Indian Express – Elect members on merit: Dal Khalsa

Indian Express News Service

Hoshiarpur: Resolving to cast its vote on merit, the Dal Khalsa leadership has made a clarion call to the electorate to go beyond group politics in the best interest of the Sikh Panth in the SGPC elections scheduled for September 18.

The appeal was made in the form of a resolution adopted at a meeting of the working committee members held under the leadership of Harchranjit Singh Dhami on Wednesday. “We appeal to 56 lakh voters enrolled for the SGPC elections to elect candidates on merit, keeping in consideration his or her good moral character, ability to further the cause of Sikhism and determination to uphold Sikh principles and ethos,” the resolution stated.

The Dal Khalsa president said, “The people are disgusted with the present system of governance, under which, Panthic interests are subjugated to vested political interests.” Urging the voters to elect morally upright individuals as the Gurdwara management has been ruined by a corrupted lot, he said the Sikhs must handover the reins of the SGPC to “clean hands”.

Blaming Badals for turning the SGPC as an extension counter of the SAD, party spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said that earlier, it was the SGPC that guided Sikh affairs. However, over the years, there has been a reversal of roles, especially after the office of the president of the SGPC became subservient to the dictates of the political bosses having their own electoral compulsions, he added.

Clearly, the SGPC has failed to achieve the basic purpose of religious propagation which had resulted in the rise of apostasy and the mushrooming of self-styled gurus in the recent past, said the leaders. Contrary to popular belief that SGPC is the “Parliament of the Sikhs”, it has never functioned as such, said Singh.

The leaders crticised the Shiormani Akali Dal leadership for inducting former DGP Izhar Alam in the SAD. Instead of prosecuting police officers who took law in their hands and committed gross human rights violations during militancy, the Badals were “honoring” them by accommodating them in the party hierarchy with a promise to allot ticket in the ensuing Assembly elections, they alleged. The leaders also blamed Badals for playing a dual game in the case of Professor Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who is on death row.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/elect-members-on-merit-dal-khalsa/846747/1

The Tribune – SGPC yet to give a fair deal to women

Amarjit Thind, Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 16.  Bibi Jagir Kaur, the first women president of the SGPC, has been espousing the cause of gender equality in performing ‘seva’ in gurdwaras, but with little success.

“I had got the the Dharam Parchar Committee to pass a resolution, paving the way for women to perform kirtan inside the sanctum sanctorum and the ‘seva’ of carrying the Palki Sahib in the mornings. Our Gurus preached equality of man and women. Who are we to decide otherwise?

“But the controversy that erupted over the decision in 2004 was so acerbic that we decided that till a consensus was evolved, the matter be referred to a sub-committee headed by a senior vice- president.”

She said it was unfortunate that the committee had failed to resolve the issue and a report, if any, was yet to see the light of the day.

Bibib Jagir Kaur pointed out that during the time of Guru Hargobind, all spiritual and temporal issues were successful dealt with by Mata Ganga.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110917/punjab.htm#12

The Hindu – 2,156 unidentified bodies in Kashmir graves to undergo DNA profiling

Shujaat Bukhari

Srinagar, September 16, 2011. The Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has recommended the identification of all those 2,156 people buried in unmarked graves in north Kashmir. The graves were identified through an investigation done by its police wing last month.

In its order on Friday, a division bench of the SHRC comprising Chairman Justice (retd.) Syed Bashiruddin and Javed Ahmad Kawoos suggested that all means like DNA profiling be used to identify the bodies buried in 38 places in Kashmir.

The bench made six recommendations to address the issue and linked it to cases of disappearances in the State.

It said that “the dead bodies in unmarked graves … shall be identified by all available means and techniques like DNA profile, physical description, dental examination, distinctive medical characteristics, finger prints, carbon dating, forensic pathology etc. as may be applicable.”

The aim is to see if the identity of the bodies  matches the identity of ‘disappeared’ persons.

Human rights groups in the State claim “thousands” of Kashmiris have disappeared since 1990. The documented numbers are more modest though no less alarming — the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons has 350 names on its roster while the State government acknowledges some 1,200 residents are “missing”. While the APDP’s charge is that the majority of these ‘disappeared’ persons have been illegally killed by the security forces, the State says the missing numbers are mostly made up of young men who crossed the Line of Control to join militant groups.

Positive DNA matches with family members of missing persons may not immediately settle the debate over the circumstances leading to the death of the individuals buried in these unmarked graves – eg. whether the encounter was genuine or fake – but they will likely embarrass the State and the Centre .

On August 20, the first official inquiry report of the SHRC suggested there were 2,730 unmarked graves across Baramulla, Bandipore and Kupwara districts. According to the report, 574 of these were buried by locals, leaving 2,156 bodies still buried in the unidentified graves.

The Commission has now ordered that DNA profile sampling be supplemented by modern scientific techniques and methods facilitating and ensuring matching of the unidentified dead bodies in unmarked graves on maintenance of the identification profiles with the identity of a particular dead body or a disappeared or any other person whose identification with the bodies discovered in unmarked graves is sought or claimed by the families concerned.

The SHRC has also said that after the bodies have been identified, any prosecution for crimes like culpable homicide shall be undertaken on the basis of the due process of law.

