499.The Man in Blue – Anand Sahib pauri 19

jíhu maile báhrhu nirmal ||
Dirty inside and no-dirt outside.
báhrhu nirmal jíhu t maile tiní janam júai háriá ||
no-dirt outside and dirty inside, these lose their birth in the gamble.
eh tisná vaddá rog lagá maran manhu visáriá ||
These contract the big disease of desire and in their minds forget about dying.
vedá mehi nám utam so sunehi náhí firehi jiu betáliá ||
In the Vedas the exalted objective is Nám, but they listen not and come again and again like demons.
kehai nának jin sach thajiá kúrre láge tiní janam júai háriá ||19||
Says Nanak, those who renounce Truth and cling to falsehood, lose their births in the gamble. ||19||

For the above translation I consulted the Nitnem Gutka of Harbans Singh Doabia and the ‘Sikhitothemax’ website. I checked the meanings in the ‘Dictionary of Guru Granth Sahib’ by Surinder Singh Kohli.

The forty verses of the Anand Sahib, composed by Guru Amar Das are not too difficult to understand. We should use these verses as tools : listen to them, understand them  and apply their teachings in our daily life.

Being dirty inside and having no-dirt (nir-mal) outside is quite useless. If you are only concerned about your looks, about the impression you make on others, you will waste this birth as human being, this chance to find unity with The One.

You are dirty inside when you are controlled by the five desires, when you forget that you have only a short lifespan, which should be used efficiently.

The Vedas say that the objective of your life is ‘Nám’, the Godly essence, but people listen not and keep being born again and again like demons. Says Nanak, if you do not go for Truth and stick to falsehood, you gamble away this birth.

Many people think that following the ‘Shabad-Guru’ is no ‘fun’. No drinking, no smoking, not going for luxury but living a simple life, how boring !

Since I started to follow the Sikh way of life I do not need outside enjoyments anymore. I do need sadh-sangat, people of various backgrounds with whom I can fully share what I am trying to do. Here in Belgium I have not enough ‘soul-mates’.

But I am happy doing seva, living in my studio flat, studying, writing, listening to shabad Kirtan on my lap-top, listening to my radio to keep up with what happens outside Sint-Truiden and cook a simple meal when I do not eat from the langar.

Some weeks ago the weather was cold but sunny and I enjoyed a two hour walk. I regularly go on my bicycle to Gingelom, south of Sint-Truiden. This is only a 30 minute ride but it can be challenging in winter and I enjoy that. There is no need to become ‘maile’ (dirty) in order to enjoy life !

The Tribune – Punjab voter turnout rises to 78.6%; EC orders repoll at one Amritsar booth

Kanchan Vasdev, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 31. The Election Commission today revised the voter turnout in yesterday’s Punjab Assembly election by 2% to 78.67% even as it ordered a repoll in booth number 76 of Amritsar (East) constituency.

The EC had till last evening put the estimated polling at 76.63%. Even today, Chief Election Officer Kusumjit Sidhu said the figures could change. “This is the average poll percentage and could be revised. The final polling percentage would be calculated on the basis of the total number of voters who exercised their franchise,” she said.

The repoll has been ordered for February 2 in a booth in the Amritsar (East) constituency. The fresh poll will be held between 7 am and 3 pm, the Election Commission said.

The decision for repoll was taken after the Electronic Voting Machine at booth number 76 developed a snag during mock testing. Sidhu said the EVM was repaired but by afternoon it stopped recording votes and was replaced with a new EVM.

“We do not want to take any chances and have ordered a repoll,” she said. There are 974 registered voters at the booth.

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Sidhu’s wife Dr Navjot Kaur is the BJP candidate from Amritsar (East) constituency. She is pitted against Sunil Datti of the Congress. Congress rebel Simarpreet Bhatia is also in fray as an Independent.

Even though the polling percentage has risen, Amritsar (West) remains the constituency with the lowest voter turnout of 57.59%. Till yesterday, this figure stood at 56%. Guruharsahai has reported the highest turnout of 89.88% followed by Gidderbaha with 88.73%.

