A teenager from Littleover has chosen not to follow his friends to university and instead has decided to fulfil his dream of opening a vegetarian and vegan takeaway. Charanjot Singh, 19, is opening V Shack today (Thursday, June 2).
Charanjot decided to start the business due to the lack of options that he has experienced for vegans and vegetarians at fast-food outlets. He told Derbyshire Live: “Having a vegetarian lifestyle has been a struggle for me when I go out and eat at restaurants because there is only a scarce number of dishes available when I go out to eat. I have always had to struggle because I am limited with what I have to eat.”
Charanjot and his family are Sikh and he has eaten a vegetarian diet his entire life.
He said: “Opening a food business has always been a lifetime goal for me. The interest sparked in me when I was 10 years old when I started to enjoy cooking with family members.
“I have been working on this project for about a year now so I finished my A-Levels last May and since then I have been working on this project every single day. I have always added a new idea every single day.
“I went through the process of attending university open days and stuff but it has never been an interest for me to go to university. I went through the entire process just in case and if I ever choose to go to university, there is always an option there but in my mind, I have always had that passion for making a vegan and vegetarian takeaway.”
“I also have a really supportive family and they have seen my vision and seen my potential in creating this business and they have all offered full support.”
Charanjot is setting up shop on Tutbury Avenue on the Highfields estate in Littleover. The takeaway was previously operated by Derby fish and chips chain Zan Fish.
V Shack’s menu offers takeaway favourites with a variety of meat-free alternatives including: veggie burgers, paneer, soya burgers, soya chicken, halloumi and Beyond Meat dishes. It hopes to offer as many options as possible from pizza and burgers to curries and kebabs.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
The recent scientific interest in the topic of awe had me look back at its experience by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and how he framed it. Guru Ji has devoted an entire Salok in Aasaa-De-Vaar to share the feeling of awe, which we will explore here. Guru Ji feels the awe in the created world and uses the word “Vismaad” to describe that wonderous experience, which surprises the mind. Before exploring the Salok by Guru Ji let us first see what and how scientific world describes it.
Awe is an emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli that transcend current frames of reference. Awe has two phases, says Daniel Stancato, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies the impact of awe on emotional health. Awe arises when a person perceives something “so strikingly vast that it transcends one’s current frame of reference,” he said. Next, awe forces someone to change his or her beliefs or worldview in order to make sense of the experience. Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt in their paper in 2003 have concluded that awe has two aspects:
Perceived vastness – anything that is experienced as being much larger than the self or self’s ordinary level of experience or frame of reference
Accommodation – A reshaping of our existing understanding of the world
Stancato is the co-author of a 2015 paper that associated awe-inspiring experiences with positive social emotions, including generosity, selflessness, and ethical decision-making. Its major finding was that experiencing awe “can increase ‘prosociality,’ or inclinations to care for, share with and assist other people,” said Stancato. A 2019 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that experiencing awe led to decrease in self-importance. Other documented benefits include – humility, decreased materialism, spiritual feeling, connectedness, positive mood and wellbeing, life satisfaction etc.
Now let see how Guru Ji has described his experience of awe:
Translation: I am wonderstruck observing that somewhere the wind is blowing and somewhere water is flowing. It is amazing, how the fire is displaying its own astonishing plays. I am wonderfully astonished upon looking at this earth sustaining the creatures from multiple sources (e.g.: egg, womb, earth, perspiration etc.) of birth. It is amazing, how the mortals are involved in the enjoyment of Your bounties. Astonishing is the experience of people being united or separated. O’ God, it is hard to believe that somewhere there is acute hunger and at other places things in plenty and voraciously being enjoyed. Somewhere the Creator is being praised and eulogized. Wonderful is straying-away (from the Hukam -Divine Commands) and wonderful is treading on the nicely laid out paths. It is just astonishing to see this wondrous play of Yours. It is amazing that someone says that You are very near; yet another says that You are far off, while still others see You right beside them (pervading everywhere). Beholding these wonders, I am wonderstruck. O’ Nanak, those who understand these astounding wonders of Yours are blessed with perfect destiny.
