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Gurdev Singh Honoured
October 12, 2008. All India Conference of Intellectuals
conferred Punjab Rattan award upon Sardar Gurdev Singh,
Patron, Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh in recognition
of his outstanding talents, superb achievements and distinguished
services to the society at large. Dr A R Kidwai, Governor,
Haryana, presided over the award giving function.
~~~
Seminar, Sikh Educational Society
November 22, 2008. The Sikh Educational Society which is
running eight colleges/schools in Punjab and Chandigarh
organised its annual seminar in Jathedar Gurcharan Singh
Tohra Memorial Lecture Series at which Baba Balbir Singh
Seechewal of the Bein-cleaning fame and Punjab Minister
Hira Singh Gibrian were the chief guests. Subject of the
keynote address presented by the prominent scholar Dr Baklar
Singh was ;pd-r[o{ dk wkBt gqz;r. The SES honoured Dr Gurbakhsh
Singh, eminent scholar, Prof Harinder Singh Mehboob, the
wel-known poet, and Baba Balbir Singh with a Siropa and
a token amount of Rs 51,000/- each.
~~~
Vanjara Trust Update
November 23, 2008. In its General Body meeting held at Chandigarh,
the trust for Welfare of Vanjara and Other Weaker Sections,
enrolled Dr Birendra Kaur, a member of the Institute of
Sikh Studies, as a new Trustee. Dr Gurcharan Singh Kalkat,
Sardar Sardul Singh Pruthi and Sardar Gurdev Singh, three
other IOSS members, are already trustees of this welfare/charitable
trust. Sardar Gurdev Singh was elected President of the
trust in the vacancy occuring after the sad demise of Dr
Kharak Singh who was President of this Trust till he breathed
his last on August 6, 2008.
~~~
A Repository of Rare Manuscripts
Aurangabad, November 4. The historic gurdwara, which had
been built here in the memory of Bhai Daya Singh, one of
the Panj Piaras, is a repository of rare Sikh manuscripts
dating back more than 300 years. Some manuscripts have beautiful
ornamental calligraphy and outlining in gold and blue.
One of the rare handwritten manuscripts is “Zafarnamah”
(epistle of victory) written in Persian. It was sent by
10th Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
in 1705. Its manuscript seems to be written by a Muslim
devotee, who has also written the date of its writing on
it.
In the “Zafarnamah”, Guru Gobind Singh reminds
Aurangzeb how he and his henchmen had broken their oaths
sworn upon the Koran. SGPC president Avtar Singh, who visited
Aurangabad to attend a function to commemorate the tercentenary
of Gurta Gaddi Diwas of Guru Granth Sahib, was so delighted
to see the commitment of the gurdwara management to preserve
those manuscripts that he announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh
to the gurdwara.
Wrapped in beautiful cloth, the gurdwara has two more handwritten
Adi Granths and other religious pictorial graphics. Some
manuscripts have been written in golden ink. As many as
6,000 words of one of the manuscripts are written in golden
ink.
Although the five beloved enjoyed equal status as the Guru’s
confidants, Bhai Daya Singh had always been regarded as
the first among equals. He was Guru Gobind Singh’s
emissary sent from Dina village in Punjab to deliver the
“Zafarnamah” to Aurangzeb.
Another important letter preserved here is of Bhai Chanda
Singh. It is written in Persian script and urges the Sikhs
to join the kar sewa of Takht Hazur Sahib, which was started
by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
However, letters on some of the ancient manuscripts have
become discoloured.
~~~
Brit school Told to Pay £76,000
London, November 17. A school in South Wales has been asked
by a court to pay £76,000 as legal costs to a Sikh
girl who was banned from wearing a religious bracelet. According
to The Sun, Sarika Watkins-Singh (15) won a high court case
after being suspended over the silver Kara bangle, which
the school said broke its jewellery rules.
Yesterday local Labour MP Ann Clwyd blasted Governors for
“wasting taxpayers’ money”. She said:
“I told them they’d lose.” In the wake
of this verdict, schools in Britain will struggle to enforce
rules about uniform, a teachers’ union has warned.
Clarissa Williams, president of the NAHT teaching union,
said: “We’re expected to have school uniform
policies, this puts schools in an invidious position. The
main issue with jewellery is the health and safety aspect
- it’s not about discrimination.” Justice Silber
ruled last year that Sarika had suffered indirect discrimination
from Aberdare Girls School.
Legal experts then warned that Justice Silber’s ruling
could pave the way for similar cases involving religious
apparel.
