What Is A Turban Worth?

What is a Sikh's turban worth? A few dollars or rupees? My turbaned brother or sister, if your turban is ripped off your head, what is it worth?

I wonder how my Dad would have reacted if someone had tried to pull his turban off. I know once when I was in high school, one of my goreh friends asked me that. I told her that it would be sort of like if I pulled down her father's pants. I'm not sure what Dad would do, but she'd never be invited back to our house. Truth to be told, she thought it was stupid; she just didn't get it. She left Dad's turban alone, but I never had her over again.

This story has been around for a while and now seems the time to bring it up.

from: News-Review.info

Alleged theft of Sikh’s turban deemed harassment

CHELSEA DUNCAN, cduncan@newsreview.info


Ranjit Singh lives his life respecting all religions, all cultures, all people. Every person is equal, the truck driver from Manteca, Calif., said.

Singh, 37, feels he was not shown the same respect while visiting a truck stop in Rice Hill last year. When the turban he wears as a member of the Sikh religion was reportedly snatched from his head, Singh considered the incident an attack on his beliefs.

“That is a very important thing,” he said of the turban, a part of the articles of faith Sikhs wear as a testament to their religion.

He contacted the Sikh Coalition, based in New York, where members lamented what they called a hate crime. The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office pressed felony charges against three suspects, alleging they had taken the turban because of their perceptions of Singh’s religion or national origin.

But last week, a Douglas County grand jury declined to indict the men on those charges, instead accusing them of misdemeanor harassment and third-degree theft.

Singh and his supporters were disappointed with the decision.

Amardeep Singh, the executive director of the Sikh Coalition (no relation to Ranjit Singh), believes the grand jury’s choice reflects a gap in education and knowledge.

“It doesn’t seem that the grand jury got the injury to a whole community that occurs when you go after its most sacred article of faith,” he said.

Yoncalla residents Ryan David Robbins, 21, Kyle Brian Simmons, 22, and Ryan Jeffrey Newell, 28, are accused in the Aug. 25 incident that occurred as Ranjit Singh was walking out of a convenience store, according to court records.

One of the men allegedly grabbed the turban, ran around the building, then drove away with it in a car, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Singh called police, and with the help of a surveillance video from the store, officials were able to track the three men down several days later.

“The allegations are very serious allegations,” said Assistant District Attorney Rick Wesenberg, “and we recognized that.”

Charges of first-degree intimidation, a felony, and second-degree theft, a misdemeanor, were initially filed. The charge of intimidation deals with situations such as assaults or threats committed due to perception of a person’s race, color, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.

“We presented the grand jury with the facts and the law,” Wesenberg said, “and the grand jury made the ultimate decision.”

Because the case is pending against the men, who Wesenberg stressed are innocent until proven otherwise, the prosecutor declined to comment further.

The suspects could not immediately be reached for comment. Robbins’ attorney could also not be reached, and it was unclear whether the other two men have retained attorneys.

The charge of harassment alleges that the men unlawfully and intentionally subjected Singh to offensive physical contact.

Singh and his supporters likely would not disagree with that description, but they believe the most important aspect of the case was lost on the grand jury.

Amardeep Singh believes the jurors apparently viewed the incident as a joke, that the man who took the turban was “a prankster, but not a bigot.”

With the stereotypes left in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Singh doesn’t see how anyone could not understand the implications of stealing a turban.

Sikhs wear turbans and the other articles of faith to express their commitment to follow the mandates of the religion, such as living truthfully and standing for equality and social justice, according to www.sikhcoalition.org.

“It’s a constant reminder that we should always be good honest people,” Amardeep Singh said.

According to the Web site, Sikhism originated in South Asia and has more than 25 million followers worldwide.

As the case proceeds, Singh said advocates hope to get a chance to explain how they feel about the incident to a judge or jury in an effort to educate. They’ve also asked federal officials to open an investigation to pursue so-called hate crime charges.

The grand jury’s decision about the intimidation charges was not all that troubled Amardeep Singh and Ranjit Singh. During the grand jury process, the dollar value of the turban came up for debate.

Ranjit Singh was asked to estimate the value of the turban to determine which level of theft should be charged.

For Singh, there was no way to do that. To him, the turban is sacred, priceless.

“I’m not fighting for four or five dollars,” he said, “I am fighting for justice.”

Photos: I did not find a picture of Ranjit Singh, so you are treated to these wonderful pictures of Sikhs. I like to look at Sikhs; I think we're a very good-looking group. I have permission to use these photographs by professional photographer Charles Meacham. If you would like to see more, go to his website, Charles Meacham Photographs, click on 'Galleries,' and go to 'Being Sikh.'

URGENT - CANADIANS!!!