In this Salok Guru Ji shared how the Nature-Awe was experienced by him. The sheer size, variety, spectacle, grandeur is noticed and admired. Guru Ji has other shabads where the experience of awe has also been shared as in “So Dar” and “Aarti”. When the awe comes in, mind that thinks “I know it all” goes away, along with associated ego. When we feel incomplete, we become capable of experiencing awe or Vismaad. That realization immediately forces one to feel being the part of something bigger, longer lasting, mesmerizing, and amazing. This feeling was captured by Guru Ji in the last line in the shabad above, which can be termed as Spiritual-Awe. Similarly, Guru Arjan Dev Ji has described that same experience in these words:
Translation: You are wonderful! Your creative potency is awe inspiring! ||1||Pause||
The final experience of awe is the experience of Self-Awe, where there is an understanding of self, within a larger context of the entire creation. That experience has been captured in Gurbani in these words of Guru Nanak Dev Ji:
“Vaahu khasam tu vaahu jin rach rachanaa ham ke’ee. Saagar lahar samundh sar vel varas varaahu. Aap khaRoveh aap kar aapeenai aapaahu.” (SGGS, Pg. No. 788)
Translation: Wow! Wow! You are wonderful and great, O Lord and Master; You created the creation, and made us. You made the waters, waves, oceans, pools, plants, clouds, and mountains. You Yourself stand in the midst of what You Yourself created.
Here we can see that self is viewed as one of the creations, which is a realistic assessment, unlike the feeling of the self being the center of the universe as with an egoistic. This experience witnesses the Creator in the midst of creation, and not separate from it. We have become accustomed to living a life on autopilot and have forgotten our innate ability to experience awe. We need to start by bringing our awareness to it and spending time in nature, trying to see the Creator’s manifestation in everything that we observe in nature. The experience of final destination of Self-awe has been shared by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in these words:
ਸੁੰਨ ਸਮਾਧਿ ਅਨਹਤ ਤਹ ਨਾਦ ॥ਕਹਨੁ ਨ ਜਾਈ ਅਚਰਜ ਬਿਸਮਾਦ ॥
“Su(n)n samaadh anahat teh naadh. Kahan na jaiee acharaj bisamaadh.” (SGGS, Pg. No. 293)
Translation: The Deepest Samaadhi, and the unstruck sound current of the Naad are there. The wonder and marvel of it cannot be described.
That ‘Su(n)n Samaadh’ that Guru Ji has described is essentially stillness, silence, calmness, and a total absence of fluctuations resulting from torrents of thoughts in the mind. That calmness and blissful feeling gives birth to the feeling of awe and ecstasy, which is expressed by Guru Ji as ‘Acharaj bisaadh’. According to Gurbani, that experience is so exhilarating that one does not knows its limit, not does one want to come out of it, and only the words of awe come out:
“Eiaa ma(n)dhar meh kauan basaiee. Taa kaa a(n)t na kouoo payee. 1. Rahaau.” (SGGS, Pg. No. 871)
Translation: Then what is it, which dwells in this temple of the body? No one can find its limits. ||1||Pause||
In conclusion let us try to summarize experience of “Vismaad” from Guru Nanak Dev Ji Salok above and try to make it our experience as well.
Sounds (including music) – Guru Ji is awestruck by the variety of sounds from humans, animals, birds, nature, musical instruments etc.
Scriptures (Ved) – Guru Ji is in awe by the written word, and the depth of knowledge they convey is mindboggling.
Living Beings – Guru Ji is awed by the sheer variety, color, shapes, and their unique distinctions, movements and identity.
Unique Appearances – The range, variety of forms, and species that change forms makes Guru Ji awestruck.
Colors – The sheer variety of colors and color combinations in nature, species and vegetation transports Guru Ji in awe.
Animals – Even the sight of animal creatures wondering around naked, unashamed takes Guru Ji in awe (while humans have to cover themselves).
Air – Which sustains life, refreshes and its blowing and howling shaping objects which wows Guru Ji in wonder.
Water – Again essential for life, quenches thirst and how it assumes shape of containers it is poured in wows Guru Ji. The term encompasses all liquids and vapors (becoming steam, ice, snow, hail, thunder, and lightning etc.).
Fire – The source of heat, warmth, with its dazzling display and ability to transform fills Guru Ji with wonder.
Earth – Wonderful is the earth that is the source, nurturer, sustainer, and supporter of the variety of the species.
