581.cms Time to forgive and move on: Chidambaram to Sikhs NEW DELHI: Seeking to put behind memories of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, home minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said the country has moved on since the tragic incident and that it was time to forgive and build a new India. "It is time that we forgive and move on to build a new India where every citizen irrespective of faith has equal place," he said, addressing a function to felicitate him for his role in removing names of 142 Sikhs from a 'Black list' . "We have moved on when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, we have moved on subsequently, we have moved on when Manmohan Singh made that poignant speech asking for forgiveness, we moved on since Sonia Gandhi became Congress president ," he said. The home minister was referring to Singh's speech in Parliament in 2005 where he apologized to the Sikh community for the incident.