Do you have family overseas like in India or Punjab (occupied Khalistan) who are trying to immigrate to Canada? You need to get on top of this AT ONCE. Contact your MP to stop this Tory nonsense!

From the Asian Pacific Post:

Immigration Overhaul

The Federal Conservatives’ plan to overhaul how immigrants are selected for Canada will shut the door on minority groups, those in need of a safe environment and curtail family reunifications say critics of the scheme.

Accusing the government of “showing anti-immigrant feelings,” former B.C. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said the Tory government is trying to assume unbridled powers to determine who enters Canada. Dosanjh, who has served as Canada’s health minister said: “During the last two years of Tory rule, Canada allowed in 36,000 fewer immigrants than during the previous two years. And now they have introduced this bill hidden in the budget implementation bill.”

Ordinary Canadians will not be united based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, with overseas family members left behind because of extraordinary circumstances, said NDP Immigration Critic, Olivia Chow.

Additionally, huge unilateral power will be given to the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship to dispose of and discard immigration applications presently stuck in a massive backlog, she said.

Chow announced that when Parliament resumes at the end of March, she will introduce a motion to delete the entire offensive Immigration and Refugee Protection Act amendment that was hidden deep inside the Conservatives’ budget implementation act, Bill C-50.
“If the budget bill passes with the immigration section intact, as of February 27, 2008, refugee children in Canada will no longer be able to bring their family to Canada,” said Chow.

Immigration minister Diane Finley has defended the changes saying it will allow the government to eliminate the immigration backlog and to speed up the entry of skilled workers.

These significant changes to Canada’s immigration laws were slipped into the budget implementation bill in the Commons last Friday. As they were contained in the budget bill, they are a confidence matter.

If the amendment is passed, the changes would indeed speed up the processing of applications for skilled workers, but they would also throw other claimants to the back of the line and reject others outright.

The bill will likely become law, unless the Liberals — who have abstained or voted with the Tories on recent confidence motions — vote against the bill with support from other opposition MPs.

Finley said the changes are needed because Canada’s workforce will need additional workers in the years ahead. “Everywhere I go, employers from every sector are telling me they’re just screaming for help . . . whether it’s people to wash dishes and make sandwiches, or whether it’s the highly-skilled engineers and medical professionals. There are shortages right across the country,” she said.

Under the bill:

1. The immigration minister would have the power to reject applications by individuals already determined to be inadmissible by immigration officers.

2. The minister would also be able to set limits on the types of immigrants that can have their applications processed in a given year.

3. Also, any claimant seeking to immigrate to Canada on humanitarian grounds would already have to be in the country to have their application processed.

Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer in Vancouver, said more than 900,000 prospective immigrants worldwide could immediately be stripped of their right to a visa if the law is passed.

Immigration lawyer Zool Suleman, who represents Laibar Singh, the disabled man in Abbotsford who has avoided deportation for several months, is concerned that the proposed bill gives too much power to the minister, creating a closed and non-transparent system.

“There is no reason why the necessary changes can’t be made through a hearing process . . . because as the bill stands if the minister makes really bad policy choices, there would be no way to challenge it other than through an election,” he said. “Is the government saying the only way to be responsive to the public is to have power in the hands of the minister? In which case, why do we have parliamentary hearings in the first place?”

Suleman is disturbed that the bill was hidden in a budget bill, which he sees as a blatant political move because to him, it’s clear the Opposition doesn’t want to force an election.

“If they don’t want the government to fall, then these changes will go through,” he said. “It was a purely tactical choice.”

Many leaders from immigrant groups have derided the changes as anti-immigrant and anti-family reunification. But some have expressed hope that the bill could speed up the slow immigration times.

Satbir Singh Cheema, director of employment services at the Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) is optimistic about the benefits the proposed bill could have on the shortage of labour.

“In all fairness, we need to give the government a chance to prove itself,” he said. “The minister wants to streamline the process because the waiting lists to come to Canada are getting bigger by the day.” However, he cautioned that the new bill would not be received kindly if ulterior motives were at hand. “Overall this is a good thing as long as this bill is not used to cut down on the number of people coming in,” he said. “That’s the catch.”

But the price for rearanging priorities is high, said Chris Morrissey, a volunteer for the Rainbow Refugee Community, a group that advocates for same-sex refugees. She believes that the proposed bill signals a shift in priorities from humanitarian to economic ones.

“Rather than improve our system so that it provides clearer opportunities to protect people’s human rights, resources are being put into economy,” she said. “It’s based on economic values rather than on human rights.”

Most recently, Finley refused to intervene in the case of Malaysian refugee Kulenthiran Amirthalingam who was deported March 6. Amirthalingam has already been jailed for being gay and could potentially face a jail term of up to 20 years. (See accompanying story)

Morrissey is alarmed that the Canadian government is willing to send Amirthalingham back to Malaysia where homosexuality is outright condemned.