Sarika was isolated from her classmates for two months and
even accompanied to the toilet by a member of staff, before
finally being excluded for persistently breaking the “no
jewellery” rule. In court, Sarika said wearing the
bangle - known as the Kara - was as important to her as
it was to the England cricketer Monty Panesar. Finding the
school guilty of discrimination under race relations and
equality laws, the judge said Sarika, from Cwmbach, near
Aberdare, could go back to school wearing the bangle. —
ANI
~~~
Justice
Haider Discovers 80 more Shlokas of Baba Farid
Amritsar, November 24. Pakistan’s former law minister
Justice Syed Afzal Haider, a judge of the Federal Shariat
Court, Islamabad, has discovered about 80 shlokas (hymns)
of Baba Farid, the first Punjabi poet.
The shlokas, discovered from different primary sources and
folklore are in addition to his (Baba Faird’s) hymns
enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib.
Justice Haider’s wife Begum Silvi Khurshid Faridi
is a direct descendent of Baba Farid.
Justice Haider said here today that the book, “Kook
Farida Kook” in Gurmukhi script, containing the new
shlokas of Baba Farid was being published in Lahore and
would be released in India and Pakistan soon. The path-breaking
research on Baba Farid would also be transliterated into
Roman, Urdu, Persian and Shahmukhi scripts.
Earlier, late Prof Pritam Singh, a recipient of President
and Bharatiya Sahit Academy awards, had established that
Punjabi language is more than 700 years old. Prof Pritam
Singh dedicated his research on Baba Farid to Justice Haider
and his wife, Begum Silvi Khurshid. His (Prof Pritam Singh’s)
research, “Search of the original Baba Farid of Guru
Granth Sahib”, had also challenged the research by
European and Indian scholars who believed that the hymns
of Baba Farid were actually authored by Sheikh Brahm (Ibrahim).
It was Farid, the second, whom Guru Nanak Dev met on two
occasions.
Justice Haider also corroborated the research of Prof Pritam
Singh. To a question, Justice Haider said the new shalokas
of Baba Farid would compel Punjabi scholars to start afresh
research on Baba Farid.
About his earlier works on Sikh literature, Justice Haider
said it was due to the blessings of Sikh Gurus and Baba
Farid that he occupied top positions in Pakistan.
“When I wrote a book on Guru Nanak, I was picked up
as law minister,” he said. He was also excited that
the chaddar ( rumala) brought from the samadh of Baba Farid
by him was accepted by the head granthi of the Golden Temple.
It was for the first time that the SGPC authorities, in
a goodwill gesture, placed the chaddar on Guru Granth Sahib.
Baba Farid was born on the first day of the month of Ramzan
in 1173 in Kothiwal city near Dipalpur in Punjab. Now it
is called Pak Pattan. The ancient name has been recorded
as Ajodhan. The city existed during Alexander’s invasion
in 326 BC. (Courtesy : The Tribune, November 25, 2008)
~~~
Christian
Leaders to Talk to Sarkozy
Pathankot, October 20. Christian leaders have decided to
take up the issue of the ban imposed on wearing of turban
in schools with the Sarkozy government.
A resolution to support the demand of the Sikh community
for allowing Sikh students to wear turban in schools in
France would be passed during the 13th ordinary synod of
the Church of North India (CNI) being held here.
Sushma Ramswami, communication secretary, CNI, told The
Tribune that a decision to this effect was taken by the
synod after a section of leaders of the CNI and other Christian
bodies visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar yesterday and
interacted with Sikh leaders there.
The Christian leaders who visited the Golden Temple included
Roy Lowes, Moderator, West Midlands Synod of the United
Reformed Churches in the UK, and Marianne Karsgaard, member,
World Mission Council Church, Scotland.
~~~
Letters
to Editor
Gurta-gaddi Diwas
Dear Sir,
There have been long drawn celebrations all over the world
on the solemn occasion of ‘Gur-ta-Gaddi’. Akhand
Paaths, Nagar Kirtans and Kirtan Durbars have appropriately
been part of the celebrations. Sri Guru Granth Sahib is
‘Alma Mater’ for all Sikhs, and for many more
other than Sikhs. The celebrations at this large scale are
in fitness of the occasion. One of the biggest congregations
of Sikhs has just concluded at “Hazoor Sahib”
(Nanded), where the actual ceremony of Gurta-Guddi took
place 300 years ago.
