Tag: sikh

Meet Amritpal Singh, the separatist leader contesting Lok Sabha polls from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Self-proclaimed Sikh preacher and separatist leader Amritpal Singh is all set to contest as an Independent candidate from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat in Punjab. Currently in Dibrugarh jail in Assam, Singh has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and National Security Act. He will contest against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Laljit Singh Bhullar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Manjeet Singh Manna for the seat.

Amritpal Singh, the leader of Waris Punjab De, a pro-Khalistan group, was arrested last April. This occurred after he and his supporters, armed with swords and guns, forcibly entered a police station on the outskirts of Amritsar in February 2023, to help his aide, Lovepreet Singh Toofan, escape prison.

Following the incident, the Punjab Police launched a crackdown against Singh and his organisation. They were charged with various offences such as inciting social discord, assaulting police officers, and obstructing public officials from performing their duties.

Singh, who had modelled himself after the dead Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, managed to evade the police on March 18 last year in Jalandhar. The Punjab Police said at the time that he had changed his clothes and switched from a Maruti Brezza car to a motorcycle to evade arrest. Singh had reportedly sought refuge in a gurdwara before changing his appearance and fleeing on a motorcycle. He was branded a ‘fugitive’.

Singh recorded and released several videos during that time.

In his first recorded video message released on a YouTube channel, Amritpal Singh urged Sikh people worldwide to join the Sarbat Khalsa programme on Baisakhi and talked about unity in addressing Punjab’s issues. “For a long time, our community has been engrossed in putting up fronts on small issues. If we have to solve the issues of Punjab, then we have to be together,” he said.

Singh also addressed the government’s actions, stating they had “cheated us” and said many of his companions were “arrested, NSA was imposed” and sent to Assam. “That’s why I appeal to all Sikhs to assemble on the occasion of Baisakhi,” he said.

A day after that, an audio clip allegedly of the Khalistani separatist was circulated widely on social media. In the recording, a man speaking in Punjabi said he was Amritpal Singh and claimed he did not make demands for surrender to the Punjab government. “These are all rumours,” he said in the audio.

“I have not made any surrender demands to the government,” he stated. “I am not afraid of going to jail or police custody. Let them do what they want,” he said. He also said he was ‘weakened’ and gets to eat only one meal a day.

A few days later, Singh released a second video claiming he was not a fugitive and would soon “appear in front of the world.” In the video posted on the same YouTube channel, the ‘Waris De Punjab’ head said, “I am not a fugitive, but a rebel. I have not run away.” He claimed that he was not “afraid of the government.”

“Do whatever you want to do,” he challenged, “Whoever wants to beat me, I am not afraid.”

Later Amritpal Singh was arrested in April and detained in Dibrugarh jail where nine of his associates have also been held.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

29-year-old Sikh from UP’s Bijnor shot dead outside gurdwara in US Alabama; family suspects ‘hate crime’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In a case of suspected hate crime, a 29-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh was shot dead outside a gurdwara in the Selma region in the US state of Alabama. The incident took place on the night of February 24 (Saturday), The Times of India reported.

Raj Singh, also known as Goldy, used to work as a musician (ragi) with a Sikh kirtan group in the US. He hailed from the Tanda Sahuwala village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district. Singh was associated with the Kirtan group for the past one-and-a-half years in the US.

On February 24, he was standing outside the gurdwara in the evening when a few unidentified assailants arrived at the spot and shot him in the abdomen, the national daily report said. Singh’s family got to know about his murder on Sunday.

“We were informed about the incident by some relatives. It has been five days, and his post-mortem is yet to be done. We have reached out to the gurdwara committee for more information, and they are helping us,” Gurdeep Singh, the deceased’s brother-in-law, told TOI.

He further said that the family appealed to the Indian government for justice and demanded the arrest of the killers at the earliest.

The motive behind Raj Singh’s murder is yet to be ascertained. However, his family suspects it to be a case of hate crime.

Raj Singh was the sole provider for his family after his father passed away five years ago. He is survived by his mother, two sisters, and a younger brother. As per reports, his family has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting the Indian government to bring back his body to India for cremation.

Hate crimes in US

In the US, the total number of hate crimes reported to police in the country’s 10 largest cities rose again in 2023, as per the data recently released by the California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.

