Sikhs allowed to wear kirpans in Toronto courts
In a landmark decision that has brought jubilation among the Canadian Sikhs, community members would now be allowed to take their ‘kirpans’ (an article of Sikh faith) into Toronto courthouses. The development follows a settlement between the Ontario Human Rights Commission and three law enforcement bodies, including Toronto Police Service, Toronto Police Services Board and Ministry of Attorney General that gave the nod to allow ‘kirpans’ into all public areas of the city’s courthouses.
Toronto has become the first Canadian city to formulate such a policy to accommodate Sikh articles of faith.
According to OHRC spokesman Afroze Edwards, police would be revising court security procedures so that devout Sikhs wearing the small ceremonial blades, symbolizing the willingness of the faithful to protect human rights, would be allowed to enter coourthouses.
As per the new policy, a Sikh wishing to enter a courthouse must now tell the court officers they were wearing a ‘kirpan’. They must be wearing the religion’s other four articles of faith as well. Also, the ‘kirpan’ should be worn under the clothing and must not be longer than 7.5 inches, with blade length not exceeding 4 inches.
The settlement resulted from two complaints filed by the Sikhs, alleging discrimination because of creed under the Human Rights Code.
In the first case, a Sikh woman who needed to attend a mandatory class trip to the Victim/Witness Assistance Programme at the courthouse in Old City Hall was denied entry by court officers when she refused to remove her ‘kirpan’.
The second case involved a Sikh man who was summoned for jury duty at the University Avenue courthouse. The ‘kirpan’ controversy first came on to the national scene in 2001 when a 12-year-old Montreal student accidentally dropped his 20-cm long ‘kirpan’ at school, triggering a dispute with the school board over his right to wear it.
In 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld his right in a landmark judgment. “The Toronto Police Service is pleased to have worked cooperatively to arrive at a procedure which recognises the needs and rights of the Sikh community and the obligation to provide a safe, secure and accessible courthouse environment,” said acting deputy chief Jeff McGuire.
The Toronto Police Services will also work with the World Sikh Organisation of Canada and the Ontario Human Rights Commission on training its court officers assigned to accommodate ‘kirpan’ related to a person’s creed under the Human Rights Code.
The WSO would work in tandem with the Toronto Police Service and the OHRC to prepare training material for court officers on the ‘kirpan’ issue and appropriate techniques to screen Sikh visitors to courthouses.
WSO legal counsel Balpreet Singh said, “The Toronto courthouse accommodation policy for the ‘kirpan’ is comprehensive and addresses the need of balancing the human rights of Sikhs and security concerns associated with courthouses. We will be working to ensure that the Sikh community is familiar with the accommodation guidelines and that the rollout of the policy proceeds smoothly.”
May 18, 2012
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Sikhs in turbans can now serve Washington police
May 18, 2012
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Yogi Bhajan’s Dharma to Receive at Least $30 Million
A circuit court last month ordered the food company, Golden Temple of Oregon, be turned over to a court-appointed administrator and the company’s management returns more than $30 million dollars of bonuses and perks to the religious community founded by Yogi Harbhajan Singh Khalsa. Read the rest of this post »
May 18, 2012
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Now 50% DU quota for Sikhs
For the first time four DU colleges are considering reserving 50 per cent of their under-graduate seats for Sikh students.
Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, in North Campus, is among the four colleges planning the reservation.
The colleges, all run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC), were declared minority institutions last year by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institution. During this year’s admission season, the colleges will have a separate cut-off for Sikh students.
“We will reserve 50 per cent of the seats for Sikh students. For general category seats, students will be admitted as per university norms. There will be separate cutoffs to admit students to the minority seats. The dates for admissions will be according to the university and the college will remain as close to the university as it has been,” said Dr Jaswinder Singh, principal of SGTB Khalsa College.
The college will continue to provide three per cent reservation for physically handicapped students, both in general and Sikh quota, he said.
The other three colleges awarded the minority status in July last year are Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College and Mata Sundri College.
Mandatory reservation for OBC and SC/ST candidates do not apply to institutions awarded minority status.
Till now, only St Stephen’s College and Jesus and Mary College had the minority status among DU colleges.
Mata Sundri College principal Dr Kavaljit Kaur said the college will admit general category students seats on university guidelines. “We will go according to university procedure for general category. We will continue to provide reservations for physically handicapped students,” Dr Kaur said.
Principal of SGBT Khalsa College said DU guidelines will also apply to extra-curricular activities (ECA) and sports quota admissions.
Meanwhile, Dr Manmohan Kaur of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College said the college is yet to decide on ECA, sports and physically handicapped category admissions.
“We haven’t decided how we’re going to do it. All decisions will be based on consultation with the parent body (DSGMC),” she said.
The Gurdwara Management Committee is also awaiting permission to start another college under DU, said Paramjit Singh Sarna, president of DSGMC.
“We have the land and building ready at Harinagar in West Delhi. If it’s approved, minority status will be sought for the new college too,” he said.
