A plea to India’s Lessons aplenty Tearing Apart

Health Minister OTHER for Punjab from Tytler: Another

MERCHANTS Louisiana and witness spills beans

world sikh news

to blow out OF DEATH
smoking guns P13 Lack of political will
to put up pictorial
Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister
for Health and Family Welfare

Dear Dr. Ramadoss

awareness against passive smok-
ing have been flouted with impuni-
ty. Like all Indian laws, implemen-
tation is wanting.
find it dif
like the Q
There i
that pi
Gurgaon P2 on camera P14-15
warnings on the puff I find it hard to believe that you reduced t

Dec 26, 2007- Jan 1, 2008 www.worldsikhnews.com Vol 3 Issue 1, Phone (408) 272-2034, Fax (408) 519-6610

INDIA CIRCA 2007

Kalam Nishan Singh details from Tehelka sting opera-
tion of Modi’s men tearing apart a

E
very year ending is a pre- pregnant woman’s stomach and
cursor to hopes for a new plunging a sword through the foe-
dawn, occasion for new tus? What could you deduce from
resolutions and a realistic the fact that the Congress campaign
stock taking of the year gone by. As in Gujarat did not even refer to the
the world soaks in the Yuletide spir- Tehelka sting operation?

A memory frame
it and clock ticks towards the Thankfully, photoframes make
moment when we would be singing deductions simple. India’s ruling
Auld Lang Syne, the Punjabi party could not decide whether it
Diaspora, and indeed the entire wants to be totally secular or par-
South Asian community is crest- tially communal, and it sunk. It
fallen at the developments in India. could have done little else.
Everyone wants to preserve a Communalism is a beast that often

yours for keeps

photoframe for keeps, but where haunts if you hunt with it.
will one keep the framed memory of And Congress had hunted with it.
2007 from India? On your mantle- When mobs led by Congress leaders
piece, it will look very shameful. were hunting down Sikhs in Delhi —
Come, have a look. voter lists in hand, burning tyres in
We are ending 2007 with right abundant supply, police that looked
wing hoodlums of VHP killing the other way and a leader that pro-
Christians in Orissa because they claimed on national TV his distilled
wanted to celebrate Christmas. wisdom about earth shaking and
Good sense of timing for a com- trees falling — it had thought the
munal riot. haunting ghosts of politics were
In Gujarat, one termed as Maut merely a myth. Now these ghosts are
Ke Saudagar by leader of the coun- turning up on camera, on newspaper
try’s ruling party was elected Chief pages and in books. Even before a
Minister. Narendra Modi, the probe commission could clear him,
poster boy of Hindutva and the Jagdish Tytler was made India’s
author of Gujarat’s communal car- minister, and when he had to resign
nage, the man whose masks amidst shame, the CBI worked over-
became a symbol of loathing and time to hand him a clean chit. Till of
fear, defeated the Congress which course enterprising journalists
had blinkers on its eyes. tracked a key witness Jasbir Singh
This was the man whom the in California. One poor truck driver
United States of America did not living as a refugee refuses to be
allow to enter and refused visa cowed down by the entire might of
because of his track record of being the Indian sleuthing agency’s strata-
a gross human rights violator and gems. And then another witness is
mass killer, and who was described caught on a hidden camera narrat-
by a majority of secular opiniona- ing how Tytler led mobs who killed
tors and liberal civil society in India people and burnt them half-dead and
as a dictator, merchant of death, half-alive after carting them to a spot
and promoter of Hindu terrorism. in front of a gurdwara in hand-
Shame also died by the time 2007 pulled garbage carts (See Special
ended. Within hours of his win with Report P 14-15).
a 117-59, vast sections of Indian Kill 2,000 Muslims and become
mainstream media were attributing Chief Minister. Kill 3,000 Sikhs and
the victory not to the communal become Minister for Overseas
rhetoric but to the so-called develop- Indian Affairs. You may be haunt-
ment in Gujarat. Someone had ed, you may escape. Good luck.
changed the prism overnight and That’s Indian politics for you, circa
media was now getting a different 2007. How do you like it? Plain com-
image. The allusions to a Modi munal ‘burn the Sikhs’ medium
swinging down to Delhi and swallow- rare with tyres or spiced with
ing up even the national leadership Gujarati xenophobia sprinkled
of the Bhartiya Janta Party showed with saffron chutney?
what kind of a wolf was on prey. The Hindutva end game can
What could you deduce from a have only two results: Either the
photoframe of a year which brought ultra rightist agenda will rule or
to you the excruciatingly painful Continued on page 18

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2 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 NEWS world sikh news

Pastor, who once banned Sikh driver who

Langar, quits Mission was assaulted still
WSN Network
SHASTA COUNTY, Sacramento: Jim
Dahl, who had once told the Sikhs that
they cannot be allowed to serve langar at
the Good News Rescue Mission, but had
to later reverse that decision, has
resigned from the post of Mission's exec-
utive director after five years.
Dahl, 59, submitted his resignation on
Dec 11 and said he wanted more time to
spend with his family and to pursue
other career paths. The Rev. Dave Honey,
the mission's director of ministries, will
take over executive director duties on an
interim basis but will also apply for
Dahl's position.
The mission is Shasta County's largest
homeless shelter, providing meals and a
place to sleep for as many as 200 people a night. In
2007, it will have provided more than
190,000 hot meals and 17,000 sacks of
groceries, according to mission offi-
cials.
The often-outspoken Dahl courted
controversy in 2003 when soon after his
appointment, he sent a letter to local
Sikh representatives telling them they
wouldn't be allowed to serve meals at
the mission as they had been since the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He
claimed that their presence at the mis-
sion compromised the organization's
Christian-based image.
The letter soon became public, and
after an emergency meeting of fellow
directors, Dahl was instructed to meet
with Sikh leaders to find an amicable
resolution. Dahl had to later reverse
his decision, and termed it a misunderstanding.
to return to job
WSN Network
SEATTLE: Till a few days back, 49-
year-old Sukhvir Singh was just
one of the thousands of cab driv-
ers till a construction worker foot-
ball fan with a skewed world per-
spective assaulted him, called him
an "Iraqi terrorist" and threatened
to killed him. The incident spurred
a great deal of sympathy for
Sukhvir Singh and Sikhs rallied
around this cab driver who did not
take one wrong step, stayed on the
right side of the law and displayed
how one man could rise to become where Sukhvir Singh's story was
an ambassador for the entire com- narrated. He, of course, remains
munity. humble and deeply appreciates the
While the Sikh Coalition found community support.
him an attorney within days, many Doctors have advised Sukhvir

Punjab’s honey traders Five British offered help in cash and kind. A
SeaTac-based Indian radio station
shared his story live on the air.
Singh rest for the month of
December but lack of work means
lack of money too. He wants to

Sikhs jailed Hundreds turned up for a candle- return to his job as soon as possi-

flock to Rajasthan’s for murder

light vigil a day after the attack.
About 2,000 people attended a
Sunday service at the gurudwara
ble. Being a husband and a father
of two, Sukhvir Singh needs all the
good wishes of the community.

sarson fields WSN Network

LONDON: Five British Sikhs have Sikhs donate blood at

WSN Network based Kejriwal Bee Care India been jailed for a total of 66 years

LUDHIANA/KOTA: Rajasthan
and Punjab are hearing a new
drone noise these days, joining
them in a honey laced pact. With
the cold weather killing mustard
flowers fast, bee-keepers from
Punjab and many other places
are converging on Rajasthan to
lap up honey.
As sharp winter kills the mus-
tard flower, bee-keepers from
Punjab whose mustard-based
honey is a major export item, can
now be seen in Ganganagar,
Alwar, Bharatpur, Kota, Jaipur
and Bikaner, areas where farm-
ers grow mustard.
Among these were Jagjit Singh
Kapoor, chairman of Kashmir
Apiaries Private Limited, in
Doraha, Ludhiana, whose compa-
ny claims an 80 percent market
share of the 15,000 tonnes of
honey exported annually to vari-
ous destinations, including the
US and Europe.
Amit Dhanuka, CEO of Delhi-
Private Limited, another big play-
er in the industry, says that
besides producing honey, mus-
tard flowers also help in breeding
bees.
Kota district has bee-keepers
from states like Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh and Haryana.
Even small bee-keepers are try-
ing to cash in on the yellow wave.
Ranjit Singh of Thakkar Sandhu
village in Gurdaspur, Punjab, has
come to Phoosewala village with
his 45 hives. “Of the 100 hives I
had in Muktsar, I lost 55 due to
insecticide spray on flowers. I’m
here to make up for that loss,” he
says.
Adds Muzaffar Ahmad from
Kashmir: “These days there is no
scope of extracting honey in
Kashmir due to the intense cold,
so I’m here to make honey.” Not to
mention money for the mustard
farmers in Rajasthan.
Incidentally, a majority of bees
in India are the Italian honey
bees (Apis mellifera ligustica).
for murdering a Muslim tenant.
A London court jury found land-
lord Balbir Singh Dhillon and his
four accomplices Amarjit Dhillon,
Mohan Singh, Charan Singh and
Surinder Singh guilty of murder-
ing 21-year-old Rizwan Yousaf in
his rented one-room flat in East
London in March this year.
All were given life sentences
with minimum terms totalling 66
years. The tenant had moved into
his rented accommodation two
weeks before his murder. The jury
also heard that Yousaf was far
from ideal tenant as he played loud
music and kept a noisy dog.
On the day of the attack, he had
locked himself out of his home
and visited Dhillon for a key, upset-
ting the landlord’s wife with his
aggressive demands.
The court also heard that Yousaf
made an emergency call and spoke
of his life in danger after being
threatened of eviction by the land-
lord. Police visited his home but
chose not to record the threat.
Lankershim gurdwara
Angad Singh
LOS ANGELES: Seventy-five peo-
ple donated blood at the annual
American Red Cross holiday blood
drive on December 9 at the Sikh
Temple of Los Angeles in
Lankershim. The blood will be
donated to the area hospitals in
Southern California. "Even though I
was scared of giving blood for the
first time, I felt that I couldn't miss
this perfect opportunity to help the
people in need," said donor Jaspreet
Sethi. The event was organized by
local high school students Sartaaj
and Harnoor Walia along with Red
Cross representative Geri
Hernandez ."I really wanted to help
my community because there are so
many people who need blood right
now…I'm really impressed with the
amount of support shown by every-
one," said Harnoor Walia. The drive
consisted of two 'blood mobiles' situ-
ated in the temple compound along
with Red Cross employees. "I donat-
ed blood because it would be useful
to my community and I feel good
about myself.
This is the least I can do," said
donor Gunjiv Singh. Donors varied
in age from 17 to 69 years and all
were rewarded with a coupon for
Cold Stone Creamery and also got
the opportunity to win a $500
American Express gift card in a raf-
fle. "It would be stupid not to donate
blood because it is the easiest way to
save a life…I just have to sit for ten
minutes and at the end of the
process I helped someone out," said
donor Jagmeet Singh.
The event was promoted weeks in
advance and the drive had a total of
44 appointments and 31 walk-ins.
"I'm really glad with our success and
I hope this will blood drive will con-
tinue in the future," said Harnoor
Walia.

Lessons from Louisiana and Gurgaon for Punjab

WSN Bureau Campus police in the US are rea- for nothing that the DC area is often liberal gun policy .
sonably well-organised, and univer- referred to as the 'murder capital' of But the fact remains that the infu-

T
he murder of
Chandrasekhar Reddy and
Kiran Kumar, the two
Indian Louisiana State
University students near Governor
Bobby Jindal's city Baton Rouge has
left both Americans and Indians
shocked. The FBI has joined the
investigation, but there is no indica-
tion yet regarding the motive for the
murders. This gory incident may
well rattle all those in India who
have children in American campus-
es as also the Diaspora. After
Virginia Tech shopotings, apprehen-
sions about security arrangements
in and around US
universities are legitimate.
One must take reasonable precau-
tions that a prudent person would
observe, especially in a country
where you must presume that every-
one whom you confront on the street
is armed.
sity authorities are generally will-
ing to go an extra length to protect
students and faculty members.
Unlike in India, transparency in
reporting incidents to students is
highly respected. Any wilful sup-
pression of news could be extremely
damaging to a university adminis-
tration.
But it will also be prudent to note
that there have been certain disturb-
ing trends in the US that cannot be
ignored. After a few years of a per-
ceptible drop in violent crime, the
graph is now rising. Of course New
York City and Los Angeles are
exceptions, perhaps due to initia-
tives of two dynamic Police
Commissioners, Ray Kelly and Bill
Bratton, homicides and other forms
of violence are definitely going up
elsewhere.
Philadelphia has a grave situa-
tion. Washington DC has registered
Michael Moore's Bowling For
Columbine sent a strong message,
but did it reach us?
more than 170 homicides this year
alone, of which 77 per cent have
been from the use of guns. It is not
the US. The Punjabi Diaspora must
have a lot of lessons to write home
about the fact that the spurt in crime
in many parts of America is widely
attributed to the nexus between
drugs and guns.
The dilemma with regard to
enforcement of the drug law
notwithstanding, there is a well-
known laxity in a majority of US
states that do not favour excessive
restriction on guns. This is evident
in the might of the gun lobby repre-
sented by the National Rifle
Association (NRA), which has
strong Republican connections.
Former New York Mayor and 2008
Republican presidential candidate
nominee Rudi Giuliani was a well-
known votary of gun restrictions
while he held office. Now, he isn't
that warm to gun control, for the
fear of alienating a sizeable chunk
of the party's leadership devoted to a
sion of politics into gun licensing
and ownership leads to a worsening
crime scene. The crime scene in the
US will continue to worry the
Punjabi Diaspora since their own
kids and many of those of their rel-
atives in Punjab come to US for stud-
ies. Besides, the Punjabi Diaspora
must make an effort to convince
authorities back homw in Punjab to
take the issue of arms control seri-
ously. Gun licensing in India is
strict, but of late there has been a
laxity, and we don't even have to
utter the word "Jessica Lal" to con-
vince you. The rich and famous can
easily acquire guns at will. Recently,
the WSN had published a story
about how prohibited guns seized
from unlawful elements were auc-
tioned to many politicians and their
kin in Punjab. After the Gurgaon
school shootings, there is every case
for tighter control over the process.
world sikh news NEWS Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 3

India’s Orissa reels under Four Babbar Khalsa

anti-Christian riots, activists convicted on
many churches burnt basis of police claims
WSN Network
ORISSA: Nightmare replaced celebrations
for Christians in India as right wing Hindu
hoodlums of Vishwa Hindu Parishad went
around attacking Christians in this coastal
state, and particularly on target were poor
and famished tribals. Churches were burnt
and at least one person was killed but there
was little reaction in the Indian print or
electronic media which focussed on film per-
sonalities celebrating Christmas.
Till this edition was going to the press,
riots were continuing in Kandhamal district
Wednesday despite curfew orders and
Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists were not
letting police from entering villages where
they attacked Christians. There was no talk
of calling the army. And CM Naveen Patnaik
declared situation was under control.
Curfew was imposed in four towns after a
youth was killed and six churches and a
minister’s houses were targeted on Tuesday
in largescale communal violence and arson
in Orissa’s Kandhamal district following an
attack on a VHP leader who led an anti-con-
version movement.
Central Reserve Police Force was being
rushed, said one report.
A youth was killed in mob violence at
Barakhamba, a senior police officer said,
adding he was yet to be identified. At least
six churches, mostly built in thatched hous-
es, were either ransacked or the vacant
premises set on fire since on Monday night
as tension built up in the area.
Curfew was imposed in district headquar-
ters town of Phulbani, Baliguda,
Daringibadi and Brahmanigaon.Twelve
churches were targetted by vandals since
Monday night and additional forces
deployed in sensitive pockets of the district
where of the total 6.50 lakh population, more
than one lakh belonged to Christian commu-
nity.
Three churches were set on fire at
Baliguda on Monday night, and three others
were burnt on Tueaday. Churches at
Chakapada, Giringia and Phiringia were
also ransacked before being set afire.
Plans over celebrations of Christmas
were opposed by the local Hindus and this
led to clashes between the Hindu and
Christian groups. Phulbani area is one of
the most communally sensitive regions and
clashes between Hindus and Christians are
a known fact.
Policemen who went to Daringbadi,
Phiringia and Chakapada blocks were not
allowed access by the mob which took to
streets after 80-year-old VHP leader Swami
Laxmanananda Saraswati was allegedly
attacked on Monday.
The VHP-sponsored bandh coincided with
a two-day shut-down called by “Kui samaj
sammanwaya samiti”, a tribal outfit
demanding Scheduled Tribe status to Dalit
Christians.
WSN Network
CHANDIGARH: A Chandigarh court has
convicted four Babbar Khalsa
International (BKI) members claiming
they were trying to revive terrorism in
Punjab after a huge cache of arms and
ammunition was recovered from them
near PGI here on March 21, 2006. It is
almost routine for Punjab Police to slap
such cases and for the courts to fully rely
on police theories.
The court has awarded a five-year jail
term along with a fine of Rs 5,000 to
Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukhi alias Bullet
for possessing a prohibited weapon (AK-
47). Dilbag Singh was sentenced to five-
year jail under the Arms Act for possess-
ing RDX. Ranjit Singh and Balbir Singh
alias Nepali were awarded a threeyear jail working for Jagtar Singh Tara, a prime
term each along with a fine of Rs 3,000 suspect in the assassination of former
under the Arms Act. Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. The
The police had claimed to have recovered police had rested their case on the CD of
an AK-47 rifle and 15 cartridges from the wedding ceremony of Sukhi, a journal-
Sukhi, a .38 bore Colt revolver and five car- ist with a Hindi newspaper, at Kurali,
tridges from Balbir Singh, 1-kg RDX from which Tara had attended. Dilbag Singh
Dilbag Singh and a .12 bore gun and two was also present. The police had alleged
cartridges from Ranjit Singh. that Dilbag Singh was the senior vice-pres-
Sukhi, Dilbag Singh and Ranjit Singh ident of SAD (A) in Ropar district. A
were residents of Ropar, while Balbir motorcycle was also recovered from Sukhi
Singh was from Solan in Himachal that was allegedly provided to him by Tara.
Pradesh. All of them were, as per the The police had said the accused had told
police story, associates of BKI activist them that they were part of a Babbar
Paramjit Singh Bheora. Khalsa module and were in constant touch
The police had alleged that the four were with other activists to revive terrorism.

Police arrest ‘terrorists’, but

media tears apart claims
WSN Network
PHAGWARA: Punjab Police claimed it has
arrested three youths with RDX last
Wednesday after a failed attempt to target
Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthaan in Nurmahal
but media has blown huge holes into the
police story. The vernacular media had
reported the fact that police has picked up
Gurinder Singh even before police could
claim that it arrested him two days later.
The reports also mentioned seizure of RDX
haul and revelations made by him during
police interrogation.
Incidentally, Gurinder, along with his
family, was booked around two months
back for waging war against the country
and for sedition. The police slapped the
charges after Gurinder’s name had
cropped up in investigations of RDX
seizure from Ghuman in Ludhiana. When
contacted for his comment, SSP Rakesh
Aggarwal said that nothing objectionable
had been recovered from the members of
Gurinder’s family.
Now, question being raised in intelligence
and media circles is what made the police
claim that Gurinder had failed to trigger the
blast on Wednesday and that he was arrest-
ed on his way back from Nurmahal.
According to their claims, he made two-
three attempts to trigger the blast.
Interestingly, police also claim to have
recovered two maps from the possession of
the accused. While one is a road map of
Phagwara-Nurmahal stretch, the other is of
the Ambala court complex where the Dera
Sacha Sauda chief is appearing for court
hearings. The police see no problem with
the fact that a man determined to carry out
a terror act with so much planning will not
need a map for Phagwara to Murmahal
stretch, particularly if Gurinder had
already tried to trigger the blast two-three
times at Nurmahal then why was he still
moving around maps? Phagwara to
Nurmahal stretch will be known to every
village bumpkin, but perhaps for the con-
venience of Punjab Police cops, the terror-
ists carry maps in their back pockets.

Punjab cops say they caught

another three near Nepal border
WSN Network
LUDHIANA: Notwithstanding the continu-
ous holes being punched into police stories
about arrests of alleged accused in RDX case
or Ludhiana bomb blasts, police is regularly
making more such arrests and issuing
equally skeletal incredible press releases.
Now it has claimed that three more suspect-
ed Babbar Khalsa militants were arrested on
Tuesday morning on the Indo-Nepal border
for their alleged role in the October blast in
Ludhiana that claimed six lives.
Two of the three were identified as
Gurpreet Singh and Sandeep and were
arrested while they were attempting to flee
to Nepal, official sources said. They are
allegedly involved in the blast in a multiplex
at Ludhiana on October 15 in which at least
six people were killed and 25 others injured.
They are also allegedly involved in trans-
porting deadly RDX into the state, a consign-
ment which was caught by the local police
few days ahead of the explosion.
Ludhiana SSP RK Jaiswal insisted that no
arrests had been made but sources con-
firmed it.
4 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 NEWS world sikh news