Sources of birth – Guru Ji is awed by the sources of birth – Womb, egg, from the earth as plants, from the secretion as sweat, microbes, bacteria etc.
Tastes and pleasures – Guru Ji is even awed by the variety of tastes that abound and pleasure the species relish from those tastes.
Union and Separation- Even in the meeting (union) and separation experiences awe Guru Ji.
Hunger and Copious Consumption – Pangs of hunger and indulgences in copious consumption makes Guru Ji awestruck.
Praises and Adoration (of Almighty) – Guru Ji is in awe for those engage in praises and adoration.
Wilderness and Paved Path – Guru Ji even finds awe in those straying in the wilderness, while others treading on the paved path of ‘praise and adoration’ Guru Ji finds wonderful.
Closeness and Distance – Some see Almighty as very intimately close while others feel His separation and distance, which puts Guru Ji in awe.
Awe Factor – Seeing all these diverse wonders, Guru Ji is awestruck, and exclaims that this mystery of awe is only experienced through good fortune.
This is the type of experience that humans have always longed for. However, to gain a fraction of that grandeur many make use of intoxicants, drugs, herbs, medicines, exercise, yoga postures, and even prayers. But Guru Ji is saying that everyone can experience the feeling of awe, all we need to do is spend more time in nature with awareness. Those who are blessed, experience the awe, and get freed from the attachment to the material world. Instead, they get attuned to the Creator, who is full of wonders:
“Bisam binodh rahe paramaadhee. Gurmat maaniaa ek liv laagee.” (SGGS, Pg. No. 1342)
Translation: The exciting and intoxicating worldly plays come to an end, for those who accept the Guru’s Teachings, and become lovingly attuned to the One Lord.
Reference:
Keltner, Dacher and Haidt, Jonathan. Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion. March 2003
Einisman, Karen. Discover the Power of Awe. Renew by United Healthcare
Lebwitz Rossi, Holly. How to Save the World: Schedule some Awe in Your Summer Vacation. Houston Chronicle, July 01, 2018.
Greater Good Science Center, University of Berkley. The Science of Awe. White Paper prepared for the John Templeton Foundation.
www.Sikhitothemax.com
www.Srigranth.org
Bhupinder ‘Bo’ Singh, Houston. Born in Bhamo, Myanmar, he now lives in Houston, US, where he runs a manufacturing company formed with his son. A mechanical engineer by training, he has authored a number of books, including Connecting with the Master – A collection of essays on topics related to Sikhism (2006) and In Bully’s Eyes – An Illustrated Children’s book on Bullying(2019).
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Tax expert Dr Veerinderjeet Singh has been appointed a commission vice chair of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Effective June 1, he is the vice-chair of the ICC Global Tax Commission for a three-year period. He is the first Malaysian to be made vice chair of a commission at the international chamber body.
“I’ve been a member of the commission for some years now. I look at this appointment as an opportunity to continue to share my expertise and experience. This is a voluntary position,” he told Asia Samachar.
ICC claims to represent 45 million businesses in over 100 countries around the world. Among others, it works with the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to develop international taxation standards.
Veerinderjeet is no stranger to the tax world in Malaysia and the region.
He is the sitting president of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), an umbrella body for the accountancy profession in Malaysia. Until last month, he was also the president of the The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA). He was a past president of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia.
He is also a non-executive chairman of Tricor Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. He also had a five-year stint in Axcelasia Inc, a Singapore-listed company in which he was one of the founders.
Veerinderjeet has ore than three decades of experience in the fields of accounting and taxation and has served in the Inland Revenue Department, University of Malaya (as an associate professor), Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young (as a tax partner/executive director). He has also authored a number of tax publications.
He also sits on the boards of Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd, AmBank (M) Bhd and UMW Holdings Bhd.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Ishwarpal Singh plays against Malaysia in the World Floorball Championship (WFC) Asia-Oceania qualifier on 31 May 2022 – Photo: IFF
By Asia Samachar | Singapore|
Ishwarpal Singh made a spectacular debut for Singapore when he scored one goal as the home team thrashed Malaysia 8-2 in their opening World Floorball Championship (WFC) Asia-Oceania qualifier yesterday (May 31).
In the fourth minute, he managed to find the back of the net, putting Singapore back in the lead at 2-1.
