STOP THE WAR - March 15th - THE SIKH ACTIVIST NETWORK

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!
Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!

On March 15th, 2008. The Sikh Activist Network will be joing community allies from The Greater Toronto Area to demand an end to the Imperialistic Wars on Iraq and Afghanistan.

For those interested, The Sikh Activist Network will be meeting up at

DIXIE GURDWARA IN THE LANGAR AT 11:30am

From here we will be carpool To Queen's Park Downtown.

For High School Students interested in collecting Community Service Hours, please contact us immediately.

If you are able to provide transportation please contact The Sikh Activist Network via SikhActivist@Gmail.com

Please view the flyer for more details or visit http://www.nowar.ca/

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

International Women's Day 2008

There is a lovely little nursery rhyme that every child in the UK and Canada knows. I am not so sure about the children of India, so I reproduce it here:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!




As long as I have been expressing myself publicly (about 2 years), I
have said that the most dangerous enemy we Sikhs have is not the
Indian government, the Deras or even the Hindus. It is no force from
outside our own community. It is ourselves. We are fast destroying
ourselves through one particular practice. I have here a little poem
I wrote about that. It unites IWD and our self-destructive
tendencies.



Tinkle, tinkle, little boy,
Bring your parents so much joy.
You're their diamond, you're their pearl,
They're so glad you aren't a girl.



Punjab practice straight from hell.
Very soon its evil tell.




You are looking for a wife,
Someone who will share your life.
Not a woman to be found,
Rotting foetus in the ground.


Guru's teaching has been taught,
But its meaning never sought.
Daughter is a gift from God,
Not a dead, decaying clod.


Without woman, there's no life,
No more children, no more wife.
Guru's teachings die off now,
Go and worship sacred cow.



Tinkle, tinkle, little boy,
Bring your parents so much joy.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, 2008!!!




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

Trouble In Gaza - Some Graphic Pictures

From time to time, I think it is necessary for us to remember that we Sikhs are not the only people who have serious difficulties, especially among those who are struggling with self-determination.

I hope all our readers are familiar with what is currently occurring between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Neither side is without error, but the humanitarian crisis is reaching biblical proportions. The people there are quite desperate simply trying to survive. As I understand it, food, water and medicines are in short supply. These are human beings, who breathe, love, fight and die, just like you and me.

I received this from the organisation AVAAZ:

GAZA CONFLICT - CEASE FIRE NOW!

Israel and Gaza are on the brink of war. A ground assault has left many dead, and the rain of rockets only spreads. Israel is now considering a full-scale invasion of Gaza, which has never worked before. The only answer is a ceasefire deal, already suggested by Hamas and supported by 64% of Israelis and some senior cabinet ministers. With international help, this could make civilians on both sides safer. Peace itself is at stake in the coming days, as are thousands of lives. But both sides know they are in a battle for global legitimacy, and international opinion matters. We need to raise a massive worldwide outcry for a Gaza ceasefire now - sign the emergency petition below, we will deliver it to senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders and in a billboard campaign: We call for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to stop the bloodshed and agree to an immediate ceasefire, and for the international community to engage constructively and help broker a fair deal for the safety of civilians on both sides. To sign their petition, please go to: Avaaz Petition for Cease Fire in Gaza. Please go right away! Time is running out!

Without further comment, I offer you some recent pictures from the Gaza Strip. I warn you, they aren't easy to look at, but please look and understand. We Sikhs are not cowards. So please look.

'One picture is worth a thousand words.'

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

The Return of Kashmir Singh

I know everyone is avoiding mentioning his 'temporary conversion' to Islam. But I don't ignore things. I will boldly say from experience that you have no idea what you'll do in a difficult situation until you are in it. Thirty-five years is a long, long time to keep your wits about you in such a horrific condition. Who among us could have even maintained the will to live. Somehow Kashmir Singh Ji managed to remain in Chardi Kala!

I also need to express my admiration of his stalwart, determined wife, Paramjit Kaur. Now there is a true Iron Lady.

And I note his first stop in his home village was to his home gurdwara.

WELCOME HOME, KASHMIR SINGH!!

Vikram Choudhury

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 (Hoshiarpur)

It looked like a victory procession, but it actually was homecoming for former Indian prisoner Kashmir Singh after 35 years of captivity.

He was delighted to be with family and people from neighbouring villages were more than happy to join in the celebrations.

On Tuesday afternoon he walked across the Wagah border after years of solitary confinement in various Pakistani jails.

