Sikhs India - A wake up call for the sikh community

Sd. Bhupinder singh Kohli - few pics

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:51:00 +0000

These are the pics from the routine but busy life of Sd. Bhupinder singh ji Kohli, who has become a well known face in Mumbai areas. We must support him in his humanitarian efforts.

With best wishes

SikhsIndia

www.sohnijodi.com

www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

www.groups.yahoo.com/group/sikhsindia

Sd. Bhupinder singh ji Kohli - in the service of mankind : view press articles

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:50:00 +0000

Please view Press Articles related to Sd. Bhupinder singh Kohli ji, in the service of mankind. A detailed report on him alongwith pics can be viewed at :

http://www.sohnijodi.com/Sikh%20Personalities.htm

Sd. Bhupinder singh Kohli - in the service of mankind

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Please view Press Articles related to Sd. Bhupinder singh Kohli ji, in the service of mankind. A detailed report on him alongwith pics can be viewed at : http://www.sohnijodi.com/Sikh%20Personalities.htm

A fast upcoming Sikh web portal

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:04:00 +0000

www.sohnijodi.com is a fast upcoming Sikh web portal with almost 10,000 monthly visitors & with over 1,00,000 monthly hits. The team of sohnijodi thanks all of it's most valued visitors with a promise that you will get a lot new and a lot more on this web portal in the coming days.

with best regards

Team
www.sohnijodi.com

CM advisor leads Mohali in prayers at Amb Sahib

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:27:00 +0000

TNN 9 November 2009, 01:16am IST

MOHALI: The Congress government at the Centre deliberately ignored the recommendations of the Nanavati Commission on action against those
Congress leaders who were directly involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. This was alleged by Daljit Singh Cheema, an advisor to Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Addressing a religious gathering at Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali on Sunday held to collectively pray for seeking justice for the families of the victims of the anti-Sikh riots and for peace of souls of the victims, he said that Nanavati Commission had indicted several Congress leaders for their direct involvement in the anti-Sikh riots which was most heinous crime of the world directed towards the Sikh community.

He alleged that the Centre government led by Congress not only ignored the report of the commission but the Congress also tried to reward these leaders by fielding them in elections. He said that it was most unfortunate that today when entire world was observing ‘ardas divas,’ no Congress leader had come forward for participating in this human cause which indicated that Congress leaders were in agreement for riots against the Sikh community at that time.

Cheema said that SAD has now committed itself to take this long legal battle of last 25 years to its logical conclusion and would ensure punishment for the culprits of this anti-Sikh riots. He said that party would provide all help to the members of the victims of the anti-Sikh riots to ensure that justice is done to these families.

Among others who spoke on the occasion included Kuldeep Kaur Kang, president of women wing SAD (Mohali), Amrik Singh Mohali, Kashmir Kaur besides other leaders of SAD, BJP and other communities.

with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/CM-advisor-leads-Mohali-in-prayers-at-Amb-Sahib/articleshow/5210036.cms

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

A shocking mail from Delhi

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:06:00 +0000

A mail from Delhi about Conversion of Sikhs
--------------------------------------------
We tried to contact the sender of the mail through the mail ID given, but it
bounced. May we request to the sender that if he has any information on this
issue, he should mail us his Tel number & address. Our team members will be
there to help & support him in every possible manner.

SikhsIndia

SGPC bows to Brahman Sabha on booklet

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 29 : The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) today decided to remove objectionable references to Bhagwan Parshuram in booklet “Kesh Saada Gaurav” published by the Dharam Parchar Committee.

This was decided following objections to it by the Punjab Sri Brahman Sabha, which also met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on the issue here.

Secretary Behari Lal Saddi said the Chief Minister after listening to the sabha rang up SGPC president Avtar Singh telling him to withdraw the booklet and blacklist the author who wrote it . The sabha, appreciating positive gesture of the Chief Minister said the SGPC should ensure such derogatry references to other communities did not appear in literature published by the Dharam Parchar Committee.