No stranger to playing at the international level, the 28-year-old defender seems to have landed a new pursuit after donning the national hockey jersey from 2013 to 2019.
Ishwarpal told a local newspaper that he wanted a new challenge as he has done quite a few tournaments in hockey. During his stint with the national team in hockey, he won two silver and two bronze medals at the SEA Games.
In 2018, Ishwarpal donned the national jersey in the Men’s World University Floorball Championships.
“Floorball is a lot quicker. You have to think on your feet a lot faster,” he told the Straits Times.
On juggling time between his day job as a geriatric doctor at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and training, he said: “It’s not been easy because I do have to rush over from both sides. Thankfully, the coaches have been very understanding of my schedule.”
Ishwarpal graduated from Nanyang Technological University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine with a degree in medicine and surgery in 2016.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
The One who sent you, has now recalled you; return to your home now in peace and pleasure. ll In bliss and ecstasy, sing His Glorious Praises; by this celestial tune, you shall acquire your everlasting kingdom. II 1 II
In Loving Memory of Our Beloved Daughter, Sister, Wife & Mother
Bibi Harjit Kaur Sandhu
D/o Late Sdr Latchiman Singh & Mata Pal Kaur (Brahmpura/Melaka)
& Wife of Sdr Manjinder Singh Dhaliwal (Muar)
23 March 1965 – 28 July 2021
Paath da Bhog will be held on Sunday, 12 June 2022 at Gurdwara Sahib Melaka
6.30am – Asa di Vaar 9.00am – Kirtan Katha followed by Sehaj Paath da Bhog.
Harjit will always be remembered as a generous, loving and jovial woman who loved her family with all of her heart. She lived her life to the fullest through simple pleasures, caring for those around her, keeping a strong Sikh faith with a fluent recital of Gurbani, cooking warm, delicious meals and tending to her beautiful garden. She was a bright, shining light with an extraordinary ability to reach people in a deep and positive way.
Harjit is deeply missed and fondly remembered by her family & friends.
For any enquiries, kindly call:
Manjinder Singh (Muar) +60 19 655 2030
Kuldip Singh (Spore) +65 9831 2407
Karam Singh (Malacca) +60 16 341 6961
Kindly treat this as a personal invitation
| Entry: 1 June 2022 | Source: Family
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twfffitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Akal Takht reconstruction work in 1992 – Photo: Hb Singh / Asia Samachar
By Hb Singh | Opinion |
If you’re on Akal Takht jathedar’s update list, you are probably under the impression that he actively and feverishly oversees Sikh affairs the world over.
In the recent weeks, he started moves to banish an active Sikh volunteer in the United States, began the ball to kick the harmonium out of key Amritsar outposts and urged Sikhs in Punjab to get weapon licenses.
What a heavy hitter of a jathedar! The actual truth is starkly different. He is but a mere pawn in the hands of politicians, especially the Badals. Some context may instruct us as to how to read the recent avalanche of seeming dictates or hukumnamas.
Let us take the harmonium issue, one of the latest to be floated by Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh.
He is all set to bang up the harmonium, and kick it out the Darbar Sahib, Amritsar. Yes, that very place – known to many as the Golden Temple – which is larger than life in the minds of most Sikhs. In the space of three years, the jathedar wants raagis to discard the harmonium and opt for stringed instruments (taanti saaj).
Well, here is the politics behind it all.
It’s easy to kick the harmonium out of the Darbar Sahib. It doesn’t talk back. It will not bite. It will simply remain silent. An easy pick to show how brave, courageous and reform-minded he is. Taaliaa (Applause)!
We can debate the merits and demerits of the move. No harm in getting into a discussion. But did discussions even take place before the decision was made? Did they raise the issue and seek public feedback? I’m not on his fast dial, so I may have missed the alert.
So, why is the Akal Takht jathedar strutting around to pronounce changes? Let us look at their ground reality. In the recent Punjab state election, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — led by father-son duo Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal — crashed out yet again. Usually, when they lose, the Congress steps into power in this state to the north of Delhi. This time around, that didn’t happen. The 2022 state elections went to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), considered an outside force. You now have an unknown and untested force wielding power. It must be painful to watch!