And when he reached his village in Hoshiarpur, a gurudwara was his first stop. It was the place he used to visit daily as a child.

It was time for reunion with one of his childhood friends.

''We still remember the days when we used to play together and get maize and sugarcane from the field and enjoy,'' said Darshan Singh, Friend.

Then it was Singh's turn to show us that his teeth were still good enough to enjoy sugarcane, which he used to have in his village.

While in Pakistan he missed his village, his family, his friends and the sugarcane fields. Now it's time to make up for lost time.

''I missed all this. I used to have sugarcane, now I can have it again as my teeth are still intact,'' said Kashmir Singh.

His village celebrated through the night, a night that has come after years of wait.

Kashmir Singh is back and it is time to celebrate.

Even people from neighbouring villages came to celebrate. Kashmir Singh is also enjoying his old village life, meeting his friends and doing what he missed in Pakistan.

How Annoying!

I am never sure how to react to this kind of nonsense. Can anyone really believe that an outfit like Al Qaeda, totally male supremacist, could ever be associated with an egalitarian religion like Sikhi? Unfortunately, people see stuff like this and take it for truth! Again, I have no idea what to do except just to state that it's silliness, pure silliness of the most dangerous kind.

Of course, the government of India considers me a terrorist because I support the establishment of our Khalistan. This in spite of the fact that I have never advocated violence and even the Indian government would agree that my one real act of violence was in thoroughly justified self- defence. Ah, well.

My husband keeps telling me that I don't need to save the world, in fact, I cannot save the world. I just toss a 'Chardi kala!' back to him and ask, 'If not me, who?' He glares at me, but doesn't answer. Ah, well.

The Khalistan ribbon is here just because this nonsense annoys me. KHALISTAN ZINDABAD!!

Here is the article:

Sikh Outrage at BBC Radio 4 Investigation

Posted in: Europe

By The SIkh Times
Mar 6, 2008 - 6:31:56 PM














Members of the Sikh community are in fury over a BBC Radio 4 programme which linked Sikhs with Al Qaeda.

The BBC Radio 4 programme 'File on 4' claimed that Sikh Gurdwara's in Britain are sending money to India to fund the activities of Sikh militants who are pushing for a Sikh homeland called Khalistan.

Many Sikhs feel that the programme lacked "balance" and according to bhangra artists Tigerstyle, it "attempted to sensationalise local gurdwara politics".

Editor of Sikh newspaper The Sikh Times, Gurjeet Kaur said the programme was "irresponsible journalism", adding "it is these irresponsible actions that destroy trust and question relationships. The Sikh community has worked arduously to become model citizens of Britain. Not only have they contributed financially they have and are equally contributing socially to the welfare and future of this country."

Some members of the Sikh community told 'File on 4' they fear the extremists could use Sikh temples the way radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza radicalised the Finsbury Park Mosque in London.

Indarjit Singh, Director Network of Sikh Organisations said: "In my capacity as Director of the NSO, I have already made my comments known to Paramjit Dhanda the Minister responsible for the Faith and Community Consultative Forum, and earnestly request the British Sikh Consultative Forums (open and closed) and other Sikh groupings to do the same."

Gurmukh Singh, Administrative Secretary of the (open) British Sikh Consultative Forum expressed concern of the programme: "I saw this programme which portrayed Sikh concern for the families of Sikhs killed by the Indian State as something sinister. Truth was stretched almost beyond recognition to portray a negative image of Sikhs by suggesting links between Sikh and Muslim extremists! The programme lacked balance because questionable comments were made by Indian 'security experts' but Sikhs were given no opportunity to respond."

The BBC defended the programme adding: "The programme was presented by Amardeep Bassey an experienced and respected Sikh journalist and included comments from a wide range of agencies and experts. It reflected the concern expressed by the Indian police that militant groups trying to revive the violent campaign for an independent Sikh homeland, are being given support from outside the country, including the UK. The issues we reported are of obvious public interest both to Sikhs and to the wider public and we were at pains to make it clear that we were focusing on the activities of a minority of people."

© Copyright 2008 by

The Old Sikh With Suspenders

No deep hidden meaning. I just like this photograph by Trey Ratcliff from Stuck In Customs. I do think we could just sit back and look at ourselves more. We are people who deserve to be looked at with an admiring eye. I have a whole folder of photographs of Sikhs a man took while in India. I am thinking that I may just start randomly posting them in my posts here.

The gentleman seen here was on the street in Mumbai.