The SGPC president said he had decided to delete the objectionable references during reprinting the booklet, which was scheduled soon.

with thanks : source : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090930/punjab.htm#9

contributed to us by jaswinder singh ji.

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Shoe-throwing scribe honoured by Sikhs in Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:07:00 +0000

Jarnail Singh, the Sikh journalist who hurled his shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference to protest the injustice meted out to the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has been conferred an award by the community in Canada.

Set to release his book I Accused... on the anti-Sikh riots, Singh has been making appearances in various gatherings after being asked to resign from Dainik Jagran, the Hindi daily he worked for.

Recently, he was in Canada where he was awarded the "Lion of Delhi" award at the Spinning Wheels film festival, where films related to Sikhs are screened.

"I have been called to lots of gatherings. I led a candlelight vigil at Vancouver, on the 25th anniversary of the anti-Sikh riots. I have been speaking to many people across the country, in Indore, Ludhiana, Saharanpur and Delhi to boost the quest for justice for the victims," Singh told IANS.

Categorically denying an intention to join any political party, Singh maintains that his aim was to shame the perpetrators of the 1984 pogrom.

"My book will shame those culprits. Politically they have been punished for their crimes but there should not be any let up in the cases against them. If moral pressure increases, the cases may be taken to their logical conclusion.

"My aim is to create a positive environment for the trials. If media covers the issue, the witnesses may come forward to speak, they may get protection," Singh said.

He said the past few months have been painful, without any livelihood, and he has been going to meet the victims and witnesses of the 1984 carnage.

He says that his action of throwing a shoe at Chidambaram was wrong, but the issue was important.

Dissatisfied with Chidambaram's response over the Central Bureau of Investigation's clean chit to Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, Singh had hurled a shoe at the minister during a press conference here on April 7, 2009.

Immediately after the incident, Singh told IANS: "I just wanted to ask (Chidambaram) how he can be happy when one whole community is in deep anguish... I do not think it (what I did) is the right way but the issue (1984 Sikh riots) is right."

The incident sparked widespread protests by the Sikh community against Congress, costing Tytler and Kumar their election tickets. While Chidambaram refused to file a case against Singh, Dainik Jagran asked him to resign.

with thanks : source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/Shoe-throwing-scribe-honoured-by-Sikhs-in-Canada/H1-Article1-473382.aspx

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Prayers held for justice in anti-Sikh riot cases

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Chandigarh, Nov 8 (PTI) Special prayers were held at a Gurudwara in Patiala for speedy delivery of justice to victims of 1984 anti-Sikhs riots.

After prayers at Gurudwara Sri Dukhniwaran Sahib, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "It was a matter of shame for world's biggest democracy that even after 25 years, the families of victims were not granted justice".

Later, he told reporters that Congress had not expressed regret for "inciting mob" to kill thousands of innocent Sikhs and accused CBI of scuttling the legal procedure. The agency was acting at the instance of its "political masters", he alleged.

He appealed to the Centre to re-open each case and investigate "honestly" to ensure justice to victims and survivors of the riots.

with thanks : source : http://www.ptinews.com/news/367611_Prayers-held-for-justice-in-anti-Sikh-riot-cases

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Sikh news direct to your mail box

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Do you wish to get Sikh news direct to your mail box as & when it occurs with detailed reports, pics, vids & a lot more. No spams. Please subscribe SikhsIndia News RSS Feeds. Please follow the link below :

Please Flag this vid as inappropriate

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:33:00 +0000

Please Flag this vid as inappropriate :

==============================
1.
Please view the Video in the youtube link shown below, which itself is shocking.
Link : youtube.com/watch?v=FH-r_Qu3gco

2.
Please read the titles inscribed on the vid and on that page. Everything is so shocking and provocative, spreading hatred towards Sikhs & the Sacred Golden Temple.

3.
PLEASE FLAG THIS VID AS INAPPROPRIATE.

4.
Please confirm you have flagged, by clicking comments section below.

SikhsIndia
with best regards & respect to every religion & faith of the world.
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Please mail YOUTUBE to REMOVE this Video immediately

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:08:00 +0000

Sorry, it's a shocking vid & we don't want to upload it here. The link of the vid on youtube is given below. We must mail youtube to remove this video immediately. Please FLAG the vid as inappropriate.

