Sikh Federation – Sikh Lobby in the UK Parliament organised by the Sikh Federation (UK) for 29 November

Sikh Lobby in the UK Parliament organised by the Sikh Federation (UK) on Tuesday 29 November between 2 – 4pm in the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, Westminster

Date: Thursday 10 November 2011
From: sikhfederationuk@yahoo.co.uk
Subject: Invitation to take part in Sikh Lobby in the UK Parliament

Fabian Hamilton MP’s office has just emailed the Sikh Federation (UK) this afternoon to say they have booked the Boothroyd Room between 2-4pm on Tuesday 29 November for a Sikh Lobby. Apologies we have only been able to give you just under 3 weeks notice.

Please:

i) immediately arrange to attend the lobby

ii) contact your MP via email, telephone etc. and ask him or her to attend the lobby in the Boothroyd Room

We need to have Sikhs from different parts of the UK to attend and lobby their MPs. Younger and more articulate Sikhs in particular are urged to attend.

The lobby is likely to cover a range of issues linked to Sikh identity, human rights violations and building a stronger political voice for the Sikh community.

A briefing will be prepared by the Sikh Federation (UK) and circulated around 1 week before the lobby.

This is an opportunity for Sikhs to unite and send a message to politicians and governments across the globe

Dabinderjit Singh

The Tribune – SGPC rejects Congress chief’s deficit charge

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 12. The SGPC today issued a clarification on the charges levelled by Capt Amarinder Singh regarding gurdwaras running into losses.

Addressing a press conference here today, SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh Khatra said the former CM had been wrongly projecting Rs 23 crore loss to Darbar Sahib in 2010, as it was the figure taken from budget estimates. On the contrary, he said, they saved Rs 12.33 crore in the budget for the fiscal 2010-11, which led to increase in their fixed deposits from Rs 92 crore to Rs 104 crore.

Khatra claimed the allegation that the earnings of Darbar Sahib have been going down since 2007 was also incorrect.

He said the earnings had, in fact, been increasing with each passing year. “It increased from Rs 86 crore in 2007-08 Rs 122 crore in 2010-11”. He, however, admitted that the expenses on siropas had gone up due to increase in prices from Rs 16 per metre in 2007-08 to Rs 32 per metre now.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111113/punjab.htm#8

The Hindu – Kalam frisked in U.S.

New Delhi, 13 November 2011. Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was twice subjected to frisking at New York’s JFK Airport with U.S. security officials even taking his jacket and shoes to check for explosives.

80-year-old Kalam was in the United States in September this year to attend a series of events and the incident took place while he was returning home from New York on September 29.

Sources said after Mr. Kalam had taken his seat in the aircraft, officials of the JFK Airport came inside and said they wanted to check the former President once again, which was strongly protested by Air India authorities.

But the Airport authorities were adamant about searching the passengers again, the sources said, adding Mr. Kalam did not protest.

“Later, they took away his shoes and jacket much to the dissatisfaction of the Air India authorities. However, they returned them later,” the sources said.

A detailed report on the incident was prepared by Air India’s Director (Security) S. Mathur and sent to the Civil Aviation Ministry which in turn forwarded it to the External Affairs Ministry in October.

“As the incident happened on American soil, I have been informed that US security agencies are investigating it now. Such incidents should not happen,” Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi told PTI.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said officials of both the countries were working on ways to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future, including preparing a common list of VIPs.

Sources close to Mr. Kalam said he doesn’t give much thought to such incidents and never complains about them. His office informed the government about the frisking incident. In June 2009, he was frisked and forced to remove his shoes during security check by a U.S. airline. The incident created much uproar following which the carrier apologized to Mr. Kalam. (PTI)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2624220.ece

The Hindu – India to take up Kalam frisking issue with U.S. at highest level

New Delhi, 13 November 2011.  Outraged at former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam being subjected to frisking for explosives at New York’s JFK Airport, India on Sunday threatened retaliatory action against U.S. dignitaries unless such “unacceptable” practices were stopped.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna spoke to Indian Ambassador to U.S. Nirupama Rao and directed her to take up the matter in writing at the “highest level” with Washington after it emerged that Mr. Kalam was frisked in New York on September 29 before boarding an Air India flight.

Even after Mr. Kalam was seated, the U.S. security personnel forced the crew to open the door and took away the jacket and boots of the former President to check for explosives since they had forgotten to do so before his boarding.