CBI to court: Police registering Sikh Federation top

brass meet warns
false cases against witnesses Mann acolytes
KHALRA CASE: Key witness acquitted of rape charges WSN Network Belgium on 11 November.
The meeting also decided that it
WSN Network cases. It had registered a case DIG M. Narayanan, who super- LONDON: Last Sunday, on will be sending up to five represen-
under Section 376 of the IPC vised the case, told the court that December 23, the quarterly meet- tatives to the next World Sikh
PATIALA: Shame came in a liber- against Randhawa in July 2003 fake cases were being registered ing of Sikh Federation (UK) Summit in New York from 2-4
al dose for the Punjab Police with when he was in the process of against key witnesses in the branches from across the country February and would be urging con-
an investigating CBI senior officer recording his statement in a local Khalra case. This, Sodhi said, took place under the leadership of tacts from different countries in
of the rank of DIG officially court in the case. Six police offi- proved to be important in the rape the organisation - Bhai Amrik mainland Europe, Australia, New
informing an Indian court that cials, including a DSP, were con- case trial. Copies of a letter from Singh, Bhai Kuldip Singh Chaheru Zealand and Malaysia to join Sikhs
false cases were being registered victed in 2005 for the abduction Narayanan to the then Punjab and Bhai Narinderjit Singh. The from the USA and Canada who are
against witnesses in the Khalra and murder of human rights DGP highlighting the fake cases gathering warned those associated expected to take part in large num-
kidnap and rape case. activist Jaswant Singh Khalra in were presented in the court. with Simranjit Singh Mann to bers. It also welcomed the recent
Kirpal Singh Randhawa, the Amritsar in September 1995. Randhawa is the vice-chairman of refrain from verbal attacks on the motion in the UK Parliament by
key witness in the Sardar Jaswant Randhawa was a neighbour of the Punjab Human Rights Khalsa Action Committee and the MPs urging the UK Government to
Singh Khalra kidnap and murder Khalra and was also a human Organisation headed by Justice new Panj Pardhani system of SAD call for the immediate release of
case, was acquitted of trumped up rights activist. He was a witness Ajit Singh Bains. (Amritsar) besides announcing British citizen, Paramjit Singh
charges of rape by a district and to the kidnapping. Khalra had found that nearly that it will be holding a program in Dhaddi who has been falsely
sessions judge. Punjab Police, Defence counsel Brijinder 2,500 youth were killed in fake Germany, Frankfurt in the new imprisoned and tortured in Punjab
which has a history of browbeat- Singh Sodhi provided evidence encounters in Punjab during ter- year to reveal the structure for for 1 year since 23 December 2006.
ing witnesses or torturing them, that the rape case was a frame-up rorism and filed a petition in the those with whom it will be working The Sikh Federation (UK) also
had used the strategem of to threaten Randhawa against Supreme Court, which asked the with across Europe in organizing released its 2008 Calendar. The
embroiling Kirpal Singh in false deposing in the murder case. CBI CBI to investigate the matter. the World Sikh Lobby & Summit at Calendar pays special tribute to
the United Nations in Geneva from those that have sacrificed their
14-16 March, the Sikh Freedom lives for freedom and justice in the
THUMBNAILS FROM PUNJAB Chamkaur Sahib to have Nagar Panchyat Lobby in the European Parliament last 30 years, beginning with the 13
in Brussels on 7 May and the annu- Shaheeds in Amritsar on 13 April
Punjab to have force on lines of NSG Chandigarh: The Punjab Government will set up the al remembrance event in Ypres, 1978.
Chandigarh: Punjab may be denied many funds and relief Nagar Panchayat in Chamkaur Sahib within three
packages but for this one measure the Centre will be months, CM Parkash Singh Badal told the Vidhan
magnanimous. New Delhi has agreed to the Punjab
government’s proposal to set up a contingent of the Special
Security Guards (SSGs) on the pattern of the National Security
Guards (NSGs). The Centre will provide full financial
Sabha in response to a question. In a first of sorts and
a step which will open a new way for the police to har-
rass Punjabis, Agriculture minister Sucha Singh
Langah told the Punjab Assembly that the govern-
Bhutto makes weird claim
assistance for the purpose, federal home minister Shivraj Patil
told CM Parkash Singh Badal in New Delhi on December 21.
ment will now ask police stations to register cases
against those encroaching on berms of rural roads. about Sikh insurgency
Dimpa walks out of jail WSN Network was that it was Rajiv Gandhi
Amritsar: Former Congress MLA from Beas Jasbir Singh Gill,
alias Dimpa, was released from the central jail here on
Dal Khalsa wants a Minar-e-Khalsa NEW DELHI: Former Pakistani
who failed to deliver on his
promise to pull out troops from
December 24 after he was granted bail by the Punjab and AMRITSAR: The Dal Khalsa has demanded that the SGPC premier Benazir Bhutto has Siachen in exchange for
Haryana High Court on December 19. A large number of construct a Minar-e-Khalsa" to pay tributes to Sikh claimed that it was because of Islamabad’s choking off the
Congress supporters celebrated his release. Dimpa had been "martyrs" like Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, late Maj her initiatives that militancy support to Khalistani secession-
granted bail in the culpable homicide amounting to murder Gen Shahbeg Singh and Bhai Amrik Singh on the premises could end in Punjab in an asser- ists. NSA Narayanan had
case against him. of Sri Harmandir Sahib. tion that Indian media translat- recently said that Bhutto could
ed as a "firstever confession by never be trusted as she had not
Sidhu names scheme after Badal Vedanti: Bring in Anand Karaj Act a Pakistani leader of kept her promises given to Rajiv
Amritsar: BJP's motormouth MP who doubles up as a TV AMRITSAR: Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Islamabad’s support to the Gandhi. Bhutto said Narayanan
anchor presenting comic programs full of politically incorrect Vedanti has urged the Punjab government to work for Khalistani secessionists." could not have known what
jokes, Navjot Singh Sidhu, has named a job generating suitable amendments in Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Retaliating against India's transpired in 1988 because it
initiative for the unemployed youth as "Parkash Scheme" Act to pave the way for an Anand Karaj Act. He contended national security advisor M K was a one-to-one meeting. “If
after CM Parkash Singh Badal. that both the communities had separate cultural identities. Narayanan’s charge that anyone kept the word, it was I,
Pakistan has already readied the draft of such a legislation. Bhutto, as premier of Pakistan, not Rajiv. He (Rajiv) went back
Dolphins in Harike! had failed to make good the to India and then called me on
Gurdaspur: Experts from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have Raghunath Sahai Puri dead promises she made, the PPP his way to the Commonwealth
confirmed the presence of river-water dolphins in the CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab minister and Congress leader claimed that she had to say that he could not keep his
Wildlife Sanctuary at Harike in Ferozepur. There are possibly leader Raghunath Sahai Puri died at the PGI hospital last kept her word. Benazir said that promise to withdraw from
five or six dolphins in the Harike lake. Chief conservator of week after a prolonged illness. He was 68. He hailed from she had fulfilled her assurance Siachen,” Bhutto alleged. She
forest and wildlife Jatinder Sharma said the WWF team Sujanpur and had undergone kidney transplant in 1999 and to Rajiv Gandhi to cut off said: “There was not a fly on the
spotted the dolphins, five in number, in the sanctuary late was on immunosuppresants. He was affected with multiple Islamabad’s support to wall. How can anyone say I have
this evening. The development has generated a great deal of myleoma and was suffering from various infections, a PGI Khalistanis. not kept my promises when the
interest among wildlife enthusiasts, particularly the spokesperson said. The former Prime Minister, biggest result of that meeting
speculation as to from where the dolphins might have who was replying to questions was the end of the Sikh insur-
strayed. Initially, a pair of dolphins was spotted near the Eve-teasing: Villagers say no to schools by a news weekly, said the fact gency.”
confluence of the Beas and the Sutlej two weeks ago. CHANDIGARH: Following the police inaction in a case of
harassment of schoolgirls in Jind district of Haryana, 300
616 passports seized after raid on travel agent
Jalandhar: Police raided the office of a travel agency in
students have been forbidden in five villages of Safidon
from going to school as per a decision taken by
Contempt plea by Dera Sacha Sauda chief
Jalandhar on December 20 and seized 616 passports and panchayats of Ramnagar, Seek, Pathri, Kurad and Haat AMBALA: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Saturday appeared
nearly Rs 28 in lakh cash from its premises. Shivam Travel villages. Girls feel so insecure that they have stopped before the court of special CBI judge SK Saini and moved two applications, including
agency office in Dilkusha market was raided after a tip-off, stepping out of their homes. Poliec has been apprised but an application seeking permission to place some documents for consideration at the
SP (detective) Paramvir Singh Parmar, said. No case has Safidon SHO Balwant Singh downplayed the incidents and time of hearing of arguments in the court. Through another application he
been registered against agency owner Rajiv Soni after he denied any sexual harassment. Villagers said authorities requested the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the CBI as it has got
provided the police a photo copy of his licence. will have to make a commitment about the safety of photocopies of challans which are the property of court and CBI had no right to keep
women in the area. the documents within its possession. —WSN

world sikh news For Advertising Punjab polls

and India’s
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high comma
2006
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Call
nd
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threatened to
CHANDIGA contest independen
RH: As Akali denied a ticket.
machinery campaign His revolt would tly if
got into top not only affected have
Prakash Singh gear, the party’s prospects
Badal went around and in Faridkot
but also in
jab cajoling,
mollifying, sooting, Pun- a couple of

Resident Editor
neighbourin

Editor
ing, goading the g seats. Finally
enraged, the angrycoax- lotted the ticket , he was al-
the left-out ticket and but not before
aspirants, Congress- unconditional seeking
men looked askance apology for his
towards the high ty utterances. anti-par-
command, as In Bathinda,
always, for the Lal Garg, who Chiranji
of candidates. elusive list had raised the
By of revolt agreed banner
most candidates' Thursday evening, inee Sarup Singla to support SAD
names will be nom-
But one thing known. Sangrur, Ranjit uncondition
is clear: PM Manmo- ally. In
han Singh has Singh Baliyan
shrunk away won over by convincing has been
ing the bait from pick- him that it was

1-866-902-1300
for Amritsar only opposition
seat, where Lok Sabha from Sukhdev The spirit of
state Fi- Dhindsa that Singh Yuletide met
has come in
BATTLE FOR
nance the way of the great tradition
Minister of langar at
Surinder Singla fielding him.

Sarna walks awa

is However, the Salvation
the front runner. now

Ajmer Singh
in Muktsar Army. Report
the party on page 17
PUNJAB
the Akali candidates Even has failed to

y
SP Singh
win over
with tickets Harnirpal
in Singh
pockets eagerly their Kukku who had

with DSGMC aga

looked forward lost to
Congress list
to know
Though embroiled their rivals.
to the Marar in 2002,
Sukhdarshan
who
pendent candidate was then an inde-
Singh world sikh news
in court hear-

in
ings (see separate ed in the Akali and had finally land- Amritsar Times
Badal was busy story on page fold after a stint is World Sikh
tackling the tide 6), the Congress. with News now! Defering
volt that threatened of re- Since Kuku to strong
to rock Shiromani mined to contest, is deter- and consistent
Akali Dal (SAD)
boat ning the party is busy
win- WSN Bureau advice from
of tickets though after allotment over his supporters the ever-widen
left the Delhi in
ng
it has been decidedreadership,
the early announce- gives up even so that he
ment of candidates before filing NEW DELHI: battle to SGPC
tion papers. of nomina- Just a month Avtar chief
party leaders ensured that
the Punjab Assembly before extent, Singh Makkar and to to World Sikh to switch
had enough time In Payal, Jagjeevanpa Akali elections, Delhi Sukhdev Singh some News,
the rebels. n
the to woo Captain Kanwaljit l, a protege of polity has delivered The biggest Dhindsa. which underlines a name
campaign could other hand, a long ciled and would Singh, has recon- Prakash Singh Badal-led a jolt to gainer,
the SAD (Panthak) however, was our
cause of dearth not be sustained be- with Akali continuiing commitme
nominee Maheshlend support to party AkaliParamjit Singh Sarna's Dal Singh led by Manjit nt to
of resources. Delhi contestGK. His party in its maiden

Staff Intern: Ambri Pukhraj

Badal made Inder Singh Grewal. Dal winning the community
The revolt in and
relationship with its
promises of Nakodar and seats, leaving 27 of the 46 won six seats
posts in the lucrative has also tapered Nawanshahr Badal with support denting
new only 12, several base of the SAD (Badal).the
ever was willinggovernment to who- ble spots are Dhuri, out. Remaining two less than
the figure the world which
the rest of
to listen. Besides, trou- up in places, the In
Sukhbir Badal Lehra, Pucca the last elections. it notched seat by a meager party lost the is
bers also undertook
and other family Valtoha and
Tarn Kalan, The margin,
undergoing a paradigm shift.
the damage
mem- would ultimately Taran, where SAD Manjit breakaway Akali sending the
message that clearly The change of
trol exercise, face Singh (Greater Dal of
albeit with partial con- Reports suggest rebel candidates. six Kailash) won be watched out he has to name reflects
cess. However, that political seats while one in the coming our commitme
where the rebels suc- mation of the
late Beant Singh's deci- by an Independen seat was bagged Badal can derive days. nt to watch the
not budged from have ly could be on tion from the some consola- interests of the
fami- Singh
attempts to wean their stand, there are al Kaur may
the cards as
Gurkanw- Matharoo.
t Harbhajan
Takht jathedar
fact that former
Akal follow the path
community,
porters and weaken away their main miss likely to be quoted The results are ly Ranjit shown
sup- har cantonment the bus from Jaland- as by the Congress fought alongside Singh virtual- great gurus, project by the
The main threatthem. brother Tej Prakash seat, leaving
only her anti-Badal
well as the
rival Akalis Sarnas, but him against
the a strong
Faridkot where to SAD was as an that the sad news value system
the sitting party in for a ticket. Gurkeeratwith the last hope verdict Gurcharan for him and underline
The Akali Dal by the Sikhs. Singh, brother is

San Jose office 517 214 8820

islator Kushaldeep leg- son of the assassinate Singh, the grand- (Badal) tried Bhai Ranjit of the belief thhat the 'Sarbat
Singh Dhillon downplay the to the losers Singh, lost. Also among Da
had even being considered d CM was not only verdict in Delhi Bhala' motto

KHALSA
for the ticket. 40 per cent where was
Chandok former Prahlad Singh
will take
turned out of the electorate president DGMC the community
for voting. Akalis and Badal supported on
had candidate uncharted but
Continued on glorious paths.
page 16

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world sikh news NEWS Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 5

Badal has his way,

Sikh Coalition filed
Pak Punjab Guv 32 complaints on
cuts X’mas cake TSA issue

Police Bill passed with Christians WSN Network

NEW YORK, NY: Over the past

four months, the Sikh Coalition

WSN Network state police commission, which has a provi-

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister
Parkash Singh Badal seemed to have taken the
middle road on the issue of new police bill,
avoided fulfilling all conditions set by the
Supreme Court and pushed for the new bill
which was passed by the Assembly.
Many of course still fear that the
new bill will give more powers to
the police in a state that has
already seen the cops virtually
working as a parallel state.
Justifying the changes made in
the Punjab Police Bill 2007 draft,
Badal told the Assembly that it was
the job of the lawmakers “to make
the law while the courts were
meant to interpret it. If one were
to go exactly by what the courts
say then it would become difficult
to even run the government.”
Speaking in response to the objections
raised against the Bill by opposition MLAs
and one BJP MLA, Badal said the changes
were made keeping in mind the fact that the
police had to be made accountable. Those
objecting to the Bill had cited the absence of
sion for making leader of opposition one of
the five members, however, the state is going
for a state police board which does not have
any seat for the opposition leader. The board
would have the CM as the chairman and the
home minister as the vice chairman while the
chief secretary, advocate general
and home secretary would be the
other three members. “We have
spared Bibiji (Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal) here so that she has time
to stage dharnas,” Badal quipped,
hardly a remark that will add to his
image as a democratically working
CM.
Interestingly, BJP MLA Jagdish
Sahni asked the government to
take back the bill and have a
detailed discussion on making the
police accountable since going by
the force’s history it had a tenden-
cy to be used by the ruling parties. Congress
MLAs Randeep Nabha, Sunil Jakhar and Ajit
Inder Singh Mohfar also pointed out the
absence of any opposition member or those
from the public in the bodies set up under the
new Act.
and Sikhs
WSN Network
LAHORE: Pakistan Punjab Governor Lt. Gen.
Khalid Maqbool hosted a reception for minori-
ties at Governor House here on Monday where
leaders from Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh
community cut the Christmas cake at the recep-
tion, while 1,000 deserving Christian individuals
were given away Christmas gifts worth Rs 5,000
each from Pakistan Baitul Maal.
Addressing the gathering, the Governor said
every religion advocates dignity and honour for
humanity and love with each other. The
Governor stressed the great message of pardon-
ing enemies to the human being, adding that
“It’s a good omen that Muslims and the minority
groups in the country have identical social and
cultural values and they share their sorrows and
joys with each other.”
He said government has ensured equal
chances of development to all the citizens irre-
spective of their cast, creed and colour.
Pakistan is the only country that provided
dual rights of vote to the minority groups, he
said and added that President Pervez Musharraf
reserved minority seats at all levels, besides
implementing joint electorate system to include
them in the mainstream of the country.
The Governor also announced a rehabilitation
has filed 32 separate complaints
of discrimination with the TSA,
as per a release by the Coalition
itself. It said a pro bono team of 9
attorneys coordinated by the
Sikh Coalition's lead staff attor-
ney are responsible for this major
initiative to protect Sikh rights.
As part of an overall media,
advocacy, and legal strategy to
bring attention to Sikh concerns,
in August 2007 the Coalition
decided to file individual discrim-
ination complaints with the
TSA's Office of Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties. Members of the
United States Congress also
asked the Coalition to file com-
plaints. The complaints were
filed compel the TSA investigate
individual allegations of discrim-
inatory searches; and document
for the historical record the dis-
proportionate impact that the
flawed headwear search policy
had on Sikhs.
Matrimonial
Jat Sikh parents seek suitable match
for their US born handsome, athletic,

United Sikhs becomes

package for the poor Christians under which
Pakistan Baitul Maal would provide Rs 20,000
financial assistance each to 25,000 individuals.
Punjab Education Minister Dr. Mira Phailbus
engineer son, 24 years, 6 ft. 1 in.
working for a large corporation.
Seeking a US born/raised 21-23
years Jat Sikh girl with a
professional degree. Please contact

first Sikh NGO to be

and Bishop of Lahore Dr. Alexander John Malik at sikh5family@gmail.com.
also addressed the reception.

associated with UN
WSN Network
United Nations: United Sikhs has become the
first Sikh advocacy, humanitarian relief and
human development Non Governmental
Organization (NGO) to be associated with the
United Nations, through its Department of
Public Information (DPI).
In a letter addressed to United Sikhs, dated
12th December, the head of the NGO section
of DPI, Juan Carlos Brandt, said, “The com-
mittee on NGOs met in December…and I am
pleased to inform you that the committee
approved United Sikhs for association with
the department, effective immediately.”
“This is a significant achievement on
behalf of 25 million Sikhs who will now be
able to fully participate in global initiatives
according to the Sikh principle of Sarbat Da
Bhela, selfless service,” said Mejindarpal
Kaur, United Sikhs director.
United Sikhs filed an application to be
associated with the UN through the DPI ear-
lier this year. “Our application was support-
ed by UN agencies such as the United Nations
High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR),
with whom we worked during our Tsunami
relief operations in Sri Lanka. We also had
the support of other UN associated advocacy
and multifaith NGOs with whom we have
done projects,” said Mejindarpal Kaur. About
1,500 NGOs are associated with DPI, which
gives the UN links to people around the
world. The NGO Section of DPI is part of
DPI’s Outreach Division, and acts as its liai-
son to the UN. It provides a range of informa-
tion services to civil society and other part-
ners, including the academic community,
educational institutions, and the public at
large.

Interview me through
video conference,
says Jasbir Singh
CALIFORNIA: In an interview to a
leading Indian English daily, Jasbir
Singh, the US-based key witness in
the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case to India,
has suggested that his statement be
recorded by the probe agency CBI
through video-conferencing or in the
Indian consulate in the US. He said
he has given a notarized affidavit stat-
ing that Jagdish Tytler was rebuking
his men for not killing enough Sikhs
in his constituency. He said he has
been "threatened by Tytler ‘goondas'
and they even approached me while
in US a few months back, threaten-
ing me to withdraw my affidavit
against Tytler or face consequences."
Meanwhile, human rights activist
and lawyer Navkiran Singh has
reached USA to contest Jasbir
Singh's case.
Kiran Bedi’s retirement
application accepted
NEW DELHI: After dithering for a month and a half, the
government has finally accepted the voluntary retire-
ment plea of India's first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi,
who at times got into controversies during her tenure.
The government decided to relieve Bedi, who was hold-
ing the post of the Director General of Bureau of Police
Research and Development, from her duties on Monday.
"I have received the letter relieving me" from the gov-
ernment, Bedi said. She has since given up her charge at
the Bureau.
Sulking after being ignored for Delhi Police
Commissioner's post earlier this year, the Magsaysay
awardee submitted her application on November 15, say-
ing she wanted to quit to pursue "strong academic and
social interests".
The government had last week indicated that it would
continue to avail of the services of Bedi for its project
of National Police Mission, but she rejected the offer
saying she was not willing to work "for the government"
anymore.
6 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008
Sikhs fund Canada
hospital, now
pushed to fight it
Peel Region’s Sikh community played a key role in establishing
Brampton's gleaming new hospital. It has played an equally
major role in the troubled institution's first major crisis
BRAMPTON: The opening of
Brampton Civic Hospital was sup-
posed to be an occasion for celebra-
tion, especially among the city's
burgeoning Sikh community.
They had been actively courted
by the hospital foundation, and
responded with tremendous enthu-
siasm, raising $2.8-million with a
Punjabi radiothon and an incredi-
ble $200,000 during a 48-hour Sikh
prayer ceremony in July.
The new $790-million facility,
built in a field in northeast
Brampton, was meant to take pres-
sure off the aging Peel Memorial
Hospital downtown, with its water
leaks and occasional blackouts, and
offer the community an improved
level of health care.
Instead, the new hospital, which
opened two months ago, has become
a public relations nightmare for
staff and administrators, with
unproven allegations of misman-
agement and substandard health
care sparking street protests among
the very community that worked to
help raise funds for the project.
The deaths of two hospital
patients, both Sikhs – one of them a
man whose family donated $25,000
to the foundation – have been held
up as examples of how the hospital
is failing the community.
Hamstrung by privacy legislation
that prevents them from talking
about individual cases, hospital
administrators have been forced to
limit their response to press releas-
es outlining hospital procedures.
Responding to community pres-
sure, the province appointed a
supervisor to oversee the hospital in
a bid to restore public confidence in
the new facility. How it went wrong
is a puzzle. In five pieces.
The press
Rajinder Saini was listening to a
local Punjabi radio program about
Brampton Civic Hospital when local
MPP Vic Dhillon called into the
show to say one of his close family
friends had recently died there.
As the publisher of the Parvasi
Weekly newspaper, Saini had been
receiving complaints for years from
readers about the quality of health
care in Brampton. Things were sup-
posed to be different at the new
Brampton Civic Hospital, a state-of-
the-art facility that had opened on
Oct. 28.
Dhillon, Saini remembers,
described how his friend had waited
eight or 10 hours in the emergency
room at the new hospital, and that
during the man's subsequent 10-day
stay at the hospital for pancreatitis,
his family complained that he was
not properly cared for.
Saini called Dhillon, who put him
in touch with the family. The next
day, Nov. 20, the family's story was
front-page news in Parvasi Weekly,
which has a circulation of 20,000 in
the GTA, Vancouver and India.
Local Punjabi radio shows picked
it up, and Saini talked about it on
his own radio show, which runs on
CJMR 1320 AM. The Times of India
picked up the story, says Saini. He
was invited to talk about it on televi-
sion.
"It was big news," says Saini.
"Everybody talked about this story.
There was big outrage in our com-
munity."
"It's a very small kind of commu-
nity newspaper, but still I am trying
to run it very professionally," says
Saini, who operates out of a small
office opposite a strip mall in
Mississauga.
"We have nothing against the hos-
pital staff or management. We are
trying to raise the voice. The voice
of the people."
The doctor
By the time stories of what was
happening in the emergency depart-
ment of Brampton Civic Hospital
reached the ears of the man who
runs the place, the facts had been
distorted beyond recognition.
"`I know somebody delivered a
baby on the sidewalk outside the
emergency department...while this
man was dying on the floor of your
waiting room,'" Dr. Naveed
Mohammad was told at a dinner
party.
"There was a lot of misinforma-
tion out there," says Mohammad.
"That was one of the most painful
parts for me. It really painted our
hospital and the emergency depart-
ment in a negative manner and that
wasn't the truth."
Neither of the two cases that
became lightning rods for contro-
versy involved medical error in the
emergency room, says Mohammad.
"Nobody waits 10 hours in emer-
gency to see a doctor. Everyone is
assessed in a timely fashion"
The problem was one of expecta-
tions, says Mohammad. The com-
munity was expecting that the hos-
pital would open at full capacity,
with 608 beds. It has 479. The
remainder will open over the next
four years. Physicians, nurses and
staff didn't anticipate the chal-
lenges that would come with mov-
ing to a spanking new hospital, from
mastering the computer system to
finding the stairs.
They didn't anticipate that
demand would soar as it did – the
new facility drew 20 per cent more
emergency-room traffic than pre-
dicted, and the number of very sick
patients to emergency doubled.
Mohammad is Punjabi. He says he
understands the culture. He under-
stands why members of the commu-
nity are upset. He even understands
NEWS
why the same people who told him
they understand his position took to
the streets in protest.
"A lot of community leaders had
to decide whether to support the
hospital or the community," says
Mohammad. "The community is
large, it's what's around you all the
time. If you're someone who has to
depend on the community for busi-
ness...it's difficult."
The patients
The first patient death to draw
media attention was Harnek Sidhu,
52. His family told Parvasi Weekly
that he was not properly attended to
in the emergency department at
Brampton Civic Hospital, despite
the fact that Sidhu was vomiting
and in acute pain.
His son Sandeep later told the
Star that it took 12 hours for his
father to be assigned a bed. His
father died 10 days later of pancre-
atitis.
Sandeep blamed it on the fact that
the hospital was built and is operat-
ed as a public-private partnership,
with the private sector operating
non-clinical services, such as house-
keeping.
He said the hospital is under-
staffed and the focus is not health
care, but on moving patients
through the system as quickly as
possible.
The family had donated $25,000 to
the hospital.
Amarjit Narwal was home when
he suffered a stroke that paralyzed
his right arm and leg. He was treat-
ed at Trillium Health Centre in
Mississauga, the regional centre for
acute stroke care.
Early Saturday morning, Narwal
was transferred to Brampton Civic
Hospital. Friends and family visited
with him all day and were reassured
by the fact that he was talking and
asking for juice. Sunday morning,
his cousin, Inderjit Nijjar, returned
to find him in a coma.
"I started acting up. I started call-
ing the nurse, asking her to call the
doctor and look at him," says Nijjar.
The nurse paged a doctor at
home. The doctor called back, but
Sikhs in Brampton
According to 2001 Statistics Canada information, the Sikh religion is the
third largest in Brampton behind Catholic and Protestant. Under the public
private partnership (P3) funding formula being used to build the new hospital,
the community had to raise 30 per cent of the building's total cost of $536
million.
William Osler Health Centre (WOHC) paid a tribute to the Canadian Sikh
community by naming the new hospital's emergency department as Guru
Nanak Emergency Services Department.
did not come to the hospital, not
even after Narwal began having
seizures, according to Nijjar. Finally
the nurses brought a doctor down
from the intensive care unit. He
read the file and told the family that
nothing could be done.
Narwal, 42, with a 2-year-old son
in India, died that night.
Nijjar said he tried to get help for
his cousin – he called someone he
knew on the hospital board, he
called someone he knew involved in
fundraising for the hospital com-
mittee.
"`Do me a favour, there's no point
in screaming. Write up a written
complaint, give it to me Monday. I
will follow up,'" Nijjar was told.
The opposition
Some of the groundwork for com-
munity discontent was laid down by
the Ontario Health Coalition, which
began calling members of the
Punjabi press in September to
organize a series of town hall meet-
ings on the topic of health care in
Brampton.
The Ontario Health Coalition is
opposed to hospitals built on the
Brampton Civic Hospital model –
so-called P3s – which involve part-
nerships between the private and
public sectors.
The coalition represents, among
other community groups, the
Council of Canadians and several
powerful unions, including health-
care unions. Executive director
Natalie Mehra says that under P3
models, hospital profits are
siphoned off to the private sector, at
the expense of health care.
The town-hall meetings, which
took place a month before the hospi-
tal opened, were designed to bring
attention to the issue in time for the
provincial election in October,
Mehra said.
"We wanted to push the province
to make some promises leading into
the election and coming out of the
election," she said.
It was through the Ontario Health
Coalition that journalists like
Parvasi Weekly publisher Rajinder
Saini learned that the newly opened
world sikh news
hospital would have fewer beds than
originally thought and that the old
Peel Memorial Hospital would be
closed once the new hospital
opened.
"Until then, I don't believe that
anybody in the community knew
that if we are getting this new hos-
pital, they are snatching away Peel
Memorial hospital, too," says Saini.
"That's how it started simmering
around, you know. People started
complaining that, `Why are they
closing down Peel Memorial?'"
The community
Brampton is home to a large and
politically important South Asian
population.
South Asians make up 83,245 of
the 206,185 immigrants in the city,
which now has a total population of
400,000.
The overall population of the sub-
urb northwest of Toronto has
grown by 60 per cent in 10 years, to
400,000, resulting in gridlock,
crowded schools and, critics say,
social and community services that
have failed to keep up. The accusa-
tion that there aren't enough servic-
es, including libraries and commu-
nity centres, to serve the growing
population is a frequent topic of
heated debate on local Punjabi
radio.
Health care has long been an
issue in the city – until the new hos-
pital was built, one-third of patients
seeking emergency care travelled
outside of Brampton to get it – to
hospitals in Etobicoke and
Mississauga.
The hospital foundation has
actively sought the support of the
Sikh community, says Anne
Randell, president and CEO of the
William Osler Health Centre
Foundation, which includes
Brampton Civic Hospital, Etobicoke
General Hospital and Peel
Memorial Hospital. A radiothon in
the community two years ago raised
$2.8-million.
This summer, 15,000 people
attended a weekend Akhand Paath
ceremony at the hospital – a contin-
uous reading of the Sikh scripture
from beginning to end. In all,
$200,000 was raised.
The new emergency department
was named for Guru Nanak,
founder of Sikhism. Two Sikhs sit
on the foundation board and three
on the hospital board.
"This was a collective effort by a
portion of our community to do a
lot for the hospital, so it's not that
person who donated $10-million that
expects you do to something for
them, it's the whole community,"
says Dr. Naveed Mohammad, corpo-
rate chief of emergency services.
(Courtesy thestar.com)
world sikh news NEWS Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 7