Link : youtube.com/watch?v=FH-r_Qu3gco

with best regards & respect to every religion & faith of the world.

SikhsIndia

www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com/

Sikh pilgrim dies in Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:16:00 +0000

JAGMOHAN SINGH
Thursday, 05 November 2009
ATTARI(AMRITSAR): The body of Sikh pilgrim Gurmukh Singh (68) has been handed over to Indian authorities by Pakistan Government through the land transit route of international Indo-Pak Attari border here on Wednesday.

According to the official at Attari, Gurmukh Singh last evening suffered severe heart attack at Lahore in Pakistan and soon after he was declared dead by the Pakistani doctors.

Gurmukh had gone to Pakistan with his nephew Davinder Singh who along with body of Gurmukh arrived India today after the beating Retreat Ceremony during sunset.

It is pertinent to mention here that Gurmukh was one of the pilgrims in the group of 1500 Sikh devotees who went to Pakistan on October 31 through Samjhauta Express train from the international Attari Railway Station to observe the Birth Anniversary of founder of Sikh religion Guru Nanak Dev at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on November 2.
Gurmukh was the resident of village Hardo Rattan of Amritsar district.

with thanks : source : http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/20467/38/

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Demonstration over 'conversion' of Sikh girl in J-K

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:13:00 +0000

Jammu, Nov 4 (PTI) Activists of various political outfits today held a demonstration here protesting against the alleged kidnapping and conversion of a Sikh girl to Islam in Srinagar.

The activists of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP, National Sikh Youth Front, Shiv Sena, Dogra Liberation Front and RSS demonstrated in front of Press Club here, official sources said.

Alleging that the Sikh girl was kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam, the protesters raised slogans against the government and police, and demanded that she should be returned to her parents.

The 20-year-old Sikh girl, a physiotherapist, allegedly married a Muslim youth who is a driver in Srinagar, on October 9, and reportedly changed her religion.

President of SAD-Badal S Mohinder Singh denied the reports that the girl had eloped with the Muslim youth.

with thanks : source : http://www.ptinews.com/news/361628_Demonstration-over--conversion--of-Sikh-girl-in-J-K

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

25 injured in clashes between Sikh and Jat community

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:09:00 +0000

Bijnor, Nov 5 (PTI) At least 25 people were injured when members of two communities clashed with each other over the issue of taking out a religious procession at Khaspura village in the district, police said.

The violence broke out yesterday when a group of Sikhs were obstructed from carrying out a procession by members of Jat community, who placing a bullock cart in the way.

The Jats were protesting against non-paving of the dilapidated roads in their areas by Sikhs, they said.

Enraged at this the Sikh community members allegedly took out their weapons and rushed at the members of the Jat community who hurled stones at the procession, police said.

The Sikhs set on fire about a dozen houses, some vehicles the village, they said adding, about 25 people from both the sides were injured and hospitalised.

with thanks : source : http://www.ptinews.com/news/362825_25-injured-in-clashes-between-Sikh-and-Jat-community

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Punish those involved in 1984 Sikh riots: Human Rights Watch to Indian govt

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:06:00 +0000

Punish those involved in 1984 Sikh riots: Human Rights Watch to Indian govt
PTI 3 November 2009, 09:23am IST

NEW YORK: An international human rights group has asked the Indian government to prosecute those involved in 1984 Sikh riots, following the
assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

"The victims of the 1984 massacres have waited for the law to take its course and, sadly, they are still waiting. The Government should prosecute those involved in the riots," Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said.

"Both the militants and the security forces committed horrific crimes, justifying them by pointing to the abuses of the other, and yet those who suffered most were ordinary civilians," she added.

Two decades after the incident, victims and their families seeking justice "have been confronted by government opposition and obfuscation, including prolonged trials, biased prosecutors, an unresponsive judiciary, police intimidation, and harassment of witnesses," a HRW statement noted.