Thaminder Singh (left) of Sikh Book Club. Right: Giani Harpreet (middle) making the ‘tankhaiya’ pronouncement from Akal Takht on 3 May 2022
With them losing badly in the elections, the Badals and their ilk are falling back to wielding power via the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC), a Sikh institution firmly under the family’s control. Here, they can still lord around and make noises. The Akal Takht jathedar is very much under their thumb. That is the stark and sad reality for Sikhs all over.
If the jathedar really wants to make a difference, they is plenty he can do. Forget about yanking the harmonium out of the Darbar Sahib. He should instead work to allow women to do kirtan in the Darbar Sahib. He would get jaikaras all around if he can dismantle the patriarchal practice, very much alive and kicking in the Darbar Sahib.
So, the next time you hear the Akal Takht jathedar make yet another pronouncement, know where it is coming from. Don’t swoon at his every word.
Hb Singh is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist with some experience in dealing with Sikh organisations, both from within and outside.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Dad, Babaji, Nanaji a pillar of strength and love to all. A true leader and a man ahead of his time. You will be cherished and missed by all.
Dearly missed by Children, Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren, relatives and friends.
Cottage leaves his residence 19, Lintang Derun, 42000, Port Klang@11am on 2nd June 2022 (Thursday) for Antim Saskaar at Simpang Lima Crematorium, Jalan Bukit Kubur Kawasan 1, 41200 Klang on the same day.
Path Da Bhog will be held on 12th June 2022 (Sunday) at Gurdwara Sahib Port Klang at 5pm followed by Guru Ka Langar.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twfffitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
When I met @sidhu_Sidhu Moose Wala to gift him my artwork, the meet up lasted no longer than 15 minutes. But in that short amount of time we were able to talk about our careers and inspirations and why we do what we do. He had much time for me despite being with many of his crew members. Out of curiosity I asked him who was his inspiration and he mentioned “Tupac”. As many have come to understand, Sidhu’s last song “The Last Ride” cover design featured the crime scene where Tupac was murdered in his BMW in the same tragic way Sidhu was gunned down today. I was absolutely baffled by the realisation of this. – Photo / Caption: Inkquisitive
By Prabhjot Paul Singh | Opinion |
In less than 10 weeks of its landslide triumph in the Assembly elections of this trouble-torn revenue deficit border State, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is finding itself knee deep in hot waters. The reason: a highly publicized action that boomeranged on its face.
Neither the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann nor any of the senior members of the High Command of AAP, including its Convener, Arvind Kejriwal, could visualize the serious consequences they would counter for their action of cutting down security cover of eminent personalities, including politicians, religious leaders, artists, and policemen.
The broad daylight assassination of folk singer-turned budding politician Sidhu Moosewala not only evoked worldwide condemnation but also painted the action of the first-time ruling party in the State as a cheap and unlawful gimmick.
Needless to reiterate that security is a sensitive issue that is seldom revealed in public domain.
In less than 24 hours of issuance of orders of withdrawal or reduction of security cover to over 400 eminent personalities, the State plunged into one of its worst glooms in recent years with the killing of Sidhu Moosewala who had unsuccessfully contested the Punjab Assembly elections early this year.
Intriguingly, copies of the order, though confidential and marked “secret” , were made available to the entire media for “wide publicity” as “another daring step by the “Government that works for people.”
Without getting into the merits of the action or the order, the way it was publicized not only defeated its purpose but also made all those who felt aggrieved by it more “vulnerable”.
The subsequent explanation by the State police chief that the order was part of an annual exercise of making available additional security personnel for deployment for “ghallughara week” duties.
The present strength of Punjab police is more than 70,000. In addition, it has some Punjab Armed Police (PAP) battalions as well as India reserve battalions. Punjab also has a couple of trained Commando battalions. Of these men in uniform, nearly 30,000 to 35,000 are deployed in 300-odd police stations and police posts in the State.
Providing security cover to individuals or institutions is a highly sensitive subject that need not be discussed in any public domain. In the past a little more than 10 weeks of assuming power in the State, the AAP government has been issuing orders from time to time in reviewing security cover of political bigwigs and others. Such reviews were also widely publicized as was the last order of May 28.
In India, there are various agencies that provide security cover to individuals and vulnerable institutions, including installations. They include those that are under direct control of the Central Government like the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry of Defence. They assess the threat perception and accordingly provide the security cover that at times work in close coordination with the State Security Agencies depending upon the movement of the protected personalities.