The annual study states that there were 2,184 hate crimes reported across Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, New York City, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, and Austin in 2023. There was an increase of around 13% compared with the 2022 data, it added.

Further, a larger analysis of the 25 American cities found that hate crimes in the country have increased by an average of 17% from 2022, as per the study.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (RBI), a hate crime is a “committed criminal offence which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”

Raj Singh’s murder is the second such incident in the region in February 2024. Earlier, an American hotelier of Gujarati origin, named Pravin Raojibhai Patel was shot dead after he got embroiled in a reported altercation with a man asking for a room in his motel in Alabama’s Sheffield area.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Canada may arrest two suspects in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing “within weeks”: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Canadian police are close to arresting two men believed to be responsible for the fatal shooting of Sikh separatist Nijjar in the British Columbia province in June and are still in the country, according to a media report. According to The Globe and Mail newspaper, the suspects are currently under police surveillance and are expected to be apprehended “. According to three anonymous sources quoted by the newspaper, the two suspected killers did not leave Canada following Nijjar’s assassination and have been under police surveillance for months.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Nijjar outside a gurdwara in Surrey city on June 18. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

The report on Wednesday said that police will unveil details regarding the alleged involvement of the assassins and their connection to the Indian government when formal charges are filed. “Within the community, there’s a sense of closure that might come with the two people being arrested like it’s being said,” the Global News quoted Moninder Singh, spokesperson of BC Gurdwaras Council, as saying.

According to the report, the integrated homicide investigation team said it was aware of the reports of imminent arrests in Nijjar’s murder but won’t comment because it’s an active investigation. The Canadian allegations were followed by a US indictment in November outlining a foiled plot to kill a Canadian-American Sikh activist, the report said.

In November, the US federal prosecutors charged that one Nikhil Gupta was working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Though the separatist Sikh leader was not named, media reports identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India. India has already constituted a probe committee to investigate allegations by the US prosecutors.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha earlier this month that Canada has not shared any specific evidence or inputs with India. Days after Trudeau’s allegations in September, India temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure parity.

India resumed some visa services in Canada last month, more than a month after they were suspended.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Will wait for results of India’s probe into plot to kill Sikh separatist: US

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The United States has said it will wait to see the results of the investigation announced by India concerning allegations of the involvement of an Indian official in a plot to assassinate a separatist Sikh leader in the US. “We have noted at the most senior levels of this government the secretary of state has raised this directly with his foreign counterpart that we take this issue very seriously. They told us they would conduct an investigation,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on Tuesday.

“They have publicly announced an investigation. Now, we will wait to see the results of the investigation,” Miller said in response to a question. American prosecutors have linked an Indian official to a man charged with conspiring to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil.

India has described it as a “matter of concern” and asserted that follow-up action will be taken based on findings of a panel investigating the allegations. The US, Miller said, has also urged India to cooperate with Canada’s investigation of allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian national.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Uttarakhand recognises Anand Marriage Act: What is the law pertaining to Sikh weddings?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Earlier this month, Uttarakhand implemented the Anand Marriage Act, 1909. After Assam and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, it is the third state in the past few months to recognise marriages solemnised as per Sikh wedding rituals.

Harmeet Singh Kalki, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), welcomed the Uttarakhand government’s decision to recognise Anand marriages.

What is the Anand Marriage Act?

An Anand marriage ceremony, also known as Anand Karaj, holds immense significance within Sikhism. The ceremony, meaning “act towards happiness” or “act towards happy life,” was introduced by Sikh Guru Amar Das, while the four laavaan (hymns) that form the core of the ceremony were composed by Guru Ram Das. The Act aims to legally validate a marriage performed in accordance with Sikh traditions.

Emergence of Anand Marriage Act

The emergence of the Anand Marriage Act dates back to 1909 when the British Imperial Legislative Council passed legislation for the recognition of the Sikh wedding ceremony, Anand Karaj. The Act aimed to acknowledge and respect the customs and practices of the community.

In a significant development in 2012, the Parliament passed the Anand Marriage (Amendment) Bill, bringing Sikh traditional marriages under the purview of legal recognition.

