ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
Cortège departs from residence at 1pm (Add: No 3, Persiaran Bercham Selatan 12, Taman Desa Kencana 31400 Ipoh, Perak) Saskaar / Cremation: Wadda Gurdwara Ipoh crematorium
AKHAND PATH:
Arambh (begins) at 9am, 5 July 2024 (Friday) at Gurdwara Sahib Bercham, Ipoh Path da Bhog: 12pm, 7 July 2024 ( Sunday) at Gurdwara Sahib Bercham
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
The Global Sikh Council (GSC) calls for the return of the control of the Takhts of Patna Sahib and Hazur Sahib from the control of the State Governments of Bihar and Maharastra respectively to the Sikh Community. The Takht Patna Sahib Management is governed by the Patna Sahib Constitution and Bylaws of Patna Sahib, 1957 whereas the Takht Hazur Sahib is governed by the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Sri Hazur Apchalnagar Sahib Act, 1956. These Bylaws of 1957 and the Act of 1956 allows for profuse Government meddling in the Takhts affairs including their religious ceremonies and have put their management under total control of the State Governments. The Historical narrative of this 2 Takhts is as below.
HISTORY OF THE 2 TAKHTS OUTSIDE PUNJAB
Takht Sri Patna Sahib and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib hold great reverence in Sikhism and are places of great historical importance to the Sikhs. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji was born on December 22, 1666 at the place where the Takht Patna Sahib is today. On the other-hand Takht Sri Hazur Sahib is where Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent his last 9 months of his life and it was also here where Guru Ji bestowed Gurtagaddi on the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and thus bringing to an end the Guruship of living Gurus.
After Banda Singh Bahadur’s passing away in 1716, the Sikhs were hunted by the Moghuls and bounty placed on their heads. Thus, for survival the Sikhs took refuge in jungles.
Only after Moghuls were defeated in 1780’s and started fleeing did the Sikhs come out of the Jungles. But in the absence of Sikhs from the Gurdwaras for about 60 years, the vacuum was filled by anti-Sikh groups like the Brahmanical orientated Nirmlas, the Sri Chand followers called Udasis and self-serving Mahants who had taken control of the vast majority of the Sikh Gurdwaras and had introduced Anti-Gurmat and Brahmanical practices at this 2 Takhts. The Sudhar leher of the 1920’s which led to the removal of the Udasis, Nirmlas and Mahants from the Gurdwaras, did not go out of Punjab, thus leaving Takht Patna Sahib and Takht Hazur Sahib with their Non-Gurmat and Non-Sikh Rehet Maryada compliant practices intact and did not undergo any reform.
These Takhts have continued with their practices that violate the basic tenets of the Sikh religion, that is, carrying out practices like slaughtering of goat, Parkash of Bachitter Natak (DG) in the Darbar of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and doing its Akhand Path, conducting rituals of Artee that is disallowed by the Sikh Rehet Maryada, etc. Further Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurbani Shabad (Kaise Artee Hoeh, Bhav Khandana Teri Artee) advises mankind to appreciate the Artee of Nature already taking place and explaining what a wonderful Artee of Nature is taking place. The Takht Hazur Sahib conducts a daily ritual of Artee with lighted lamps and other paraphernalia despite the SRM position and Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s advice through Gurbani.
THE 2 TAKHTS UNDER STATE CONTROL SHOULD BE BROUGHT BACK UNDER SIKH COMMUNITY
Takht Sri Patna Sahib
Its management came under the control of the East India Company in 1810 and was then transferred to Mohanth Ganda Singh on 11th March 1863. The last Mohanth Baba Kartar Singh Bedi was removed from his office on account of mismanagement, by the District Judge Patna on 14th of December, 1954. After this, the District Judge Patna constituted a supervising committee consisting of 15 members all of whom were appointed by him except one member who was co-opted by the other 14 members. This committee called “Parbandhak Committee Sri Takht Harimandir Ji, Patna Sahib” was constituted by Section 6 of “The Constitution and Bylaws of Sri Takht Harimandir Ji, Patna Sahib 1957”.
Gurdwara Patna Sahib – Photo: Vandana
Some other relevant provisions of this constitution and Bylaws which allow for State control are:
(i) Section 40 provides that the existing religious worship (Maryada) and Langgar to be maintained by the Committee in accordance with Ancient Gurmaryada and shall not be stopped or interfered with. Thus, the law (Section 40) provides that ancient Gurmaryada, which includes the Snatan Hindu and Nirmla beliefs and practices at Takht Patna Sahib to be maintained and continued. This law was drafted by the District Judge and thus this Snatan practices are imposed by the State although section 26 of the COI (Constitution of India) provides for each religion to manage its own affairs that is to decide what religious ceremonies are essential and to be performed.