“I’m surprised that they would send somebody back to Malaysia because it’s very clear that there are specific sanctions and a lengthy prison sentence against homosexuality there,” she said. “It’s totally reprehensible that somebody would be sent back under those circumstances.”

Morrissey pointed out that Amirthalingam’s case is another reminder of the humanitarian problems that arise from Canada’s reluctance to create a refugee appeal division because if he had access there might have been a different outcome. But then again, if the new priorities are based on Canada’s economy, compassion is not really an issue anymore, she said.

“The government is so desperate to close the door on immigrants that it will ignore the painful mistakes of previous Conservative governments that tried to do the very same thing,’’ Liberal MP David McGuinty told The Canadian Press.

“(Former Canadian prime minister John) Diefenbaker tried to shut out immigrants by capping the system only to abandon his plan a month later because his policies were short-sighted and misguided.

“Why does the minister insist on closing Canada’s doors to the newcomers we desperately need to fuel our labour and our population growth even though history shows this is absolutely the wrong approach?” he asked.

Could It Be?

Is Gurinder Singh really Shintu Kumar? A simple DNA test should answer this without question.

From Rediff:

Woman from Bihar claims lost London Sikh boy is her son

PTI March 26, 2008 03:36 IST

A family from Bihar claims that a nine-year-old Sikh boy found abandoned at a London bus stop last week, is their son and was kidnapped three years ago.

The Metropolitan Police is investigating the matter and has not ruled out that it could be a case of child trafficking, given that the boy apparently lived with a European for three years.

Gurrinder Singh, who speaks only Punjabi, was found in Harrington Road, Southall area last week, the BBC said.

It said one Bindiya Devi of Aurangabad town in Bihar claimed Gurrinder's name is Shintu Kumar and he was abducted on March 3, 2005. The family claimed to have seen the boy's photo flashed on a TV channel and instantly recognised him.

Bihar legislator Bhim Singh endorsed the family's claim and said Shintu was his nephew, while the Aurangabad police is reportedly investigating the matter.

Gurrinder told city police that a European in his 30s who he called 'uncle' left him at the bus stop after they had lived together for three years. The boy apparently told them that his parents were dead and the police had begun a probe into whether he was a victim of child trafficking.

Bhim Singh told BBC News that he had raised the issue in Bihar Legislative Council. "I discussed it at length with the chief minister," he said.

Aurangabad Superintendent of Police Ganesh Kumar said four people were on trial in connection with the abduction but the boy was never found.

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WHY TRY TO FIT IN?
YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!

'Whether It Is Clear To You Or Not,...

...No Doubt The Universe Is Unfolding As It Should.'

Mai is tired. Very, very tired. Maybe a little overworked. She maintains 7 (seven) blogs, 3 public, 4 private on top of all the usual stuff of life.

I care deeply about all these people and situations I write about. The Singhs: Laibar, Sukhvir, Gurinder, Sarabjit,...and The Kaurs: Parveen, Rajvinder, Sarita,...And the Causes: Darfur, Burma, Tibet, Gaza, and, of course, KHALISTAN. (Note, I haven't yet gotten around to writing about Tibet, but as soon as I get some good pictures to share...) And, of course, the occasional piece of hate mail. (Not much, thanjfully.)

I really needed a pick-me-up today, a little something maybe a bit personal. Funny how the universe is ordered. First I got that lovely, lovely comment published in the previous post. Then this arrived from a friend. Yes, that is exactly what I need. And come to think of it, I am feeling a little squirrelly...I am going to lie down and take a nap. Folding the laundry and washing tthe dishes will just have to wait.

This is what you need today!!!

Don't let things drive you

"nuts"!!

Have a fabulous STRESS FREE day!!!!

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WHY TRY TO FIT IN?
YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!

UPDATE - Laibar Singh Says Thanks

I actually have something a little more personal to report about Brother Laibar Singh Ji!

I posted a link the article from the BC Local News on my facebook Posted Items list:

Laibar Singh Returns To Abbotsford

It contained this picture

I left the comment:

Brother Laibar Ji, I am pleased to see you have grown your kesh. Now, please, this is embarrassing. Please cover it properly. (Nice beard!)

