24 November; Shahidi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji

Guru Sahib beheaded in Chandni Chowk

‘Hind Di Chaadar’ Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was martyred on this date at Chandni Chowk, Delhi by then Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, for his perseverance to save the basic human right of Hindu community in particular and The Humanity in general, of practicing any faith freely without interference or duress.

Emperor Aurangzeb was a Mughal Ruler who ruled on The Delhi Takht for 49 years, from 1658 to 1707, proving to be the opposite of what his forefathers like Emperor Akbar had preached – ‘Religious Freedom for all’. As soon as he came to power, he started converting Non-Muslims to Muslim faith forcibly, especially Hindus.

A group of Kashmiri Pandits led by Pandit Kirpa Ram from Kashmir came to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in early 1675 AD to seek his help in this acute hour. Guru Ji told Pandits that the need of the hour was the sacrifice of a great soul. On hearing this, 8 year old Gobind Rai, who was sitting in the congregation, said,” There would be no one else as great as you dear father, for this cause !” Guru Ji then decided to give away his life to save the Hindu Community from the terror of Aurangzeb.

Guru Ji was arrested and brought to Delhi for conversion to Muslim Faith by Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb tried every trick to make the Guru bend, but Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib was firm on his stand and stuck to Guru Nanak Dev’s Path.

Then on 24th November 1675 AD, Guru Teg Bahadur Ji was beheaded by a Muslim executioner Sayyed Jalal-Ud-Din of Samana (who was later killed by Banda Singh Bahadur) on the command of Aurangzeb. Gurudwara Sees Ganj Sahib stands at the site of the martyrdom now. Bhai Jeevan Singh (ranghretta, guru ka beta) delivered The Head of the Guru to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji at Anandpur Sahib and the body was cremated at Delhi itself by Bhai Lakhhi Shah.

Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib stands now at the site of cremation.

Rajinder Chhatwal
rschhatwal@googlemail.com

Devotees take out a procession on the eve of the martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday.
Tribune Photo by Vishal Kumar

Let ninth Guru speak to you
Read at least one of his shabads today !
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Khalsa heritage memorial promises a visual delight

Vandana Shukla, Tribune News Service

Anandpur Sahib, November 23. As it awaits to be inaugurated on Friday, the Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex today provided a spectacular and breathtaking preview.

The Boston-based designer of the complex, architect and urban planner Moshe Safdie, who is known for creating the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, has already arrived for the inauguration and so has Bobby Bedi, the filmmaker who has contributed audiovisuals. The first phase of the complex has taken 13 years and approximately Rs 360 crore to complete.

The classy complex, which is expected to draw international attention, has come up in rugged surroundings but water bodies of extraordinary beauty, which reflect the surrounding hillocks, lend the complex an astonishing degree of serenity. Said to be the largest contemporary heritage complex ever conceived in India, it provides a delightful audio-visual experience unlike anything one has seen in Indian museums.

The Boat Building of the complex houses the largest hand-painted mural in the world, which uses a staggering 24,000 metres of fibre optics to illuminate it to depict Diwali.

The complex deals with the evolution of the Sikh religion, from the birth of Guru Nanak to the establishment of the Granth Sahib as the last Guru. Only 15 out of the 25 galleries planned, however, will be thrown open to the public. The 15 galleries cover 650,000 square feet.

The Boat Building, named because of its shape, provides an awesome panaromic vision of daily life in Punjab. With the help of sound, music and other visual manipulations, the entire cycle of a year is recreated within a span of just eight minutes. The vibrant colours then give way to a subdued, star studded night with a tower of light at the centre, which symbolises the emergence of ‘Ek Onkar’, illuminated, pure and eternal. From here begins the journey of the evolution of the Panth with the birth of Guru Nanak Dev.

For the remaining galleries, visitors can opt for audio commentary in Punjabi, Hindi or English, rendered by Divya Dutta, Surjeet Pattar and Kabeer Bedi respectively. The first five galleries depict the spiritual aspects of the Panth by making use of research material, stories and technology.

Amar Behl has made use of Phulkari, miniature art, puppets from Andhra Pradesh, durris from Mirzapur and embroideries and applique work from Chamba while Bobby Bedi has created the animation films on the birth of Guru Nanak Dev, the siege of Anandpur Sahib and the Harmandir Sahib.

