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Punjab: Limited role is pushing conventional parties to political hibernation

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State minister Dr Vijay Singla (left) sacked for alleged corruption by Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann

By Prabhjot Paul Singh | Opinion |

Pushed to the edge and left with limited role both in the state and at the Centre, the majority of political powers of yesteryears have been forced into a political hibernation.

Ruing the rise of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the new ruling outfit, the conventional power brokers in this border State of Punjab – Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – are finding themselves pushed to the edge.

They have virtually become mute spectators to the political developments that have been unfolding since the new regime of Bhagwant Singh Mann took over reins of the State in March.

After taking all five Rajya Sabha seats in March, AAP is all set to take the remaining two seats, elections to which are scheduled for June 10 with May 31 as the last date for nominations. None of the other parties – Congress, SAD or BJP – will have any say in the process that for the first time in recent decades will witness a complete wash out by the ruling party in the State.

While both Congress and BJP are making meek and feeble efforts of evincing interest in the bye election to Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, silence of the SAD is intriguing.

The Election Commission has announced the schedule for filling three Lok Sabha seats – Sangrur, Rampur and Azamgarh – that are presently vacant. The bye-elections will be held on June 23 and results will be announced on June 26. June 6 will be the last date for filing of nominations.

Besides ruling AAP, other parties, too, have to announce their candidates for the June 23 bye-election. Bhagwant Mann’s sister has already been campaigning in the area. She avoided answering if she would be interested in contesting. “Party will decide,” she quipped.

Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Sanyukat Shiromani Akali Dal may be interested in contesting the bye-election by fielding Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who along with former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, were among the losers in the last Assembly elections

The Rajya Sabha elections for 57 seats, including two from Punjab, will be held on June 10, 2022.

Of these 57 seats , 11 are from Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with six seats each. Other states where the Rajya Sabha election will be held are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Haryana. Sangrur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant in March after the incumbent Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was elected to the State Assembly from Dhuri.

Political analysts are expecting the Election Commission to announce the schedule for filling all three vacant Lok Sabha seats in time for the Presidential election in July.

The ECI is expected to announce the election schedule for the 16th Presidential Election in June as the tenure of the present incumbent Ram Nath Kovind is till July 24. The new incumbent is mandated to take over on July 25.

Again, the role of Punjab politicians in the presidential election will mainly veer around AAP while Congress, SAD and BJP with small or little presence in the State Legislature or Parliament presence will have their limited roles.

Never before Punjab witnessed such a political scenario with three of major players pushed to the edge. After their humiliating defeats in the February Assembly elections, problems have been aggravating for almost all the conventional parties.

Congress, for example, has been going through its worst phase. The party continues to be tormented by exits of its senior leaders. After the former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sunil Jakhar said good bye to the party, former Union Ministers, Ashwini Kumar and Kapil Sibal, have also left the party. They both represented Punjab.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, who followed Sunil Jakhar as President of the Punjab unit, has been sentenced to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment in an old case.

On the eve of the Assembly elections early this year, Congress lost its high profile Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who later floated his own party Punjab Lok Congress. Close on heels of his exit from Congress, two other MLAs – Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa – too, left the party and joined BJP. Now Sunil Jakhar, too, has joined BJP.

Shiromani Akali Dal is understandably lying low after its worst ever drubbing in any election. It recently lost its veteran leader Tota Singh.

While one of its breakaway groups, Sanyukat Shiromani Akali Dal led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (his term as member of Rajya Sabha ended in April this year), objected to its alliance partner BJP going out alone electioneering in Sangrur for ensuing bye-election, SAD has been watching the developments silently. Even the third partner of the alliance, Punjab Lok Congress, has till now not shown any inclination in contesting the Sangrur bye election. BJP has appointed Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi to assess the atmosphere in the constituency before taking a final decision.

Weakened or marginalised Opposition notwithstanding, the ruling AAP is not without its problems.

Dismissal of the Health Minister, Dr Vijay Singla, by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on corruption charges is not without its widespread ramifications. The public perception and image that the AAP government is “honest, clean and sincere” has suffered an image set back.

Dr Vijay Singla incidentally happened to be the first ever Cabinet Minister from Mansa. He had defeated popular folk singer Sidhu Moosewala in the Assembly elections. Several senior AAP legislators are continuing to lobby for their induction in the Bhagwant Mann Cabinet.

Besides Cabinet expansion, the party has to choose its nominees for the two Rajya Sabha seats and also for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat.This is an opportunity for correcting the impression that Delhi would decide about Punjab representation in the upper House of Parliament.

It is time for Bhagwant Mann to act on his own than emulating what Delhi had done before or wants to be done now.