The Naxals, the PM and Manmohan’s daughter asks

the Indian media
WSN Media Watch
NEW DELHI: Nation states often
find it hard to see a 300 pound
guerilla in the room if they decide
not to take note. For years, India's
approach to the valiant battles
being fought by its many ethnic
nationalities has been to ignore
the guerilla, and the Naxalism bat-
tle was not any different. It was
almost a surprise that Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh made
some reference to economic p
disparity having some linkkhi
on the other. Often, the lack of
development and the lack of any
prospects for improving one's lot
provide a fertile ground for
extremist ideologies to flourish,"
the PM was quoted as telling the
chief ministers of India called to
discuss internal security. Good the
PM mentioned this to the CMs.
Why not share new found knowl-
edge?
In a country of wide "develop-
mental divides" - the inter-region-
taking the stage. This has grown
from a day of celebration to almost a
al divide, the rural-urban
mayor of London. The
event will also feature traditiona
divide and the inter-sec-
week or 10 days of celebration and I Sikh music, dance and cuisine.
think that is great for all of us.” The festival has been organised
Politicians from all major parties by the mayor of London and sup
at all three levels of government ported by the Metropolitan Police
clamoured for a few minutes at the
Chandigarh-based newspaper that
has seen the rise of militancy in
Punjab, knows very well the fac-
tors behind it, and clearly realizes
the gross human rights abuses
that happened in Punjab and the
wages of seeing the problem only
as a law and order issue, thought it
prudent to write in an editorial
titled "The naxal menace __ The
nation must fight it out " that
"Successive governments ... gave a
long rope to the killers hoping
against hope that they would hang
themselves. They did not and it is
White House, FBI to produce
videotape destruction records
WASHINGTON: The American
Civil Liberties Union ( AC LU ), of
which the Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s daughter Amrit
Singh is a key staff attorney, filed
papers on Tuesday, asking a federal
judge to order the White House, the
FBI, and other government agencies
to produce all records in their pos-
session relating to the destruction of
two videotapes by CIA operatives in
2005.
The ACLU also asked for tran-
scripts and summaries of the tapes.
Its filing comes in the wake of reve-
lations that administration officials
took part in discussions with the
such a torrid time to an administra-
tion with which New Delhi has had
such warm ties. The Bush adminis-
tration too has not made an issue of
it. But privately, both sides express a
degree of pride in the situation, say-
ing such a thing could happen only
in two liberal democracies with
strong institutions and solid system
of justice.
One official who did not want to be
named said it was ‘‘extraordinary
courageous’’ of the Prime Minister’s
daughter to take up cudgels so pub-
licly against the administration
given her situation, and that both
sides were treating the matter with

with internal security
itpal Bobby Toor
Tens of thousands of
ked the streets of Surrey
ay for the eighth annual
Hail LA diversity: toral divide - how ready the governments which are now CIA about whether to the circumspection.
microphone as the crowds gathered.
The effort put in by families and
businesses was huge, with many
staying up all night to prepare the
Sikhs celebrate
food they were handing out for free.

matters. "Thank you arade honouring the reli-

est day. The police esti-
celebration brought out
,000. The parade closed off
Newton for hours as a car-
This weekend’s gathering had a
more political tone than in recent
Vaisakhi in the
years, with several floats, signs and
flags demanding a state of Khalistan.
The float for a group called thecity of glamour
is the media to toe the tied in the knots." The Tribune destroy the tapes, which Amrit Singh, who has a
very much!" was the ats and marchers weaved
gs of people who lined the
nding out Indian delica-
eats to all who passed.
Dasmesh Darbar Sikh
Sikh Vision Foundation had pictures
of martyrs who died in the armed
struggle in Punjab, including leaders
of Khalistani organizations such as
Talwinder Singh Parmar, the Babbar
government policy of
WSN Network

LOS ANGELES: More than

reaction in the WSN edi- hosted the festivities,
e grown steadily over the
as the Indo-Canadian pop-
Surrey. Mayor Dianne
omed the crowd and said
torial room. "Oh really, ciated the multicultural
the event, which also
ny non-Sikhs who enjoy
urful parade. Premier
mpbell, dressed in a tradi-
that's news!" must be the an tunic, praised the com-
its contributions.
de started at 10 a.m. at the
Dashmesh Darbar temple
nue near 128th Street and
reaction in the editorial eded south along 128th,
t along 76th Avenue, trav-
along 124th Street, and
ned east via 82nd Avenue.
as closed to vehicle traffic
rooms of some Indian m. to 5 p.m. More than 100
10,000 people celebrated the Sikh
advocated an entire editorial to show the harsh interroga- law degree from Yale
Khalsa founder. Marching behind
the Sikh Vision float was Ajaib Singh
Bagri, a former Babbar Khalsa
leader. Another float proclaimed,
“Khalistan is the only solution.”
seeing all peoples' bat-
religious holiday of Vaisakh
Sunday and denounced a serie
of hate crimes against the sec
following the 9-11 terroris
attacks. With gold- and orange
stress how urgently must the law tions of two prisoners in University, has been front
Event organizers from the
Dasmesh Darbar gurdwara donned
newly made vests with the temple
name embroidered on the back and
“Khalistan” on the chest emblem.
tles as law and order
fringed parade floats and the
sound of harmoniums playing
traditional hymns, more than
10,000 members of the Sikh com
munity paraded through down
and order forces must fight US custody, Abu Zubaida and center of the torture
Temple executive member
Satinderpal Singh Gill, who for years
was based in Pakistan as part of the
Khalistan panthic committee,
accepted a plaque from the B.C. gov-
problem?
town Los Angeles.
Sikhs shared food, music and
art in the Los Angele
Convention Center and late
paraded through the streets o
Maoists, made no reference to the and Abd al-Rahim al- case for several months
ernment presented by former MLA
Dr. Gulzar Singh Cheema.
Next weekend, Vancouver will
host a Vaisakhi parade. On Saturday
April 14, about 50,000 people are
Even as the Prime
downtown, singing prayers a
they marched behind a dozen
colorful floats. “We are trying
to draw all the religious com
munities together to communi
key point of economic disparities Nashiri. Today’s filing is even as it becomes more
expected on and around Main Street

Minister said
cate better,” said Nirinjan

the and then, to save face, added the an addendum to a motion complicated.
newspapers which found
it big news that vast WSN MEDIA "divides and disparities
lead to disaffection,
below as the last para:
"At the same time, it is also nec-
to hold the CIA in con-
tempt of court filed by the
It was in response to
Freedom of Information
number of people
pushed to the edge, dis- WATCH large-scale migration
and discord," he did not
essary to tackle socio-economic
factors like poverty and wide-
ACLU last week. Amrit
Singh has kept a low-pro-
Act (FOIA) requests filed
by the ACLU and other
placed from their homes, forget to term it as the spread unemployment which help file in the case so far, although she organizations in October 2003 and
edged out of forest lands and "single biggest security challenge" in the spread of Left extremism. It handles ACLU's Immigrant Rights May 2004, that the US District
deprived of any welfare measures to India and asked states to estab- all boils down to good and respon- Project. But on Tuesday, she was Court for the Southern District of
of the state may fight back. So the lish specialized and dedicated sive governance. Pity that instead very much the ACLU's public voice. New York ordered the CIA to pro-
PM's words were front paged. forces to eliminate this virus. of giving that to the public, most “Serious questions remain about the duce or identify all records pertain-
"The Prime Minister today "Left-wing extremism continues governments are unable to tackle extent to which the White House and ing to the treatment of detainees in
linked economic inequality to to affect many districts of our naxalism even as a law and order other government agencies were its custody. Despite the courts rul-
internal security when he said country. Not a day passes without problem. The menace will spread complicit in the CIAs destruction of ing, the CIA never produced the
"uneven development" was giving an incident of Left-wing extrem- if it remains unchecked." the tapes,’’ she said in an ACLU state- tapes or even acknowledged their
rise to many of the security prob- ism taking place somewhere or the Inference: If you can't alleviate ment. “The public is entitled to know existence.
lems within," shouted leading other. It continues to be single poverty and provide employment, who authorized such a flagrant dis- Earlier this month, ahead of a
Indian daily The Indian Express biggest security challenge to the at least run some good governance regard for the rule of law and why rumors of a media scoop, CIA
in its December 21 edition. Indian state and we cannot rest in and kill the Naxals in larger num- nothing was done to stop it.’’ director Michael Hayden publicly
"Development and internal peace until we have eliminated bers. There will always be main- The Indian officialdom has kept a acknowledged that the agency had
security are two sides of the same this virus," the PM said. stream Indian media which will discreet silence on the matter in made the tapes in 2002 but
coin. Each is critically dependent Next day, The Tribune, the label them as a Menace. which the PM’s daughter is giving destroyed them in 2005.

Guru Granth Sahib Haneef seeks damages from Australia MELBOURNE: Indian they look into this visa of the Indian doctor. New

Satikar Bill passed doctor Mohammed

Haneef, who was exoner-
ated of terror charges in
connection with the failed
aspect, some of the dam-
ages that the authorities
have done to me previ-
ously. I’m very hopeful
labour immigration minister,
Chris Evans, has said Haneef was
entitled to return to work after the
court verdict.
WSN Network red beacons and security guards UK car bombings, has of this,” he said reply- On Monday, Haneef said he
to its members, why can't it fund expressed hope that the ing to a question on needed reassurance from authori-
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab the cost of the scriptures?" Brar Australian government whether he would seek ties that he and his family would
Vidhan Sabha on December 24 said. MLA Ajit Inder Singh would compensate him compensation from the be safe in Australia before he can
passed the bill prohibiting print- Mofar, once an associate of for the damages caused to Australian government. consider returning to the country.
ing, publication, storage, distri- Simranjit Singh Mann but now him as he was “wrongly” implicat- In a legal victory for Haneef, He said he wanted to return to
bution and sale of birs of Guru with the Congress, asked what ed in the case. the federal court on Friday upheld Australia to continue his medical
Granth Sahib by anyone other precautions will Punjab govern- “I would be very grateful if a decision to reinstate the work training.
than the Shiromani Gurdwara ment take if someone got the
Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) scriptures printed from outside
or persons authorised by it after
changing the word "vikri" with
"bheta", and saying the SGPC will
and then brought these to Punjab.
"And how will you store the
seized scriptures if indeed the
Malaysia to Court asks Indian govt
charge only a fraction of the cost. police caught someone doing
Some Congress MLAs includ-
ing Avtar Singh Brar said the
that?" he asked, with the govern-
ment having no answer.
protect Hindu why some ‘84 victims
SGPC should make arrangements The DSGMC chief Paramjit
for distributing the scriptures Singh Sarna has already vowed
temples
free of cost. "If the SGPC can give not to follow the new law.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has

were denied relief
40-hour Kashmir mosque launched a major plan to protect
the Hindu temples in the country,
in a move to assuage the feelings
of the ethnic Indians protesting
WSN Network

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High

tained. The petitioners sought
direction from the court to the gov-
ernment to treat them equally with

standoff ends alleged marginalisation and dem-

olition of their places of worship
in the Muslim-majority nation.
Court has asked the Indian
Government as well as the govern-
ment of the national capital Delhi
the old claimants and set aside
parts of the notification which
were discriminatory.
SRINAGAR: A 40-hour-long stand- stalemate had continued on Prime minister Abdullah to explain why compensation was The petitioners said the part of
off between Indian security forces Monday as the militants refused to Badawi has asked works minister not granted to some victims of the the notification by which the gov-
and three holed-up militants in a come out of the mosque, the police Samy Vellu, the president of 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms who filed ernment has discriminated
south Kashmir mosque ended late said. The slain militants were iden- Malaysian Indian Congress their claims late. amongst the victims of '84
on Monday. The security forces tified as Shiraz Ahmad Bhat, (MIC), to continuously monitor Justice S. Ravinder Bhatt issued pogroms was unconstitutional.
gunned down the three Hizbul Mudasir Ahmad Mir and Ishfaq all Hindu shrines and submit a notice after 10 riot-hit families The government has notified a
Mujahideen militants and also res- Ahmad Wagay. The police said no report on the status of the tem- filed a petition following the rejec- relief of Rs 3.5 lakh to the victim's
cued the hostages at Paloo in damage was caused to the mosque ples to the cabinet periodically. He tion of their claims. The family in case of death and Rs 1.25
Kulgam district. Three militants of during the operation. The three was specifically asked to forward claimants, from different parts of lakh in case of injuries. Next hear-
the Hizb-ul Mujahideen outfit had militants had taken five civilians to the premier and the cabinet the Delhi, have challenged the govern- ing will be on April 24. It is routine
taken shelter in the mosque after hostage on Monday when they list of temples that may have to be ment's notification of January in India for courts to grant months
the troops launched a search oper- came to offer prayers and demand- demolished for various reasons, 2006, which said no new claims of of time to government in cases as
ation in the area on Sunday. The ed a safe passage for themselves. Vellu said. compensation would be enter- grave as this one.
8 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 NEWS world sikh news

Italy plans memorial to Mann wants separate

mark Malta tragedy
JALANDHAR: The government
of Italy has sanctioned funds for
the retrieval of the remains of 300
victims of the Malta Boat tragedy,
Malta Boat Tragedy Probe Mission
chairman Balwant Singh Khera
claimed on Tuesday.
Observing the 11th anniversary
of the tragedy at the Company
Bagh, he said the Italian govern-
ment had sanctioned the requisite
funds and had agreed to build a
memorial to commemorate the
death of 300 young men who had
lost their lives in Malta-Sicily
Channel near international waters
on December 25, 1996. Italian sena-
tor Tana Dijuleta was instrumental
in getting the support of four Nobel
prize winners and 100 members of
Parliament, who had recommend-
ed to the prime minister of Italy to
help the mission in this cause.
Accusing the state political lead-
ership of sheltering the fake travel
agents, Khaira said “though 170
out of 300 youth belonged to
Punjab, till now no state govern-
SGPC to start eight
new schools
WSN Network
ment has taken any initiative to
provide justice to the victim’s fam-
ily”. He demanded that monetary
relief of Rs 50,000 is inadequate
and it should be raised to Rs 5 lakh
each to the kin of victims. The mis-
sion has also decided to approach
these schools, he added.
courts for minorities,
blasts Badal men
WSN Network the recent judgment of the Punjab
and Haryana High Court, which
CHANDIGARH: Akali Dal set aside a previous notification
(Mann) president Simranjit Singh of the Punjab Government to
Mann has advocated setting up decree that Sikhs were not a
separate courts for the minorities minority in Punjab.
in India. He also appealed to Mann said that certain ground
Sikhs raise thier voice against realities seemed to have been
injustice being meted to them, for ignored and the minority status
which he took the community’s was based on national population
leadership to task, but did not and could not be computed state
offer any explanations as to why wise. He held Punjab Chief
his own party fighting for exactly Minister Parkash Singh Badal,
these causes could not produce SGPC president Avtar Singh
any worthwhile results after Makkar and Punjab’s Advocate
years. General H.S. Mattewal guilty for
Mann, addressing a press con- their failure to defend the inter-
ference in Chandigarh on ests of the community on such a
Saturday, also vented his anger at vital legal matter.
the Delhi HC for speeding up the
hearing of the criminal cases
against the 25 fake travel agents.
He demanded that the government
should publish the inquiry report
of the human trafficking scandal
Amarinder, 34 others
in 2001.
summoned in City
Corrupt PDS
blamed for Centre scam case
Bengal food riots
NEW DELHI: The shocking food
WSN Network

LUDHIANA: Summons have been

PATIALA: The Shiromani
Gurdwara Prabhandhak
Committee (SGPC) will open quali-
ty education schools in all the dis-
tricts of the state. This was dis-
closed by SGPC president Avtar
Singh Makkar at Fatehgarh Sahib
on Sunday. Makkar was here to
personally supervise arrange-
ments for the Shaheedi Jor Mela,
being held in the memory of the
younger Sahibzadas of Guru
Gobind Singh, who attained mar-
tyrdom here.
These schools would be affiliated
to the Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE) and at least
eight schools would be started in
the first year, Makkar said.
Buildings of these English-medi-
um public schools, where Punjabi
would be a compulsory subject,
have been completed at village
Malooka (Bhatinda), Guru Ki Dhab
(Gangsar Jaitu), Their
(Giddarbaha) and Wazidppur
(Ferozepur).
Buildings for the other four
schools would be constructed soon
and SGPC had spent Rs 2.6 crore on
each building, Makkar said.
Panchayats of many villages had
offered them chunks of land for
The SGPC chief said that SGPC
had set up a directorate of educa-
tion at Kalgidhar Niwas, Sector 27
at Chandigarh and all educational
institutes would be hooked online
with the directorate.
Director, education, of the SGPC,
Dr Gurmohan Singh Walia, had
been asked to prepare a detailed
report on the educational institutes
to be run by SGPC before the com-
ing academic year so that short-
comings could be removed, he said.
Cases of unqualified staff would be
reconsidered and only well quali-
fied staff would be kept in the edu-
cational institutes, he added.
NCERT books would be pre-
scribed as per CBSC syllabus in
these schools, where stress would
be given on computer education, he
said, adding that special attention
would be paid to sports.
Besides personality development
programmes, short term courses
under the career and guidance
bureaus would be started keeping
in view the employment market
demands of the area, he said.
The SGPC president said he was
well aware of the demands of staff
of SGPC-run schools and assured
that the new directorate would
solve them on priority basis.
riots in the Indian state of West
Bengal recently were the result of
a corrupt and privatized public dis-
tribution system running with
political patronage, a survey con-
ducted by Supreme Court-appoint-
ed special commissioners on food
security has stated.
The scathing report has
debunked the West Bengal govern-
ment’s stand that the riots were a
reaction to decreased allocation of
wheat and rice for the above-pover-
ty-line quota. The commissioners
have concluded that this could not
have been the provocation for peo-
ple running riot in rural West
Bengal against a lack of food-
grains. The reduced allocation still
matched the highest level of PDS
grain consumed by APL customers
in the last three years.
The commissioners have instead
laid the blame at the doors of the
West Bengal government. Calling
it the “double burden of privatisa-
tion” of PDS in West Bengal, the
report said that not only were fair
price shops (FPS) run by private
parties but the entire distribution
of foodgrain was controlled by
politically supported private con-
tractors leading to high levels of
corruption.
issued to 35 accused in the alleged
multi-crore Ludhiana City Centre
(LCC) scam, including former
chief minister Amarinder Singh,
for January 10 by district sessions
judge GK Rai. One of the accused,
the then Improvement Trust chair-
man Paramjit Singh Sibia, has
already been declared a pro-
claimed offender.
The Vigilance Bureau, which is
probing the case, has formed 72
teams to serve summons on the
high and mighty, according to
sources.
Prominent among those issued
summons were Amarinder Singh,
his son Raninder Singh and anoth-
er relative Raminder Singh and
former local bodies minister Jagjit
Singh. The VB had filed a 106-page
chargesheet on December 12 tak-
ing everyone by surprise as only a
week before that the former chief
minister’s son and others were
questioned by the Ludhiana office
of the VB and were called again.
Charges were made against
them under the Prevention of
Corruption Act and various sec-
tions of the IPC relating to crimi-
nal breach of trust (409), cheating
(420), forgery (465), forgery of valu-
able security (467), forgery for the
purpose of cheating (468), using as
genuine a forged document (471),
and criminal conspiracy (120-B).
Soon after the Akali Dal-BJP
alliance had formed government
this February, a case was regis-
tered against Amarinder and oth-
ers for receiving kickbacks worth
millions of rupees in allotting the
project to the particular company.
It was alleged the allotment was
made at much lower rates, causing
a loss to the state exchequer to the
tune of over Rs 300 crore.
How it began
The genesis of the LCC scam can
be traced to the day when Ashok
Singh Garcha was removed as LIT
chairman in January 2005. The
alleged irregularities began after
Paramjit Singh Sibia took over.
The date of submission for bids
was extended, and a fresh ad was
issued after allegedly diluting the
criteria. VB has made out a case
that after the bids were tampered
with, Today Homes was awarded
the project. In all this, written
orders from local bodies depart-
ment were ignored and the agree-
ment was signed despite the then
department secretary’s order to
the contrary. Even after the secre-
tary annulled the agreement, local
bodies minister Chaudhry Jagjit
Singh allegedly revoked the annul-
ment order on Amarinder Singh’s
directions.