Notwithstanding these large scale celebrations, we could
have done better. We had arranged to highlight the universality
and, basic tenets of Sikh religion, as given in Sri Guru
Granth Sahib, to others (other than Sikhs) all over the
world. Ordinarily others (non Sikh people) do not know what
Sri Guru Granth Sahib contains and stands for. However,
everybody know Sri Guru Granth Sahib as the ‘living
Guru’ of the Sikhs. We should have taken this opportunity
to highlight the fundamentals of the Gurbani as contained
in the Holy Granth Sahib; like equal respect for all religions,
(the bani of various Bhagat’s shows that), universal
brotherhood, humility, spirituality without rituals, etc.
SGPC/Gurudwara Parbandak Committee members or those in places
should have hired one full page in each newspaper of the
country, which would have, quotes from Sri Guru Granth Sahib
with its Hindi, English and other language translations.
This feature should have continued daily for as long as
a month. This would have resulted in almost everybody of
every religious denominations becoming knowledgeable about
the Holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the basic tenets and
commandments given in the Holy Granth Sahib. The result
would be larger number of people being aware of the Holy
Sri Granth Sahib and its relevance to the modern world,
at large. Over all, the Panth would have benefited in a
large measure.
This would have been a greater and more appropriate celebration,
fit for the occasion in addition to the rest of the celebrations.
Kirtan, Kirtan Durbars, langars are all very good but we
had the opportunity to ‘reach out’ to others,
which would have had great benefit for the world at large
and the Panth specifically. I suppose similar opportunities
in future could be availed off as suggested in here.
Principal A S Rattan
Guru Nanak VBT Polytechnic
# 228, Sector 16-A, Chandigarh
~~~
Go
Global
Dear Editor,
We are, indeed, fortunate to have inherited the ultimate
spiritual and intellectual treasure in the form of Guru
Granth Sahib and the pride in belonging to the race of martyrs
to righteousness, equality and justice to all, irrespective
of caste, creed, race, gender. We need to ponder as to how
best we can take the message of Guru Granth Sahib to the
world, in the absence of reading habit amongst most. How
do we tell the world that we are not members of any terrorist
outfit but, courtesy the teachings of the Gurus, we believe
the entire human race to be one and pray daily for the welfare
of one and all.
Guru Nanak traveled far and wide, in all directions, to
reach out to people and share his divine message in an age
when even the modes of transport were primitive, if any
at all. We have at our disposal an extremely advanced technology
influencing every sphere of human activity, courtesy which,
even the world is referred to as a global village. The most
effective amongst the media is the visual medium, beyond
any doubt.
Keeping all these factors in mind, I wish to place a suggestion
before you. Although it is pricey, but we can, in one stroke,
reach out to the entire world. We can familiarize the world
with our value system in a very convincing and interesting
way. And that is:
Since visual medium is most effective, we can, at the Panthic
level, hire a reputed Hollywood team to make a film on Baba
Banda Singh Bahadur. In addition to the Sikh value system
flowing from the concept of the Sole Almighty of the human
race, the passionate, zealous character of a Sikh surcharged
with love for his Guru can be projected in an hour or so.
(The film can be dubbed in every major language of the world.)
In spite of all our individual efforts to reach out to the
world, we are the victims of hate crime. A saabat surat
Sikh is still a sight that amazes people, especially the
youth of almost all nations. It is this response of strangers
that generates a complex in our youth. Once the character
of Banda Singh Bahadur can be portrayed to the world, our
youth too would feel confident that all know the quom and
its greatness to which he belongs. He would come closer
to bani and bana. He would take pride in associating himself
with this quom. Presently, he finds himself associated with
the dilemma created by our leading political and religious
figures. And that, for someone who does not know the true
spirit of Sikhi, is not easy.
Actually, Sikhism is a religion that the mentally mature
alone can grip. And maturity comes with age in most. So,
our youth get a complex before they can even begin to understand
the uniqueness of their faith and carry its image on their
person. We must understand the peer pressure they experience.
Before expecting from them, let us first tell the world
about the Sikh form and its values.
As it is, being the followers of the Guru, it is our foremost
duty to spread the message of the Gurus as far and wide
as possible. We may rather have more join us. As it is,
Sikhism is a religion to be converted to, even if you are
born into it. Mainly converts have written its glorious
history. The life of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur itself depicts
the transformation one can undergo in one’s lifetime.
Yours sincerely,
Birendra Kaur
November 9, 2008 <birendrakaur@yahoo.com>
¤
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