In the ‘Five Crescent Building’, the tone and tenor of the colours and sound becomes more militant and depict the struggle and sacrifices made by the last five Gurus to establish the Panth. The second phase of the complex, for which work is still going on, is expected to show the growth of Khalsa over the last 300 years, culminating in the partition of the country.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111124/main7.htm

The Asian Age – Jayalalithaa dubs illegal assets’ case politically motivated

Bangalore, 24 November 2011. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday dubbed the disproportionate assets’ case against her politically motivated at the behest of the opposition DMK party on a false complaint by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy.

“The case was filed against me at the instance of the DMK when it was in power then (1997-2001) on the basis of a false complaint lodged by Swamy,” Jayalaliatha asserted in the special court while deposing in the Rs. 66-crore disproportionate assets’ case.

Appearing for the fourth time in the makeshift court hall near the central jail on the city’s outskirts amid tight security, the AIADMK supremo told the trial court judge B.M. Mallikarjunaiah that a warrant was issued to search her Poes Garden residence in Chennai and not on the adjacent house where a raid was carried out illegally.

“The case was foisted on me and an inquiry was ordered under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on Swamy’s complaint, which was baseless and had no merits,” she said in oral and written submission to the court in the 15-year-old protracted case.

On her replying to the remaining 192 of the 1,339 queries framed under section 313 of the CrPC, the judge adjourned the case to November 29 when statements of the other three accused, including Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala and her foster son V. Sudhakaran will be recorded in the regular special court within the city.

During the previous three depositions October 20-21 and Tuesday, Jayalalitha answered a total of 1,147 questions and submitted a detailed statement along with several supporting documents in defence of her.

According to public prosecutor B.V. Acharya, the actress-turned-politician claimed that the costly sarees seized by the police from her house were a collection of dresses that were used for acting in about 120 films in different languages, including Tamil and Telugu.

“Just because a saree once used in a film will not be used again, she had kept all these as a memento and police was wrong in valuing them along with scores of footwear and expensive watches,” Acharya quoted Jayalalitha telling the court in the written statement.  Relieved over the completion of the deposition on the directions of the Supreme Court, a beaming Jayalalitha waved to the people who thronged the venue for a glimpse of her enroute to Chennai by a special aircraft. (IANS)

http://www.asianage.com/india/jayalalithaa-dubs-illegal-assets-case-politically-motivated-157

Belgium, Kamal Nath’s visit to Leuven

On the 13th of October the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with The EuroIndia Centre (TEIC) and the City of Leuven in Belgium organised the 5th EuroIndia City Summit at Leuven, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium. On behalf of the Indian government the conference was attended by Kamal Nath, Minister of Urban Development.

As most Sikhs will know Kamal Nath was one of the Congress politicians who incited the people of Delhi to kill as many Sikhs as possible in revenge for the murder of Indira Gandhi.

For more information read my column on the subject, recently published on this blog.

http://maninblue1947.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/492-the-man-in-blue-kamal-nath-in-leuven-13-october-2011/

Pictures kindly supplied by Sara Cosemans and Sikh for Justice

 Ranjit Singh who was in Delhi in 1984

Kamal Nath leaving after opening session of conference

Kamal Nath & his car

The ’forefront’ of the demonstrators 

To see more Belgian pictures go to :

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

More Belgian pictures to follow  
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Adversity only ally of Gurdaspur border villages

Ravi Dhaliwal, Tribune News Service

Makkoran Patan (Gurdaspur), November 23. There seems to be no hope for nearly 4,500 residents living in a cluster of seven villages spread over an area of around 5,000 acres. On one side is the barbed wire that separates India and Pakistan while on the other two sides are the Uja and Ravi rivers, which cut off the area from the mainland for months during the monsoon.

The area is devoid of basic amenities. There is only one dispensary at Bharial village and that too has just one pharmacist to cater to the medical needs of the locals. Recently, two pregnant women from Toor village, who could not be given proper treatment, were taken to Dinanagar, 20 km from the village, where they gave birth to still-born children. A village elder disclosed that due to the lack of medical facilities, infant mortality rate was very high in the area.

Harjit Alam, a journalist who regularly tours the area, says, “The living conditions are really appalling. There are three government schools, one middle and two primary. Students are willing to study but there are no teachers. People cannot use cell phones as there are no mobile towers in the area owing to security concerns”.