Another witness turns

hostile in Sukhbir case
WSN Network
FARIDKOT: In a relief to Akali Dal (Badal) working
president Sukhbir Singh Badal in a criminal case filed
against him at Faridkot, one of the main complainants
turned hostile on Wednesday.
The complainant, Ajay Verma, a newspaper photogra-
pher, said in court that he was assaulted by some
unknown persons and his camera was also snatched by
an unknown person. Badal only objected to his taking
photographs, claimed Verma.
However, earlier in a complaint to the police, Verma
had alleged that he was assaulted by Sukhbir Badal on
September 5, 1999 and his camera was snatched while he
was taking pictures of a scuffle between some Akali and
Congress workers during the Parliamentary elections.
Taslima welcome in Kolkata, says Basu
KOLKATA: Unlike some of his party
colleagues, including West Bengal
assembly Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim,
CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu is not averse
to controversial Bangladeshi writer
Taslima Nasreen's return to the city.
Taslima is welcome to live anywhere in
West Bengal, including Kolkata, Basu
said on Tuesday.
"I learned from newspapers that
Taslima is upset for not being able to
make it to Kolkata. She is welcome. But
the Centre has to provide her security,"
Basu said, recalling the writer had come
to his Salt Lake home to present a copy
of her autobiographical novel
'Dwikhandito' (split in two).
Basu's comments came a day after
CPI's state secretary Manju Majumdar
criticized the way the writer was shoved
out of the state. Last month, violence
erupted in Kolkata over demands by
Muslim activists for Taslima's expul-
sion. Strong words from CPM state sec-
retary Biman Bose and a nudge from the
Kolkata police forced her to flee to
Jaipur. She is now sheltered in a safe
house near Delhi. On Tuesday, Basu
spoke against vandalism on Kolkata
streets against Taslima's stay in the city.
"A person ceases to be a human being
if he feels that he will come closer to
Allah by killing Taslima. That is why the
Centre should provide her security," he
said, referring to the Muslims who had
led the violence.
Basu, however, agreed that Taslima
had hurt Muslim sentiments in her
novel. "No Muslim will stand the way
she criticizes the Quran and the
Prophet," he said before going on to
praise external affairs minister Pranab
Mukherjee for saying in Parliament that
security will be given to the Bangladeshi
writer. "I heard about Pranab's state-
ment. What he did was good," Basu said.
Taslima told the media she felt reas-
sured by Basu's comments. "I am grate-
ful to Basu, especially because he has
welcomed me to Kolkata. I hope it will
help me return."
world sikh news THE SUBCONTINENT Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 9

Madarasas grooming 54 killed in suicide

attack at prayer
terrorists, says Bhutto
LARKANA: Pakistani opposition
leader Benazir Bhutto has said
that some religious schools are
turning children into killers.
Speaking to about 25,000 support-
ers near her ances tral home in the
southern town of Larkana, she
also renewed accusations the gov-
ernment had done nothing to stop
militant violence.
“They always try to stop demo-
cratic forces but don’t make any
effort to check extremists, terror-
ists and fanatics,” she told a rally
at a cricket stadium, two days after
a suicide bomber killed nearly 50
worshippers in a mosque.
Bhutto said President Pervez
Musharraf had spoken of the need
to reform religious schools, or
madarasas, but had done nothing.
She said she respected genuine
religious schools. “Then there are
the political madarasas, the politi-
cal madarasas that teach their
pupils how to make bombs, how to
use rifles and how to kill women,
children and the elderly.”
“Who they are who tell children
to carry out bombing on Eid al-
Adha,” she said, referring to the
attack on Friday in the northwest-
ern town of Charsadda.
Police said they suspected
Islamist militants based in semi-
autonomous tribal lands on the
Afghan border were behind the
attack, the latest in a wave of sui-
cide blasts in Pakistan.
At Bhutto’s rally, private securi-
ty guards used metal detectors to
check people entering the stadium.
Bhutto survived a suicide attack in
October when a bomber killed
nearly 150 people at a procession in
Karachi to welcome her home from
eight years of self-imposed exile.
“Extremism is getting strong in
our tribal areas and lawlessness is
spreading throughout the coun-
try,” Bhutto said.
Pakistan’s allies hope the elec-
tion will bring stability to the
nuclear-armed country after
months of turmoil.
Musharraf imposed a state of
Emergency in November before
stepping down as army chief. He
lifted Emergency rule on
December 15.
Bhutto was dogged by accusa-
tions of corruption when she
served two terms as prime minis-
ter in the late 1980s and 1990s but
the daughter of Pakistan’s first
popularly elected prime minister,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, commands a
devoted following.
“I was a young student when
Bhutto was alive. He was a great
leader and I’ve been a follower
since,” said bank worker Farzand
Ali. “Who says there was corrup-
tion? Prove it. Whatever you say,
we’re followers.”
The vote for provincial parlia-
ments and a national assembly
from which a prime minister and a
government will be drawn is a
three-way race between Bhutto, for-
mer prime minister Nawaz Sharif,
and the party that ruled under
Musharraf. Analysts expect a
hung parliament which would like-
ly mean two of the three main par-
ties having to forge an alliance.
ISLAMABAD: At least 54 people
were killed and over 100 injured on
Friday when a suicide bomber
blew himself up in a packed
mosque in northwestern Pakistan,
where former interior minister
Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was
also offering Eid prayers. Sherpao
however escaped unhurt.
About 1,200 people were present
in the Jama Masjid at Sherpao vil-
lage, 40 km northwest of
Peshawar, in Charsadda district
when the attacker detonated the
bomb, police said, adding that the
toll could rise. Three security per-
sonnel were among the dead.
Sherpao, who was interior min-
ister in President Pervez
Musharraf ’s recently dissolved
government and who is running in
January 8 parliamentary elec-
tions, was the likely target of the
attack at the mosque in his home
village, the government said.
Body parts and shoes were scat-
tered around the mosque floor cov-
ered in pools of blood. Police
found parts of a jacket, believed to
belong to the attacker, and ball
bearings aimed at causing maxi-
mum damage.
The suspected bomber, sitting
among the worshippers, detonated
his bomb as prayers ended and
people gathered around the politi-
cian to greet him, said a police offi-
cer who asked not to be named.
Witnesses said Sherpao and his
kin were in the first row of the
worshippers while the suicide
bomber was in the second row.
Police said the bomber managed
to enter the mosque with five to six
kilos of explosives even though a
metal detector had been installed
at the entrance.
Sherpao heads a small pro-
Musharraf party, PPP-S, and was
interior minister when the army
raided the Lal Masjid here in July
to flush out militants holed up
inside. Nearly 100 people were
killed in that operation.
“I was attending the Eid-ul-Zuha
prayers with my sons and
nephews when the blast took
place,” said Sherpao, who in April
also survived a suicide attack in
the same area in NWFP. Sherpao
and his son Sikander escaped but
Mustafa, another son of the for-
mer minister, a nephew were
among those wounded.
President Pervez Musharraf
strongly condemned the attack
and said: “No Muslim could even
think of committing such a
heinous crime that takes the lives
of a large number of innocent
faithful who had gathered for Eid
prayers.”

Deposed CJ Deny Mush role in case of hung house: Sharif

not allowed to KARACHI: Having called for an end to “If there is a hung parliament, there

leave home the military’s role in Pakistan’s politics,

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s
deposed Supreme Court Chief
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry was prevented by the
police from going out of his resi-
dence here for offering Eid
prayers.
Chaudhry, under house arrest
since he was sacked by President
Pervez Musharraf on November 3,
had obtained permission to join
the special Eid-ul-Azha prayers
but was barred from stepping out
of his official residence in the
Judges Colony after a large group
of his supporters and civil society
activists tried to meet him on
Friday morning.
former premier Nawaz Sharif on
Sunday said President Pervez
Musharraf should not be allowed to
intervene if the forthcoming general
election resulted in a hung parliament.
Kicking off PML-N campaign in
Sindh province after paying tribute at
the mausoleum here of Pakistan’s
founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sharif
said that there would be “no harm” if
the polls produced a hung parliament as
the political parties could hold discus-
sions and resolve the matter by them-
selves.
However, he said Musharraf should
not be allowed to intervene if there was
a hung parliament as he is an “illegal
and unconstitutional” President.
is no harm provided it is not under the
shadow of a military dictator or a presi-
dent who is illegal and unconstitutional.
“Why should a hung parliament by
controlled by a President who has his
own vested interests?” he told reporters.
“We don’t recognise him (Musharraf) as
President of the country.”
Sharif vowed to work for supremacy
of the Constitution, independence of
the judiciary and ensuring rule of law.
The PML-N, he said, is struggling for
restoration of real democracy so that
the people would have the “full opportu-
nity to decide their future”.
Sharif said: “We want to end military
intervention in politics for ever. The
January 2008 election will be the peo-
ple’s referendum in this regard.”
Sharif launches poll campaign in Sindh
KARACHI: Kicking off his PML-N’s election campaign in Sindh
province, former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif on Sunday said talks
for seat adjustments were continuing with his political rival Benazir
Bhutto’s party but nothing had been finalised as yet.
The PML-N and Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) last week
set up a committee to discuss seat adjustments for the January 8
general election though leaders from Sharif’s party said it would be
difficult to reach any understanding as very little time was left for the
polls. Shortly after flying into Karachi airport from Lahore on Sunday
morning, Sharif told reporters that the PML-N was continuing talks on
the seat adjustments with the PPP, but nothing was finalised so far.
He also said he expected the government to indulge in “massive
rigging” in the polls. The PML-N will take steps to thwart such moves,
he added. Observers said the PPP and the PML-N might agree on
adjustments in a handful of seats that are considered strongholds of
leaders of the ruling PML-Q, which backs President Pervez Musharraf.

The deposed judge’s family and
even his servants were also not
allowed to leave the house, eyewit-
nesses said.
A large police contingent did
not allow Chaudhry’s supporters,
civil society activists and lawyers
to cross barb wire barricades at
the Judges Colony. The group had
planned to join Chaudhry for the
Eid prayers.
After offering prayers on a road
near the Judges Colony, the group
shouted slogans against the gov-
ernment and demanded the rein-
statement of judges who were
sacked for not endorsing the
Emergency imposed by
Musharraf last month.
Musharraf, who lifted the
Emergency on December 15, has
said that Chaudhry was involved
in a “conspiracy” to remove him
and asserted that the judges will
not be reinstated.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Bar
Association President Aitzaz
Ahsan, who was released from
detention on Thursday for three
days for the Eid holidays, was re-
arrested in Rawalpindi late last
night while driving from Lahore
to Islamabad.
Maoists set to
rejoin Nepal
government
KATHMANDU: The Maoists in Nepal
will rejoin the Girija Prasad Koirala
government under a new deal signed on
Sunday, ending a three-month deadlock
that had threatened to derail the peace
process. Under the 22-point agreement,
the two sides agreed that the country
will be declared a federal democratic
republic through the interim parlia-
ment, subject to ratification by the
Constituent Assembly after the elec-
tions, likely to be held by mid April.
Maoists, who quit the government in
September to press their demand for
declaring Nepal a republic before the
Constituent Assembly elections and a
fully proportional electoral system,
agreed to return all land and other prop-
erties captured by their cadres.
The government has also pledged to
form a commission to trace the per-
sons, mostly Maoists, who went miss-
ing during the violence, Nepali
Congress General Secretary
Bimalendra Nidhi said.
1.2 m minority
voters can’t vote
in Karachi
ISLAMABAD: As many as 1.2
million minority voters in the
southern Pakistani port city
of Karachi have not been reg-
istered for the upcoming gen-
eral election and will not be
able to exercise their fran-
chise.
The matter of registering
these voters was taken up by
Amar Lal, the advisor to the
Prime Minister on minority
affairs, with Sindh province’s
Election Commissioner
Qamar-uz-Zaman on Monday.
Lal asked Zaman to register
the minority voters of
Karachi and other areas.
Zaman, however, said the time
to register voters has passed.
Zaman gave an assurance
that the minority voters would
be registered for the next elec-
tion, Lal was quoted as saying
by state-run APP news agency.
Lal said there are 1.2 million
minority voters who have not
been registered in Karachi
city alone.
He also alleged that certain
political parties were award-
ing tickets to members of
minority communities for con-
testing polls from reserved
seats after “taking money in
the name of (collecting) party
funds”. He said such a prac-
tice would discourage middle
class candidates from partici-
pating in the elections.
Live reporting of
rallies banned
in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s broad-
cast regulator has barred “live and
extensive” reporting of election ral-
lies and meetings by TV news chan-
nels, saying such coverage could
vitiate the atmosphere ahead of the
January 8 parliamentary polls.
“During such meeting, things may
be said by candidates against each
other. We have thus not given per-
mission for live and extensive cov-
erage of political rallies and meet-
ings,” said Iftikhar Rashid, chief of
the Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
He indicated that live coverage
of such rallies and meetings could
affect the atmosphere ahead of the
elections to the national and
provincial assemblies. Other live
broadcasts by TV channels were
not banned but they would have to
install time delay equipment to
ensure proper editing control over
their programming, said Rashid.
10 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 THE EDIT PAGE world sikh news

world sikh news

Every new opinion, at its starting, is
precisely in a minority of one.
Ethnic Cleansing of
Tamils in Sri Lanka
—Thomas Carlyle

Home Truths Mak Suppira Makenthiran

From Prime This factual account of the Tamils in Sri

T
amils are the origi-
nal inhabitants of Lanka was received by WSN in response to
Minister Ceylon, now called
Sri Lanka. This is
the story of the
Tamil people in the second
the Open Letter to M. Karunanidhi by
Jagmohan Singh carried in the WSN

A
s 2007 ends, candidness seems to have
jolted Indian Prime
Manmohan Singh into saying some
Minister
home truths. Even at this stage, truth
does not hurt. Unless one is on the wrong side
of it. Addressing the Chief Ministers of Indian
states, Manmohan Singh said the lack of devel-
opment and the lack of any prospects for
improving one’s lot provide a fertile ground for
extremist ideologies to flourish. “A large pro-
portion of the recruits to extremist groups
come from deprived or marginalized back-
grounds or from regions which somehow seem
disaffected by the vibrant growth in many
other parts ... I notice that in many cases, inter-
nal security problems arise out of the uneven
development.”
The Prime Minister could as well have added
the word deliberate discrimination by the
Centre and the ruling classes.
But the problem with even such candidness
is that it is often negated by reiteration of the
status quo. “Development cannot take place in
the absence of a secure and stable environ-
ment,” the PM added. This clearly and for long
has been the argument of those who have try-
ing to suppress people’s movements using the
gun and defining
half of the last century.
In 1948, the very year that
the British handed over the
edition of Nov 7-13, 2007. We publish this
Ceylon Government to the
Sinhalese majority on a plat-
in the belief that accounts and reasoned
ter without any safeguards for
minorities, the Sinhalese-
self descriptions of struggling nations in
dominated government
passed a law rendering half
India’s neighborhood will interest the
the Ceylon Tamil population
stateless in the land of their
readers of WSN. The author explains why
birth. Under the Ceylon
Citizenship Act, of the nearly
Mak Suppira Makenthiran Tamils are struggling for Tamil Eelam
two million Tamils in Ceylon,
over one million Upcountry Sinhalese government, to Torture camps were set up Chemmani. It is disgusting to
Tamils, who had lived in devolve power to regional coun- and Tamils disappeared invol- note that some of the gross
Ceylon for generations, were cils, but it was soon unilateral- untarily in large numbers. violators of human rights
deprived of their citizenship. ly and dishonestly abrogated. The government unleashed have been rewarded with
To make matters worse, the Again in 1965, Tamil leaders the Sinhalese and Muslim ambassadorships.
Sinhalese government disen- signed the Chelvanayagam- home-guards to oppress The Sinhala government
franchised these Tamils by Senanayake Pact to devolve Tamils. imposed economic embargo
depriving them of their vot- power to district councils was In 1981, the Sinhalese on Tamil provinces prevent-
ing rights by passing the also abrogated. armed forces rampaged in ing supply of food, clothing,
Ceylon Elections Amendment In 1958 Sinhalese mobs and Jaffna, killing and setting fire and medicines, building mate-
Act. criminals unleashed terror to buildings including the his- rials, fuel and other basic
The Upcountry Tamil lead- against the Tamils all over the toric Jaffna Public Library necessities. People were
ers launched a peaceful satya- Sinhalese provinces. Tamils containing 94,000 invaluable dying, but international bod-
graha to protest against this were massacred, their houses books. This act of cultural ies were denied access.

OPEN every struggle as

a law and order
racist policy, but it was
ignored by the government.
WAR
India’s poor
problem.
All that the
The first Prime Minister of
Ceylon, D. S. Senanayake -a
West Bengal gov- scheming racist, set the dan-
Fight ernment wants is gerous precedent for others to
left stability in follow.
right Nandigram so Subsequently, there was
The WSN report on that it can push massive land grabbing forcing
challenge to India's writ out the residents a planned colonization of the
and get the indus- traditional homeland of the
trialists in. The government’s argument that it Tamils in the Northeast by
needs peace to run transport, railways, electric- settling Sinhalese from the
ity lines, telecom lines, irrigation systems and South. Indigenous Tamils
drinking water facilities just misses one point were uprooted and Sinhalese
that these are meant for people. It is no use try- criminals made to reside in
ing to run all of this by killing people. Tamil-dominated villages. All
Vast regions of India are trapped in a vicious protests by Tamils and their
cycle of a poor law and order situation coupled leaders were scrupulously
with slow economic development. The PM real- ignored.
izes this, makes the right noises but still sends In 1956, the Sinhalese gov-
a wrong message when the only outcome is the ernment passed the Sinhala
setting up of a task force. This pure policing Only Act, making Sinhala the
approach will never allow India to face the only official language, divest-
internal security challenges. Credible response ing official status of the Tamil
would have to include a deep and hard and hon- language. The Tamil lan-
est look at the root cause. guage spoken by Tamils and
Only recently, the WSN had brought out in a Muslims was the mother
Special Report the state of the writ of the tongue of one-third of the peo-
Indian State in Chattisgarh and many other ple of Ceylon, but it was sup-
regions. Naxalites have developed the capabili- pressed. This cultural attack
ty in some areas to launch frontal attacks on was carried out by Prime
police forces and establishments. But what sus- Minister Mrs.
tains their fight? The deprivation and neglect Bandaranayake.
to which the Indian State left the poor. Furthermore in 1956,
Any talk of coordinated response to this Sinhalese mobs attacked and
ends up with a law and order component. “We drove out Tamils from their
need to cripple the hold of Naxalite forces villages in the Gal Oya Valley
with all the means at our command. This in the Batticaloa district.
requires improved intelligence gathering This was commencement of
capabilities, improved policing capabilities, Sinhala mob terrorism
better coordination between the Centre and against unarmed Tamils. The
the States and better coordination between police was ineffective and
States and most important, better leadership remained mute spectators.
and firmer resolve,” the PM said. All of this The next step in the genoci-
points only to a skewed attempt at resolving dal programme was to stop
the issue. employment to Tamils. Those
Inadequate, ill equipped, ill trained, poorly- already in the government
motivated personnel cannot take on the service were deprived of their
Naxalites. Development and sympathetic increments unless they
understanding of the issue will. The problem passed the Sinhala proficien-
with home truths is that it is not enough to just cy tests.
say the words. Truth demands adherence to it In 1957 Tamil leaders signed
also. India must learn this. Or its task forces the Bandaranayake-
will always have unfinished tasks at hand. ✍ Chelvanayagam Pact with the
burnt, people burnt live,
women raped and tortured.
Rendered defenselss, over a
100,000 Tamils fled to their
traditional homelands in the
Northeast.
In 1970, by a scheme of stan-
dardization, Tamil students
were discriminated and
barred from higher education.
Tamil students were required
to score higher marks than
the Sinhalese for admission to
higher studies.
In the early sixties of the
last century, Mrs. Srimavo
Bandaranayake indulged in
mass deportation of the state-
less and disenfranchised
Upcountry Tamils to India.
The Indian government col-
luded with the Ceylon govern-
ment in this move by signing
the Srimavo-Sashtri Pact in
1964. Half a million Tamils
were forced out of Ceylon to
India.
In 1974 the Sinhala state
unleashed police violence
against the Tamils who had
gathered to hold the Tamil
Research Conference in
Jaffna, killing nine and
wounding many. In 1976 the
Sinhalese police opened fire at
a mosque killing many Tamil-
speaking Muslims.
In 1977 the UNP government
of Prime Minister J.R.
Jayawardena unleashed mob
violence against the Tamils
particularly in the planta-
tions, killing hundreds of
innocent people. Nearly 40,000
Tamils were made refugees
and destitute and many fled to
India. Nearly 100 Hindu tem-
ples were destroyed with the
active involvement of
Sinhalese politicians. In 1978
the Sri Lankan Parliament
enacted the notorious
Prevention of Terrorism Act
and armed forces were given a
free hand to kill Tamil youth.
genocide was carried out by
two Sinhala ministers,
Athulathmudali and Cyril
Mathew, who were present in
Jaffna at the time of attack.
The Sinhalese government
chased out Tamils from their
villages in large numbers in
the Northeast and replaced
them with the Sinhalese from
the South. Plantation Tamils,
who had taken refuge in
Northeast due to Sinhala ter-
ror, were forcibly put into
buses and dumped in the
Central Province. Tamil stu-
dents in the University of
Peradeniya were also
attacked. Tamils were arrest-
ed in large numbers and held
without trial for long periods.
Many were tortured and many
disappeared, obviously invol-
untarily. In the Welikade jail,
many Tamil prisoners were
killed in July 1983.
This reign of terror contin-
ued during the tenure of J.R.
Jayawardena, Premadasa, and
Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The Sinhala armed forces con-
tinued a reign of state terror.
Mass arrests, killings, disap-
pearances, torture, rape,
burning of houses, destruc-
tion of schools, hospitals,
businesses, shops, temples
and churches rendered Tamils
destitute. Tamil villages were
bulldozed and the army fol-
lowed a scorched-earth policy
in the Tamil homeland.
In the village of Manalaru,
where the Tamils were uproot-
ed, it was renamed Welioya,
and Sinhalese convicts were
settled. Jaffna, Palali,
Nedunthivu, Manalaru,
Valvettiturai, Kilali,
Trincomalee, Batticaloa,
Kokkadicholai, Mannar,
Bidunuwewa, Kanchirankuda
have suffered the most.
Tamils were massacred and
buried in mass graves in
According to an estimate,
some 800,000 Tamils have fled
from Sri Lanka to India, U.K.,
Europe, North America,
Australia and Africa. One
million Tamils have been dis-
placed internally and most of
them have become homeless.
A large number of children
have been orphaned and many
more have been maimed.
Even after years of cease-
fire, Sinhalese armed forces
are occupying Tamil homes,
hospitals, schools, places of
worship and public places in
many provinces. The
Sinhalese police and army are
also guilty of sadistic torture
of Tamil girls and women.
There has been forced sterili-
zation of Plantation Tamils.
Due to abject poverty, a large
number of Tamil children are
employed in Sinhalese homes
as domestic servants and are
subjected to abuse. The cul-
prits escape punishment due
to state patronage and biased
judiciary.
The devastation to the Sri
Lankan Tamil people caused
by the Sinhalese pogrom has
reduced the Tamil population
to 30 percent of what it was in
1948. It is time that the
Sinhalese accused are tried
for genocide and crimes
against humanity.
(S. Makenthiran is a gradu-
ate of the University of Ceylon,
Colombo and a Fellow of the
Chartered Association of
Certified Accountants of UK.
He has served in Sri Lanka
and different countries in
Africa including Zambia,
Malawi and Botswana. He
was a World Bank Project
Finance Officer, before immi-
grating to Canada. In Canada
he works as an accountancy,
financial and tax consultant.
He may be contacted at maken-
thiran@yahoo.com)
world sikh news THE OP-ED PAGE Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 11

L E T T E R S

Death penalty: Taking Note of New Entrants to

Noose Debate — The Economists
Going strong
as ever
Dear Editor, this is with refer-

ence to the news coverage of the
abolition of death penalty in
New Jersey in the World Sikh
News. While I am a staunch
opponent of the death penalty
myself, I still can not agree with
your editorial line that this has
led to hopes of a similar meas-
ure in Punjab as well. I don’t
think such a move is even being
considered in India where hand-
ing out capital punishment to
people is a routine excercise.
The stark reality is that most of
the Indian people do not seem to
be too bothered whenever some-
one gets capital punishment at
the hands of the state, even
though the record of the Indian
judiciary and the overall justice
dispensing system in ensuring
fairness is far from flawless. One
of the recent examples in this
regard that comes to mind
immediately and which would
find instant recall among most
people who follow the news cov-
erage of Indian politics is that of
the now very infamous election
speech made by the chief minis-
ter of the west Indian state of
Gujarat. Addressing thousands
of his supporters along with the
common people, the chief min-
ister referred to the extra judi-
cial killing of Sohrabuddin
Sheikh in the most insensitive
manner possible. Shouting to
the crowd at his rabid best, he
asked, “When you come to know
that a man like Sohrabuddin
has kept illegal weapons at
home, what do you do? Just tell
me what do you do to a man like
that?” The fired up crowd shout-
ed with greater force, “Kill him,
kill him... yes, kill him... What
else, just kill him.” The place
rang with great applause and an
infectious, poisonous commu-
nal zeal. After all, the question
was about “a man like
I
t was interesting to read
Jagmohan Singh's letter to the
governor of New Jersey as
also the other articles in the
World Sikh News' edition of
December 19-25, 2007. Jagmohan
Singh as well as other writers failed
to bring on record an important
aspect of the debate on whether cap-
ital sentence should remain on the
statute book or not. Homicide is a
favourite subject among criminal
justice scholars across the globe,
especially those in the United States,
and scholars remain divided over
the wisdom of persevering with
death as punishment but recently
there have been new entrants -- econ-
omists!
Now, this was one class not nor-
mally associated with a problem
that is generally looked upon as the
concern solely of families of vic-
tims, policemen, prosecutors,
judges, criminologists, sociologists
and human rights activists. But the
economists have brought some new
arguments to the fore. Also entering
the debate are the legal scholars, so
far a detached group limiting itself
to mere semantics of the law.
As per a New York Times report
(November 18), some economists
believe that by persisting with the
execution of murderers a substan-
tial number of homicides are pre-
vented. The ratio of 1:3-18 is quoted.
It is interesting that a formula could
be worked out at all. The group of
economists that is convinced that
the death penalty deters prospective
murderers is led by Gary Becker,
who won the Nobel Prize for
Economics in 1992.
Admitting the limitations of
empirical evidence, the group has
concluded that death penalty should
be retained so that ones commiting
the most heinous of offences will be
deterred. Gary Becker is backed by
Following up on the debate in
WSN pages, Dilwala Singh
writes back to bring to
attention a rather rare
aspect of the Death
Penalty debate. That
economists will have a view
on that is rather interesting
Professors Cass R. Sunstein of the debate, Prof. Wolfers was positive
University of Chicago Law School that capital sentence is too expen-
and Adrian Vermeule of the sive to persist with. This stand is
Harvard Law School. Writing in supported by the fact that an execu-
Stanford Law Review (2005) they tion for murder is preceded by
said: "... the recent evidence of a incredibly prolonged litigation that
deterrent effect from capital punish- involves huge costs for both the
ment seems impressive", and added: prosecution and defence. The
"Those who object to capital punish- Donohue-Wolfers analysis ends with
ment, and who do so in the name of a reference to how murder rates in
protecting life, must come to terms Canada and the U.S. run parallel,
with the possibility that the failure although the last time Canada ever
to inflict capital punishment will fail executed a prisoner was in 1962.
to protect life." The New York Times report
An exactly opposite point of view comes against the backdrop of two
comes from John J. Donohue III, a recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions
Law Professor at Yale with a doctor- which have imposed a near country-
ate in Economics, and Justin wide moratorium on executions.
Wolfers, an Economist at the The first of these was on September
University of Pennsylvania. They 25 when the court allowed a consti-
write in the Stanford Law Review, tutional challenge to the protocol for
again in 2005, that the present evi- administering lethal injections to a
dence of deterrence of capital pun- convict. This was a reference from
ishment is "fragile". They were Kentucky involving two convicts,
slightly derisive of the "econometric Ralph Baze (49) and Thomas
sophistication" of those in the oppo- Bowling (52), on the death row for
site camp. In their view, it is "intu- more than a decade, both for sepa-
itive plausibility" that should take rate double murders. While Ralph
precedence in research design and Baze killed a Sheriff and his deputy
analysis of a problem that is part of while they were serving warrants
public policy. Addressing the eco- on him in 1992, Thomas Bowling
nomic question behind the whole murdered a husband and wife out-
side their dry-cleaning store in 1990.
The two appealed against the
death sentence awarded to them on
the grounds that the lethal injection
by which they were to be executed
was a "cruel and unusual punish-
ment" prohibited by the
Constitution. The appeals were
turned down successively by a State
Judge in 2005 and the Kentucky
Supreme Court the following year
after obtaining medical opinion.
The latter went to the extent of say-
ing that the Constitution did not
envisage a "complete absence of
pain" to the prisoner during execu-
tion.
The Baze-Bowling ruling of
September this year was followed by
a similar one on October 30 when
the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the
execution of a Mississippi prisoner,
Earl W. Berry, who is on death row
for killing a woman 20 years ago.
This was a dramatic intervention
indeed, just 19 minutes before the
execution that had been set for 6
p.m. on that day. It is significant that
Berry got a fortuitous reprieve from
the same court that had earlier
turned down two of his appeals.
In all probability, it was the
Supreme Court's ruling in the
Kentucky cases that came to Berry's
rescue. In the appeal filed on
October 29, Berry's lawyers were for
the first time disputing the constitu-
tional correctness of the procedure
adopted in administering the injec-
tion. The Kentucky prisoners and
Berry were taking advantage of a
finding that the injection was after
all not painless.
It will not be until next spring
when the Supreme Court rules on
the constitutionality of the current
procedures relating to lethal injec-
tion. In the meantime, no State may
be expected to go ahead with an exe-
cution.

