Via Dawinderpal Singh

There was controversy in India this past weekend on Twitter as “Akal Takht” trended on Twitter in India for hours on Saturday, May 7 2016 largely because of prominent Indian Congress Party supporters, including lawyers, journalists and authors promoting anti-Sikh sentiment in the country.

The Congress supporters took to social media to defame and insult the Akal Takht, the primary seat of Sikh religious authority. Tweets were made these high profile political figures claiming that the Akal Takht is “made of terrorist apologists”. Sikhs across the world were left outraged and also concerned about how the incidents which led to the 1984 Sikh genocide are viewed, especially by those in influential positions in India.

It was also claimed that Operation Blue Star, the callous attack on Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) which was perpetrated by the Indian government in 1984 and prompted the genocide of thousands of innocent Sikhs across India, was “justified” and “ended terrorism”.

The tirade of abuse began in response to a tweet by journalist Hartosh Singh Bal, suggesting Rahul Gandhi should present himself before Akal Takht and apologise for the 1984 Sikh genocide.

Bal’s tweet prompted responses (which can be seen in the video below) from Congress supporters of note, including lawyers in India’s Supreme Court,  journalists and those that work with the Party’s social media team. These personalities are of high profile in Indian politics and have represented the Congress Party in debates on Indian news channels such as NDTV and Times Now.

One concerned Sikh in India who wishes to remain anonymous stated, “Though abuses by trolls on social media are common and BJP, RSS trolls have also done it. But I thought of sharing this because these people are NOT usual trolls,” she said. “They are Supreme court lawyers, authors, activists who claim to speak against communalism, claim to stand for minorities and pluralism, preach tolerance daily but in case of Sikhs they do not hesitate even for a second to spit venom against entire community.”

To see the kind of tweets that were sent out check this video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGjhqBhQaK4&feature=youtu.be

There’s a major shift in dress and grooming policies in place for those wishing to enter the military, but not compromise their faith.

The decision means big things in Sutter County, which is home to a large Sikh community. They say they are proud of their religion, proud to be an American and honored to serve.

“We are forever grateful for being accepted for who we are and what we believe,” said Karm Bains.

He’s a fourth-generation farmer and developer in Sutter County and is pleased to hear a few of his fellow Sikhs won’t have to compromise on faith or patriotism.

“One thing is we are all proud to be Americans,” he said.

For generations, military men have been required to be clean-shaven with short, cropped hair. Recently, three army enlistees and a U.S. Army captain won the right to wear beards and turbans for religious reasons.

Bains says for those in the Sikh community, the beard and turban are foundations of faith. He’s grateful to hear the government recognizes that.

“For the military to accept us in the way we look or allow us to practice our religion or keep our articles or our faith while serving this great nation is true honor and privilege,” he said.

He’s now challenging Sikh youth to take advantage of the open door.

“It’s with great pride and honor to see fellow Sikhs serving our great country,” he said.

See video here – http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/05/10/army-dress-grooming-changes-open-door-to-sikh-community/

Dozens of Sikh protesters crammed the sidewalk in front of the Clovis Memorial Auditorium Tuesday night to speak out against a member of the Punjabi government.

These protesters say the Punjabi government won’t recognize the genocide of thousands of Sikh people back in 1984. And a man they claim is associated with the Punjabi government at the time of the genocide is now in the United States trying to raise money for his political party.

Captain Amrinder Singh is running for governor of the state of Punjab and has traveled from Chicago to California to raise money for his campaign.

Singh is expected to attend another fundraiser in Fresno Wednesday.

VIA – http://abc30.com/society/sikh-protesters-filled-a-sidewalk-in-clovis-to-speak-out-against-member-of-punjabi-government/1322521/

US President Barack Obama insisted on Saturday that it was not his administration’s policy to target people based on their looks at airports, but said keeping people safe and preventing terrorism was one of his “biggest challenges”.

Responding to questions from a young Sikh at a town hall-type meeting in Westminster on the second day of his three-day visit to London, Obama said he had taken an “adamant stand” on not racially profiling people at US airports.

Asked why he had not taken a firm stand following reports of Sikhs being targeted as Muslims or being racially profiled at US airports, Obama said terrorism in pluralistic societies like the US and Britain would continue to be a challenge, but one that would be overcome.

He said: “I have taken an adamant stand on not racial profiling at airports. It is explicit TSA (Transportation Security Administration) policy not to racially profile”.

“Does that mean that out of hundreds of airports and thousands of TSA officials that there has not been times where a Sikh is going through the airport and somebody targets them for secondary screening because of what they look like? Of course that’s happened.”

“But that’s not my administration’s policy. But it does raise a broader issue, that in pluralistic societies like the United States, like the UK, in diverse societies, one of our biggest challenges is how we are going to approach keeping people safe and preventing terrorist acts”, Obama added.

On Sikhs being targeted after being misunderstood as Muslims, he said: “There was a time when here in the UK terrorism was emanating from the IRA (Irish Republican Army). So this is not uniquely a Muslim problem. What is also true is today there are tiny subset of groups that have perverted Islam and justify killing innocent people”.

“And how we do that (face the challenge) in a way that is consistent with our values, pluralism and respect for religion, is vitally important. This is going to be a challenging issue for some time to come but I am confident that it is an issue that we can succeed at”, he said.

Via – www.hindustantimes.com/world/obama-says-he-is-adamant-against-racially-profiling-sikhs/story-2U24S93DMxsx8UBLCDDEBI.html

Pakistani Taliban gunmen shot dead a prominent Sikh figure and opposition party worker on Friday, authorities and the militants said, in the latest attack on a religious minority in the majority-Muslim nation.

Soran Singh was a leading figure in Pakistan’s tiny Sikh community and an adviser to a provincial chief minister, representing cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party.

Singh was attacked by gunmen in his native village in the Buner valley in northwest Pakistan, local police officer Shaukat Khan said.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said the Taliban carried out the killing, and would continue attacks until their version of strict Islamic law was established in Pakistan.

The PTI said Islam’s laws and the Pakistani constitution provided for the protection of religious minorities.

“The brutal killing of Soran Singh is extremely saddening,” Khan said in a statement, describing Singh as a patriotic Pakistani and loyal party worker.

Sikhs make up less than 1 percent of Pakistan’s 190 million people. Many see Pakistan as the place where their religion began.

VIA – http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/04/23/prominent-figure-in-pakistans-sikh-minority-killed-by-taliban-gunmen/