(ii) Section 55 provides that any amendment passed could come into effect only after they have been approved by the District Judge.
(iii) The constitution and Bylaws were drafted by the District Judge and finally approved by him after incorporating any amendments which were to his liking. Dr. Kashmir Singh at page 176 of his book ‘Laws of Sikh Gurdwaras in India’ says:
“Wide powers to the District Judge are clearly meant to ensure the Government control and interference into the affairs of Patna Sahib shrines which is continuing from the days of the East India Company, (that is from 1810). It is palpable intrusion into the fundamental freedom of the Sikhs to manage and administer their religious affairs, institutions and property attached thereto.”
Takht Sri Hazur Sahib
It is here at Sri Takht Hazoor Sahib, that Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji had spent his last 9 months of life. Bhai Daya Singh and Bhai Dharam Singh who were closely attached to the Tenth Master, decided to stay at the departing place of Guruji. They looked after the Holy Takht for less than a year till they both passed away one after the other. After this, the Takht Sachkhand Hazur Sahib passed into the hands of the Udasis and Nirmlas priests.
In 1956, the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Sri Hazur Apchalnagar Act, 1956 was passed under which a Board of 17 persons was constituted, all of whom are appointed by the State Government of Maharashtra. The management, control and Superintendence of the administration Sri Takht Hazur Sahib is with the Board and which board is under control of the State Government of Maharashtra.
Further control by the State is exercised by the following provisions:
(i) By Section 52, the Board is obliged to comply with any general or special directives of the State Government.
(ii) By Section 53, the State Government is given powers to supersede the Board and dismiss all members of the Board and appoint new members to it.
CONCLUSION
Section 26 of the Constitution of India provides for each religious denomination to have the right to establish and maintain religious institutions, to manage its own affairs and to own and acquire movable and immovable property. Thus, the Sikh religious denomination has the right to have control over the Takhts Patna Sahib and Hazur Sahib and it should not be under the control of the State Governments. Supreme Court in “Commissioner, Hindu religious Endowments V. Sri Lakshmindra Therta Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt(AIR 1954 SC282)”stated “…A law which takes away the right of administration from the hands of a religious denomination altogether and vest in any other authority would amount to a violation of the right guaranteed under Clause(d) of Article 26.”
The Sikhs appointed to the Committee of Takht Patna Sahib and those appointed as Board members have very little say in the governance of the Takhts and over religious worship.
Even the employees at this 2 Takhts which number between 400 to 500 each, are more than 90% Non-Sikhs who are not even conversant with Gurmukhi. Even the Gianis (religious priests) at this Takhts do not follow the Sikh Rehet Maryada which is a Panthic approved Code of Conduct and many of their practices are not Gurmat compliant.
Since the last few years, the Takhts Patna Sahib and Hazur Sahib have started exporting their Maryada which is not Gurmat compliant to other parts of Punjab and even to overseas countries. Most of the Sikhs outside of this 2 Takhts areas have resisted the propagation of this Non-Gurmat compliant practices and the Akal Takht Sahib has not been able to act against these 2 Takhts as Akal Takht Sahib itself has been put under direct control and supervision of the SGPC by Section 85(1) of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.
The Global Sikh Council therefore calls on the SGPC and the Sikh diaspora worldwide to take steps to bring these 2 Takhts back under the Sikh control and be liberated from the control of the State Governments of Bihar and Maharashtra. The GSC has also put up a Paper on this issue titled “ The 5 Takhts and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)” making recommendations of the steps needed to be taken to ensure that the Sikhs regain control of the two Takhts.
(Signed)
Lady Singh, Kanwaljit Kaur, President S Jagir Singh, Chairman Legal Affairs Committee Dr Karminder Singh, Chairman Religious Affairs Committee Lord Indarjit Singh, Chairman Advisory Board
(Global Sikh Council is a confederation of National Level Sikh Organisations worldwide, working together for the advancement of the Sikh religion guided by the Guru Granth Sahib and the socio-economic development of the Sikh community.)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
Sikh youth challenge: High divorce rate, tough finding partners
By Mohan Singh Rendhawa | Malaysia |
The biggest challenge of the 21st Century faced by young people today is the high rate of divorce. The Sikh community has so far not taken any visible action to address this challenge.
Various programs are going on as usual and divorced couples are left to find their own solutions. The parents of divorced couples are struggling to provide the emotional and financial support to bring up their grandchildren and lessen the trauma of their divorced young people. The high divorce rate will also effect the next generation of Sikhs raised in such an environment.