In addition to the Centre, the State Governments have their own Security wings that function under a senior police officer. Though broadly, the State Security agencies follow the same pattern of assessing the threat perception before deciding the quantum of security cover in each individual case. Normally, there is a regular review of security cover with changing threat perceptions, but this practice is not followed religiously. It is in rarest of rarest cases that the State police extends its security cover to individuals who are neither Bonafede residents of the State nor have any threats emanating from within the State. There are numerous when security audits are not conducted, and even if they are done, they are only to complete the formalities.
There is no denying the fact for many, security cover is more of a “status symbol” than a necessity. The bigger or larger the security cover is used to gauge one’s political or social height.
Security experts say that there is nothing like “absolute” or” foolproof” security. Their observation is corroborated by high profile assassinations taking place world over from time to time.
During my nearly 40 years stint in journalism, I reported several cases in which well protected political bigwigs, policemen or others were attacked. Many of these turned out to be gruesome assassinations, while few others left their victims shattered or crippled.
Security is a highly debatable subject as the State is mandated to protect life and property of its populace. However, deviating from this Constitutional mandate, the State or the people given the mandate to run the State start their own isolation on the pretext of security. Safety and security of a common man is getting greatly ignored.
Intriguingly, nearly 80 per cent of the police force in Punjab is undertrained. Studies from time to time reveal that nearly 80 per cent of the training budget of the police force is consumed by the top 5 to 10 percent of the force that generally covers up the gazetted officer’s level. Eight to 10 percent of the training budget is spent on the NGOs, who comprise about 10-15 per cent of the total strength and for the remaining 70-75 per cent, the constabulary, gets only five to eight per cent of the training Budget. Majority of the policemen undergo mandatory training only at the time of their induction in the force and seldom afterwards. They are the “lathi” or cane wielding policemen chosen to do route marking or simple beat duties with little or no power of investigation. They are the mainstay of the “visible” security for VIP visits or mass political events. Invisible security is an area that has generally remained ignored.
There may not be a single policeman to ensure the safety of hundreds of people at a busy marketplace, bus stand or railway station but a political bigwig or a senior police official comes surrounded by a horde of armed guards. The strength of the horde indicates the political or official rank of the protected politician or civil servant.
Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows. For more in-depth analysis please visit probingeye.com or follow him on Twitter.com/probingeye
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Tess Marie Mata, 10, was one of the 21 victims of the shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
By Bhupinder ‘Bo’ Singh | Opinion|
What a strange week in Texas. On May 25, 2022, an 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Before heading to the school for the shooting spree, the killer had shot in the face his grandmother. The shooter had even posted messages on the social platform Yubo that he was about “to shoot up an elementary school,” before embarking on his carnage.
Interestingly, he had purchased two AR-15 style semiautomatic weapons within a week of his 18th birthday, including the rifle he used in the shooting spree. The families of school children and the nation were in a state of shock at the tragic shooting, when more shocking news came that the police who arrived at the scene waited around an hour before entering the classroom, where the shooter had locked himself in. The average age of children in this massacre is 9 to 10. The innocence of children and barbarity with which they became victims resonates the deepest pains specially in Texas, as the survivors are transported back to Sandy Hook School incident when 26 first graders and educators were slain on December 14, 2012; right before Christmas.
Day after on May 27, 2022, the annual three-day convention and gun show of National Rifle Association (NRA) started in Houston. Unfortunately, the timing of convention was like adding salt to the wounds of the nation. The convention became an emblematic of stark political divide facing the nation on the issue of gun control, which was reflected in the protests against the NRA and counter-protesters during the convention.
This is not first mass shooting in a school in the state of Texas, or in the nation of USA. Unfortunately, these events have become recurring as they raise their head frequently. The mass shootings have grown more frequent and more lethal in the last decade. Then, after the tragic events, the politicians make their vows that such incidents will not happen in future, and there will be measures put in place to prevent those from happening. However, whatever action is taken or because of lack of any concrete action such carnage continues to happen, and innocent lives are lost. Any attempts of guns regulation is termed by NRA as “restricting the fundamental human right of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves.” Although, with the stark political divide along with a strong lobby arm of NRA, much of the reform efforts gets stymied, but still as nation we have to think what effective measures can be put in place, so that the carnages of such scale cannot take place in future.