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

RELATED STORY:

All eyes on Navjot Kaur and her finishing touch (Asia Samachar, 3 Aug 2021)

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 

Jaspal Singh Bal (1941 – 2022), Sentul / Formerly Tenaga Nasional

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SDR. JASPAL SINGH BAL S/O LATE GYANI BALWANT SINGH BAL

5.7.1941 – 25.5.2022

Passed away peacefully on 25 May 2022.

Leaving behind wife, 3 children, 5 grandchildren, relatives and friends.

Path da Bhog: 4 Jun 2022 (Saturday), from 9.30 am to 11.30 am, at Gurdwara Sahib Sentul, Kuala Lumpur

Contact: Ajitpal Singh 019 331 1333



| Entry: 25 May 2022; Updated: 27 May 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 

Mata Charan Kaur (1937 – 2022), Kampung Pandan

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MATA CHARAN KAUR D/O LATE CHANAN SINGH

22.4.1937 – 24.5.2022

Mata Charan Kaur was a devoted sewadar at Wadda Gurdwara Sahib Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur her whole life and a pillar of strength for her family and friends. Mataji will be dearly missed and her memories are fondly cherished.

Husband: Late Hardial Singh (ex-Telekom) of Kg Pandan, Kuala Lumpur

Leaving behind 2 sons, 7 daughters, 19 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends to mourn their loss.

Saskaar / Cremation: 3pm, 26 May 2022 (Thursday) at Shamshan Bhoomi Crematorium, Jalan Loke Yew, Kuala Lumpur

Cortege leaves from their residence No. 37, Leboh Selar, Taman Teluk Pulai, Klang @ 10am for Wadda Gurdwara Sahib Kg Pandan, for last respect

Akhand Paath will be held at Wadda Gurdwara Sahib Kg Pandan, Kuala Lumpur commencing on 3rd June 2022 @ 9am followed by Path Da Bhog at 11.30 am on Sunday, 5th June 2022. Guru Ka Langgar will be served on all 3 days.

Contact:
Santokh Singh Cheema +6019 210 8137
Baljit Kaur (daughter) +6017 313 1566
Harnek Singh (son) +601 627 11267



| Entry: 25 May 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 

British senior nursing lecturer struck off for mocking his Sikh colleague – Report

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By Asia Samachar | Britain |

A nursing lecturer has been struck off after repeatedly mocking his Sikh colleague’s turban, often asking ‘where’s your hat?’

Maurice Slaven repeatedly racially harassed his co-worker over his turban, referring to it as a ‘hat’ and a ‘bandage’.

Even when the university lecturer’s offended colleague pointed out it was a turban, bully Slaven hit back ‘no, it’s a hat’. Slaven, a former child nursing lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambs, also referred to Sikhs as ‘you lot’, mocked the religion’s founder Guru Nanak, and made insensitive comments about Sikhs using ‘swords’, report British independent news agency Solent News.

Following a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) tribunal, Slaven has been stripped of his nursing licence following a 22-year-career. Cambridge-based Slaven is understood to have spent 15 years in the Royal Air Force before qualifying as a children’s nurse in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1997.

He racially harassed ‘Colleague 1’, a senior nursing lecturer, at Anglia Ruskin University for over two years between October 2016 and December 2018, the NMC tribunal heard. The offensive lecturer, who has worked at NHS hospitals across the country, claimed it was ‘banter between friends’, the report added.

Referring to Colleague 1’s turban, Slaven said ‘why aren’t you wearing your bandage?’ and also asked ‘where’s your hat?’, before insisting ‘no, it’s a hat’ when his co-worker corrected him. Slaven told Colleague 1 ‘you seem to take all the religious holidays off, and even Christmas and that’s not your holiday’ and ‘you lot, Sikhs, have all these religious holidays’.

When discussing a charity appeal for toys for Sikh children, Slaven said: “What Sikh Toys? Do you mean daggers, knives and swords?” He once stated: “Me and Guru Nanak are best buddies, I know him really well and he said he’ll be dressing up as Father Christmas this year.”

He also once remarked ‘Indians came to the UK in a banana boat’. Slaven admitted the charges but did not attend the hearing. A tribunal report said: “[The NMC] considered the misconduct to be serious because Mr Slaven was in a position of trust teaching future nursing professionals, the report added.

