Abstracts of Sikh Studies, Jan-March 2012

The International Sikh Confederation is now entering into the Seventh year of its existence. There is now a need to pause and survey the situation/scenario existing in the country with particular reference to our home state. A spate of scams, boycott of parliament and general lawlessness prevails in various parts of the country. In the States, good governance has given way to 'Vote Bank Politics', rash spending, massive borrowing, resulting in our state groaning under a heavy debt. Development has come to a virtual standstill. This has affected our lifeline i.e. farming and the migration of Industry to other states. This has increased the gap between the rich and the poor leading to more and more crime. The common citizen and his family is struggling to make two ends meet.

In this scenario, we must ensure that our next generation and their growth/development must NOT be stunted. The ISC is working very hard in the spheres of basic and advanced education in Schools, Colleges and later in preparing the youth to find employment. In this scenario, religion should really be a uniting factor, but it certainly is not. Instead of uniting us, it is causing rifts and tensions. This certainly has a detrimental effect on youth and the smooth functioning of Schools, Colleges and Universities. In spite of this, there are encouraging signs of revival especially amongst our educated youth.

The Renaissance in Mukandpur
The ASSM College and School campus is an expansive one, established by a big hearted NRI Shergill family from the USA. It was founded in the memory of a brilliant young student 'Amardeep' who died prematurely while studying in the London School of Ecnomics. Under the guidance of its founders and brilliant Chairman Dr. Sardara Singh Johl, Padma Bhushan, it has earned laudable standards of achievement in all spheres - education and sports.

It is indeed a pleasure and pride for the ISC to have signed an MOU with the College six years ago to set up a Coaching Centre. Later when Guru Nanak Dev University made this their Constituent College in the year 2007, they too, not only approved this MOU, but renewed it afresh for another 5 years. Today the results of the Guru Nanak Coaching Centre are outstanding in preparing successfully batch after batch of some 40 students for all national competitions held for entry to various professional institutions ranging from Nursing and Pharmacy to engineering and Medical colleges. The ASSM College Science Stream has received a huge boost. It is indeed a pleasure and a pride for us to relate with the highly dedicated faculty and alert and ambitious students. The founder NRIs are so taken in by the surroundings and residential atmosphere, that they how reside in INDIA and spend maximum time daily in their rich heritage.

To prove my point the results of the final 10 Plus 2 examinations have been declared. The Non Medical Coaching Group consisting of 28 students have performed excellently. All accepting one have obtained high first divisions with many crossing 80 percent. In the medical stream the results are average with girls showing marked improvement.

We shall now be working towards admitting maximum students into good and well run professional institutions. Some students will continue higher studies in the Science Stream of the ASSM Degree College, Mukandpur which is producing excellent results all around.

The American Academy
Three enterprising young men from the Emirates were visiting India last year on a noble mission. Their leader Amandeep Singh came in contact with us in a large gathering that we were addressing at 'Tugalwal' in Gurdaspur District. The prime objective was the upift of rural education with particular reference to various schemes launched by us as well the Government to aid rural students. After the meet, these three young men felt they had found in the ISC, the organisation with whom they wished to work, to help the budding bright youth of Punjab which, they felt, needed their guidance in quickly making good in the corporate sector in India and abroad. They wanted to pass on their full experience and expertise to help our budding youth. Kudos to them. Within six months, they have set up the "American Academy" with full equipment and instructors in Bhai Jiwan Singh Gurdwara, Jallandhar. We had the pride to inaugurate it on Basakhi Day 13th April 2013. The Academy will train ambitious and capable senior selected college students for six months in latest managerial skills and utilization of modern gadgetry in the corporate sector. The course is provisionally timed to last six months but will depend on the experience gained thereto. The ISC will render all help possible to ensure the success of this venture.

Minority Scheme Run by Maulana Azad Foundation
There are good schemes run by the above foundation for the minorities which unfortunately are not being fully utilized by the Northern states. Data on the net clearly reveals that our students do not feature well enough in schemes such as:

(a) Post Graduate students seeking admission to PhD streams at par with UGC and NET.

(b) Meritorious Girl Students entering 11th and 12th Classes seeking scholarships under this scheme.

Scheme for leadership Development of Minority Women
Empowerment of women per se is not only essential for equity, but also constitutes a critical element in our fight for poverty reduction, economic growth and strengthening of civil society. Empowering mothers in villages will nourish, nurture and mould the character of her children too. Keeping this in view, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has mooted a "Scheme for Leadership and Development of Minority Women".

We, in the ISC feel that this Govt initiative fits into our scheme of uplifting village societies in Punjab. In fact, these would totally support our already launched vigorous 'Education Uplift' Schemes. We would of course expect a sizeable number of our members as volunteers to implement this Scheme. We also have a very experienced member, S. Resham Singh who has already implemented similar schemes in some villages with sponsorship from the United Nations. We request member volunteers to contact us earliest in this regard. Based on this response, the ISC will launch this scheme in earnest after approval by our Executive Committee. For full information, visit this website:

We would advocate vigorous participation by minority Students especially in our rural areas. The ISC is ready to provide all information in this regard. Queries could be E-Marked to us on <iscchd2006@gmail.com>

Distribution of Minority Scholarships
In the recent past, ISC has received representations from various Schools/Institutions regarding nonpayment of minority scholarship to the students whose names appeared in approved list o n the website for the years 2009 - 2010, 2010 - 2011 and 2011-2012. We would request members to help rural parents/students understand the system of distribution of scholarship money by the Welfare Department Office after it is received from the Centre.

The released funds are transferred to DEO/BEO's account at District Level by the Welfare Department through the authorised Banks along with district wise approved list of students of various schools and the amount sanctioned to each student. DEOs have option to issue consolidated cheques to each school or individual cheques to each student of various schools. Hence all schools must approach the concerned DEO's with approved list of students for scholarships. In case the DEOs fail to deliver the amount, complaint may be lodged with DG schools Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Mohali with a copy to welfare department and ISC so that appropriate action can be taken.

For Post Matric and Merit Cum Means scholarships, the transfer of funds are made electronically to the students account. In case of non receipt of sanctioned scholarships, please check your account No. and IFSC Code of the Bank. Amount of Rs 20 Crores is lying unclaimed on account of wrong Bank Account/IFSC Code. In which case the amount sent electronically bounces back due to the above anomalies. Once the mistake is detected, Schools/College should immediately approach the Welfare Department Chandigarh, Sector 34, Chandigarh with information to the ISC.

The ISC appeals to all readers who have not joined us as members to please visit us in our humble HQ at Plot No.1, Sector 28 A, Chandigarh in the Campus of Kendri Sri Guru Singh Sabha. We need the help of all right minded devoted human beings to help mankind and make this world a happier place for our coming generations.