It further alleged that no senior government officials or politicians have been prosecuted despite evidences of their role in the atrocities.

Numerous commissions of inquiry, each with the promise of justice, have produced no tangible results, it added.

Widespread killing of Sikhs by violent mobs were triggered after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Punish-those-involved-in-1984-Sikh-riots-Human-Rights-Watch-to-Indian-govt/articleshow/5191436.cms

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Tens of thousands of Sikhs attend community parade in Yuba City

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:24:00 +0000

By Ravinder Singh Robin

Yuba City (United States), Nov. 2(ANI): Tens of thousands of people from different parts of the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, and India attended the 30th Annual Sikh Parade here on Sunday.

The nearly five mile religious procession was taken out to mark the tercentenary celebrations of Guruship of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhs, in Yuba City, about 125 miles from San Francisco Bay Area.

Over the last three decades, this parade has grown from a local community event to an international one. Initially, it commenced with a few hundreds of people and the parade today aims to aware people about Sikhism, their culture and customs.

Each year Sikhs travel to Yuba City from different parts of the world to partake in one of the largest devotional celebrations in the Western Hemisphere. It is estimated to generate 20 to 30 million dollars for the local economy.

Amid chants of ‘Satnam Waheguru’ and religious sloganeering of ‘Jo Bole so Nihal’ the Punj Pyaras or, the five Sikh clergies led the parade, carrying the Sri Nishan Sahib, the religious flag of Sikhism.

Also, there were flags of California State in the parade.

As the procession started off from the Sikh Temple of Yuba City, a helicopter hovering above the ceremonial parade showered a rain of flowers from high above the procession.

Thousands of Sikhs walked alongside hundreds of floats. Along the parade route, Sikh families who set up temporary stalls distributed free drinks, snacks and cooked meal for the visitors along the parade route.

Sikhs have been a part of the American landscape for over 130 years. And, the Yuba City area, which has some of the best agricultural land, is known for the largest Sikh population of farm owners.

Tajinder Singh Dosanjh, a senior member of the local committee, said that the annual parade helps people to meet each other and witness a large religious gathering and offers a platform to the Sikhs to discuss their issues.

Besides it being a religious function, the local people here opine that the procession also demonstrates their political and economic strength along with the unity among the Sikhs.

John Gill, a senior Sikh leader of Yuba city, said that by doing such events the community would move ahead to create awareness in the USA about Sikhs so there would no more hate crime against Sikhs due to mistaken identity.

Many U.S Congressmen and representatives of the Governor’s office attended the parade besides the Sikh devotees.

Wally Herger, member, Congress, on this occasion said that after 9/11 we have been facing a lot of challenges and it is important that we should not mix up out friends (Sikhs) with the radical groups of Islam.

We need continued efforts to make sure that American public is made aware about the Sikh community.

Nearly 40 floats decorated as per traditional themes, which reflected the vibrant nature of the Sikh Culture, Sikhism and of the Sikh way of life, were also one of the major attractions during the parade. (ANI)

with thanks : source : http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/67010.htm

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

They eat, love and pray on Guru Nanak's birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:22:00 +0000

BANGALORE: Guru Nanak's birth anniversary marks the biggest celebrations of Gurupurab for Sikhs across the world. For devotees in Bangalore, Shri
Guru Singh Sabha (gurudwara) on Kensingston Road came alive on Monday with Sikhs offering prayers and meeting community members on this occasion.

The scores of devotees who thronged the gurdwara also included people from other communities. Guru Sabha is one of the biggest shrines in the state. For the last 15 days, early morning prayers were being offered with bhajans and free food -- langar khana -- apart from regular prayers on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Men in bright-coloured pagdis and women decked up like brides poured in throughout the day. For children and students from North India, this was a fun day and a welcome break from books, while the elderly listened to the chantings from the holy Guru Granth Sahib and bhajans sung by musicians from Amritsar. There were several such chanting sessions during the day in addition to lectures on moral behaviour, interspersed with kirtans.