It asked the government to ensure compensatory justice in case identified disappeared persons had suffered an unnatural death. To address the larger issue, the Bench said “an independent duly representative structure/body…” be constituted and put in place in time”

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2459274.ece  

Sint-Truiden, Cricket, Speelhof 12 August 2011

Pictures of the Cricket Tournament on 12 and 13 August at the Speelhof park. There were cricket teams from Luik (Liege), Gent, Sint-Truiden, Leuven, Oostende and Hasselt. Most players were either of Indian or Pakistani background.

Sint-Truiden Speelhof Cricket Tournament

Sint-Truiden Speelhof Cricket Tournament

Sint-Truiden Speelhof Cricket Tournament

To see more Belgium pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622046344528/

More Belgian pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Resolve Sehajdhari voting issue in one month: SC to HC

R Sedhuraman, Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 16. The Sehajdhari Sikhs today failed to get the right to vote in the SGPC elections on September 18, but got some relief from the Supreme Court.

A Bench comprising Justices JM Panchal and HL Gokhale asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to resolve the controversy over the voting right within a month, if possible, and clarified that the outcome of the September 18 elections would be subject to the HC verdict.

The Sehajdhari Sikh Federation had come to the SC, challenging the September 6 High Court verdict by which it had suspended its September 1 order that had effectively allowed the Sehajdhari Sikhs to vote in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee poll.

Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, arguing for the federation, today suggested that the election should be postponed, pending a solution to
the controversy.

“We don’t want to have an irreversible situation. Defer the elections. Nothing is going to happen as the present members can continue,” he pleaded.

Appearing for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, senior counsel KK Venugopal and Mukul Rohatgi strongly opposed the plea for a stay on the poll process, stating that all arrangements for conducting the elections were in place and postponing these would have “serious consequences”.

Punjab’s senior counsel P S Patwalia also opposed the plea, contending that the Sehajdhari Sikhs were not allowed to vote even under the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Act and a Full Bench of the High Court had given a verdict on that.

The Bench said the poll process had already begun and it was not possible to cancel the schedule now. In the order, the Bench clarified that the High Court’s final verdict on the issue could be challenged in the apex court.

The Supreme Court asked the High Court to take up on September 20 the Centre’s application seeking recall of the September 1 order.

In case the application was allowed, the writ petition filed by the federation challenging the October 8, 2003, notification that had taken away the Sehajdhari Sikhs’ voting right “may be taken up for hearing immediately in accordance with law. The High Court is requested to decide the matter, if possible, within one month” from September 20.

A Full Bench of the High Court had disposed of the federation’s petition on September 1, observing that it had become infructuous in the light of an assurance made by the Central Government’s senior counsel, Harbhagwan Singh, that the 2003 notification “is withdrawn”.

However, the next day, the Centre filed an application, contending that it had not authorised its senior counsel to give such an assurance and sought recall of the court order. On this application, the High Court “suspended” the operation of its earlier order.

In its petition, the federation said the Full Bench of the High Court could not have suspended the operation of the September 1 order merely on an application filed by the Central Government seeking its recall and without examining the “effect of suspension”.

The Sehjdhari Sikhs also questioned the legal sustainability of the High Court order which denied them their “statutory right” to vote.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110917/main4.htm

Dawn – Singh says terror camps revived in Pakistan

By Jawed Naqvi

17 September 2011

New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cautioned on Friday against revived terror camps in Pakistan and told a conference of senior police officials that the security environment in the country remained “uncertain”.

Claiming that New Delhi had initiated a process of broad-based consultations to find a way forward in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, he said there was no room for complacency by the security forces.

“We need to give the processes of dialogue and democracy a chance to secure a just and honourable settlement that meets the aspirations of all sections of the people,” Dr Singh said.

“Despite these positive developments, there is no room for complacency on the security front in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. There are reports of cross-border camps for terrorists being reactivated, and of attempts to induct fresh batches of militants into the country.”

He directed the police chiefs to ensure that such attempts were foiled through smooth and coordinated functioning of all security agencies working in Jammu and Kashmir.Recalling recent bomb attacks in Mumbai and Delhi, he said these were “grim reminders of the grave challenges posed by terrorism to our national security”.

The prime minister laid special emphasis on mobilising resources to thwart Maoist rebellion in central India. “Over the last one year, left wing extremism has also claimed the lives of many innocent persons and police personnel,” he said.

A significant problem in policing India was its diverse cultural sensitivities, which was complicated by a perceived police bias against Muslims and other minorities.

“Sometimes our security forces have to perforce serve in unfamiliar areas far away from their homes. They don`t have adequate understanding of local sensitivities and sometimes of the language as well. These can be vital handicaps in earning the trust and confidence of local communities. I understand a number of steps have already been taken in this direction, but more needs to be done,” the prime minister said.

“Another issue, which also figured at the recent meeting of the NationalIntegration Council, was the perceived bias sometimes of the law- enforcement and investigation agencies against the minorities. The existence of such a perception is inimical to effective policing, which must necessarily draw upon the confidence and cooperation of all sections of the population it serves. I would like you to consider ways and means to deal with the causes of such perceptions wherever they may exist.”

http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/17/singh-says-terror-camps-revived-in-pakistan.html