Gurnam Singh, sarpanch of Toor village, says 90 per cent of the girls who pass out from the middle school have to abruptly end their studies as their parents are reluctant to send them to adjoining towns.

Though local MLA Sita Ram Kashyap says he is doing his bit, villagers are quick to refute his claim.

There is one veterinary hospital which, too, is run by a pharmacist following which mortality rate among livestock is also very high.

Irked by government’s apathy, the residents had raised a banner of revolt during the 1980 assembly elections and decided to refrain from voting. The then state government tried to pacify the villagers by sending the then Governor Jai Sukh Lal Hathi to the area.

The last time these villagers heard from the government was when Agriculture Minister SS Langah held a Sangat Darshan about a year ago. However, the government failed to pay heed to any of their demands pertaining to setting up of more dispensaries and schools. The platoon bridge connecting the island from Makkoran Patan village with the mainland was dismantled by the PWD authorities in June and rebuilt it in September. For these four months, the residents had to live under the fear of floods, but no one bothered.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111124/punjab.htm#12

Dawn – Sherry Rehman makes comeback, gets Haqqani’s post

Baqir Sajjad Syed

24 November 2011

Islamabad: The government named on Wednesday member of parliament and rights activist Shehrbano (Sherry) Rehman as ambassador to the US, a day after Husain Haqqani had been asked to resign over allegations that he had sought Washington’s help against a possible military takeover.

“Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has appointed Ms Sherry Rehman as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States of America,” a handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Before making the appointment public, Prime Minister Gilani met Ms Rehman to formally inform her about the decision.

“I see it as a major challenge and hope to bridge some divides and, at the same time, be an equally strong advocate for Pakistan’s interests,” she said while talking to Dawn.

Ms Rehman, a former journalist and federal minister, is reputed to be a strong supporter of women and minority rights. She faced death threats for demanding reforms in the blasphemy law. The proposed amendment was later withdrawn by her ‘in line with party policy’.

She quit the federal cabinet in 2009 because of differences with President Asif Zardari over media curbs.

Her nomination came as a surprise to many analysts because she was never thought to be a contender for the post.

Earlier this year, however, there were speculations about her being appointed as foreign minister, a position that eventually went to Hina Rabbani Khar.

Ms Rehman strengthened her foreign policy credentials by setting up the Jinnah Institute, a think-tank which, among other themes, focused on foreign relations, including the country’s ties with India and Afghanistan.

She has also been involved in Track II diplomacy for normalising ties with India.

“She co-chairs several track-two strategic dialogues with India and is convener of a similar institutionalised dialogue process between Pakistan and Afghanistan later this year,” her profile released by the Prime Minister’s Office said.

A foreign ministry source said “the principals” (the Foreign Office top brass) had been intimated about the choice on Monday.

“Sherry Rehman appoints pro-military Ejaz Haider as head of Jinnah Institute to replace her. It seems they all knew about five days ago what the game was,” Ayesha Siddiqa, a defence analyst, wrote in a posting on her Facebook page.

Another source closely following the developments in the memo scandal that has forced this change claimed that Ms Rehman was a ‘compromise’ choice.

The military establishment directs the country’s foreign policy and has been keen about asserting its influence in the Washington embassy because of the critical importance of the position in managing the complicated Pakistan-US ties.

“She’ll be positively seen by the military because she doesn’t carry any baggage, unlike Mr Haqqani who had been very critical of the military,” Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi, who heads the Centre for International Strategic Studies, said.

Besides proving herself to be a representative of both the military and civilian leadership in Washington, something that proved to be her predecessor’s Achilles Heel, one of the major challenges for Ms Rehman would be to improve the country’s image by neutralising the negative propaganda there.

“Sherry Rehman looks like a good choice in that she is well-known to Americans, extremely articulate and politically astute,” Daniel Markey, Pakistan Expert at the Council of Foreign Relations, said.

Ambassador Naqvi too believes she would have a good impact in Washington.

Although bilateral ties currently look to be on somewhat even keel after months of friction, Ms Rehman would not be landing in a very friendly environment.

There have been calls by congressional leaders for cutting aid to Pakistan for allegedly not effectively dealing with terrorism. Republicans have been particularly harsh about Pakistan in the presidential debate.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/24/sherry-makes-comeback-gets-haqqanis-post.html