Some devotees also offered shawls for the holy grave and engaged in community service. Holy books, posters of Guru Nanak, kara (swords) and kangra (bangles) were also sold outside the gurudwara.

Langar khana is a tradition where devotees are offered free food. The special delights this year were maa chole ka daal, kheer and halwa, which drew crowds from people across communities. The gurudwara offers this food for free to a good number of poor people.

The evenings were spent at community gatherings, and members had delicious meals at Punjabi restaurants across the city.

with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/They-eat-love-and-pray-on-Guru-Nanaks-birthday/articleshow/5190706.cms

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/sikhsindia

Sikhs pay obeisance at Golden Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:19:00 +0000

Several Sikhs on Monday paid obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum of Harmandhar Sahib, popularly known as Golden Temple, in Amritsar on the occasion of birth anniversary of founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev.

Devotees queued up to pay obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple since morning and at Akal Takht (Highest Sikh Temporal Seat).

Before paying obeisance in the Golden Temple, the devotees took holy dip in the sacred tank of Temple at the marbled periphery with the belief that that holy dip would wash away their all-bad deeds of previous births.

According to the management of Golden Temple, a sum of Rs 1.5 crore has been counted in Amritsar on Monday, which was offered by the Sikh devotees while paying obeisance.

Special arrangements to facilitate the devotees were made by the management of the Golden Temple. Langar Community Kitchen) was cooked for nearly four lakhs devotees.

Heavy task force of Shiromani Gurdwara Pharbandhak Committee (SGPC) was deployed in the periphery of the Golden Temple to provide sense of security in the minds of the visiting devotees.

with thanks : source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/punjab/Sikhs-pay-obeisance-at-Golden-Temple/Article1-471941.aspx

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Nanak naam jahaz hai, charhe so utre paar

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Nanak naam jahaz hai, charhe so utre paar,
Jo sharda kar sevde,gur paar utaran haar.

Aap ji nu, te aap de parivar nu Gurupurab
diyan, lakh lakh vadhaiyan hon ji.

Aap ji da
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Golden Temple vid by SikhsIndia

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

SikhsIndia

Golden Temple night view by SikhsIndia

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:11:00 +0000

SikhsIndia www.sohnijodi.com www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Manmohan a balm, but anger still lingers in Sikhs

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:53:00 +0000

Anita Joshua

Twenty five years ago today, the streets of the capital were ablaze as well-armed mobs, with the evident backing of the police and ruling Congress party, exacted a bloody revenge on Delhi’s Sikh community for the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two of her bodyguards.

By the time the powers-that-be decided to restore order, some 4,000 innocent men, women and children had been hunted down and killed.

Two-and-a-half decades later, the system has been relatively generous in handing out cash as compensation for the victims’ families. But of the redemptive currency closest to the hearts of the country’s proud Sikh community -- justice -- there has been precious little.

While the rest of the country has moved on to newer tribulations and tragedies, the absence of justice for the victims of November 1984 has been like a raw wound for most Sikhs.

Unable to have closure the proper way, many in the community have grudgingly seen in the Congress party’s decision to pick Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister a symbolic making of amends. “As a signalling device, it was a useful one for the Congress to have Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister; whatever be the circumstances of his elevation to that office,” said editor of Seminar, Tejbir Singh.

“Somewhere, the fact that a Sikh has become Prime Minister a far-fetched possibility given that the community accounts for only 1.9 per cent of the country’s population -- indicates that there is no underlying community discrimination.”

More so now than in 2004. That the Congress decided to project Dr. Singh as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections is seen as an affirmation of confidence in his leadership.

“It has been like a balm on the community,” admits H.S. Phoolka, the lawyer who has been pursuing the carnage cases in court. At the same time, he points to the selective amnesia in the Congress on the issue of the party’s complicity in the Sikh carnage.