While the Central government enacted the amendments, it was left to individual states to frame their respective rules for the registration of Anand marriages. This situation left many Sikhs with limited options. People from the community often resort to registering their marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act due to the absence of specific rules in many states.

The diversity of religions and cultures in India necessitates laws that respect citizens’ beliefs and practices without encroaching upon their rights. The Anand Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2012 was a step in this direction, recognising the importance of safeguarding the customs and traditions of various communities.

Although the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 initially lacked provisions for marriage registration, the 2012 amendment filled this gap. Couples who register their marriages under the amended guidelines are not required to seek registration under any other law, providing them with legal clarity and acknowledgement.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Texas: First female Sikh judge sworn into United States court

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian-origin Manpreet Monica Singh has been sworn in as a Harris county judge in Houston, becoming the first female Sikh judge in the US.

Singh was born and raised in Houston and now lives in Bellaire with her husband and two children.

She was sworn in as a judge of the Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4 in Texas on Friday.

Singh’s father immigrated to the US in the early 1970s.

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A trial lawyer for 20 years, she has been involved in numerous civil rights organizations at the local, state, and national levels.

“It means a lot to me because I represent H-town (a nickname of Houston) the most, so for it to be us, I’m happy for it,” she said at the oath ceremony.

Indian-American Judge Ravi Sandill, the state’s first South Asian judge, presided over the ceremony, which took place in a packed courtroom.

“It’s a really big moment for the Sikh community,” Sandill said.

“When they see someone of color, someone a little different, they know that possibility is available to them. Manpreet is not only an ambassador for Sikhs, but she’s an ambassador for all women of colour,” he said.

There are an estimated 5,00,000 Sikhs in the US, with 20,000 Sikhs living in the Houston area.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said: “It was a proud day for the Sikh Community, but also a proud day for all people of Colour who see the Diversity of the City of Houston in the Diversity of the Court.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

CAA about giving rights, not taking them away, PM Narendra Modi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Clearing misconceptions on amended Citizenship Act or CAA allegedly being fuelled by opposition parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday clarified that the law is about giving rights and not about taking them away.

Speaking on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the day when India celebrates National Youth Day across the country, Modi said youth and other citizens of the country are being misled on the CAA which came into force on Friday almost a month after Parliament passed it on December 11.

“CAA is a law to provide citizenship, it does not snatch citizenship. The government is providing citizenship through the law, it is not taking back the citizenship of anyone,” Modi said while addressing youth at Belur Math.

The Prime Minister said that the CAA provides citizenship to those migrants who faced persecution in the name of religion in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. “The people who believe in the Constitution of India will be given citizenship on the basis of certain legalities.”

He said that the government is following the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi and the new citizenship law is facilitating those migrants facing persecution.

The Prime Minister’s remarks related to CAA came in the backdrop of violent protests in different cities across the country against the law which experts say is against the Muslim community.

He also called upon the youth to clear misconceptions from the minds of people about the new law.

The law grants citizenship to migrants of six non-Muslim communities — Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian — from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sandeep Dhaliwal: Death of an American hero

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It was his smile that many people remember first. His warm, spontaneous smile. And of course, his turban which he wore proudly on his head, like a crown. He was the very first Sikh who was allowed to wear the turban and retain a beard as part of his uniform, opening up the path for many Sikhs to join the force and maintain their faith at the same time.

For Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal of Houston, his turban was his article of faith, his strength, his joy – and perhaps the reason for his death.

On September 27, Deputy Dhaliwal was gunned down at a routine traffic stop. He was returning to his squad car when Robert Solis, the alleged gunman, shot him twice in the back. It was cold-blooded murder, and he died in hospital. He was only 42 and leaves behind a wife and three young children.

“He was and continues to be all that is good, and all that is just,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said, in declaring September 27, the day of Dhaliwal’s death, “Sheriff Deputy Dhaliwal Day.”

The shock and grief have been palpable, not only in the Sikh and Indian-American community but amongst all Americans. Thousands turned up at the vigils and at his memorial service, and fundraisers have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his bereaved family.

Dhaliwal, who had trucking and pizza businesses, joined the police force to make a difference back in 2008 when members of the Sikh community had been harassed by deputies about the kirpans in their home. A report on NPR noted that Dhaliwal always said public service was in his blood: “I always had the desire to be a police officer, as my father served in the navy – Indian Navy, and my uncle served in the Indian military.”