Since the frequency of divorce in the Sikh community today is very high, we need to find ways to help young people having relationship problems so as to prevent a marriage from breaking down. The root cause in most cases is financial management and lack of anger management skills.
The Perak Sikhs have set up an organisation ‘Sikhmai’ to provide support for single mothers by helping them to come together to share their problems. Simple skills are taught to single mothers to help them earn money to support their family.
The challenge is for the community to work on a strategy to reduce the number of breakups by providing marriage counselling centres in all major towns in Gurdwaras. Teaching anger management skills may also help young people to learn conflict resolution skills. Skills in handling the five thieves – namely kam, krod, lobh, moh and hanker as mentioned in the SGGS – will definitely help. Unfortunately, we as a community only mention this in our Ardas and ask for divine intervention to help us. What is needed is the development of the inner strengths of young people by organising workshops related to these emotions.
Family leadership workshops may help. There is a beautiful book by Dr Stephen R Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. Couples who are going to tie the knot could be given training using this book as a guide.
Difficulty in getting a partner to marry
Due to the high divorce rate among young Sikh families, the challenge of many young Sikhs is to find a suitable match and get married after they have established themselves in a job. In the 20th century, women did not have much of a choice. They followed the choice of their parents and agreed to get married to the groom chosen by their parents. Today, young ladies are working. They are independent, hold high-paying jobs and have their own set of standards for a man they want to settle down with.
There is no work-life balance among ambitious young Sikhs. They work hard in building a career and do not have a place or an event to meet other young Sikhs. The young professionals end up in clubs and bars where few young Sikh ladies are found. Young people meet people from the other communities in their work environment fall in love resulting in mixed marriages. This trend is on the rise.
Lack of preparation for marriage
During the 20th century, there were distinct gender roles: male the sole breadwinner, female the homemaker. Parents used to upskill their daughters from a young age to take on the homemaker role by gradually equipping them with skills of cooking cleaning and sewing.
But in the 21st century, both the girls and the boys are in the school system working hard to earn a good qualification, the focus is passing exams. The target is not just to pass but to get straight A’s in their examinations. With the heavy workload of school and the number of subjects to prepare for both the boys and girls do not get a chance to acquire living skills of a home maker.
Author: Lt. Col. Rtd. Mohan Singh Rendhawa is a Fellow Institute of Personnel & Development UK and also a Fellow of the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia. He served the RMAF for 27 years and has been a corporate trainer for 28 years after he took his early retirement from the RMAF. The views of this article are the personal opinions of the writer.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
Punjab water canal – Photo: Rochelle Stuve (Flickr)
By Kanchan Vasdev | The Indian Express | Punjab |
For 40 years, no water could flow through a 5-km stretch of a canal-water outlet in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib, as it had been encroached on by farmers. But it has been cleared with government help and canal water now reaches at least 300 acres in Bharpoorgarh and Mallowal villages.
“We did not switch on 15-20 tubewells in the entire paddy season last year. This time also, we are not using groundwater to transplant paddy. We are making use of only canal water,” said Ravinder Singh, 32, a farmer who had sought help from the water resources department to get the 5-km stretch, known as nehri khaal, cleared of encroachments.
The AAP government’s promise to provide canal water in the tail ends had rekindled his hopes. With the efforts of the village youth and employees of the department, the outlet was cleaned before the paddy season last year.
“We did not know there was a khaal passing through our village. We used to hear from our family elders that there used to be canal water supply to our village and that clean and cold water from the canal network would reach here. When the tubewells reached every village of Punjab, the farmers usurped the outlets and ploughed them and started growing crops,” Ravinder Singh told The Indian Express.
“We got in touch with the canal department. They helped us in getting the land back. We all worked together to get these outlets dug up, remove the weeds and start the water supply. We have achieved it. In our village alone, 30-40 per cent of irrigation is done with this canal water. You can imagine how much water and power we are able to save. Our mission now is to make it 60 to 70 per cent so that more water is saved,” he added.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
Indian archer Bhajan Kaur grabs gold at Antalya to qualify for Paris 2024 Olympics – Photo: World Archery
By Asia Samachar | India |
Promising Indian archer Bhajan Kaur has less about a month to prepare for the battle of her life – the Olympics.
The 18-year-old prodigy made the cut for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which begins next month, when she clinched the gold at the final world qualifying tournament in Antalya on Sunday (June 18).
She secured India’s first women’s individual recurve archery quota for the 2024 Olympics.
“Practice, practice and more practice…” she told World Archery after the win on her plans for Paris 2024. “The biggest things I should have are confidence and belief in myself.”