“The Congress wants us to forget it; view it as an aberration. When they made Manmohan Singh Prime Minister, they stepped up this rhetoric; saying, ‘forget it now at least we have apologised and now made your man the Prime Minister. Our answer has been that the apology came 21 years late and under the Indian legal system an apology is not a substitute for punishment for murder. We want justice.”

Ever in denial mode, the Congress insists the Sikhs have moved on since 1984 and made peace with the party; having elected it to power in Punjab in between. “We are sensitive to the sentiments of Sikhs which is why we dropped Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler when there were protests from within the community against their candidature for the Lok Sabha elections,” is the Congress refrain.

However, for Tejbir Singh, these protests particularly, the incident involving journalist Jarnail Singh throwing a shoe at Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram are evidence that the issue is easy to rekindle.

with thanks : source : http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article41569.ece

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

Anti-Sikh riots: Court allows examination of Tytler CD

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:50:00 +0000

By IANS
October 31st, 2009

NEW DELHI - A city court Saturday allowed the counsel of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims to examine the CD in which Congress leader Jagdish Tytler has been shown standing next to the body of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit asked the counsel for the victims’ association to examine the eight CDs in the court Nov 16.

Said H.S. Phulka, counsel of the victim’s association: “The day and the time was not mentioned in all the CDs.”

The persons who were seen in the CD like R.K. Dhawan (Indira Gandhi’s secretary), Amitabh Bachchan (Bollywood star and close friend of the family) and some other senior political leaders were not examined by the investigation officer in the case. The entire CD looks fishy, Phulka told IANS.

In the morning, the 18-minute CD was shown in the chamber of the judge in the presence of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, Phulka and his team of lawyers.

The court has now fixed the next hearing for further arguments Dec 1.

The CBI had, in the last hearing, said the witnesses, who deposed about the alleged role of Tytler in the anti-Sikh riots, were “not reliable”.

But recently another witness Jasbir Singh had said that Tytler, along with others, was involved in the attack at Gurdwara Pul Bangash in north Delhi and killed Thakur Singh and Badal Singh.

The probe agency will Saturday continue its argument on the version given by Jasbir Singh.

The CBI had last month during the hearing also placed before the court audiovisual evidence showing that Tytler was near the body of assassinated prime minister Indira Gandhi at the time the murders of Thakur Singh and Badal Singh are alleged to have taken place.

Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots in various cities following the assassination of Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.

with thanks : source : http://blog.taragana.com/law/2009/10/31/anti-sikh-riots-court-allows-examination-of-tytler-cd-15719/

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com

25 years after Indira Gandhi's assassination

noreply@blogger.com (Sikhs India) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:25:00 +0000

IANS 31 October 2009, 10:00am IST

NEW DELHI: Indians on Saturday flocked to Shakti Sthal to pay homage to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 25th death anniversary.

Known as 'Iron Lady', she ruled the country for 15 years in two stints before being assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the slain leader's daughter-in-law, were amongst the first to pay tribute at her memorial on the banks of the Yamuna river.

An all-religion prayer was also organised on the occasion.

The assassination on October 31, 1984 triggered massive anti-Sikh riots in which 3,000 people were killed in three days in the national capital.

It was a moment in time; it shook India and stunned the world. As Prime Minister Indira Gandhi walked briskly up to the picket gate dividing her home from her office that fateful on Wednesday morning 25 years ago, a hail of gunfire from two of her Sikh bodyguards sent her crumpling to the ground in a blood-soaked heap.

Her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi, still in her nightdress, ran out to the garden as R.K. Dhawan, Gandhi's additional private secretary and shadow of many years, scrambled to help the 66-year-old leader.

But 31 bullets fired into a frail body gave her little chance. Although she was packed off in an Ambassador car in Sonia Gandhi's lap to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), doctors at the operating theatre knew it was a battle they could not win.

Although a police officer who wheeled her in said she was already dead, officially her death was announced several hours later as the Indian establishment tried to come to terms with losing the woman who had ruled for 15 years in two stints, two years less than her father and first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's unbroken 17 years.