Officials said the Minister has also sought a detailed report on the incident from its mission into the incident which they said was unacceptable. They further said that if this continues, there is a possibility of reciprocating as per diplomatic norms.

This is not the first time that Mr. Kalam has been frisked by U.S. aviation officials.

Mr. Kalam was frisked by officials of U.S. airliner Continental Airlines in April, 2009 despite his name featuring in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security’s list of people exempt from security checks in India. (PTI)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2624194.ece

Sint-Truiden, Limburg, Belgium – Levensloop 1 and 2 October 2011

Levensloop is a walk/run raising money to help cancer patients. Each team had to keep a walker or runner on the course from 4 pm on Saturday till 4 pm on Sunday. The Sikh community took part with a team of nearly sixty walkers/runners. The pictures were all taken on Sunday 2 October.

Sevadars in the Sikh tent

Belgian dance group

Belgian dance group

Belgian dance group

To see more Sint-Truiden pictures go to :

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

More Belgian pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
 Man in Blue

The Tribune – India, Pakistan to ease cross-border travel

Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 12. Travelling across the border to Pakistan will become easier once the new visa agreement between India and Pakistan comes into force soon. The proposed visa agreement seeks to make some radical changes in the existing rigid visa regime between the two countries thereby facilitating easy and hassle-free travel.

At their meeting in the Maldives earlier this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed their resolve to put the visa agreement in place shortly.

Senior officials of the two countries finalised the draft of the agreement in October, pending approval by their political leaderships.

Though both sides are keeping the draft of the agreement under wraps, informed sources said the new regime proposes issuing six-month visas for social visits, and not a maximum of three weeks as of now, and a one-year visa with multiple entries for senior citizens, eminent persons, women of one country married to men in the other country and their children aged below 18.

It also proposes that senior citizens (above 65) will be given visa on arrival if they choose to travel by road.

Another significant proposal favours group tourism for up to 30 days, but with a condition that such travel be conducted by registered travel agents and the group comprises over 10 persons. The agents will register the group on arrival and departure with police stations of places to be visited. As of now, the two countries have been issuing visas restricted to social visits and pilgrimage and that too for travelling to the specified place and not anywhere else.

Businessmen registered by trade bodies of the two countries could be given multiple-entry visas for one year. Both sides will also allow transit visa for 36 hours to their respective citizens.

The business chambers in both countries have been complaining that giving them city-specific visa only hampers their movement when they visit each other’s country. India and Pakistan presently have a visa system under which they give visas for a maximum of three cities to each other’s citizens.

For example, a businessman from India cannot travel to Rawalpindi if does not have visa for the city, which is just about 15 km from Islamabad.

Similarly, a Pakistani businessman cannot go to Noida or Gurgaon if he does not have the visa for the two cities which are close to Delhi and have emerged as favourite destinations for corporate honchos from across the world.

The business lobby has also suggested upgrading the physical infrastructure on the Wagah border, including installation of sophisticated X-ray machines through which trucks can pass.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111113/nation.htm#1

BBC News – Life better since Taliban driven from Kabul, says Nato

By Orla Guerin, BBC News, Kabul

13 November 2011

Ten years since the Taliban were driven from the Afghan capital, Kabul, Nato’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Simon Gass, says there have been big improvements.

On 13 November 2001 that the western-backed Northern Alliance swept into the Afghan capital virtually unopposed.

But, Mr Goss says, plenty of things have not been done.

Critics stress the Taliban can still bring death into the capital. Many are anxious about the coming withdrawal of foreign combat forces.

A decade after the liberation of Kabul by the Northern Alliance, the city is growing fast, but it still has the architecture of war – checkpoints, blast walls and heavily fortified buildings.

A city of bicycles has become a city of jeeps and traffic jams, a monument to commerce and to corruption.

The poverty remains, but there is progress – like electricity around the clock in most neighbourhoods.

Nato’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Simon Gass, says the city has changed beyond recognition.

“When you walk around in Kabul, this is now a bustling lively city with women on the streets, people able to go to hospitals, schools open where girls can go to as well as boys and it feels very very different to how it did 10 years ago.”

But the ambassador admits that many things have not been done.

Some – troubled by the ghosts of the past – worry about a return to all-out civil war.

Ten years on, Kabul is still waiting for peace.

According to one veteran analyst here, people assumed and hoped things would be a lot better by now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15710041