The U.N. vote on the death penalty

Sohrabuddin”. What did it mat-
ter to the blood thirsty mob that
Sohrabuddin and his wife had
been done to death already by
the police of their state in a most
brutal manner. Dear Editor, I Louise Arbour tised in too many places. Regrettably, some states workers, as well as racial, ethnic or other unpopu-
have observed over the years that had effectively applied a moratorium on exe- lar minorities, are also often at risk.

that while writing about rabid
communalism most editors
tend to blame the political lead-
ers who arouse such passions
but hesitate in putting the blame
on the common people. When I
hear about people like those in
Gujarat and at so many other
places in the rest of India, I hon-
estly don’t see any hope of see-
ing capital punishment being
banned. Words like mercy, for-
giveness, reform, reconciliation,
etc don’t really strike a chord
with members of a society ever
ready to feed its collective thirst
for blood.
— Harnek Singh,
via email
Keep us posted about
news and events in
your area as also your
feedback to stuff in
the WSN, and these
shall surely find due
mention in our pages.
Letters may be edited
for reasons of space or
style. All letters
should be mailed to
worldsikhnews@gmail.com
L
ast week, when it called for a world-wide
moratorium on the application of the
death penalty, the United Nations
General Assembly took a significant
step towards the definitive abolition of
that sanction, thereby enhancing
the protection of human rights
and the inviolability of the per-
son. The General Assembly also
cast serious doubts over the
death penalty’s supposed deter-
rent effect on criminality.
Moreover, it highlighted the dan-
ger of errors in the application o
f capital punishment and the
Louise Arbour obviously irreparable conse-
quences of such mistakes which,
as modern forensic methods have repeatedly
exposed, do occur even in countries with sophisti-
cated investigative and legal systems.
This sentiment finds echoes in every region of
the world. According to Amnesty International,
no fewer than 133 countries have abolished the
death penalty in law or practice. And the trend
continues to grow. Last July, Rwanda, a country
that has suffered the ultimate crime of genocide
and whose people’s thirst for justice is still far
from quenched, has decided to forego the ultimate
sanction of capital punishment. In so doing,
Rwanda has given a powerful endorsement of the
importance of pursuing justice while repudiating
violence to attain it.
Despite these developments and despite the fact
that a small group of countries reportedly
accounted for 91 per cent of the executions in 2006
— namely China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, and
the United States — the death penalty is still prac-
cutions, such as Afghanistan in the past three
years, have recently resumed them.
The death penalty must always be regarded as
an extreme exception to the fundamental right to
life — which is protected under international law
— and must as such be interpreted in the most
restrictive manner. Accordingly, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights lists specific
restrictions to its imposition. In particular, it states
that capital punishment may be meted out only in
the face of the most serious crimes and only after a
trial and appeal proceedings that scrupulously
respected all the principles of due process. In addi-
tion, the death penalty should always be adminis-
tered in accordance with laws in force at the time
of the commission of the crime. Minors and preg-
nant women must be spared. Human rights mech-
anisms have also clarified that capital punishment
can neither be mandatory, nor can it be carried out
in secret. Moreover, the methods of execution must
meet standards of least possible physical and men-
tal suffering. All too often, however, the death
penalty is applied in ways that violate internation-
al norms, such as the prohibition of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, as well as anti-discrimination stan-
dards.
This is the case, for example, in Iran with regard
to the reported executions of people who were
minors when the alleged crime was committed, or
the stoning of offenders. Japan has recently exe-
cuted an individual as old as 75 and, most worry-
ingly, practises executions in secret and without
forewarning to the persons to be executed and
their families. Studies show that the death penalty
is applied disproportionately to poor people in any
given society. Vulnerable groups, such as migrant
It is therefore encouraging that higher courts,
as well as legislatures, in some retentionist states
are reviewing the methods and scope of capital
punishment. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court
has barred execution of minors and is re-examin-
ing the use of lethal injection.
At the State level this month, New Jersey abol-
ished the death penalty thereby becoming the first
American State to do so in more than 40 years. In
China, a review by the Supreme People’s Court has
reportedly led to some reduction in the high rate of
executions. In Iran, the judiciary has ordered a
moratorium on stoning, although this needs to be
consistently enforced. For its part, the U.N. has
long advocated abolition of the death penalty or, at
a minimum and in the interim, restrictions on its
use, including moratoria. Such principled position
is reflected in U.N. practice as well.
Thus, the statutes of the International Criminal
Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for
Rwanda, both established by the Security Council,
do not provide for capital punishment. The
International Criminal Court and U.N.-supported
mixed tribunals have adopted a similar stance. If
the General Assembly’s call for a global moratori-
um is an additional and crucial stepping stone in
the natural progression towards abolishing the
death penalty altogether, the heart of the matter
now and in the future remains in the actual imple-
mentation of this literally vital pledge.
Ultimately, it is through example that retention-
ist states may be persuaded to join the consensus
and abandon the abhorrent practice of capital
punishment.
— Courtesy: U.N. Information Centre, New Delhi
(Louise Arbour is U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights.)
26 December to 01 January 2008 WORLD SIKH NEWS 12

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world sikh news
OTHER
MERCHANTS
OF DEATH
Lack of political will Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister
for Health and Family Welfare
to put up pictorial Dear Dr. Ramadoss
warnings on the puff I have a high regard for your polit-
pack and not ical party --Pattali Makkal Kacthi,
founded by your illustrious father
penalizing public and I am glad that
coalition politics has
smoking is putting given you the privi-
lege to influence the
the health of non- health conditions in
India. I write to you
smokers too at risk. to expedite efforts to
liberate the populace
The Indian health from ill-effects of
tobacco.
minister must act I am sure that you are aware that
Sikhs are fortunate that some
before it is too late. three hundred years ago, their
Tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh
This is an Open made it mandatory for his follow-
ers to shun tobacco. Tobacco has
Letter to the minister been termed Jagat-jhoot-the filth of
the world. Legend has it that dur-
ing one of his sojourns, even the
horse of Guru Gobind Singh had
the good sense to avoid running
into a tobacco field. Leave alone
using tobacco, even touching it is
sin.
I must share with you what hap-
pened in the early seventies of the
last century in Panjab. When some
Sikh leaders and organisations
attempted to build a movement
against consumption of tobacco in
all its forms, even though tobacco
consumption was then quiet low in
Panjab, rabidly fundamentalist
organizations and their Arya
Samaji leaders converted the
whole issue from a health concern
to a communal issue. To taunt the
Sikhs, they exhorted people to
smoke!
Today things have somewhat
changed. Irrespective of what any-
body thinks in private, there is uni-
versal realization that tobacco
kills. For the people of Panjab, pas-
sive smoking is a serious threat.
Second-hand smoke exposure is
causing increasing health prob-
lems. A section of the poor people
is turning to chewing tobacco too.
The Indian figures, as you know,
are staggering. Of the 1.1 billion
people who smoke worldwide, 182
million (16.6%) live in India. 20
percent of these smoke and the bal-
ance chew tobacco.
Four major provisions of the
Anti-Tobacco Act (Cigarettes and
Other Tobacco Products - take action.
Prohibition of Advertisement and
Regulation of Trade and
Commerce, Production, Supply
and Distribution Act, 2003), name-
ly prohibition of sale of tobacco
products near educational institu-
tions, mandatory depiction of
statutory warning including picto-
rial warning on tobacco products,
mandatory depiction of tar and
nicotine content and increasing
SMOKING GUN
awareness against passive smok-
ing have been flouted with impuni-
ty. Like all Indian laws, implemen-
tation is wanting.
I find it hard to believe that you
continue to blame the powerful
tobacco lobby for the health min-
istry's inability to put laws to effec-
tive use even though there are
court directions to be followed.
You are the Minister. You are
accountable and responsible.
Catch the bull by its horns and do
not care about the rich tobacco
industry. The tobacco companies
and their owners are also mer-
chants of death. They may not
have a political face but their influ-
ence and machi-
nations are lethal.
For whatever
reason, you want-
ed a change of
guard at All India
Institute
Medical Sciences
of
and you had your
way. You now
have an adminis-
trator of your
choice at the pre-
mier hospital of
the country in
New Delhi. The
stealthy coercion of 4
chief ministers and
150 members of par-
OPEN LETTER
liament notwithstanding, you
should promulgate the law and
force all cigarette and bidi compa-
nies to follow the provisions of the
Act.
Setting up of Tobacco Control
Cells as suggested by the WHO and
Tobacco cessation clinics, success-
fully working in Tamil Nadu, will
surely create awareness and elimi-
nate this scourge. A complete and
thorough ban on surrogate adver-
tising is also an urgent need. You
should take the initiative to set up
online and phone-based round-the-
clock counseling services for peo-
ple who want to quit smoking but
Dec
December
26, 2007-Jan
find it difficult to do so, something
like the Quitline in the US.
There is overwhelming evidence
that pictorial warning have
reduced the incidence of smoking.
In European countries, these
warnings have reduced smoking
by as much as ten percent. NGOs
like Healis Sekhsaria Institute for
Public Health, Mumbai and the
Burning Brain
Chandigarh doubt your motive.
Society,
The only way to undo this is to ini-
tiate immediate action.
Your coalition government has
very little time. Elections are a few
paces away. History is testimony to
the fact that men who make bold
decisions
leave a bench-
mark for oth-
ers to follow.
If you take
action, the
future incum-
bents of your
ministry will
go further in
this direction
and address
other health
concerns too.
It is after a
long time that
a doctor has become
incumbent of the
health ministry. If at
the end of the day you still cannot do
it, you should expose all those who
are holding you back. The political
pawns of the tobacco industry must
be put up in a dingy tobacco-smoke
infected room and interrogated
about their complicity.
I was pleasantly surprised to
learn that India ratified the
International Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC) on 5 February 2004, aimed
at curbing tobacco-related deaths
and disease, after its unanimous
adoption by 192 countries a the
World Health Assembly (WHA) on
21st May 2003. Ratification of
12-18,1,2007
2008 13
Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss
international conventions does not
come easily to India.
As per the country-level commit-
ment under the treaty, countries
are mandated to impose restric-
tions on tobacco advertising, spon-
sorship and promotion, establish
new packaging and labeling of
tobacco products with strong
health warnings, establish clean
indoor air controls by imposing
restrictions on smoking in public
places and strengthening legisla-
tion to clamp down on illicit trade
in tobacco products.
I must complement you that
despite protests from a section of
the film industry, your campaign
for Tobacco-free films have borne
fruit. The glorification of smoking
on the silver screen is on the
decline. Aamir Khan has quit
smoking as a New Year resolution.
The sensitization of the film indus-
try has begun.
In May 2007, the chairperson of
the Motion Pictures Association of
America, Dan Glickman said,
"Clearly, smoking is increasingly
an unacceptable behaviour in our
society. There is broad awareness
of smoking as a unique public
health concern due to nicotine's
highly addictive nature, and no
parent wants their child to take up
the habit." He said this while
announcing the decision those
Hollywood movies with smoking
could go from PG rating to R
Rating. Clearly, the Indian
Ministry of Health, the
Information Broadcasting
Ministry and the Censor Board of
India need to follow suit.
If the "Tobacco kills 2,500
Indians everyday." warning is not
put up on cigarette packs, then
state patronage for exchequer rea-
sons should be blamed for these
daylight murders.
In 2006, India won the "Luther
Terry Award" at the World
Conference on tobacco. If it were a
rotating trophy, you would loose it
for failure to implement legal,
executive and international com-
mitments.
Health ministry figures say that
some eight hundred thousand peo-
ple die of tobacco intake every
year in India. You will certainly
earn the blessings of those who
will survive. So let not the proposal
end up in smoke. I wish you good
luck, more energy and courage to
With prayers for a tobacco-free
New Year and good health for you
and your family,
Yours truly
Jagmohan Singh
The writer is a health, religious,
social and political activist based
in Ludhiana, Panjab.
He may be contacted at
jsbigideas@gmail.com
14 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 SPECIAL REPORT
Tearing
Tytler
A fortnight after media
tracked down the witness
that India’s CBI said it could
not, another witness was
caught in a sting operation
by a respected TV channel.
Jagdish Tytler was exposed
thoroughly as Surinder Singh
described how he witnessed
men being burnt alive
I
ndia’s CNN-IBN TV news chan-
nel which claims credit for
tracking down Jasbir Singh, one
of the key witnesses in the case
against former Indian minister
Jagdish Tytler, has now caught anoth-
er witness in a hidden camera opera-
tion who had seen Tytler leading
blood thirsty mobs, saw murders
before his eyes, gave his testimony to
Nanawati Commission, but had later
retracted it.
The CNN-IBN Special Investigation
revealed on December 21 evening the
testimony of Surinder Singh, then
granthi of Pulbangash Gurdwara in
north Delhi, was shown saying that he
saw Tytler leading the mob on
November 1, 1984, and inciting them
by saying “they have killed our moth-
er”. Unaware of the hidden camera,
Surinder Singh said he saw the three
men being burnt to death in the pres-
ence of Tytler.
Following assassination of Indira
Gandhi on October 31, 1984, nearly
3,000 Sikh men, women and children
were killed across the country, and as
per official statistics, 2,733 Sikhs were
killed on Delhi’s roads alone, mostly
burnt by using used cycle tyres.
Twenty-three years, 10 investigative
commissions, 13 convictions and an
apology from Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh haven’t done much
to heal the wounds.
Witnesses turning hostile was one
of the biggest problems the prosecu-
tion faced in the case and the inves-
tigative agencies had to shut cases
registered against various accused
like senior Congress leader and for-
mer minister Jagdish Tytler.
Now the head granthi of Majnu-ka-
Tilla gurudwara, he had made all
these allegations in an affidavit filed
before the Nanavati Commission
probing the 1984 riots but had later
retracted his statement.
Surinder Singh has now brought
the truth to the fore, of course thanks
to being caught on hidden camera,
and explained how he changed his
statement under pressure and said he
had told Justice Nanawati that he will
retract his statement of the govern-
ment changed and the Congress came
to power.
Narrating what he saw on
November 1, 1984, Surinder Singh
explained how the frenzied mob
accompanying Tytler killed Badal
Singh, a gurudwara sewadar, retired
inspector Thakur Singh, who tried to
stop the mob, and another unidenti-
fied person. He said he was also
caught by the mob but escaped after
he started swinging his kirpan
around.
The mob dispersed when police on
the spot began firing from behind a
tree and asked him to run back into
the gurdwara. Unaware of being on
camera, he admitted that he was pres-
surised by Tytler to retract his state-
ment to the Nanavati Commission.
After Jasbir Singh coming on
record in a similar case, this is the
second eye witness to emerge against
Tytler. Jasbir Singh had also alleged
that he saw Tytler leading a mob
which had resulted in a Delhi court
questioning the clean chit given by
the CBI to Tytler in the anti Sikh
pogroms related case.
Given below is an English transla-
tion of Surinder Singh’s testimony.
(Readers may visit WSN website
www.WorldSikhNews.com to access
the complete testimony verbatim in
Punjabi as well as its translation).
CNN-IBN: Te Tytler ne laayi aag onu?
(Was Tytler the instigator?)
Surinder Singh: He was leading the
charge. I have said it, I have given
written statements. He was standing
near the Masjid and egging on the
mob, “Kill them! They have killed our
mother.
CNN-IBN: Tussi apni akkaan naal
vekhya si? (Did you see this with your
own eyes ?)
Surinder Singh: With my own eyes I
saw three murders. Badal Singh left
after keertan at 8 am. The mob sur-
world sikh news
rounded him at Azad market, I’m
talking about November 1. He ran
into the house of one Amarjeet
Singh, and hid there. For an hour the
mob could not find him. He came out
an hour later. They spotted him. He
ran to the terrace of the house. He
brought out his kripan to defend him-
self. Someone grabbed it and stabbed
him in the stomach with the kripan.
We saw it all from our roof. After the
stabbing, Badal didn’t die immediate-
ly.
Surinder Singh: They threw his
body down from the second floor.
Then they loaded it onto a garbage
barrow. We were watching from the
top. There they started dancing as if
it was a wedding. They then brought
him in front of the Gurudwara. There
they put a tire around his neck, they
had tires with them. Badal Singh was
screaming and crying in pain but
they put the tire around him, sprin-
kled kerosene and lit the fire. The
man was burnt alive.
Surinder Singh: In the morning,
before the attack, at 8 am, Inspector
Thakur Singh was with me. He was in
our Gurudwara committee since her
had retired from the police. He had
come to the Gurudwara on the 31st.
That night the mobs were already
burning cars. In the morning when
the attacks started, he (Thakur
Singh) said Gyaniji don’t go out. I’ve
been in the police, stay behind me. He
tried talking to the mob, told them
there was a school nearby with
Nanavati naal meri gal
baat hoyi te Nanavati ne
mainu bulaya. Main
saareyan saamne keha ki
ye ye bande si par main
onaanu keha main
twaanu vi keh raha hun ki
aaj sarkar dooji hai te
main bayaan de ditta, kal
nu sarkaar badal gayi
main fer mukar jaana
kyunki main marna nahi
hai, seedhi jayi gal hai. Ye
maine kaha Nanavati ko,
sarakar ab fir badal gayi
fir unka raaj hai
Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims in it. But
nobody was ready to listen to him.
Surinder Singh: The policemen said
the SHO was not with them. They
said they had locked him up at the
thana. Because the local SHO was a
Sikh named Amarjeet Singh. He
(Tytler) was there with the police.
Surinder Singh also described the
killing of another man that morning,
a man who worked at a local television
store, a revelation being made for the
first time.
Surinder Singh: After Badal Singh
hid in the TV shopowner Amarjeet’s
house. The mob found Amarjeet’s ser-
vant. They killed him as well. The
burnt him in front of the Gurudwara
as well. So there were three killings,
Badal Singh, Police Inspector Thakur
Singh and Amarjeet’s servant.
Just days after the riots, Surinder
Singh claimed Tytler came to meet him
at the Gurudwara.
Surinder Singh: On November 10,
Jagdish Tytler came to the
Gurudwara and asked me to sign on
two sheets of paper, which I refused to
sign.
Surinder Singh claimed that in his
first deposition before the Nanavati
Commission he had openly declared
that if he faced pressure and death
threats from Congress, he would turn
hostile.
Surinder Singh: Judge Nanavati
questioned me why didn’t you speak
up before, why have you spoken out
after so many years. I told him that
earlier it was the rule of the Congress
Party how could’ve I said anything
against them?
world sikh news SPECIAL REPORT December 19-25, 2007 15

Tytler brings fig

leaf as defence
P
ushed into a cor- ny. Jasbir's is a different
ner, Jagdish Tytler repeatedly asked case.
Tytler displayed why Surinder Singh Rajdeep Sardesai: Are
his skills at could not bring any you suggesting, Mr Tytler,
telling lies, that it's all a conspiracy?

remarkably crammed into
a few minutes on camera,
and not a hidden one. The
top most lie was that
Damning
other witness. This
Jagdish Tytler: It's all a
former minister does conspiracy.
not know that under no Rajdeep Sardesai: By a
law can a witness be section of Congress lead-