Here are few ideas worth pursuing without getting embroiled in the political divide on the issue of gun control.
When a person turns 18 that person has to take a driver’s test to get a license to drive a car, a similar requirement for purchase of gun should be made mandatory.
There should be mandatory gun safety training requirements for owning guns. If defensive driving can be an effective tool to prevent car accidents, then why such a measure cannot be effectively employed to prevent carnages from happening? The gun safety training should also include a module on the moral responsibility of being a gun holder. In this module the emphasis should be on the responsibility of being a good citizen and a responsible gun holder.
The purchase of single or multiple automatic, semi-automatic weapons should be termed as ‘weapons of war’ and not a ‘defensive weapon’. It should be regulated so that carnages of tragic proportions do not unfold.
The School District Police Department should train its police force on how to react to such scenarios independently before the state/city police party arrives at the crime scene.
There should be armed guards at the school entrances and better security arrangements, cameras that can help security staff during such crisis.
No potential killer should have free access to post his desire and intention to kill masses on the social media. The social media should not become the broadcasting media for potential killers.
How many more children have to die before the nation realizes it is time to act? Failure to act now under the stubborn belief that any reform is an infringement on gun rights is not pragmatic. The notion that all reform efforts must be stopped at all costs, is akin to helping the next shooter pull the trigger. May the wiser sense prevail, and we see some positive outcome of this blood bath.
Bhupinder ‘Bo’ Singh, Houston. Born in Bhamo, Myanmar, he now lives in Houston, US, where he runs a manufacturing company formed with his son. A mechanical engineer by training, he has authored a number of books, including Connecting with the Master – A collection of essays on topics related to Sikhism (2006) and In Bully’s Eyes – An Illustrated Children’s book on Bullying(2019).
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Fateh Singh lies on his cot half-asleep, flirting with the faint breeze and listening to the sounds of the summer night and the musical snores. The rumble of heavy trucks is one of the sounds of the night as he continues to drift midway between the bloodsoaked dreams of his boyhood and the bloodier realities of his beloved Punjab today.
Even the whoosh of heavy hydraulic brakes does not sound any alarm bells in his head. They don’t make any effort at stealth at all. The crunching of their loud metal-soled army boots on the gravel outside belies the administration’s claims of a covert operation. They are not slit-eyed and bow-legged; they wear olive green fatigues. They quickly form a single file and enter the courtyard on the double, the Sten guns hanging from their shoulders marking time on the sides of their torsos as they slap back and forth.
There is no hatred in their eyes, but no compassion either. They are dumb, mute automatons out to do their job. Hukam Singh swings off the cot with an oath, displaying the kind of agility that only extremely fat people have, and a rifle butt comes crashing down on the back of his unprotected head. Fateh Singh is too old to fight and continues to lie on the cot until he is jerked roughly to his feet.
The sevadars huddle together like Siamese twins mumbling incoherently out of fear, but their protests of innocence crumble before their eyes after bouncing off the inscrutable masks that are the soldiers’ faces. Their lips are silent now, but their eyes dart around looking for a saviour or an escape route. Their keskis, which Hukam Singh insists every man, woman and child must wear at all times inside the gurdwara, are rudely snatched from their heads and used to tie their hands behind their backs.
The old woman from Udhampur is lying prostrate on the ground, begging for her husband’s, or at least her son’s life, who cowers against the south wall with his hands tied behind his head with his turban. Fateh Singh looks around and sees that there are at least twenty-five or thirty Sikhs in the courtyard. There are old men and women and little children. And there are young men with hard expressions and sullen faces who stare back proudly and fearlessly at death, clad in olive green and black shiny metal.
There is Hukam Singh groaning with pain and muttering the foulest of curses, ones that would make truck drivers blush. The woman on the floor is wailing now and her mournful dirge is interrupted by gut-wrenching sobs that can see what is about to happen, even as her eyes cannot. The mouths of the Sten guns look as large as annons as the white marble wall behind their backs begins to push them, slowly and relentlessly, towards the shiny black circles of death. Their eyes can only see row upon row of neat geometric circles getting larger and larger until they look as big as railway tunnels and blacker.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