RELATED STORY:

(Asia Samachar, xx 20xx)



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

Gurdwara Sahib Seremban – Tender Notice

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Advertisement | Malaysia |

Gurdwara Sahib Seremban – Tender Notice



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

Ranjit Kaur (1934 – 2021), Taiping / Petaling Jaya

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FIRST BARSI

RANJIT KAUR D/O BUDH SINGH

27.1.1934 – 8.6.2021

Wife of late ASP Ranjit Singh

Children / Spouses:
Balbir Kaur Bhall / Tony Miller
Dr Nerash Nirmal Singh / Anita Peter
Hansraj Singh Bhall / Sarah Webb

Grandchildren:
Nereeta Bhall
Dr Gershwin Isaac Singh Bhall

First Barsi prayers on 28 May 2022 from 6pm to 8pm at the Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya

Maji will be dearly missed, always cherished and forever remembered by her children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends whose lives she had touched.



| Entry: 24 May 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 

Two Sikh Canadians talk about hair and identity

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Gurpreet Ahluwalia (left) and Rup Magon – Photo: Fashion Magazine by Renata Kaveh and Yvonne Stanley

By Wendy Kaur | Canada |

Two Canadians shed light on their daily connection with their growing hair. Wendy Kaur captures their stories for Fashion Magazine.

What she says:

Gurpreet Ahluwalia says that she can count on one hand the number of times she has gotten a trim in her 36 years. And it shows: The Sikh Toronto-based wife and mother’s hair falls all the way down to her knees. “I haven’t taken my Amrit yet, but I’m on that path,” she says.

Although she has yet to be baptized, leaving her strands in their natural state is a custom that Ahluwalia grew up with. “My parents kept my hair long and untouched,” she says. “I was kind of a tomboy growing up, so leaving it uncut didn’t really bother me.” Ahluwalia, who has a background in fashion marketing, didn’t realize how dramatic the length looked until she was in high school. “It wasn’t that I had to keep my hair uncut, but I was worried about disappointing my parents if I didn’t. I dabbled with trimming it, but it was always under the pretense that it would make my hair healthier,” says the Parsons The New School graduate, who has worked for both Holt Renfrew and Saks Fifth Avenue.

As she’s gotten older, Ahluwalia has not only come to appreciate the spiritual significance of leaving her locks uncut but also forged an emotional attachment to them through her commitment to her cultural identity. “I have a career in fashion, so I have a lot of vanities, but my hair isn’t one of them,” she says, laughing. “Hair isn’t just physical for me; my hair is my biggest confidante. We’re in it together, for everything.”

What he says:

Rup Magon finds himself talking about his turban all the time. “It’s the first thing people see even before they see me,” he says. The Toronto-based singer-songwriter wears his turban out of a sense of cultural identity. “I’m proud to be Sikh, but I can’t say that I’m particularly religious,” says the co-lead of Josh — a fusion band that has been on the South Asian music scene for 20 years. “It’s interesting how the turban automatically gets connected to religion. Many cultures have been wearing the turban for centuries. I wear mine as a way of preserving my own.”

While most first-generation Sikhs in Canada come from Punjab, India, Magon’s parents — both practising Sikhs — were born in Nairobi, Kenya, and immigrated to Saskatoon in the late ’60s. Magon himself was born in Montreal and grew up in the ’80s getting regular haircuts. “I was 10 years old and going to a French school when I decided to grow my hair long and wear a turban,” he says. “I have always been someone who likes to do things off the beaten path, and connecting to my family’s culture was, in a way, uncharted territory for me.”

Making the lifestyle change definitely turned out to be a bit of a culture shock. The singer, who became the first Sikh to be a lead on a Canadian comedy series — Decoys, on CBC Gem — says he went from having a typical haircut to going into Grade 5 with a patka (a bandana teenage Sikh boys usually wear in place of a turban). “You can imagine that wearing a patka in 1980s French Canada would be brutal,” he says. However, Magon says that while his cousins, who went to nearby schools, experienced having their patkas ripped off, he was fortunate that he didn’t encounter any overt racism despite being one of two visibly Sikh students in his school.

This is an abridged version of ‘Two Sikh Canadians on How Their Hair Connects Them With Their Identity’ by Wendy Kaur (Fashion Magazine, 22 April 2022). Click here for the full article.

RELATED STORY:

British Sikh shares hate crime when he was 15, then again in university (Asia Samachar, 28 Nov 2020)



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

I’m only getting started, says Malaysian swimmer Arvin Shaun

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Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal wins silver for men’s 4×200 metre freestyle at SEA Games 2022 in Hanoi.

By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |

Tuesday was a big day for Malaysian swimmer Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal and his teammates as they prepared for the battle of their lives in the men’s 4×200 metre freestyle at SEA Games 2022 in Hanoi. They have been preparing for the race, and they were eyeing for gold.

But it was not to be. The Malaysian quartet overcame the expected stiff challenge from Singapore, but Vietnam surprised them all.

In the end, swimmers Welson Sim, Lim Yin Chuen, Arvin and Khiew Hoe Yean won the silver medal on that fateful May 17 with a time of seven minutes and 19.75 seconds. The gold may have slipped them, but they broke the national record of 7: 26.74s set at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

“The race was a good old fashion dog fight and the boys and I dig deep and fought the whole race. Overall getting a silver medal was a very good result from the last SEA Games and we top it off with a national record,” Arvin told Asia Samachar.

