Sikh’s sword not welcome on VIA train

[sag_roti]

Gurfateh

there are problems with Hindus also in west often when they change thier eating habiit and eat what is sinfull just to be more accomdated in west.

Das can say that they too learn this thing from Sikhs to never compromise.ie insted of Hindus taking say beef they must let western people stop taking it.

I don't think Hindus change their eating habits to be more accomodating to the west any more than Sikhs/ Jains / Muslims or any other religon. Anyway whatever the eating habits, these are not in conflict with the indigenious society, so I think you've missed the point.

[sag_roti]

which is used to protect the weak(dya karni) from oppressors.

Isn't that the job of the the Police force now (in the west) ? Times (& gegraphical location) have changed, surely.

[SAadmin]

Isn't that the job of the the Police force now (in the west) ? Times (& gegraphical location) have changed, surely.

Concept is there. Khalsa is told to follow the concept. This is kalyug. Everything changes in kalyug.

[vijaydeep Singh]

Gurfateh

Well respected Sagroti Ji,

Hindu word itself is something to do with accomdating even if some thing is unjust.

Coorect notion woulfd have been Sanatan Dharmi or Arya who lives in whole world and not the Hindu resticted by hindukush(Hindu kill) mountain living in hindusthan.

It is more in hindus to get accomodative best example das can give of his elder brother who while living in west has started to eat beef.

das as no longer a Hindu so while in muslim country does not eat Halal.

das only wants to convey that insted of teaching tolrance to Sikhs hindus must learn how to be fundamentailst or fantics from Sikhs like Sikhs else hindus will be kept on getting defeat or trechiury by 2nd largest group in India.

Like in Kashmeer on Afghanistan hindus were told only to wear saffron or while in many villages in India some particualr community still use term say Kafir for hindus yet Hindus tolrate.

they tolrate thier brethern being killed in Mau.

They tolrate Pandits getting refuge status within India(evicted from kashmeer).

There is want of proper guide for Hindus in Temple and further more few hindus vist temple and castewise and regionwise unforunatly we have diifernt temples all togather.And if one partuclar deitiy or sect temple is attacked otther sect sis least bothered.

In our Bihar bloody lallos says that yadav must worship Krishna and Rama is of Rajputs yet the hindus tolrate him and make him rail minster.

And things go on...

[sag_roti]

vijaydeep singh

I agree with much of what you say. Yes 'Hindus' need to be better educated about their own religon. It has evolved over thousands of years and there is much to be learnt from it. Yes the Kashmiri Pandits have been treated very badly.

By the way I think Muslims use the term Kaffirs for all 'non-believers' in Islam.

[vijaydeep Singh]

Gurfateh

well Hindus do not use term Malechh which they shoul use for filthy people.

As far as true Islam is concern Kafir is one who does no have faith in the God(Allah).

The so called Muslims infact do not follow Islam correctly.

Forgive das if some one is hurt but coming back to Kirpan das appriciates both Musilms and Sikks for this tendency that instead of gettin adjusted to enviroment they tend to change environment to suit them.Same is true for Christions but Hindus should try to get inspiration from them and act accordingly.

That all can help their coming generation survive from Mallechhas.

Das can say that name of Ram and Krishna can survive in fornames of coming generation of Hindus but they need to have surname as Singh.

[SAadmin]

There is a slight update in this. Most likely, singh will get fateh over this !!!!!!!!!!!

VIA's kirpan ban draws fire; railway still gives out steak knives

Carrier 'awfully selective' on safety, rights group says

Cristin Schmitz

The Ottawa Citizen

Monday, November 07, 2005

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has condemned Via Rail for barring Sikhs from wearing religious daggers on its trains, pointing out that the railway's professed safety concerns about kirpans do not stop it from supplying first-class passengers with steak knives.

Last week, the association wrote to Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, accusing the Crown corporation of unjustifiably violating the religious freedom of Balpreet Singh, a 24-year-old law student from Ottawa, who was twice ordered off trains recently after some passengers complained they felt threatened by his kirpan.

A kirpan is a small, sheathed ceremonial dagger, one of five religious articles orthodox Sikhs are obliged to wear at all times.

"VIA seemed awfully selective in their concern about safety," suggested Alan Borovoy, the association's general counsel. "They apparently are blissfully tolerant of hockey sticks, and baseball bats and skates, and they give first-class passengers cutlery, including knives," he observed. "Maybe they take the position that the ability to buy the first-class fare makes people more trustworthy and makes these passengers a more acceptable risk?"

An estimated 45,000 of Canada's 300,000 Sikhs wear kirpans, a symbol of their religious duty to defend the weak and fight for justice.

The association's letter, faxed to Mr. Lapierre Thursday, argues there is "no excuse" for the national carrier to, in effect, bar thousands of people from rail travel, and urges the transport minister to press VIA to rescind the kirpan ban in favour of "a more reasonable accommodation with its passengers."

The association suggests one safety measure might include requiring kirpans to be sheathed in such a way that they cannot readily be dislodged by their bearers.

The civil liberties group also noted that unlike the airlines, which also ban "knife-like" objects from their cabins, VIA does not screen all the baggage its passengers carry aboard. "Thus there is no protection against any one of a number of potentially dangerous items that may accompany a good many rail passengers," they contend.

A call to Mr. Lapierre's office was not returned Friday.

But VIA officials have explained that the national rail carrier's security policy seeks only to ensure its passengers' safety, and does not target Sikhs or any other religious group. All weapons are banned from its trains, including those "of a ceremonial nature."

Federal regulations prohibit knives and knife-like objects from airline cabins.

VIA is free to make its own policy, but there is mounting pressure on the railway to revisit its kirpan ban.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Paul Martin's parliamentary secretary, Navdeep Bains, a Sikh MP from Toronto who wears his kirpan in the House of Commons, called VIA's treatment of Mr. Singh last month "unfortunate and unacceptable" and pledged to take the matter up with Mr. Lapierre.

School authorities in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario permit students to wear kirpans. But a Quebec ban was upheld last year by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which ruled that despite its religious symbolism, the ceremonial dagger is a "dangerous object" that poses a risk to the security of students and staff.