So who was Sandeep Dhaliwal and what made him tick? Trying to understand the man after he is gone, I browsed the hundreds of tributes written for his family. One from Pavneet Mavi shed some light on his early life: “It is a tough job! Only brave selfless people can take the “To Serve and Protect” oath. Sandeep Dhaliwal immigrated from India as a child. He gave away articles of Sikh faith by cutting his hair when he was a teenager. He wanted to be accepted. But another tenet of Sikh religion that has no physical manifestation is service to the community. This path to serve led him to become a deputy. Sandeep reestablished his Sikh identity by wearing a turban, it completes him, and made him appear an “unconventional identity”.

Indeed, in his early police career, he served without the turban which was not permitted as part of the uniform. The new sheriff Adrian Garcia who had convinced Dhaliwal to join the force to help transform it from the inside, changed the department policy to accommodate his turban and beard. As NPR noted, “It was a first for the county and the state. Garcia says he warned Dhaliwal about the possible consequences: “In uniform, you’re a target. When you wear a turban, you become even a bigger target.”

Dhaliwal became the first Sikh to be allowed to wear the turban in Texas in 2015. It was a hard-won right and he delighted in it. In a changing America where racism and hate have become overt, his turban made him almost a moving target. As a young man, he joined the force to rectify the absence of Indian-Americans in the workforce and made it his life’s mission to have the impact of his community on the face of America.

Dhaliwal was all about making a difference. He was the Homeland Security Director for the United Sikhs and had served in the police force of Harris County, Texas for ten years. According to the United Sikhs, in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, he led a team of volunteers to provide disaster relief to those in need across Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. In Punjab India, he led the effort to help us provide humanitarian aid for farmers working to survive a record drought.

His father Piara Singh Dhaliwal noted in a statement, “Sandeep was a pillar of strength for the Sikh faith, community and our family. While we are completely heartbroken by the immense loss we feel, we find solace in knowing Sandeep will forever be in the hearts and memory of so many he touched.”

Dhaliwal did indeed inspire many as one can see from the outpourings of tributes. As one person wrote: “Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal was the reason I went from Seattle to Houston to help with Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts. He was someone I could relate to and drew me in. He was a great soul and touched many in his life. RIP Bro.”

Watching the funeral live on television, with thousands at the funeral and many more watching it from their homes, listening to the lament of the bagpipes, one felt the grief and the hopelessness. October 2nd, the day of his funeral, was also Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth centenary. Decades after Gandhiji was assassinated, it still is easy to gun down a good man and non-violence remains an idealized concept.

The United Sikhs legal department has been retained by Dhaliwal’s family to ensure justice is served to the fullest extent of the law against the suspected shooter.

On the date of the funeral in Texas, a vigil was planned in New York by the Sikh Cultural Society in Richmond Hill, Jamaica, the tri-state area’s oldest and largest Sikh temple. I trekked to this vigil with many others in pouring rain but the rain soon reduced to a sad drizzle and the crowd stood under umbrellas with lit candles in the dark, ordinary people and city officials.

As Harpreet Singh Toor, community activist and chairman of external affairs at the Sikh Cultural Society told me, “Sandeep Dhaliwal actually fought to have the right to serve with the turban in the police department – he was an immigrant who laid down his life to protect the law of the land. When immigrants are being labelled as criminals, this goes counter to that. He laid down his life without even thinking about it and doing the job he was supposed to do.”

Racism and hate of The Other have indeed become a big divider in America. The Sikh community has been vigilant about educating people, for Sikhism and the tenets of the Sikh faith have often been the targets of the ignorant.

Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal showed that it is vital to stand for what you believe in, and sometimes a brief life can be even more impactful, measured not in the years lived but by the deeds done. As one mourner wrote: “Deputy Dhaliwal represented the very essence of Sikhism: selfless service.”

Courage is in short supply in America and the hope is that this tragedy will ignite a new conversation about the urgency for gun control and dialogue about race and hate crimes in America.

Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who blogs at Lassi with Lavina.

Read Lavina Melwani’s columns here.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow