Via – http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/us-lawmakers-sikhs-hail-fiba-decision-to-lift-ban-on-headgear/1/946122.html

From Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 5 (PTI) Top American lawmakers and the Sikh-Americans have hailed the basketball governing body FIBA for reversing a controversial ban on religious headgear, which would allow professional players to play wearing the turban and the hijab during competition.

The announcement made by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) yesterday is said to be a game changer for Sikh athletes and other religious groups, who have been prohibited from basketball competitions because of their articles of faith.

“The decision of FIBA to allow Sikhs and other players to wear articles of religious faith while competing is a welcome news,” Congressman Joe Crowley and Ami Bera said in a joint statement.

Ahead of the FIBAs long-awaited decision, the two top Democratic lawmakers had on Wednesday, urged the sports body to change its discriminatory policy against Sikh players that requires them to remove their turbans during the game.

“It has been a long campaign to make this a reality, and praise should go to FIBA and the Sikh community — they both helped ensure that Sikhs can compete just like anyone else,” they said.

“Sports can uplift communities and individuals by being a source of pride, collaboration, and friendly competition. This decision will help expand benefits to those who deserve a fair chance at competition,” Crowley and Bera said in their statement.

The ruling allowing turbans, yarmulkes, and hijabs in international basketball competitions comes after several years of interfaith advocacy with Jewish, Muslim, and other groups.

Both the lawmakers had been pushing FIBA to do so for the past few years.

The new decisions would come into effect after October 2017.

“There is zero conflict between my faith and my ability to play basketball,” said Darsh Preet Singh, the first turbaned Sikh basketball player in the NCAA.

“I am thrilled about FIBAs decision which will allow athletes across the world to pursue their dreams without compromising their faith,” he said.

The new policy lifts would benefit the players from Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and other religious groups.

“FIBA is sending a very clear message to the rest of the world that diversity and tolerance matter in sport,” said Sikh Coalition senior religion fellow Simran Jeet Singh.

“If implemented appropriately, ending this discriminatory policy opens the door to millions of young people to practice their faith and pursue their dreams. Nobody should ever be forced to choose between their sport and faith,” Singh said.

In a separate statement, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) commended the FIBA for taking the decision to end the ban.

“Basketball players can finally play freely with their respective articles of faith, without process or paperwork, and beyond their home countries,” said Zoya Singh, communications coordinator at SALDEF.

“We hope this ruling sends a strong message to other sports bodies that being an observant religious person and an athlete are not mutually exclusive,” he said.

Sikh PA share this article as another example of continued concern about how Indian mainstream media portrays Sikhs.

Mumbai: Actor-singer Gippy Grewal, who features in latest Punjabi release Manje Bistre and will soon be seen in upcoming Bollywood film Lucknow Central, says characters of Sikh community are mostly projected as silly and comical, which is a misrepresentation.

Gippy plays a ‘sardar’ in his Farhan Akhtar-starrer Lucknow Central.

He said: “I think ‘sardarji’ characters are misrepresented in Bollywood films many times. People make fun of sardar characters… There are so many jokes on them. I think that is happening because of lack of insight and knowledge about our community, our culture and contribution to our country.”

“For instance, in ‘Lucknow Central’, there are sequences where I suggested to do a scene in a certain way to build an emotional connection with Punjabi audience. We did that. I think just putting a turban on head and changing the language from Hindi to Punjabi does not make a one a Punjabi. Punjabi da dil hona chaida (you need the heart of a Punjabi),” Gippy added.

Born in Ludhiana, Gippy learnt folk music and grew up listening to various Punjabi singers including Kuldeep Manak and watched yesteryear superstar Dharmendra’s film. His singing talent was noticed with the song Phulkari, and he has also featured in movies like Mirza: The Untold Story and Jatt James Bond.

“Since Dharam-paji is from our village (Ludhiana), I remember in my childhood, how we would go to watch his movies with families and neighbours riding our cars, just to support his films at the first place. Of course, he is a great actor. but he is our star, he is from our village. It was same emotion with Sunny Deol, his son. We Punjabis are emotional people,” Gippy said.
Via – http://www.news18.com/news/movies/sikh-characters-are-misrepresented-in-bollywood-films-says-gippy-grewal-1390215.html

See a video on this story below!

Today world renowned Sikh artist Inkquisitive reveals a giant portrait of a Sikh turban in Oslo, as part of the city’s celebrations of Vaisakhi.

The artist from London was given the opportunity to share his work in order to showcase the diversity of the city whilst they host a “Turban Day” event.

“I am proud and honoured to be part of Turban Day. It is a celebration of diversity within the city and when they asked me to be part of this I didn’t think twice. The piece will represent what our faith is about, which is respecting the values of equality and embracing each other. The turban is a symbolism of equality. It is a crown.”

The finished piece will be available to view at any of the following links;

Inkquisitive on Instagram
Inkquisitive’s official Facebook
The official Turban Day facebook page

Note – the featured image is of a separate protest by Sikhs in regards to recognition of the genocide of 1984.

The Government of Ontario province in Canada on Friday passed a motion in the Legislative Assembly to officially recognise the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as “Sikh genocide”.

The motion was brought forward by Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly Harinder Kaur Malhi (Brampton-Springdale), which received support from all three provincial parties.In advance of the successful vote, the motion read aloud stated, “That, in the opinion of this House, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, should reaffirm our commitment to the values we cherish–justice, human rights and fairness–and condemn all forms of communal violence, hatred, hostility, prejudice, racism and intolerance in India and anywhere else in the world, including the 1984 genocide perpetrated against the Sikhs throughout India, and call on all sides to embrace truth and reconciliation.”According to Jatinder Singh Grewal, the Director of International Policy for Sikhs for Justice, an official recognition of genocide offers great comfort to Sikhs who call Ontario home. It remains, however, the first step towards broader recognition and healing. “All Sikhs applaud Ontario today and give thanks to Premier Kathleen Wynne and Liberal MP Harinder Malhi for hearing us, appreciating the evidence that exists and officially recognizing that the murder of tens of thousands of Sikhs was an attempt at genocide. We will continue to press upon other governments here in Canada and globally to stand with us in Ontario on the side of justice.”

See a video of NDP MP Jagmeet Singh give a speech about the motion here, via Sikh Siyasat.

India took strong exception to the motion from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that called the 1984 anti-Sikh riots ‘’genocide’’, adding that it had conveyed its views on the issue to the political leadership of Canada.

‘’We reject this misguided motion which is based on a limited understanding of India, its Constitution, society, ethos, rule of law and the judicial process,’’ External Affairs Minister Gopal Baglay said when his reaction was sought on the passage of the motion.

New Delhi, it is learnt, is quite unhappy since the motion was moved by a Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) belonging to the ruling Liberal Party of Ontario, which had moved a similar motion last summer. The Ontario Assembly, thus, became the first legislature in Canada to carry a motion that described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as “genocide”.

Sikh political organisation Dal Khalsa UK have spoken out against a racist attack against African students in India and called for India’s Sikhs to help protect “African brothers and sisters”.

The attack which took place last week in the town of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, saw a mob of Indians set upon two students for no apparent reason. The students were hospitalised with stab-wounds and various other injuries after the brutal attack in a shopping mall. The attack is just one of many reported since India’s African community has significantly grown over the last few years.

You can see a video of the attack here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCbRddO-yxw.

An online statement about the incident by Dal Khalsa reads:

“Over the last few years there has been a marked increase in attacks against African students in India. We have seen African Students beaten, robbed, tortured and even murdered by mobs in full view of the authorities. The public do not make any attempt to stop the brutal attacks.

“The mob in Noida that attacked the African students did so for no apparent reason. These Mad dogs of Indian nationalism are fanatics that hate everybody that is not aligned with their theology. Africans are just an easy target. They have a small population in India. They have no representation. And they are an ethnicity which is easily distinguishable as different. They have been described as rakshasa (demons) by nationalist groups.

“There is a colour hierarchy in India which mimics the Hindu caste-system, and dark skinned people are at the bottom of this. The founding father of the Indian state Mahatma Gandhi has been documented about his own bigoted views of Africans, so it is no wonder the children of Gandhi are behaving in such a way.”

The head of Africans Mission called the attacks “Xenophobic” and also claimed the Indian government have done nothing to deter such attacks. The African Students’ Association of India last week requested students to stay indoors and not attend lectures as tensions against Africans reached a peak, with President Samuel Jack making a public statement on the level of abuse Africans suffer in India. The victim of the mall attack in Noida Endurance Amalawa also spoke about the mall’s security doing nothing to prevent the attack, whilst no bystanders tried to stop the incident either.

Gurcharan Singh said of the issue, “Indian law, media and politics not only covers this fanaticism up, but actually aids and abets it. This attack in Noida shows the current reality of India. India is a country with a huge issue of racism, despite being predominantly occupied by dark skinned people. The problem won’t change as long as India is run by fanatics as it currently is.”