“We have been eyeing this race as one of our best shots of getting a gold but hats off to Vietnam for swimming an incredible race. But, overall, we are happy with how we race tonight as we put all of our hearts in it.”

The gold medal in the record time of 7: 16.31s was won by the host Vietnam quartet.

At Hanoi, the 21-year-old Arvin had also taken part in 100 free, 50 free, 200 IM, 50 back and 4×100 free.

In 2019, Arvin became the first swimmer of Sikh-descent to compete in the Southeast Asia games.

Asked if there were any surprises, Arvin said: “There wasn’t any surprises. I knew how tough the competition was and I came to test myself against the best in South East Asia. I know I can hang with the best in South East Asia but I’m only getting started and I’ll be working very hard to be a world class swimmer.”

Singapore’s swimmers once again impressed their opponents when they won a total haul of 21 gold medals at Hanoi, two short of the all-time best gold medal showing of 23 at the 2019 and 2015 Games. Malaysia swimmers, on the other hand, could only bag one gold, four silver and two bronze, finishing fifth among 10 nations.

“Singapore has always been strong competitors every year. They have a very good system going on down there and have some world class coaches and has many resources to help improve their swimmers,” said Arvin.



RELATED STORY:

Arvin first Malaysian Sikh swimmer to bag medal at Sea Games (Asia Samachar, 5 Dec 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

Students barred from school Eid gathering for wearing kurta. Netizens showed them love

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By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |

Students wearing kurta to a Malaysian school Aidilfitri (Hari Raya) gathering were in for a shock of their lives when they were punished for wearing the traditional Indian subcontinent dress.

After being chided, the students were asked to stand in the assembly ground, missing the fun and joy of the celebration. They were only allowed back to the celebration towards the tail end, with food almost running out. Most of the other students, presumably from the Malay origin, would probably be wearing what is usually called Baju Melayu.

The alleged incident was shared in a Facebook posting, reported last week (May 14) by Malay newspaper Kosmo. The newspaper report did not name the school or the background of the students.

In response to the alleged incident, most netizens expressed disapproval, chiding the teachers involved for their poor and unwarranted response.

Kurta originates from the Indian subcontinent. The word has its origins in the Urdu, Hindustani language and has also got the name from the Sanskrit word kuratu or kurtaka. In Persian it literally means a collarless shirt and it indeed is a collarless dress but some variants have a collar. The dress is commonly worn in countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka along with India. It is worn with pajamas, pants, jeans, Dhoti and Lungis too and is stitched in fabrics like cotton, silk, voile, jute, khadi, and kota, according to an entry at Cultural India.



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

Footballing sisters break new ground

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One for the flight: Asheesh (left) and Kanchen en-route to Mongolia for an UEFA Invite

By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |

Sisters Asheesh Kaur Nanua and Kanchenjeet Kaur Nanua has been selected to join Malaysia’s women under-17 team now in Mongolia for a UEFA invitational tourney.

This is the first time the footballing sisters – Asheesh, 17, and Kanchen, 16, — will be donning the national jersey together.

The UEFA Assist Under-17 Tournament in Ulanbaatar starts today (May 21) and ends on May 29. Malaysia face Singapore in their opening match on Tuesday (May 24) before taking on Uzbekistan on Thursday (May 26) and host Mongolia on Saturday (May 28).

In 2018, then 13-year-old Asheesh was selected to join the Malaysian under-15 girls team for an international tourney in Hong Kong, making history as the first Sikh women player to don the junior national jersey.

At the national level, Steffi Sarge Kaur holds the distinction of being the first Sikh woman to don the national jersey. The Malaysian women’s international footballer and futsal player was part of the football team at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games and the national futsal team which won the bronze medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.

On her part, Kanchen got her first break in 2019 when she was selected for the U15 Malaysian women football team for the ASEAN football federation (AFF) 2019 tournament.

The sisters will also play for the Selangor state team in the Tun Sharifah Rodziah Cup 2022, which is the national women’s football tournament.

The UEFA Assist, launched in 2017, aims to enhance football development and increase solidarity to tackle the needs of confederations and national associations outside of Europe. In this tourney, Mongolia received a grant from the programme, and gets to invite three other nations for a tournament.

“It’s great exposure for the players,” the footballing sisters’ mother Jasbir Kaur told Asia Samachar.

Asheesh (left) and Kanchen with their younger sister and parents at the airport before leaving for Mongolia for the UEFA Invite U-17 women friendly

RELATED STORY:

Like father, like daughter. Asheesh journeys to Barcelona (Asia Samachar, 13 Dec 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

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