Words
India's Doordarshan TV asked to get another ership?
has CDs that were shot one. Why was Tytler not Jagdish Tytler: I would
with fixed cameras which asked why he could not not say that.
show his presence contin- get another Rajdeep Sardesai: By
uously from 7 am till 3 pm your political rivals? Mian apni akkhaan naal vekhyea
on November 1, 1984 by Congressman to vouch Jagdish Tytler: Anyone.
that he was present by teeno katal mere saamne hi hoye
the side of Indira Rajdeep Sardesai: Is it
Gandhi's body at Teen Indira's dead body people who wouldn't want si. Badal Singh swere keertan
Murti bhawan in New throughout? After all, you to come back to karke 8 waje chala gaya. Te Azad
Delhi. So he could not be both Manmohan Singh power?
where Surinder Singh and Sonia Gandhi were Jagdish Tytler: That's market ch onu lokaan ne gher
says he was. In a chat with for police to find out. CBI
CNN-IBN's Editor-in-Chief
there. All he needs to
must find out.
leya. Eh 1 tareek di gall hai, pehli
Rajdeep Sardesai, Tytler
do is to get Sonia to say CBI clearly suits Tytler Nov di, Azad market ch public
had no answer why he did on national TV, "Dear very well. After all, this is
not produce the CDs Sikhs, Mr. Tytler was by the agency that was going odey magar pai gai. O bhajj ke
before Nanawati my mother-in-law's over board while giving amarsingh singh texla TV wale
Commission and made a body." End of matter. Tytler a clean chit. Till
mess for himself at some Wanna try, Mr. Tytler? Jasbir Singh spoke up. ne, road te hi onaa di dukaan si,
sharp questioning by Tytler even said that onaa de ghar chhup gaya. Te o
CNN-IBN anchor Surinder Singh "should
Suhasini Haidar. also prove his case by bringing in more onu lab lub ke chale gaye te o
At one stage he promised to give CNN- people." What he did not say was that he mileya na, Ghantek baad ona
IBN the seven CDs, then said he has only will ask senior Congress leaders to
one copy, then said he will give these to vouch for him. Clearly, Suhasini Haidar nun fer pata lag gaya te fer o
the CBI, then said he will give these to spoke for many when she said, "Surinder
the CBI if the court asked him to, and Singh and Jasbir Singh are not the only
gharch hi wadd gaye. Te chat si
then said the Doordarshan must have people what o accuse you. The CDs you odda ghar doosri manjil te. Oney
these in its records. Not one Congress speak of were not produced before CBI
leader has so far vouched for his pres- and they may not be there at all now." apni kirpan kaddi hoyegi kise nu
ence all through the time period, but Tytler did not counter this, but merely maaran layi par onu o kirpan
Tytler kept questioning if Surinder added: "After 21 years, this fellow comes
Singh can produce another witness. and says all this. I don't understand this. kaddan hi nahi ditti, te duje
It was then that Suhasini Haidar cut There's someone behind this."Activist bande ne pichheyon fadd leya te
him short with a terse comment: "It's lawyer H.S. Phoolka countered by asking
interesting you should say that. why Tytler did not ask Nanawati to sum- odi kirpan naal hi odaa dhidd (
Surinder's testimony comes in the same mon the CDs. Tytler had no answer to stomach) faad ditta. Utton assi
week as Jasbir Singh's." this. Just one more thing: The CD had
Jagdish Tytler: That's not his testimo- not been invented in 1984. dekh rahe haan sab kuchh. Assi
te chauthi chat te haan te o te
Suhasini Haidar: Does anything that dooji chat te hai, te jadon taan
Surinder Singh says surprise you? odaa dhidh faadta, dhidh faadan
naal banda marda nahi hai ik
Ved Marwah who headed the first to such power?
enquiry into the riots joined in the Ved Marwah: That's true. If people can dam, marr da jaadon saans katti
debate. be burnt alive on Delhi roads, it doesn't jaaye. Te onnu thhalle suteya fer
Ved Marwah: It's very unfortunate that speak too well of Delhi Police. That's
the proceedings have gone on for 23 years what I was going to do if I was allowed to onane. Te thhalle sutt ke o redi
and if the witnesses are now changing proceed with my inquiry. I had collected hundi hai na koode wali,ode te
their testimony, it's because the whole all records that did not put the police in
thing has dragged on for so many years. very good light. onnu ladd ke leyaye hai,
When I was called to Delhi Police – after Ved Marwah: I think it is very tragic
the riots were over – I was given three that no conclusion has been made about
Gurudware de saamne,assi utton
months. But before I could complete it, I who is guilty and who's not in 23 years. dekh rahe haan sab kuch, te naal
was asked to stop. Naturally, I couldn't But the sad fact is that I was the inquiry
proceed with it despite doing a lot of officer and I was given three months to hi nachde tapde log aa rahe hai,
work. Commenting on Surinder Singh's complete and that didn't happen. And for poore bhangre paunde,jiddaan
or Tytler's statement is something that the last 23 years some Delhi police offi-
the investigative agencies must do. cers have been filing one civil suit after vyaah shaadiyan da mahaul
Suhasini Haidar: But investigative another against me for doing that Honda hai na is tarah hi.
agencies have failed and witnesses have inquiry. So you see our criminal justice — VERBATIM EXCERPTS FROM SURINDER SINGH'S
retracted. Even Surinder Singh says he system is in a very bad shape and if
NARRATIVE, FROM CNN-IBN STING OPERATION.
saw six policemen with the mob. How is things go on as they are people will lose
the ordinary person expected to face up confidence.
16 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008
Catholics emerging
as UK’s dominant
religious group
LONDON: Roman Catholics have
overtaken Anglicans as the UK’s
dominant religious group. More
people now attend Mass every
Sunday than worship with the
Church of England, according to
latest published figures.
Despite England’s official break
with the pope in Rome during
Henry VIII’s reign more than 400
years ago, making Anglicanism and
the Church of England dominant,
Catholicism is now the most prac-
ticed faith in the land.
A survey by the group Christian
Research showed that around
862,000 worshippers attended
Catholic Mass each week in 2006,
exceeding the 852,000 who went to
Church of England services.
Attendance at Anglican services
has almost halved over the past 40
years as the country has grown
steadily more secular, the research
showed. While attendance figures
for both Catholic and Anglican
services are declining, Catholic
numbers are slipping by a lesser
degree as new migrants arrive from
east Europe and parts of Africa,
Poland to end
Iraq op by Oct
WARSAW: The president of
Poland has given his approval to a
government plan that would end
the country’s military mission in
Iraq by October 2008, his Web site
said, a final hurdle in settling on a
date for withdrawal.
Poland still has 900 troops in
Iraq, and deciding how much
longer to keep them there had
turned into a source of friction
between President Lech Kaczynski
and new Prime Minister Donald
Tusk in past weeks.
The mission’s current mandate
expires on December 31, and Tusk
had been calling for the mission to
be extended, but until October at
the latest.
The president, who is the com-
mander in chief of the military
and a staunch US ally, had hoped to
keep the troops there longer.
At one point, he indicated that
he might refuse to go along with
the government plan to withdraw
the troops next year. That refusal,
however, would have backfired on
him because it would have forced
the country to bring the troops
home by the end of this month
given that the current mandate
ends on December 31.
Kaczynski’s Web site said that
he has signed the government’s
resolution calling for mission to be
continued until October 31.
Canada simplifies
citizenship process
OTTAWA: A law making it easier for
children adopted abroad to become
Canadian citizens came into effect on
Sunday, Canada’s Ministry of
Citizenship and Immigration
announced. Parents formerly had to
apply to sponsor the child to come to
Canada, then seek permanent resident
status for him or her, before finally
applying for citizenship, a process that
could take up to 18 months. Now,
thanks to the new law, parents can skip
the first two steps involved.
WORLD world sikh news
boosting Catholic congregations.
“When an ex-PM becomes a
Catholic, that must be a sign that
Catholicism really has come in
from the cold in this country,”
Catherine Pepinster, editor of
Catholic weekly The Tablet, said. “I
would hope that my fellow
Catholics will welcome Tony Blair
into the Church as they welcome
other converts.”Blair is not the first
high-profile Briton to convert to
Catholicism. Others include the
author Evelyn Waugh, the son of an
Anglican churchman, converted in
the 1930s, and novelist Graham
Greene was a noted convert,
although his books often explored
doubts over faith.
Blair’s conversion was long
expected — his wife and four chil-
dren are practicing Catholics — but
it has not come without a degree of
criticism. While in office, he fre-
quently championed stem-cell
research, supported civil partner-
ships for gay couples and has voted
in favor of abortion, all issues on Authorities investigate after strong winds flipped a small plane minutes after it had landed at the Kenosha
which the Catholic faithful hold regional airport. According to authorities, the plane landed safely, but after the pilot and passenger disem-
strong positions. barked, wind gusts caught the plane and flipped it. No injuries were reported.
Snowstorm
LTTE should stop terror leaves nine dead
attacks, says Prachanda in US midwest
MILWAUKEE: Highways were
hazardous for Christmas holiday
COLOMBO: In an interesting ing a landmark peace deal last gency left at least 13,000 people travelers on Sunday and thousands
turn of events, the once-feared year. dead in Nepal. of homes and businesses had no
Nepalese guerrilla leader The Maoist chairman’s com- During his Nepal trip, De Silva electricity in the US midwest as a
Prachanda has report- ments came during a also held discussions with Prime storm blustered through the
edly said Tamil Tiger meeting on Sunday with Minister Girija Prasad Koirala region with heavy snow and howl-
supremo Vellupillai Sri Lankan Healthcare and other senior leaders and offi- ing wind. At least nine deaths had
Prabhakaran should Minister Nimal Siripala cials. Talks were held on been blamed on the storm. Winter
stop terrorist attacks de Silva in Nepal, the exchanging Buddhist pilgrims storm warnings were posted for
on civilians and politi- Island newspaper between the two countries, shar- parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and
cians. reported on Tuesday. ing the experience of terrorist Michigan on Sunday as the core of
“LTTE leader “All South Asian and problem and introducing the the storm headed north across the
Prabhakaran must stop Asian countries must health policy model of Sri Lanka Great Lakes. Parts of Wisconsin
his suicide bomb attacks help out Sri Lanka to in Nepal. already had a foot of snow, and up
on politicians and civil wipe out the LTTE ter- The Sri Lankan Minister said to a foot was forecast on Sunday in
society,” said Prachanda, whose rorism,” it quoted Prachanda as every rebel leader had a time northeastern Minnesota, the
Maoist party returned to political saying. period and it applied to the LTTE National Weather Service said.
mainstream in Nepal after sign- The decade-long Maoist insur- chief as well. Radar showed snow falling
across much of Wisconsin and
eastern Minnesota on Sunday and
Kissinger countered Turkish planes bomb moving into parts of Michigan and
Indiana. “Everything is just an ice
rink out there,” Rock County
Soviet arms supply rebel positions in Iraq Sheriff ’s Sergeant Steve Selby said
on Sunday morning.
The weather system also spread
to India in ‘70s ISTANBUL: Turkish fighter jets bombed Kurdish
rebel targets in northern Iraq, a spokesman for Iraqi
Kurdistan’s Peshmerga security forces has said.
locally heavy rain on Sunday from
the Southeast to the lower Great
Lakes. The storm rolled through
WASHINGTON: Pakistan could not be left at a disad- Jabar Yawar said the jets on Sunday bombed an area Colorado and Wyoming on Friday,
vantageous position vis-à-vis India militarily and it about 85 kilometres north of Irbil near the border with then spread snow and ice on
was in US interests to counter Soviet defence supplies Turkey for about an hour and a half. He said there were Saturday from the Texas
to New Delhi, a top Richard Nixon administration no civilian casualties because the area was deserted Panhandle to Minnesota. Multi-car
official had argued. due to fear of Turkish attacks. pileups closed parts of several
“The main threat to Pakistan at this point seems to Yawar said he did not know whether any Kurdish major highways on Saturday in the
be in terms of its own internal cohesiveness,” Henry rebels had been killed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Plains states.
Kissinger, the Assistant to the President for National Erdogan referred questions to the General Staff, but
Security, had told Nixon in a White House Memo
dated March 7, 1973.
military authorities were not immediately available to
discuss any military operations on Sunday. Interim Belgian govt in
“Nevertheless, Pakistan must have a military “We are using our nation’s natural right under inter-
force that can preserve internal integrity and per- national law,” while keeping within limits of reason, place after record wait
mit (President Z A) Bhutto to negotiate with India Erdogan said when journalists asked about reports of BRUSSELS: Belgium’s parliament gave
from a basis that is as advantageous as the basic bal- a fresh cross-border operation, state-run media report- its backing to a new interim government
ance between the two countries permits,” Kissinger ed. The US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said on Sunday, ending for now a six-month
felt. before Sunday’s attack that the US acknowledges crisis that prompted speculation the
“We must deal with the fact that resumption of full- Turkey’s right to defend itself but asked the US ally country might split into Dutch and
scale military assistance to Pakistan would risk an and NATO member not to endanger Iraq’s stability. French-speaking regions. Parliament
almost certain Congressionally imposed embargo. “At the same time we’ve also said that we all have a backed by 97 votes to 46 a team led by
Thus it would seem to me that a return to our 1967-71 pretty substantial interest in the stability of Iraq and Guy Verhofstadt. A political deadlock
policy of limited supply is about as far as we can go. none of us want to see operations pursued in a manner after June’s general election meant
This would be a disappointment to President Bhutto, that can threaten basic stability inside Iraq,” Crocker Belgium was without a government for a
but it would be helpful,” he wrote. said. record 196 days.
world sikh news
Let’s stop provoking Al-Qaeda,
says Republican lawmaker
WASHINGTON: A maverick
Republican contender for the 2008
presidential polls has argued that
the US must stop provoking Al-
Qaida if the Americans are not to
be attacked and killed and that
Washington’s close ties with Israel
and Pakistan are annoying the ter-
rorist outfit.
“Read what Osama bin Laden
said. We had a base in Saudi
Arabia that was an affront to their
religion, that was blasphemy, as far
as they were concerned,” Texas
Congressman Ron Paul said.
He also said the US was bombing
Iraq for 10 years. “We’ve interfered
in Iran since 1953. Our CIA has
Olmert rejects
truce with Hamas
JERUSALEM: The Israeli prime
minister Ehud Olmert has pledged
war against Gaza militants, reject-
ing feelers from the Islamic Hamas
for a truce, while an Israeli Cabinet
minister angered moderate
Palestinians with another plan for
new Jewish housing in a disputed
part of Jerusalem, complicating
renewed peace talks.
“There is no other way to describe
what is happening in the Gaza Strip
except as a true war between the
Israeli army and terrorist ele-
ments,” Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert told his Cabinet, ruling out
truce talks. Reports of truce feelers
from the embattled Islamic Hamas
regime in Gaza have been surfacing
almost daily, and Israeli defense offi-
cials have said they are examining
the proposals.
The unconfirmed reports have
Hamas convincing fellow militants
in Gaza to stop their daily rocket fire
at southern Israel, while Israel halts
its air and ground operations in
Gaza. Speaking to his Cabinet at
Sunday’s weekly meeting, Olmert
rejected negotiations with Hamas
because it has rejected international
demands to recognize Israel,
renounce violence and endorse past
peace accords.
“We have declared (this war) and
we will continue,” Olmert said at the
beginning of the meeting, which
Seven Taliban hostages Pope calls for peace as Christians
killed, say police celebrate the spirit of Yuletide
GHAZNI: The Taliban have shot
dead seven men, two of them
truck drivers for a Western secu-
rity firm, who had been kid-
napped in the past week, the
police and a rebel spokesman
said on Sunday.
The seven — three policemen,
two soldiers and the drivers —
were killed in the central
province of Ghazni on Saturday
night, they said.
A Taliban spokesman,
Zabihullah Mujahed, said the
men were shot dead after
attempting to escape “from our
jail.”
Provincial police chief Khan
Mohammad Mujahed said that
bodies had been recovered and
police were looking for more.
“We’ve learnt that they have been
been involved in the overthrow of
their governments. We’re, right
now, in the process of overthrow-
ing that nation,” Paul said. “We
side more with Israel and
Pakistan, and they get annoyed
with this.”
Paul, who has surprised many in
the Republican Party and outside
for his ability to collect campaign
contributions, was asked on a
press meet whether the Al-Qaida
would leave America alone if the
US did not have troops in the
Middle East.
“Not immediately, because
they’d have to believe us. But what
would happen is the incentive for
reporters are allowed to attend.
“This is true regarding Hamas,
Islamic Jihad and all other ele-
ments.” Despite their overt rejec-
tions of a formal cease-fire, Israeli
officials have been saying a formal
truce is unnecessary. They say if
Gaza militants stop the rocket fire,
Israel would have no reason to
attack. Israeli airstrikes over a two-
day period last week killed 12,
including two top Islamic Jihad
commanders. The truce feelers
started surfacing a day later, first in
a call from Hamas political leader
Ismail Haniyeh to an Israeli TV
reporter and later, according to offi-
cials, by way of Egypt, which has
mediated several other past truces.
Islamic Jihad, which is behind
most of the rocket salvos, on Sunday
again rejected a truce with Israel.
By nightfall three rockets fired from
Gaza exploded in Israel, causing no
damage or casualties, the military
said. Israeli officials said Defense
Minister Ehud Barak will travel this
week to Egypt for talks with
President Hosni Mubarak. It was
unclear whether a cease-fire would
be on the agenda.
At last month’s peace conference
in Annapolis, Maryland, hosted by
U.S. President George W. Bush,
Israel and the Palestinians
resumed peace talks for the first
time in seven years.
killed,” he said. The seven were
kidnapped on December 17 and 18
along the main road between
Kabul and the southern city of
Kandahar, he said.
In their biggest hostage-taking,
the Taliban captured 23 South
Korean nationals in July along
the same road in the same
province. They killed two of the
group of Christian aid workers
before releasing the rest, most of
them after secret talks with the
South Korean government.
The extremist Taliban were
removed from power in a US-led
invasion in late 2001 and are now
waging an insurgency that
has gained pace this year
with a spike in suicide bombings,
kidnappings and other rebel
attacks.
WORLD
Osama bin Laden to recruit sui-
cide terrorists would disappear.
Once we left Lebanon in the early
1980s, the French and the
Americans and Israelis left
Lebanon, suicide terrorism virtu-
ally stopped.
“So we have to understand that.
We have to understand how we
would react if some country did to
us exactly what we do to them. And
then we might have a better under-
standing of their motivation, why
somebody would join the Al-
Qaida,” he said. “...Why produce
the incentive for these violent,
vicious thugs (of Al-Qaida) to want
to come here and kill us?”
Israeli,
Palestinian
talks to
resume
JERUSALEM: Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators plan to
meet for a second round of US-
backed peace talks hitherto ham-
pered by disputes over the
Jewish settlement building near
Jerusalem.
The Palestinians said substan-
tive negotiations over borders,
and the fate of Jerusalem and
Palestinian refugees would not
begin until Israel committed to
halting all settlement activity, as
called for under the long-stalled
“road map” peace plan.
The road map also calls on the
Palestinians to rein in militants,
an obligation that Israel says must
be fulfilled in the occupied West
Bank and Hamas-controlled Gaza
Strip before a Palestinian state can
be established.
The first round of negotiations
that followed a US - sponsored
peace conference in Annapolis,
Maryland, opened in discord
on December 12 with the
Palestinians demanding Israel
drop plans to build some 300 new
homes in an area near Jerusalem
known to Israelis as Har Homa
and to Palestinians as Abu
Ghneim.
BETHLEHEM: People around the
world celebrated Christmas on
Tuesday as the Catholic leader in
the Holy Land pleaded for peace in
the Middle East and Pope Benedict
XVI spoke against selfishness.
Iraqi Christians meanwhile cele-
brated a fearful Christmas in the
shadow of suicide bombings and
sectarian violence, while Christians
from the Gaza Strip crossed a heavi-
ly-armed checkpoint into Israel.
Hundreds crossed the check-
point clutching special permits
enabling them to spend Christmas
outside the Hamas-run territory.
In Bethlehem, where Jesus was
born, Latin Patriarch Michel
Sabbah said in a sermon for
Christmas midnight mass, “This
land of God cannot be for some a
Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008
Rauf case gets
murkier with
suspected ISI role
LONDON: Terror suspect Rashid
Rauf did not escape from custody
last week but was kidnapped by
Pakistans intelligence agency as
part of an “organised disappear-
ance” plot, a report said, quoting
people close to the man arrested in
connection with the plan to bomb
US-bound trans-Atlantic airliners
last year.
The official description of
Rauf ’s getaway has been met with
disbelief, many wondering how an
alleged Al-Qaida operative held in
Pakistan’s highest-security deten-
tion unit could manage to walk
away from custody.
The authorities in Pakistan have
blamed junior policemen escorting
Rauf back to jail after a court hear-
ing in Islamabad where he was
fighting moves to extradite him to
Britain in connection with a mur-
der case.
Rauf ’s lawyer and a close family
friend have said that they believed
he had been taken into custody by
Pakistan’s secret security-service
Uzbeks re-elect
hardline president
TASHKENT: Uzbekistan voted on
Sunday in an election in which
hardline President Islam Karimov
faced only token opposition to his
bid for a new seven-year term at
the head of the isolated Central
Asian state. In the run-up to the
election Karimov, 69, told foreign
diplomats that he wanted “a free
society and prosperous life” for the
ex-Soviet republic of 28 million
people. However, victory for
Karimov — who voted in the capi-
tal Tashkent mid-morning, accord-
ing to Russia’s RIA Novosti news
agency — was seen as a foregone
conclusion. He barely campaigned
and his three nominal challengers
are virtual unknowns.
“I voted for Karimov. We are all
used to him,” said pensioner
Hakim Abdurakhmanov at a
polling station in the centre of
land of life and for others a land of
death, exclusion, occupation, or
political imprisonment.
“All those whom God, the lord of
history, has gathered here must be
able to find in this land life, dignity
and security,” he said.
Sabbah, who last week said peace
in the Middle East depended on
Israel, reiterated that message in a
less direct way on Tuesday.
“It is not up to the weakest to
submit themselves and continue to
live a life of deprivation; it is up to
the strongest, to those who have
everything in hand, to detach
themselves and to give to the weak-
est what is due to them.”
Palestinian President Mahmud
Abbas attended the mass fresh
from last month’s meet in the US
17
and they feared for his life. They
believed the country’s powerful
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) did
not want him to be extradited to
Britain and had abducted him to
pre-empt any court decision to
deport him.
Hashmat Habib, Rauf ’s lawyer,
said his client was being vic-
timised because the Pakistani
authorities have been forced to
drop all charges against Rauf over
the transatlantic terror plot.
“In my estimate it’s an organised
disappearance. They don’t want to
hand him over. He was fixed up and
the government is now afraid that
he would become an embarrass-
ment if sent to the UK because
they hyped up his involvement,”
said Habib.
Khalid Khawaja, a former
Pakistan intelligence agent who
counts Osama Bin Laden as a
friend, believed that Rauf might
have been “taken away by the ISI”
and feared that his friend might be
shot dead while “on the run”.
Tashkent. A sprawling country of
deserts, mountains and oases,
Uzbekistan contains Samarkand,
one of the world’s oldest cities and
resting place of legendary
medieval conqueror Tamerlane.
But despite gas and cotton rich-
es, Uzbekistan has failed to pros-
per since independence from the
Soviet Union in 1991 — something
that critics blame on Karimov’s
uncompromising presidency. He is
famous for refusing to allow even
flickers of opposition. In 2005 he
launched a bloody crackdown on
mainly unarmed protesters in the
eastern city of Andijan in which
hundreds were killed, according to
human rights activists.
Uzbek authorities blamed the
violence entirely on Islamic rebels
and said 187 people had been
killed.
city of Annapolis, where he formal-
ly relaunched the peace process
with Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert. Palestinians hope the num-
ber of tourists and the income they
bring will make it the best
Christmas since the outbreak of
the intifada in September 2000 and
the building of Israel’s massive
barrier through the West Bank.
Pope Benedict spoke out against
selfishness as he celebrated mid-
night mass at Saint Peter’s
Basilica packed with thousands of
worshippers. “Man is so preoccu-
pied with himself, he has such
urgent need of all the space and
all the time for his own things,
that nothing remains for others —
for his neighbour, for the poor, for
God,” he said in Italian.
18 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 NEWS / OPINION world sikh news

Calling Citizens A memory frame yours...