Today, a young woman (I won't as yet mention her name, as I haven't gotten her permission) left this comment:

Just in case people didn't know...Laibar Singh Uncle Ji always had kesh..he had the most beautiful hair and a beautiful dhari..but when he was ill the nurses cut it off bc it was tooo hard for them to clean and maintain it..but he had a really sweet Apni nurse who use to..but then she was no longer there..so the other nurses cut it. He also wore the same Kara for approximately 25 years..but when he was hospitalized..they had to take it off...or cut it..something like that..he misses it a lotttt! I'll get him one shortly. He is very happy being back at Abbotsford and thanks all the Sangat and people on a daily basis for supporting him. WAHEGURU.And he wore a dastar yesterday..he was glowing! WAHEGURU.

I responded:

VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!!

Bhenji, thank you so much for this note. I didn't know about his kesh, that's so sad...I, too, wore the same kara from 1984 to 2006. It had to come off twice during that time, both times to go into an MRI after a stroke, but mine was put back on.

We know so little about Brother Laibar Ji as a person. The newspaper articles seem to see him either as a pest or a cause. Any little bit of information like this is valuable. In fact, I intend to post your comment on The Road To Khalistan (http://roadtokhalistan.blogspot.com) to share with my/our readers. Please get him that kara at once! I am so happy that he is back in a dastaar. I know it's hard when he's lying down so much, but it has to be a great morale booster for him!

And please tell him not to believe reports that the Sangat has deserted him. Big names really seem to blow a lot of hot air, but he still has the support of many of us 'little' people.

Many of us have little money, but big commitment.

We/I appreciate his thanks and will hold it close to my heart.

A big, hearty FATEH to him and lots of Chardi Kala!

A picture of him in the dastaar would be wonderful!!!

And now another response from Bhenji:

oh Thank you so much for the reply Ji
Yes..I know what you mean..I dont think he feels the sangat has deserted him..but he feels so powerless sometimes..and a great pain on people..but we tell him otherwise.
I dont know if you know but AHH..I love him so much, I see him all the time!

He is a bundle of joy...hes soooooooo appreciative..I cant even explain how much the thanks everyone. And the fact that he doesnt blame God for the situation hes in..some do that..but hes like well whats happened to me has happened to me..and im going to get better..because I believe I can and people tell me I can.
Hes the best! Love him to pieces. And I cant thank everyone enough for praying and being there for him...
it heals him :)
and I shall try to get a picture of him..and post it up soon..maybe within a few days.
Take care of yourself
And stay in Chardi Kala!!
WAHEGURU

I have often thought that probably the last thing this gentleman ever thought he would become was a 'Cause.' Life sends us funny twists and turns. I certainly never thought I would be writing and publishing a periodical that would be read by Sikhs - and a few nonSikhs - on every inhabited continent, written and distributed free of charge, with only minimal self-censorship to all and sundry. One certainly never knows where life will send us.

The Internet has opened doors for sewa that couldn't even have been dreamed of just a few years ago.

BTW, my name on facebook is Mai Harinder Kaur. If any of our readers would like to be friends there, that would be uber kaint with me!

This song just seems to fit:

HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER

(B. Scott and B. Russell)

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows when
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother...

Nine-yr-old Sikh boy left alone on London street

This story has captured my attention. Who is this young Gurinder Singh? Why was he alone in London? Who was the 'white' uncle? We all know ' uncle' can be just about any man of his father's generation. Look at that haunted little face.

Let me be blunt. I think it likely that this child is a victim of human trafficking, probably for the sex trade. Whatever it is, our little brother needs our help. I know - courtesy of Sitemeter - this blog has regular readers in London. Somebody knows who he is and what his story is. Let's get to the bottom of this. Although it's impossible to tell for sure from this picture, it looks like Gurinder still has his kesh. The thought of some pervert...

Let's get to the bottom of this. Quickly, for his sake!

Nine-yr-old Sikh boy left alone on London street

Akhilesh Patel

Monday, March 24, 2008 (London)

It's a mystery Scotland Yard are finding hard to solve. A nine-year-old Sikh boy, who speaks only Punjabi, was left on a west London street.

The boy said he doesn't know who left him there, nor is he revealing the identities of any of his relatives. He told the police that he was brought to the UK two to three years ago but doesn't know from which country.

Southall, that has a significant Punjabi population, is worried for the boy. They want something to be done and are trying to find out more but the details of what happened are not clear yet.

The boy claimed that he was kept indoors for a long time by a white uncle. Beyond that he cannot say anything.

It was last Tuesday that Gurinder was left behind by his white uncle. Clueless, he walked into a health clinic nearby and the police were later notified.

Gurinder is now in the care of the London department of social services. Police are trying to find out how he got here. Virendra Sharma, MP, Ealing Southall said he's being looked after well.

At present the agencies are working on the child's welfare, giving him counselling, support, interpreters in Punjabi and foster parents of the same background. So support is being given.

Police are looking into the child trafficking angle and are appealing for any information about the boy.

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WHY TRY TO FIT IN?
YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!