Gandhi had been on her way to give an interview to British playwright and actor Peter Ustinov, who was waiting with his crew in the garden of neighbouring 1, Akbar Road, for the appointed time of 9.30 a.m. The silence of the morning was broken by the death rattle of bullets that sent flocks of birds scurrying into the sky, its echoes reverberating in Delhi's leafy and tranquil Lutyens' Zone and elsewhere in the days following that Oct 31, 1984.

Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, the two bodyguards, surrendered after emptying their magazines into her. The two were taken away to the guardhouse, where Beant was shot dead by other guards when he tried to escape. Satwant Singh was hanged to death five years later in 1989.

Her death - in apparent reprisal for the Indian Army's assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984 to confront heavily armed Sikh extremists - left a political vacuum in the capital. Elder son Rajiv Gandhi, her presumptive successor, was away in Kolkata. So was Pranab Mukherjee, No. 2 man in the cabinet even then. President Zail Singh was away on a visit to Yemen. They all tried to rush back to the capital to deal with a situation for which no one was prepared.

Rajiv Gandhi was persuaded, first by cousin and political aide Arun Nehru and then by Zail Singh, to step into the void and was sworn in as India's prime minister that evening. But by that time violence had already broken around AIIMS and there were reports of Sikhs being targeted in retaliation as extremist Sikh groups abroad hailed her killing.

Gandhi's body was brought in a gun carriage through deserted roads on the morning of Nov 1 to her father's sprawling Teen Murti Road residence and site of the Nehru Museum. Long queues of supporters and opponents filed past her body, while the world mourned the passing of a leader who was equally revered as she was despised.

Riots had erupted in several parts of the city overnight as organised mobs, alleged to be led by Congress party leaders, picked out Sikhs, assaulted them, snipped their locks, vandalised their property, torched their homes and began an orgy of lynching the like of which had not been witnessed since the division of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947.

For the next three days, as the country mourned, Delhi burned with the anti-Sikh violence spreading to Kanpur, Meerut and Ramgarh, where the Sikh Regimental Centre was based.

Working class neighbourhoods like Trilokpuri, Tilak Nagar, Seemapuri, that were exemplars of close-knit community living, overnight became monuments to hatred. Entire Sikh neighbourhoods went up in flames, their male members dragged out and burnt alive as vendetta-hungry mobs cheered. Even Sikh homes in affluent south Delhi were targeted and their homes razed. Some were even dragged out of buses and trains as they tried to flee the city.

The madness went unchecked for three days before a shell-shocked and paralysed administration called in the army on the evening of Nov 3. By that time, at least 3,000 Sikhs had been killed, thousands injured and brutalised and a community's collective psyche left so badly scarred that it has not healed even after a generation.

A few days later Rajiv Gandhi, at a massive memorial rally for his slain mother at India Gate, sought to extenuate the violence by saying: "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."

A quarter century later, Mrs Gandhi's legacy endures.

Her Italian-born daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi, who now leads the ruling Congress, is often compared to her for her style and tight control over the party.

Indira Gandhi's policy of bank nationalisation, which heralded a state control over the country's fiscal policies and public enterprise, has been hailed as far-sighted and instrumental in preventing Indian banks from going the way of Western banks that collapsed in the wake of last year's economic meltdown.

Her muscular foreign policy, which led to the division of Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh, is still held out as an example of Indian hard power that critics say has been a tough act to follow by successive governments.

But, as her critics say, the imposition of emergency in June 1975 blotted her democratic credentials. Though she lifted emergency 19 months later and called for elections, which she lost, her image took a heavy beating and she never really recovered.

She returned to power in 1980. And, after younger son Sanjay Gandhi's death in an aircrash in June that year, she became a pale shadow of her former self.

She briefly basked in her reputation as a global statesperson when her government hosted both the Non- Aligned Movement Summit and the Commonwealth Summit in 1983. The following years, she bungled badly when she ordered the army into the Vatican of the Sikhs -- and paid with her life four months later.

with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/25-years-after-Indira-Gandhis-assassination/articleshow/5176355.cms

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com