May 18, 2012
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PUNJAB GOVT TO LAUNCH SINGLE FILE SYSTEM
May 18, 2012
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DEBATE ON MARRIAGE ACT: DAL KHALSA SLAMS TAKHT
May 17, 2012
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SGPC, DSGMC differ with Akal Takht on ‘complete marriage Act’
Amritsar, Punjab: Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh’s move to support a complete Sikh marriage Act has sparked a major controversy with the SGPC, DSGMC and Sikh intellectuals taking a conflicting stand. They said amendments being made in the Anand Marriage Act 1909 should be allowed to be passed while a complete Act could follow later. However, the Jathedar has also found support from a section of the Sikh community.
SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said: “We ourselves have passed a resolution demanding it in the SGPC general house. Now, how can we say that we don’t want it?” He said first these amendments should be allowed to be passed while the rest of the issues may be addressed later. Makkar is likely to hold a meeting with the Jathedar soon to discuss the issue. DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna also said the amendments should be allowed to be passed. “We have fought a long battle for it and after reaching this stage we cannot let it go,” he said. Sarna said if the community faced any problem later, the SGPC and the DSGMC can jointly form a committee of experts to pursue further amendments.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh, who played a key role in pushing these amendments, said, “It will be a major achievement and nobody should try to scuttle it at this stage. Those advocating a complete Act should have raised their voice earlier.”
Sikh intellectual Balkar Singh said the Jathedar had created confusion among the community by “speaking on the issue without giving it a thought”. He said only the political class stands to benefit if the amendments in the Anand Marriage Act 1909 were stopped. He said the amendments will pave the way for the recognition of Sikhs as a separate community and the issue of a complete marriage Act can be negotiated at a later stage.
Noted Sikh scholar Bhai Ashok Singh Bagrian said the community should let these amendments take place as it was achieving the purpose of establishment of separate identity of Sikhs. He said the Sikhs have long been demanding these amendments and nobody talked about divorce during this period. He also dubbed the Jathedar’s move as a “step in haste”.
Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka said the entire Sikh community had been demanding these amendments for the last seven to eight years. He said the “somersault made by the Akal Takht Jathedar will make a mockery of Sikhs in Parliament”. “Everyone wants registration of Sikh marriages under a separate Act and these amendments are serving the purpose. Putting these amendments in jeopardy for a complete Act is not a wise decision,” he said.
May 17, 2012
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Jathedar asks Sikh panth to discuss draft threadbare
Amritsar, Punjab: Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh on Tueday asked the Sikh community in India and abroad to discuss and deliberate on the new draft of ‘Sikh Anand Marriage Act-2012′, which will enable the community members to get their marriages registered under a separate Act.
He said that a committee, comprising intellectuals, legal luminaries and experts, will be formed under the aegis Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to take a final decision regarding the draft to be taken up with Centre to frame law for the Sikh community.
The jathedar was addressing the Sikh intelligentsia during the presentation of the draft by its maker Daljit Singh, the principal of Khalsa College and legal luminary at Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD), Sikhs’ religious and academic body.
The Jathedar said that the draft needed more discussion and should be printed in bulk for distribution among the masses. “The draft should be made available on the Internet, so that Sikhs across the globe can go through it,” he said.
“We will soon form a Committee under SGPC that will study the draft and after an ardas at the Akal Takht, the same will be forwarded to the government,” said the jathedar.
Earlier Daljit Singh initiated an intense debate and there was a general opinion that the Sikhs must have their own separate personal law and agreed to adopt the draft, the copy of which was submitted to the jathedar.
The participants were of the opinion that the amendments being made in the Anand Marriage Act-1909 were not sufficient and were not as per the aspirations of the Sikhs.
Daljit Singh said there was already a debate going on over the absence of divorce clause in the Act and the draft of the new Act should be adopted by the Centre to make a ‘complete law’ that would govern Sikh marriages and all its aspects, including divorce, maintenance, adoption and other issues.
In his address, Daljit Singh said the draft had been prepared keeping in view the Sikh maryada (code of conduct) and thoroughly dealt with issues including definition of Sikh and ‘Anand Karaj’, divorce, alimony and property rights and adoption.
He said that the separate Act for Sikhs should not be construed as a political demand but a legal one, which is the constitutional right of the community. He termed the existing Anand Marriage Act-1909 confusing and not enough to call it a full-fledged law to govern the Sikh marriages.
Khalsa College governing council president Satyajit Singh Majithia appreciated the attempt of CKD to initiate the debate and said he found no reasons why Sikhs should not have their own personal law.
May 17, 2012
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Pakistan denies pilgrim visa to 320 Sikhs
May 17, 2012
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Swap land to get Pak Gurdwara on Indian side: Bajwa to Ramesh
GURDASPUR: Gurdaspur MP from Congress, Partap Singh Bajwa urged Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh to press the central government to swap a chunk of land within Indian territory with the Pakitsani counterparts so that Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib currently in Pakistan can be shifted to the Indian territory. kartarpur sahib, pakistan
He cited the example of land swapping with Pakistan in case of memorial of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev at Hussainiwala. It was done few years after the partition of India.
It is worth mentioning that since many years, the demand for a corridor to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. Large number of devotees have no ther option but to pay their obeisance from the Gurdwara on Indian side with the aid of a telescope.
May 14, 2012
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