Foreigners. Is it fair?
From the front page
fighting nations like Kashmir, Punjab,
Nagaland, Assam that are not Hindu and can
mobilize on non-Hindu icons and culture will
WSN Bureau son to doubt. But is it not the job of the look for another alternative. The year 2007
media to always doubt, and be very brought a secular party called Akali Dal to power
Quick translation: Kill the Naxalites. Forget dis-
parity argument. That was a speech writer’s
adulteration. (See report page 7)
But amidst all of this, people’s movements con-
tinue in full swing. The representatives of the
Sikhs, Kashmiris, Nagas, Manipuris etc who met
in Chandigarh recently under the aegis of a sem-

T
he Diaspora communities are
often at the receiving end in the
host country but the most vulner-
able are the immigrant labourers, but
imagine what would be the reaction
even among the better educated citizens
of the host country if one morning they
are suddenly told that 80 per cent of the
jobs created in the last one decade have
been cornered by the foreigners? p
Clearly, it will make life diffi-
sure?
Anti-immigration groups seized on
the stories and claimed vindication for
their allegation that outsiders were
“stealing” British jobs. London's figures
so far had said the percentage was
around 50. Now many were alleging that
the Government had concealed the real
magnitude of jobs secured by the immi-
taking the stage. This has grown
grants.
mayor of London. The
Now, a close look at the report
from a day of celebration to almost a event will also feature traditiona
– secular because it no more wants to be panthic
– but only as secular as one can be in a tie up with
RSS-BJP. That Parkash Singh Badal often
describes the Akali-BJP alliance as one between
brothers will help you calibrate the secular com-
ponent. Did you say we were making the 2007
photoframe more depressing? Well, we haven’t
even started talking about Sukhbir Singh
Badal’s rise, not to mention his plans to rule for
25 years!
This was the year when even the country’s
inar on human rights resolved to keep up the
fight. Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu showed sagacity by
extricating his party from the one-man leader-
ship system and making an experiment with col-
lective leadership. There is hope, after all. Photo
frames aren’t complete without hope. One H.S.
Phoolka refuses to give up the fight, one sole wit-
ness with a threat to his life refuses to back down,
some are simply not giving up the fight in the
Khalra kidnap and murder case, one Khalsa
Action Committee leads the charge against Dera

khi week or 10 days of celebration and I

think that is great for all of us.”
Politicians from all major parties
at all three levels of government
Sikh music, dance and cuisine.
The festival has been organised
by the mayor of London and sup
ported by the Metropolitan Police

cult for the immigrants and itpal Bobby Toor

most locals will look at them ay for the eighth annual
as usurpers of resources.
Tens of thousands of
ked the streets of Surrey
clamoured for a few minutes at the
microphone as the crowds gathered.
The effort put in by families and
businesses was huge, with many
staying up all night to prepare the
Hail LA diversity: of the Commission has Prime Minister, the I-won’t-show-emotions-on- Sacha Sauda’s Gurmeet Ram Rahim, there was
Sikhs celebrate
arade honouring the reli-
est day. The police esti-
celebration brought out
,000. The parade closed off
food they were handing out for free.
This weekend’s gathering had a
more political tone than in recent
years, with several floats, signs and
flags demanding a state of Khalistan.
Vaisakhi in the revealed that the Commission my-face-come-what-may Manmohan Singh, also always one police officer near Sis Ganj who could
city of glamour
Newton for hours as a car-
ats and marchers weaved
gs of people who lined the
nding out Indian delica-
eats to all who passed.
The float for a group called the
Sikh Vision Foundation had pictures
of martyrs who died in the armed
struggle in Punjab, including leaders
of Khalistani organizations such as
had ended up including a
WSN Network

LOS ANGELES: More than

Except that there is a
e grown steadily over the
as the Indo-Canadian pop-
catch: the agency that made
ciated the multicultural
ny non-Sikhs who enjoy
urful parade. Premier
the calculations in Britain
an tunic, praised the com-
also counted among the "for-
ned east via 82nd Avenue.
eigners" the 300,000 Britons
conceded that economic disparity may have dare to shoot and kill the killer mob, there is one
Dasmesh Darbar Sikh
hosted the festivities,
Surrey. Mayor Dianne
Talwinder Singh Parmar, the Babbar
Khalsa founder. Marching behind
the Sikh Vision float was Ajaib Singh
Bagri, a former Babbar Khalsa
leader. Another float proclaimed,
whopping 300,000 British
10,000 people celebrated the Sikh
religious holiday of Vaisakh
Sunday and denounced a serie
of hate crimes against the sec
following the 9-11 terroris
something to do with the fact that the writ of the New Jersey which dared to hang the noose. If you
omed the crowd and said
the event, which also
“Khalistan is the only solution.”
Event organizers from the
Dasmesh Darbar gurdwara donned
newly made vests with the temple
name embroidered on the back and
nationals in the category of
attacks. With gold- and orange
fringed parade floats and the
sound of harmoniums playing
traditional hymns, more than
10,000 members of the Sikh com
Indian government was challenged in vast ever feel disheartened, remember – there will
mpbell, dressed in a tradi-
its contributions.
de started at 10 a.m. at the
Dashmesh Darbar temple
“Khalistan” on the chest emblem.
Temple executive member
Satinderpal Singh Gill, who for years
was based in Pakistan as part of the
Khalistan panthic committee,
“foreigners” because they
munity paraded through down
town Los Angeles.
Sikhs shared food, music and
art in the Los Angele
Convention Center and late
swathes of the country, but his only prescription always be WSN. Steadfast, uncompromising, and
nue near 128th Street and
eded south along 128th,
t along 76th Avenue, trav-
along 124th Street, and
accepted a plaque from the B.C. gov-
ernment presented by former MLA
Dr. Gulzar Singh Cheema.
Next weekend, Vancouver will
host a Vaisakhi parade. On Saturday
were born abroad and came to
paraded through the streets o
downtown, singing prayers a
they marched behind a dozen
colorful floats. “We are trying
to draw all the religious com
was to set up joint force to end the menace. dedicated to Sarbat Da Bhala. Happy 2008.
as closed to vehicle traffic
m. to 5 p.m. More than 100
April 14, about 50,000 people are
expected on and around Main Street
Britain as immigrants. Its
munities together to communi
cate better,” said Nirinjan

WSN MEDIA
who had been born abroad excuse? It said it relied on the
but are very much British definition of foreign workers Punjab govt to licence
and also British citizens.
Britain’s Statistics
Commission virtually trig-
WATCH as given by the Office for
National Statistics, a govern-
ment department.
saw mills: The Punjab
government has decided to
issue licences to saw mills and
Badal finally expresses
gered a strong negative reaction against
the immigrants when it recently said
that 80 per cent of British jobs over the
But the fact remains that the
Commission ended up creating a wholly
misleading impression and fuelling
other wood-based industries in
the state. Forest minister
Tikshan Sood said that all saw
mills without licenses and
love for Congress, closes
past decade have gone to “foreigners”.
News papers in Britain, the US as well
as in India, from where many immi-
grants come, splashed the headlines.
anti-immigrant prejudice. Can any
country classify foreign-born citizens as
“foreigners”? Citizenship is not grant-
ed lightly and the most important privi-
other wood-based industries
set up after December 30, 2002
were closed in compliance with
complaint chapter
The lazy media forgot to check out the lege it confers on a new citizen is not to the orders of the apex court.
correctness of the news report, some- be called a bloody foreigner ever again. Sukhbir can go abroad: A
thing it hardly does these days. The The Punjabi NRP Diaspora must add special court in Ropar on
headlines had appeared on December its voice to those protesting against Saturday allowed Sukhbir
11, and considering the sensational such classification of citizens even for Singh Badal to go abroad from
aspect of the story, found great place on statistical purposes. We must always be January 6 to 12, 2008 on a
front pages. Since the Statistics seen as supporters of exhortations to surety of Rs 5 lakh. Sukhbir is
Commission works closely with the immigrants to integrate with the host facing trial in a corruption and
British Government, one had little rea- society. disproportionate assets case.

Dr. Baba Saheb

Ambedkar’s writings
In one of his revolutionary book on Indian philosophy
Riddles In Hinduism, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar presents
his surprisingly unconventional views about the
contradictions of India’s Brahminical culture. For the
readers of World Sikh News, this book is being serialized WSN Bureau because the Delhi government has
refused compensation to many.
FATEHGARH SAHIB: It was in This at a time when witness after
incorporates only 5 Mantras of nation of Chaturvarna in a com- so hard to justify the the land of the martyrs that witness was emerging from the
the Purusha Sukta from the Rig- manding spirit as though it was Chaturvarna ? Parkash Singh Badal chose to shadows to say that Congress lead-
Veda and what is important is incontrovertible. The Sankhya II finally speak the truth: “We are ers did lead the blood thirsty mobs
that in adopting these five Philosophy no doubt asserts as a The Ashram Dharma divides content over the cordial relations in 1984 and those leaders remain
Mantras omit those which speak fundamental proposition that the life of an individual into four between Punjab Government and respected senior brass of the
of the four Varnas springing from matter has got three Gunas-Raj, stages (1) Brahmcharya, (2) Central Government...Centre is Congress. This at a time when
the four parts of the body of the Tama and Satva. Matter is not Grahasthashram, (3) fully cooperating on issues of Congress is taking umbrage even
Purusha. It is of course a very inert. It is instable equilibrium Vanaprastha and (4) Sannyas. The development.” at putting up of a portrait of Sant
late composition and has been when all the three Gunas are state of Brahmacharya has both a This was by way of his speech Bhindranwale at a museum of the
interpolated after all the four coequal in their power. Matter de jure and de facto connotation. to the sangat at the historic Jor Sikhs.
Vedas had taken their present becomes dynamic when the equi- Its de facto connotation is that it Mela in memory of the sons of the But Badal has closed the chap-
shape. But apart from that it has librium is disturbed when one means an unmarried state of life. tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind ter of any differences. “No com-
all the marks showing its authors Guna becomes masterful over Its de iure connotation means the Singh. For the first time in con- plaints” was the theme at Jor
were not very sure of their expla- others. Krishna was of course stage of study under a teacher. temporary history of Punjab was Mela and it was followed up with
nation carrying conviction. It is very clever in seeking to give sci- Grahasthashram is the stage of a a president of the Akali Dal say- thanks for the union home minis-
probably an allegory, figurative householder- a stage of married ing the Congress led Government ter Shiv Raj Patil for extending
narration which the Brahmins
attempted to convert into a literal
statement of hard fact. It does not
solve the riddle. On the contrary
PART:95
entific explanation of the Varna
family life. The stage of Sannyas
is a stage of renunciation of civic
rights and responsibilities. It is a
stage of civic death. The stage of
at the Centre and the Akali Dal led
government in Punjab were in full
consonance.
He did not mince words.
the Guru Gobind Singh marg.
Speaking on the occasion, act-
ing president of the SAD Sukhbir
Singh Badal said no other commu-
it creates a riddle –which is, why system by applying the Sankhya Vanaprastha is in between Capitulation is nothing if not nity in the world had made sacri-
were the Brahmins interested in Theory of Guna dharma. But in Grahasthashram and Sannyas. It complete. “There was no point fices as great as the ones made by
supporting the theory of doing so Krishna has really made is a stage in which one belongs to raising any issues when both the the Sikhs and the Sikh Gurus. He
Chaturvarna. a fool of himself. He did not real- society but is bound to live away state and the union government reiterated the promises of surplus
The rational explanation has ize that there are four Varnas and from society. As the name implies were having convivial relations,” power, revamp of the irrigation
behind it the authority of the three Gunas and whatever inge- it prescribes dwelling in forest. Badal said. This at a time when system in the state and setting up
Bhagwat Geeta. Krishna, the God nuity he might claim to have he The Hindus believe that this farmers suicides continue and the of three Punjab institutes of
of the Hindu, explains that he cre- could not account for the tour institution of Ashram Dharma is much awaited relief from the sports. He took the opportunity to
ated the system of Chaturvarna Varnas with a theory which did as old as that of the Varna Dharma. Centre is no where in sight. This warn the bureaucrats to desist
and propounds the theory that it not require more than three They call the two by a joint name of at a time when Centre’s conces- from ignoring Akali workers.
is a system of difference of Guna: Gunas. Here again what appears Varnashram Dharma as though sion to hill states has ensured that Earlier, the Chief Minister and
innate virtue. This theory of dif- to be a rational explanation is an they were one and integral, and the Punjab’s industry migrate to his son paid obeisance at the gurd-
ference of Guna is derived from absurd explanation. It does not two together form the steelframe of Baddi-Barotawala region of wara along with president of the
the Sankhya Philosophy of solve the riddle. It creates one. the Hindu Society. Himachal Pradesh. This at a time SGPC Avtar Singh and other sen-
Kapila. Krishna offers this expla- Why were the Brahmins fighting To be continued when the 1984 pogrom victims are ior party leaders. Badal was pre-
still filing petitions in Delhi sented a siropa by the SGPC.
world sikh news
BEFORE
YOU BITE...
If you love to eat, you need to be extra
careful during the monsoon.
Here are some simple precautions
W
e’ve all had those awkward
moments when we aren’t
sure whether to offend the
cook or risk spending several days
sick in bed. Say you’re at an outing
and someone asks you to try some-
thing from his or her lunchbox. But
the sandwiches are looking awfully
soggy and the other stuff ’s not some-
thing you’d usually like. E. coli bacte-
ria wreaks havoc on hundreds of
lives and can cause death. Although
you don’t need to carry a thermome-
ter with you to check the temperature
of the food you eat, you need to be
The truth behind that
dazzling smile
Y
ou may seek to dazzle with
your grin but whitening
your teeth could be putting
you at risk. Experts have discov-
ered that 18 out of 20 whitening kits
tested contain illegal levels of
bleach. One product they looked at
contained 230 times the legal level
of hydrogen peroxide, the common
active ingredient. The chemical,
which can be used to dye hair
blonde, could cause serious burn-
ing to the mouth.
The findings were revealed by
the Trading Standards Institute
recently in the UK. Manufacturers
and suppliers of those kits which
did not meet the legal limit of 0.1
per cent for hydrogen peroxide, are
being advised to withdraw them for
sale and could face prosecution.
However, the unsafe brands have
not been named. Chief executive
Ron Gainsford said: “Hydrogen per-
oxide is a chemical well known in
How does one
benefit from
rowing?
Even low intensity rowing workouts
can do a world of good to the body
W
hether you already row or
are considering rowing to
keep in shape, to lose
weight, to cross-train for another
sport, to compete on the water or
rehabilitate from injury or surgery,
rowing is the complete exercise for
you. Arms, legs, chest, back, abs —
even your mind. Your whole body
gets a complete workout from the effi-
cient, rhythmic motion of rowing.
Rowing is such a great exercise in so
many different ways.
● Low-impact (easy on the knees and
ankles).
fully aware of the foodborne
pathogens present.
Beware of raw dairy,
fish and meat
You might remember a time when
you were tempted to take a refreshing
drink of raw cold milk. But no matter
how tempting the thought, avoid.
Always go for pasteurised milk.
When it comes to raw milk, learn to
say ‘no thank you.’ There is currently
a proliferation of new virulent,
antibiotic-resistant strains of bacte-
ria. And that’s another reason to
Some tooth brightening kits can
contain dangerously high levels of
peroxide, a bleaching agent
the hairdressing industry, but it is
also used in teeth whitening prod-
ucts to bleach teeth. Many people
these days aspire to having the per-
fect Hollywood smile and some
stars have paid a lot of money to
achieve this through cosmetic den-
tal treatment. But this could end up
● High calorie burner (because it
uses so many muscle groups).
● Great for joint health (joints move
through a wide range of motion).
● Upper body (completes the stroke).
● Lower body (the legs initiate the
drive).
● Works the back and abs too!
● Superb aerobic fitness (great for
cardiovascular fitness).
● Relieves Stress (for overall health
and well-being).
This is different from the rowing you
may have done as a kid in a rowboat.
The difference lies in the sliding seat.
HEALTH
avoid anything that’s not cooked to
kill the germs. Likewise, you might
love the taste of chilled raw oysters
dipped in spicy cocktail sauce, but
hold that thought — there’s a new
strain of the bacterium Vibrio para-
haemolyticus that makes chowing
down on this dish decidedly risky.
Some studies show that hot sauce has
burning more than a hole in your
pocket. We strongly recommend
that anyone considering having
their teeth whitened cosmetically
should consult a qualified dentist.”
In the last five years, the desire
for cosmetic dentistry has
increased. But as well as causing
chemical burns to the mouth, high
levels of the bleach can aggravate
gum disease and cause sensitive
teeth. Those using whitening kits
are generally advised to squirt a
line of cream into a mould.
Then they are told to bite down
on the mould, which fits over the
teeth, for a set period — usually
several minutes.
Quite often, repeated treatments
are recommended over days and
weeks to get the desired smile. The
institute advised those who have
bought kits to go back to the retail-
er and ask how much hydrogen per-
oxide they contain.
Your legs compress and extend with
every stroke – in addition to the more
obvious work being done by the back
and arms.
Legs: Rowing promotes both
strength and flexibility through this
wide range of leg motion.
Arms: As with the legs, this range of
motion promotes both strength and
flexibility.
Core: Chest, back, abs: At the start
of the stroke, the power of the legs
is connected to the handle by means
of the arms and the core muscles of
the body.
Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008
The advice you received as a child
— to wash your hands when you
come indoors and before eating —
holds truer than ever during
the rains
antibacterial properties, but it's not
enough to count on.
Clean with hot soapy water
Temper your food-safety zeal with a
little diplomacy when a dinner guest
offers to do the grilling. To prevent
cross-contamination, send the raw
meat out on one platter, then return
The breakthrough could mean an end to milk allergies
Is the end of food
allergies near?
B
ritish scientists believe they
have made a vital break-
through in the battle against
deadly food allergies. A team at the
Institute of Food Research (IFR)
has identified a molecule that could
protect against allergies to foods
such as nuts, fish and milk which
are becoming an increasing threat.
The findings offer a target for the
treatment of food allergies because
the molecule could be used to bring
allergies under control. Dr Claudio
Nicoletti, who is leading the team
at the IFR in Norwich, said: “A food
protein can be harmless to one per-
son and lethal to another. We have
identified the missing molecule
that normally keeps immune
responses under control.”
The experts have found that
Interleukin-12 is absent in mice
which are bred to be allergic to
peanuts, and the results, published
in the Journal of Allergy and
Clinical Immunology, suggest the
molecule normally stops allergies to
food developing. In severe cases, peo-
ple can suffer life-threatening reac-
tions, including anaphylactic shock.
The only way now for sufferers to
manage the problem is to avoid cer-
tain foods and make sure they have
injectable adrenaline at hand in
case of emergency. If you have a
food allergy it means the immune
system responds to a food protein as
if it was harmful.
19
with a clean platter and take away the
dirty one. Also wash your hands with
soap and water and wash cooking
surfaces before and after handling
raw meat, poultry and fish.
Use pasteurised eggs when in
doubt
Who doesn’t have happy memories of
licking the beater when Mom baked
cakes? Unfortunately, cases of salmo-
nellosis are also rampant. So that
delicious frothy frosting made with
raw egg whites is a bad idea for the
birthday cake. When you can’t thor-
oughly cook a recipe before tasters
dig in, use liquid pasteurised eggs,
found in the dairy case.
Take risks with open eyes
There are times when you might
want to send caution to the wind.
And although raw fish is on the list
of foods we should avoid, you
might feel like indulging yourself.
But consider this: raw food is a
breeding ground for all kinds of
bacteria. The humidity levels and
temperature levels make eating
raw food a risk that’s easily avoid-
able. And if you’re still having sec-
ond thoughts, you should keep in
mind that the Japanese have the
highest incidence of foodborne
illness in the world. Now that’s cer-
tainly food for thought.
The immune system produces
immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies,
which normally help the body fight
parasites. In previous research, Dr
Nicoletti found that white blood
cells called dendritic cells help the
immune system decide on how to
respond to foreign molecules.
In the latest research, Dr
Nicoletti compared dendritic cells
in the gut and in the spleen of aller-
gic and allergy-resistant mice. He
found that in the gut of susceptible
mice, dendritic cells had stopped
producing IL-12.
Dr Nicoletti added: “We have
identified a molecule that is very
important for the regulation of
immune response and for the first
time clearly represents a potential
target for the therapy of allergy.”
David Reading, director of the
Anaphylaxis Campaign, said: “Food
allergy can place a heavy burden on
the families affected. We welcome
this research and look forward to
further developments.”
Symptoms of allergies include
swelling and itching, eczema, vom-
iting, diarrhoea, coughing, wheez-
ing or a runny nose or sore, red
and itchy eyes. Some people devel-
op a whole-body allergic reaction
called anaphylaxis. This is a rare
but potentially fatal reaction caus-
ing swelling, loss of conscious-
ness, low blood pressure and
breathing problems.
20 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008
Lions end losing streak NASCAR champ
DETROIT: It turned out to be an
ugly game, perhaps fittingly for two
teams that combined for a 13-game
losing streak. The Detroit Lions,
though, are not in a position to get
picky. T.J. Duckett ran for a season-
high 102 yards and a touchdown,
helping Detroit hold on for a 25-20
win over the Kansas City Chiefs on
Sunday and snap a six-game losing
streak.
Detroit had a 19-point lead in the
first half, but the victory wasn’t
sealed until Chiefs receiver Samie
Parker went down on his own at the
Lions 30 after getting a lateral with
no time left.
“A win like this, you’ve got to
take it,” Lions center Dominic
Raiola said. “But it wasn’t pretty.”
The Lions (7-8) surpassed the
most victories they’ve had in
seven seasons under team presi-
dent Matt Millen. Detroit also
guaranteed it won’t be the first
NFL team to finish 6-10 after win-
ning six of its first eight games.
“We missed out on a lot of
opportunities,” defensive tackle
Cory Redding said. “But the one
thing we said we were going to do
is fight. Seven wins is four more
than we had last year, but it’s not
good enough.”
Kansas City (4-11) has dropped
eight straight, the franchise’s
worst skid since losing nine in a
row in 1987. The Chiefs also loss
for the 11th time this season, the
first 11-loss year for the club since
1988. The latest loss followed a 26-
17 setback at home to Tennessee
after giving up the final 13 points.
“We’ve had some opportuni-
ties,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards
said. “We’ve had them every
week, but we just can’t get it
done.” The Chiefs made Sunday’s
game relatively interesting after
it looked as though they were
going to be routed.
Detroit led 19-0 early in the sec-
ond quarter before Kansas City
suddenly showed a pulse when
quarterback Brodie Croyle was
injured and replaced by Damon
Huard. Playing for the first time
since Week 11, Huard efficiently
led 80- and 77-yard drives toward
the end of the first half to pull the
Chiefs within five points.
Woods seals
Sherwood victory
CALIFORNIA: Tiger Woods
shrugged off three bogeys and an
early challenge
by Jim Furyk to
win the Target
World Challenge
by seven shots
on Sunday. Six
ahead of the
pack overnight,
the world num-
ber one fired a
four-under-par
68 at Sherwood
Country Club to
claim his eighth victory of the
year in the elite 16-man tourna-
ment he hosts.
Woods, who stretched his lead to
seven strokes after two holes
before it was trimmed to two by
playing partner Furyk over a cut-
and-thrust outward nine, posted a
22-under total of 266.
World number three Furyk,
who piled the pressure on Woods
with five birdies in the first eight
holes, double-bogeyed the par-
three 15th on his way to a 71 and
third place at 13 under, two
behind Masters champion Zach
Johnson (68).
A good performance from Brandon Jacobs helped the Giants secure
a playoff berth. Jacobs ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns
as New York beat the Bills, 38-21.
Huard’s 34-yard pass — on a rope
— to Dwayne Bowe in the end zone
converted a fourth down and made
it 22-20 early in the fourth. It
snapped a six-game scoreless streak
in the fourth quarter. The 2-point
conversion failed.
Then, the Lions struggled to put
Kansas City away. After Jason
Hanson kicked his third field goal
with 43 seconds left, the Chiefs got
the ball back one more time with a
chance to score a go-ahead TD.
Kansas City’s final drive started
at its 17 with 39 seconds left, and
Parker ended any chance for a
remarkable game-ending play by
going to the turf with no time on
the clock. “It’s tough when you bat-
tle back like we did and to get as
close as we did, and then to come up
short there in the fourth quarter,”
Huard said. “It’s very frustrating.”
The Chiefs’ misery started back
at home, where a winter storm
delayed their flight by several
hours. Once in Detroit, Kansas City
shook up its halftime routine hop-
ing to reverse its poor play in sec-
ond halves. “The players said, ‘Hey,
Coach, we want to stay out,’”
Edwards recalled. “I said, ‘Just like
high school, we’ll go and use the
bathroom and then as soon as we’re
done, we’ll go back out.’ That’s what
we did. We gave up three points and
Ronaldo’s brace rescues United
MANCHESTER: A Cristiano
Ronaldo double ensured
Manchester United overcame a
spirited Everton to move back to
within one point of leaders
Arsenal at the head of Premier
League table. Sir Alex Ferguson’s
side appeared destined for a frus-
trating afternoon at Old Trafford
after Tim Cahill had cancelled out
Ronaldo’s 22nd-minute opening
goal.
But a clumsy challenge from
Everton’s South African midfield-
er Steven Pienaar sent United cap-
tain Ryan Giggs crashing to the
ground inside the visitors area
with just three minutes remaining
and Ronaldo kept his nerve to
clinch the points from the penalty
spot.
The goal brought relief to
Ferguson’s side who had failed to
make steady second-half pressure
tell against an Everton side who
had not been beaten in their 13 pre-
vious outings.
But Ronaldo’s goals — his 15th
and 16th of the season — once
again proved the difference and
ensured Ferguson’s side remain
close on the heels of Arsene
SPORTS
got back into the game and made it
competitive.” The Chiefs had 25
first downs, more than doubling
Detroit’s total, and outgained the
Lions 407-236.
But the difference proved to be a
safety Detroit scored off Casey
Fitzsimmons’ blocked punt and
linebacker Paris Lenon’s 61-yard
TD off Croyle’s interception on a
play that knocked him out of the
game with an injured right hand.
“MRI came back negative; it’s
not broken,” Edwards said. “We’ll
see where he’s at going into next
week. Brodie probably couldn’t
have went back.” Duckett filled in
well for Kevin Jones after he was
sidelined with a right knee injury
late in the first half, adding to the
injury woes that have plagued his
career.
“It’s pretty serious,” Lions coach
Rod Marinelli said. Detroit’s Jon
Kitna threw just 16 passes for 115
yards and an interception. Huard
was 24-of-36 for 305 yards and two
TDs, including one to defensive end
Jared Allen, who lined up as a tight
end and scored for the second time
this season.
Tony Gonzalez had 10 receptions
for 137 yards, giving him 23 100-
yard games in his career to trail
only Kellen Winslow’s total of 24
among tight ends in NFL history.
Wenger’s Arsenal ahead of the
next round of holiday fixtures.
Ferguson had spoken out last week
against the rash of bad challenges
that have marred recent
Premiership games and the man-
ager can have had no complaint
to host charity
golf event
CHARLOTTE: The last time
Jimmie Johnson climbed on top
of a golf cart was disastrous — he
fell off, broke his wrist and was
embarrassed by the controversy
the stunt caused. But for charity,
the NASCAR champion might be
persuaded to climb on top of one
again.
Johnson and good friend Nick
Lachey said they had partnered
to form the Super Skins Celebrity
Golf Classic, which will be held
in Scottsdale, Ariz., in conjunc-
tion with the Super Bowl.
Johnson, who was horsing
around on top of a cart when he
fell last December during Mike
Hampton’s celebrity tournament,
didn’t rule it out. “I might be
talked into such a thing, if I can
get some bindings to hold me on
and make sure I won’t fall off,” he
joked. “It is for charity, after all.”
“We’re going to play chicken
on top of the golf carts,” Lachey
quickly chimed in. Johnson, the
two-time defending Sprint Cup
champion, had been trying for
some time to organize an event
with pop singer Lachey. The two
have been friends for years, and
Lachey is a frequent guest at
NASCAR races. They usually
attend the Super Bowl together,
and decided it was a perfect
venue for their first charitable
event. The event will start with
an exclusive party at Scottsdale
nightclub Axis Radius, and the
tournament will follow on Feb. 2.
Lachey and Johnson each have
pledged $125,000 to the purse,
which has already reached
$400,000 through outside spon-
sorship.
The two hope to fatten the
purse through an eBay auction
that allows fans to bid on a
chance to play the event with
either Johnson or Lachey. Each
hole will be worth $20,000, and the
about the flurry of yellow cards
that dotted a scrappy first-half.
With both teams abrasively test-
ing each other out for weakness -
and Everton quickly exposing the
inexperienced United right-back
Danny Simpson - the game was
notable more for a series of niggly
personal battles before Ronaldo
injected the first bit of quality.
The United winger darted
around England defender Joleon
Lescott before sending a low cross
towards the near post that was
dabbed delicately goal wards by
Wayne Rooney and parried by
Everton keeper Tim Howard
before Carlos Tevez sent the
rebound wide.
Tevez, who has been outstanding
in recent weeks, had earlier
volleyed the first real opportunity
of the afternoon high over
Howard’s bar and would spurn at
least two more clear opportunities
to score. But with the Argentina
star unable to take advantage of a
routine chance, it was Ronaldo
who broke the deadlock with a
superb curling shot created out of
nothing in the 22nd minute.
There seemed nowhere for the
world sikh news
winning team will designate the
earnings to the charity of their
choice.
“If we can actually win a skin,
we can donate the money to our
personal foundations, but I am
not counting on that happening,”
Lachey said. “We really wanted to
give people a chance to raise
some money for their charities
and mostly to have some fun.
We’ve been to a bunch of Super
Bowls and go to so many events,
we said ‘Why don’t we just do
something ourselves?’
“We’ve been very happy with
the response, and we think people
are going to have a good time and
want to come back again.”
The two have a three-year com-
mitment for the tournament from
Prime Cuts Production, and plan
to hold it in conjunction with the
next three Super Bowls. They
said they have participation com-
mitments from celebrities from
their respective arenas, but
declined to reveal the players.
The event will cap a busy win-
ter for both stars. Lachey finishes
up NBC’s “Clash of the Choirs”
this week, and Johnson just
returned from the Race of
Champions in London.
Portugese to go when he was con-
fronted by two Everton defenders
after collecting Anderson’s pass
but a neat sidestep created a space
and the winger’s left-foot shot
found the top corner for his tenth
league goal of the season.
Everton’s outstanding recent run
meant they were never likely to
lose heart at falling behind to the
champions.
And their response was as quick
as it was impressive with Pienaar
delivering a dipping cross from
United’s problem right hand flank
towards Cahill, who out-jumped
Patrice Evra to head the equaliser
just five minutes later.
Rooney was denied against his
former club by Lescott’s goal-line
clearance but United did little else
during the first half to suggest
they would recover to reduce
Arsenal’s lead.
A half-time re-organisation
breathed fresh life into United’s
attacking play but they were
unable to break down Everton’s
resilient defence until Pienaar
wafted a lazy leg into the path of
the onrushing Giggs and United
were handed a welcome lifeline.
world sikh news SPORTS Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 21