The Haryana-hailing archer did her Nachiketan Public School in Ellenabad in Sirsa. She did her schooling at Nachiketan Public School, Ellenabad.
She is supported by Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), a foundation founded by Indian sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone aimed to create a level playing field for Indian athletes to enable them to be competitive at the highest level of sport.
In the Antalya tournament, Bhajan defeated Iran’s Mobina Fallah 6-2 in the final, with Fallah also securing her nation’s first ticket to the Olympics.
The teenage Indian played a near-perfect game – thanks to her amazing consistency and focus on the day. She dropped just five points in four sets with her scorecard appearing as 28, 29, 29 and 29.
She had earlier defeated Moldova’s Alexandra Mirca (6-2), Poland’s Wioleta Myszor (6-0), Slovenia’s Urska Cavic (7-3) in the semi-finals, quarter-finals and fourth round matches before claiming the gold.
“There was pressure throughout but I had the self-belief that if others can do it, why can’t I? I practiced hard and had a very good focus and that was the key today,” she said.
This was Bhajan’s first individual gold medal after her bronze medal show at the World Archery Youth Championships 2023 and a silver at Asian Grand Prix circuit 2022.
Before Bhajan’s amazing run, her compatriot Ankita Bhakat has earned India one of the eight quota places on offer in the event. She produced a solid performance to sweep a 6-0 win over Philippines’ Gabrielle Monica Bidaure in the fourth round.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
Achhinda Singh Rakhra joins KOPCIMB board of directors
By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |
Commercial banker Achhinda Singh Rakhra was elected to the board of directors of the Koperasi Pekerja CIMB Berhad (KOPCIMB), tasked to oversee the credit policy of the four-decade old cooperative.
He was elected to the voluntary position at the cooperative’s AGM on June 8 which also celebrated its 40th anniversary. Previously, he served as the chief internal auditor of the cooperative.
Achhinda, 53, is the son of Sarab Singh and Amarjeet Kaur, both of whom served in the Malaysian police. He is an active volunteer at Gurdwara Sahib Pulapol, the gurdwara located within the police training grounds in Kuala Lumpur.
When asked what motivates him to do voluntary work, he told Asia Samachar: “I always believe in giving back to the community.”
KOPCIMB was known as Koperasi Pekerja United Asian Bank Berhad when it was established on 10 October 1983 and apparently were the first cooperative to be formed by staff of a commercial bank.
On 20 August 2007, it changed its name to Koperasi Pekerja CIMB Berhad (KOPCIMB) in line with the merger of Bumiputra Commerce Bank Berhad and CIMB Bank Berhad.
With a membership strength of approximately 4,000, KOPCIMB is currently embarking on digitalization to deliver a consistent and a more robust engagements for members.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
Diljit Dosanjh and Nehru Najwa who act in Jatt & Juliet 3, a movie about two police officers from Punjab travel to Canada on a mission that proves more complicated than expected.
By Shriya Zamindar | Vogue World | India |
“They said Punjabis can’t do fashion and I said, I will show you.” With this powerful statement declared on stage in Mumbai back in April, Diljit Dosanjh announced his Dil-logical tour that began in Vancouver. And surely enough, the global sensation, who is about to make his debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in a day or two, has delivered on this promise.
I am happy to hear a counterargument, but I assure you, it will be a) an absolute hard sell and b) will lack sufficient proof to say otherwise. Nevertheless, I will dedicate this story to giving sufficient reasoning that will be pretty convincing in case you think otherwise.
It was a year back during his first Coachella expedition, which made a compelling case for why Dosanjh should be one to watch out for. The pop star made history as the first Punjabi artist to perform at Coachella, and the humble king—as he’s best known by listeners, greeted his crowd with a graceful “sat sri akal ji”. He stepped on stage kitted in a simple black kurta, tamba and turban— no flashy bling in sight. Admittedly, it was a big statement and a tribute to his roots made with the help of his wardrobe. Delving deeper into the star’s concert rituals, you come to know that Dosanjh’s fashion choices have little to contribute to his on-stage presence and his die-hard fan base, but a lot to say about Dosanjh’s personal brand as simply a man with killer taste.
The Coachella moment set off a chain reaction of sorts which became an initiation for Dosanjh, known as a singer, actor and producer to be welcomed into the fashion fold as a true insider. A man who might just win the fashion bingo against any girl worth her new season Balenciaga city bag.
But this isn’t his first rodeo. Dosanjh has been a passionate fashion consumer in his own way. When quizzed on identifying brand logos on an episode of Koffee with Karan from 2018, Dosanjh easily aces it. The singer shows a love for fashion that men would usually reserve for their four wheels and watches.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