Schumacher leads Germany Parry wins his first

to Nations Cup victory Australian Open title
LONDON: During the stop-and-go,
10-mile trek from his hotel to
Wembley Stadium on Sunday
morning, Jimmie Johnson voiced
concern that he wasn’t acclimated
to the four-wheel drive rally car he
would pilot later that day in a high-
ly anticipated duel with seven-time
Formula One world champion
Michael Schumacher.
Those reservations would prove
warranted, as Schumacher single-
handedly eliminated Team USA
from the Race of Champions
Nations Cup, then joined teammate
Sebastian Vettel in defeating
England then Finland to win the
overall team Nations Cup champi-
onship. It is Germany’s first such
victory.
Schumacher opened the compe-
tition by outrunning Johnson to
win by a landslide. Afterward,
Johnson was visibly steamed.
“Hell yeah I’m (upset), I want to
win,” said Johnson, the two-time
defending NASCAR Nextel Cup
champion. “I went out and did all
that I could. I just do not under-
stand the four-wheel drive, hand
brake, rally car driving.
“I don’t have a lot of experience
at it, and to show the level that he
showed in the car, I think he’s had
some days in it. He certainly nav-
igated.”
Other than ROC, Johnson has
never driven a four-wheel drive
car in competition. Then again,
the same goes for Schumacher,
who would later stall the same
car — the Fiat Abarth rally car —
in which he beat Johnson at the
starting line in a loss to Finnish
F1 star Heikki Kovalainen.
“Even guys in the drivers’
room were like, ‘That’s pretty
good for an asphalt guy driving
like a Pro Rally guy,’” Johnson
said. “But he did an awesome job.
I wasn’t even close.”
Mistakes cost Johnson dearly.
More than once, he mistakenly
grabbed the hand brake rather
than the gear shift. Again, that
goes back to lack of experience in
these types of cars. After the
race, Schumacher insisted he’d
never run the cars before this
week, nor before his last previous
ROC appearance, in 2004. In fact,
in racing Johnson, Schumacher
felt he had some trouble with the
Fiat.
“I didn’t get so well along with
the rally car,” Schumacher said.
“I need some open wheels. They
spin more easily for me.” Asked
about the outcome, Schumacher
was matter of fact.
“I won it, so it was straightfor-
ward,” he said. Despite Johnson’s
loss, it wasn’t over for Team USA
just yet. Johnson’s teammate,
Travis Pastrana, kept the U.S. team
alive by beating Vettel in a race of
Aston Martins. That set up a
Schumacher/Pastrana matchup in
rear-wheel drive buggies to decide
which team advanced to the quar-
terfinals of the team competition.
Different cars. Same outcome. “I
drove too fast for my abilities, start-
ed hitting walls and then started
going very slow,” said Pastrana,
who paid homage to Schumacher’s
prowess at the starting line with a
prayer pose and a peer toward the
sky. “After the first wall, I just kind
of kept hitting them.
“I was really hoping Jimmie was
going to beat that there Michael
Schumacher. I was happy, though. I
just drove too hard. I think he
would have won anyway, but I real-
ly wanted to put in a good drive and
I kept overshooting the corners and
overshooting my braking marks.”
Schumacher, widely considered
the greatest race driver in the
world, didn’t disappoint. “He’s def-
initely not overrated,” Pastrana
said. “The more pressure, the bet-
ter I usually do. But I definitely
overdrove the car. If it was some-
one I thought I could definitely
beat by just driving consistently, I
would have had a much better run.
“But honestly, I didn’t think my
driving consistently would have
won that match, so I had to try to
drive a little harder. He might get a
lot of byes by people trying to
overdrive the car. He’s earned that
reputation. He definitely lives up
to the hype.”
SYDNEY: Australia’s Craig Parry
won his first Australian Open title
at the age of 41 holding off a pack
of challengers in steady rain at
The Australian course on Sunday.
Parry called on all his experience
in the miserable conditions to reel
off a closing round of three-under
par 69 to finish the tournament on
11-under 277 and a winner’s cheque
of $315,000 (277,000 USD).
He set up the tournament with a
course record-equalling 64 in
Friday’s second round, and effec-
tively sealed victory when he made
a pressure four-metre putt for par
at the 17th after his drive found a
fairway bunker. Parry played no-
risk golf at the last to shut the door reaching a playoff with Parry.
on his challengers for his first Lee, 22, who emigrated to
tournament win in two years. Australia with his family when he
Parry shot rounds of 74-64-70-69 was four, almost stole the tourna-
to beat Australians Nick O’Hern ment with a stunning final round,
(70), Korean-born Lee Won-Joon which included five birdies on the
(66) and US PGA Tour rookie of the inward nine.
year Brandt Snedeker (69). Australian James Nitties, joint
Snedeker called a penalty on overnight leader with Robert
himself with five holes to play Allenby, had a chance of forcing a
when he tried to remove a leaf and playoff but missed his chip for an
his ball moved. The resultant eagle at the par-five last in torren-
bogey cost him the chance of tial rain.
India promoted to 2nd round
in Asian Cup qualifiers
NEW DELHI: Originally slated to play the first round of qualifiers for
the 2011 Asian Cup football championship, India got a pleasant surprise
when they were automatically promoted to the second round of the com-
petition. India were seeded 22nd for the qualifiers to be held next year and
were scheduled to play one of the teams seeded between 20th and 27th.
But the Asian Football Confederation has now put India into the second
round qualifier, which puts them just one tie away from making it to the
main event in Qatar.
“AFC has slotted India directly in the second round of qualifiers and we
won’t have to play the preliminary round fixtures,” All India Football
Federation chief Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said after the Annual General
meeting on Sunday. India will also have more than one shot at qualifying
for the 2011 Asian Cup. “Hyderabad and Delhi have been provisionally
put forward as possible venues and an AFC inspection team will visit
both centres next month to decide on one of them,” Federation Secretary
General Alberto Colaco said. The 2008 edition of the tournament has
been pushed back from March to August.

Indian football body

Inter get the better
of champions
AC Milan
MILAN: In a battle between the
world’s best and Italy’s best it was
the domestic champions Inter who
beat AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro in
Sunday’s first Milan derby of the
season. It was a match that had
been eagerly anticipated since a
week ago when Milan added the
Club World Cup title to the
Champions League crown they
claimed back in May when beating
Liverpool 2-1 in the final.
Ironically, though, while the
world champions began with seven
Italian internationals, Inter — liv-
ing up to their full name
Internazionale — fielded a starting
11 including nine South Americans
and not a single Italian.
Whatever the make-up of their
side, Inter have been unbeatable
this season and go into the three-
week festive break with a seven-
point lead over the chasing pack -
Milan, who have three games in
hand, are 25 points off the pace
down in 12th. Hosts Inter had the
first chance of the match after
barely five minutes when Brazilian
right-back Maicon crossed to the
back post where Sweden forward
Zlatan Ibrahimovic volleyed over
the bar.
Cech’s injury mars
Chelsea victory
BLACKBURN: Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech
added to the club’s growing injury crisis by
limping out of the 1-0 win at Blackburn on
Sunday with a suspected hip injury. A first-
half strike from England midfielder Joe Cole
completed a fortuitous victory for Avram
Grant’s team, who were outplayed for long
periods by the home side.
But the loss of Cech early in the second-
half following a collision with Blackburn’s
Paraguayuan striker Roque Santa Cruz took
the shine off Chelsea’s victory, who now look
certain to be without the Czech Republic
keeper, as well as the already-injured John
Terry and Didier Drogba, for the busy
Christmas fixture programme. Having won
just once in seven league games ahead of
this game, Blackburn were in desperate need
of a morale-boosting victory ahead of the
Festive period.
Chelsea were in the same predicament, how-
ever, after losing at Arsenal seven days earlier
and anything but a win at Ewood Park would
have left them with a sizeable gap to bridge
between themselves and the top two.
Mark Hughes’s men started the brighter,
though, and the impressive David Bentley was
at the heart of everything as Blackburn
poured forward inside the opening 20 minutes.
Santa Cruz, who had scored five goals in his
previous two games and ended up on the los-
ing side on both occasions, saw a powerful
shot blocked by Ricardo Carvalho on four min-
utes before England midfielder Bentley aimed
a 20-yard strike narrowly over the crossbar
three minutes later.
Former Arsenal youngster Bentley had
been deployed in an advanced role just behind
Santa Cruz and Chelsea afforded him far too
much space. And after hitting the crossbar
with a curling free-kick, Bentley sent Santa
Cruz and a breakaway with a precise pass
after dummying John-Obi Mikel.
Santa Cruz escaped defender Alex, in for the
injured Terry, but his half-volley flew wide of
Cech’s right-hand post as Chelsea survived
another scare.
Cole was found brilliantly by Salomon
Kalou’s through-ball and, without breaking
stride, the former West Ham midfielder beat
keeper Brad Friedel with an unstoppable
right-foot strike into the top corner from just
inside the penalty area. Blackburn fought
back well, though, and Steven Reid was only
denied an equaliser on 33 minutes when Cech
tipped his close range strike onto the post. But
Frank Lampard, chasing his 100th goal for
Chelsea, hit the woodwork himself moments
later when Friedel also pushed his 20-yard
effort against the woodwork.
seeks LN Mittal’s aid
NEW DELHI: If the All India Football
Federation (AIFF) has its way, it would approach
global steel magnate L N Mittal to put some of his
wealth and influence for the benefit of Indian
football. Mittal recently made a splash in world
football by becoming the co-owner of English
club Queen’s Park Rangers along with Formula
One bigwigs Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio
Briatore.
“Several corporates are coming forward to
assist us in the development of Indian football. I
hope Mittal does something similar,” AIFF presi-
dent Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said after the
Federation’s General Body Meeting on Sunday.
He noted that English giants Arsenal and Chelsea
had come with an intention to improve the stan-
dard of football in India.
“Chelsea wants to be part of the ‘Vision Asia’
programme and assist through the partnership
between the Asian Football Confederation and its
European counterpart UEFA,” Dasmunsi said.
Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon was in India recently
and held discussions with AIFF officials.
The Federation chief said corporate sponsor-
ship had a big role to play in the Indian U-16 team
qualifying for the Asian championship recently.
“Reliance had funded an overseas exposure
trip before the qualifiers which helped our boys
immensely,” Dasmunsi said.
He said there was a dire need for clubs to own
grounds as the big three Kolkata clubs - East
Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan
Sporting - practice on ground owned by the Army
was a major problem.
22 Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 KIDS world sikh news

$1mn painting in
trash
A painting stolen 20 years ago
was found lying in trash along
a street, and now it could fetch
up to $1 million at auction.
Elizabeth Gibson didn’t know
anything about the brightly
colored abstract work she
spotted on her morning walk

EAGLE PEREGRINE OWL HAWK

Throughout history, humans have
admired eagles for their fierce
beauty and strength that
symbolises power. Eagles have
powerful talons for tearing flesh
and their beaks are nearly as long
as their heads. Eagles typically
hunt by dropping from the sky in
surprise attacks.
Peregrines are the fastest
animals. They mostly hunt other
birds and kill their prey by
plummeting from above and
striking them with a single, often
deadly, blow. The falcons then
circle back to retrieve their prey
as they fall dead or unconscious
through the air.
The masters of the nighttime hunt
have large eyes that let them make
the best of dim light and soft
feathers muffle nearly all noise
during flight, allowing them to fly
silent and unseen. Radiating
feathers around each eye helps to
funnel sound toward their ears,
allowing them to pinpoint sounds.
They have sharply hooked beaks
and powerful feet with curved
talons. Their vision is legendary and
they hunt using sudden dashes from
hidden perches. Raking is another
common hunting technique used by
hawks and involves swiftly chasing
an animal and riding it to the ground four years ago on Manhat-
if it is a bird. tan’s Upper West Side. Sothe-
by’s auction house will be sell-
ing the work next month for

BIRDS OF PREY
the now-widowed original
owner. It turned out that it
was a 1970 painting titled
‘Tres Personajes’ (Three Peo-
ple) by Mexican artist Rufino
Tamayo, whose work has
soared in value in recent
years.

Lottrey from own

Ranking today’s store
dinosaurs They are the Many store owners dream of
Rating
killers who making a lot of money with
their business. Blair Knut-
son did it the unconvention-

1. Eagle 4.1 leave no al way – he bought a Lotto 6-

49 ticket from the grocery

escape for the

2. Peregrine 4.0
preys. Here is a
3. Owl 4.0 list of today’s
top hunters...
4. Hawk 3.9

5. Gyrfalcon 3.8

store he owns in Gimli, Man.

6. Falcon 3.8 The purchase made the own-

er of G & C Grocery $16 mil-
lion richer. In case that

7. Goshawk 3.7 raised any eyebrows, offi-

cials with the Western Cana-
da Lottery Corp. quickly an-
nounced they have conduct-

8. Osprey 3.6 ed a mandatory investigation

and have determined Knut-
son is the rightful winner.

9. Harrier 3.6
Photos after 27 yrs!
Karen and Mark Cline were

10. Kestral 3.5 teenagers when they got mar-

ried and didn’t have $150 to pay
a for their wedding photos. But
now they've got the pictures,
just in time for their 27th an-

GYRFALCON FALCON GOSHAWK OSPREY

Gyrfalcons can reach 2 feet in
length. Their color can vary from
pure white with black speckles to
dark gray with barring. Gyrfalcons
like to fly close to the ground as
they hunt hares, rodents and other
birds. They prefer to chase their
prey rather than dive-bombing
them out of the blue.
In the sport of falconry females are
preferred. Falcons rarely soar or
glide but their thin, pointed wings
are made for plummeting in high-
speed dives. They eat mainly other
birds and small mammals, but will
sometimes eat carrion or steal prey
from other birds. Falcons often kill
their victims by snapping backs.
Their short, broad wings and long
tail are especially adapted for fast
flights through the woodland trees
where they make their homes.
Goshawks usually hunt small and
medium-sized birds and mammals,
but are also capable of hunting
animals as large as hares and
foxes.
Ospreys have closable nostrils that
keep the water out. Ospreys skim
the surface of the water as they hunt
and then plunge feet first into the
water to grab a fish. As they come
out of their dive with a fish firmly
clutched, they turn the it's head
forward to reduce drag. They then
carry their prey to a perch to feed.
niversary on Thursday. Their
photographer located Karen
Cline last week at the diner
where she works and sur-
prised her with a photo album.
“About a month ago, I was just
cleaning out some of my old
things and I found it,” said
photographer Jim Wagner,
who’s now 80.
world sikh news ENTERTAINMENT Dec 26, 2007-Jan 1, 2008 23
government's own touted figures in

Away from A still from

Chet'ta Rejo
order to bring out the true story.
Amazingly, on 10 Oct itself, the
day the Gujarat government gave
Sharma RTI data confirming 498
suicides, an official advertisement

Modi, real was released on ETV categorically

stating that there were no suicides
in Gujarat and people should not
believe false propaganda.
Chet'ta Rejo (Beware) shows

Gujarat stories
another face of inhumanity in
Gujarat. Over its 72 minutes of run-
ning time, the film explores and
exposes the saffronisation of the
Dalit-OBC population and its conse-
quent plight. Its focus is on the pat-

R
akesh Sharma needs no unsavoury truths about farmers sui- terns of arrests and litigations
introduction to those who cides as well as lower-caste rioters since the 2002 riots. It shows how
have been following the now in prison. most of those charged with rioting,
human rights movement He said the films are his response arson, murder and similar crimes
in the media. He is one of the most to Narendra Modi and his propagan- are either tribal or Dalits and
outspoken and independent film- da. OBCs. The analysis of those arrest-
makers on human rights Since 1985, Sharma has ed from 32 police stations in
and for this he fights the worked extensively in film consultant to broadcast channels for Ahmedabad suggests that of the
powers that be including and television. His docu- programming, on-air presentation 1577 detainees, only 30-odd
India's censor board. After mentaries have always been and live television. belonged to upper castes. "Are these
his revolutionary films based on painstaking inten- Khedu Mora Re (Oh My Farmer), foot soldiers victims too? Cynically
Final Solution and sive field research, wherein over 62 minutes, explores the myth recruited, then discarded, left to rot
Aftershocks - A Rough the filming often takes less- of a 'vibrant' Gujarat by graphically in jails, what do the perpetrators of
Guide to Democracy, now er time than the research. documenting the tragic series of the violence feel today about the
come two new explosive His numerous internation- farmer suicides in the state. Sharma VHP and the BJP?"
documentaries Khedu al awards have strength- examines the true story behind the The overall message that emerges
Mora Re and Chet'ta Rejo. ened his determination to hype of development. Knowing that through a range of voices - violence
Both films are in Gujarati, Rakesh Sharma go ahead and make this the film could invite attack and that and politics of hate destroys the
with no English subtitles. statement through the medi- its credibility would be challenged, Dalit-OBC-Muslim communities; it
He even used RTI to collect um he knows best - cinema. he chose the RTI (Right to is best to stay away from parties that
government data -- expose He currently earns his living as a Information) Act route to use the A still from Khedu Mora Re preach hate.

S T O R I E S I N B R I E F

Elvis Presley
Cruz to star in
Almodovar’s next In A Turban
I
t's going to be a rock-
ing good Christmas

A
ctress Penelope Cruz
will appear in acclaimed
Spanish director Pedro
Almodovar’s next film Los
Abrazos Rotos. They had previ-
ously worked together in Volver
and Cruz’s performance in the
film earned her an Oscar nomi-
nation for the best actress cate-
gory.The title of the Spanish
film means, ‘broken embraces’
and it will also star Blanca
Portillo and Lluis Homar, a
website reports. Pedro said
writing the screenplay of the
film was quite easy. “Like my
other film – Women on the
Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
– this film came easily, in one
go,” he said.
if Swansea's very
own Singing Sikh
has anything to do with
it. Peter Singh is already
well-known to fans as the
world's only Sikh Elvis
Presley impersonator. "I'm a Sikh. I don't cut my hair and keep it tied in a turban
His talents also extend and I keep my beard.
to lyric-writing, with self- "That doesn't mean I can't pay my respects to a great
penned Bhindi Bhaji hero of mine.
Boogie and Turbans Over "I sing by nature and Singh by name and I want to show
Memphis some of his that my community appreciates western music.
crowd-pleasing "Elvis was from the West, I'm from the East, so what?
favourites. That's the whole point of it."
But his latest produc- Songs he has come up with include Turbans over
tion is a seasonal rocker Memphis. One lyric said: "I don't smoke dope, I don't
which he hopes will pro- drink bourbon, all I want to do is shake my turban."
vide some good cheer to In the highly competitive world of Elvis impersonators, he
the yuletide festivities. stands out.
It's called Come on it's Christmas. Peter Singh has Once his photograph ended up on the front page of USA
written it himself. Today under the headline "Elvis dons a turban".
So if you have had enough of turkey this Christmas,

Depp most easily now try something with a curry flavour. The spice boy
first became a fan of Elvis after moving to Britain
from India in the 1950s. For a while he ran a takeaway
in Waun Wen called Graceland, named after Elvis's
career as an Elvis impersonator was born.
Backed by his group The Poppadoms, he performed
widely, and appeared on television, belting out Elvis-

autographing celeb home and burial place where you'd have found on the
menu a Love Me Tender burger, a Burning Love
Special curry and the set meal for one, Are You
Lonesome Tonight? But it was slipping into a white
sequinned jumpsuit that really made his name.
inspired hits such as Who's Sari Now? and My
Poppadom Told Me.
Peter also answers to the name of Turbanator, calls
Elvis "The King" and explains himself pithily: "I am
East meets West." For Swansea, he is someone who is

H
ollywood actor Johnny After the death of the King, much to the surprise of taking Swansea all over the world with a song and a
Depp has been declared his extended family, he began donning the rhinestone- turban. He had earlier paid a tribute to Elvis Presley
the most gracious studded white jump suit, diamante-studded turban to mark the 25th anniversary of The King's death at
celebrity for the third year in a and a belt with a buckle the size of nan bread. His new the club in Swansea's High Street.
row on Autograph magazine’s
annual list of the 10 best and 10
worst Hollywood signers. The
Pirates of the Caribbean star
has won this title because he
Sholay’s GP Sippy dead Jazz great
Oscar
L
always agrees to scribble his egendary Bollywood producer-cum-director G P Sippy,
autograph if a fan asks him for best known for his 1975 blockbuster Sholay , died here on
it,hollywood.com reports. “ He
likes to talk to fans and get to
Tuesday night after prolonged illness, his family said.
Sippy, 93, who had been suffering from age-related ailments Peterson
know them while signing, and
he’ll sign more than one item
when he has time,” said New
for the past few months, breathed his last around 10 pm. Scion
of a rich Sindhi family, Sippy’s career got a flying start with
the film ‘Marine Drive’ (1955). The same year he produced Adl-
no more
York autograph dealer Anthony Risi in the December issue of e-Jahangir with the star-cast of Pradeep Kumar, Meena Oscar Peterson, who
the publication. Matt Damon is second on the new list, fol- Kumari and Durga Khote. sat atop the world of
lowed by George Clooney, Jack Nicholson, Rosario Dawson, The fifties and sixties was a time of hectic filmmaking for jazz piano for
John Travolta, Katherine Heigl, Jay Leno, Dakota Fanning Sippy, when his banner produced memorable flicks like decades with his
and Russell Crowe, who was among the worst signers on last Shrimati 420 , Chandrakant , Light House , Bhai Behan and driving two-handed
year’s countdown. Andaaz. It stands to his credit that G P Sippy, besides produc- swing, has died. He
ing, also directed all of these films. was 82.
26 December to 01 January 2008 WORLD SIKH NEWS 24

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