The Election Commission has instructed various stationary surveillance teams and flying squads of the Income Tax and Excise Departments constituted for the elections to be disbanded, except in Amritsar (East) constituency. Liquor will be prohibited within the polling area of polling booth number 76 from 5 pm today till polling ends on February 2.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120201/main4.htm

The Asian Age – Jammu & Kashmir Sikhs want reprobe into 2000 massacre

Srinagar, 1 February 2012. An amalgam of Kashmiri Sikhs on Tuesday demanded a re-investigation into the March 2000 massacre of 36 members of the minority community in the village of Chattisinghpora outside the southern town of Anantnag, the gory incident blamed on separatist militants by the authorities.

It urged the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing a case pertaining to the killing of five people in an alleged fake encounter at neighbouring Pathribal involving the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police on March 25, 2000, five days after the massacre to issue orders for conducting a time bound inquiry into the incident terming it as the “base case” of the massacre “so that the truth comes out to the fore as to who killed innocent Sikh villagers-militants or official agencies.”

All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee Kashmir (APSCCK), said all those responsible “must be charge-sheeted for killing innocent people.”

http://www.asianage.com/india/jk-sikhs-want-reprobe-2000-massacre-264

Brussel, Bruxellles, Brussels, 20 December 2011

Back Entrance to Beurs – Bourse
(exchange)

Small house, big church

North side of ‘Beurs’ building with Christmas market

Boulevard Anspach Laan, De Lijn articulated bus 

To see more Netherlands and Belgiun pictures go to:

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

More Belgian pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – 1,000 voters ‘reject’ all candidates

Kanchan Vasdev, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 31. Over 1,000 voters across the state rejected all the candidates in the fray by using Section 49-O of Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which allows electors to register their vote without casting it in favour of any candidate during the Punjab Assembly polls yesterday.

While the State Election Commission is yet to compile the data of the total number of voters who exercised this option, a Punjab based NGO Internationalist Democratic Party puts the number of such voters at 500 in Nabha alone.

The NGO led by Gurmeet Singh Sohi had started an awareness campaign all over the state motivating the voters to use their right to reject candidates, if they were not convinced about their capabilities and performance.

A spokesperson of the NGO said voters from Fazilka, Mansa, Bathinda, Sangrur, Sunam, Samana, Garhshankar and Kapurthala, exercised this option. In Ageti village in Nabha, over 50 residents rejected all the candidates. Similar reports were obtained from Narata Colony, Ajaib Colony, Sant Nagar, Ekta Colony and Vishwakarma Nagar in Nabha, claimed the spokesperson.

“There is a growing resentment against the candidates among the voters in Punjab. During discussions, a common sentiment that came to our notice was that voters do not want to elect any candidate. We advised them to use this option and we got a good response,” said Sohi.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120201/punjab.htm#8

BBC News – Pakistan is helping Afghan Taliban, says Nato report

Wednesday, 1 February 2012. The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report seen by the BBC.

The leaked report, derived from thousands of interrogations, claims the Taliban remain defiant and have wide support among the Afghan people.

A BBC correspondent says the report is painful reading for international forces and the Afghan government.

A Pakistani foreign ministry official has called the accusations “frivolous”.

“We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan,” the unnamed senior official told Reuters.

The report alleges that Pakistan knows the locations of senior Taliban leaders.

“We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some extremist networks,” said US Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby, adding that the US Defence Department had not yet seen the report.

‘Informational’  

The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says the report – on the state of the Taliban – fully exposes for the first time the relationship between the Pakistani intelligence service (ISI) and the Taliban.

The report is based on material from 27,000 interrogations with more than 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters and civilians.

It notes: “Pakistan’s manipulation of the Taliban senior leadership continues unabatedly”. It says that Pakistan is aware of the locations of senior Taliban leaders.

The report states: “As this document is derived directly from insurgents it should be considered informational and not necessarily analytical.”

Despite Nato’s strategy to secure the country with Afghan forces, the secret document details widespread collaboration between the insurgents and Afghan police and military.

Lt Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said the document was “a classified internal document that is not meant to be released to the public”.

“It is a matter of policy that documents that are classified are not discussed under any circumstances,” he said.

The report also depicts the depth of continuing support among the Afghan population for the Taliban, our correspondent says.

It paints a picture of al-Qaeda’s influence diminishing but the Taliban’s influence increasing, he adds.

Taliban influence

In a damning conclusion, the document says that in the last year there has been unprecedented interest, even from members of the Afghan government, in joining the Taliban cause.

It adds: “Afghan civilians frequently prefer Taliban governance over the Afghan government, usually as a result of government corruption.”

The report has evidence that the Taliban are purposely hastening Nato’s withdrawal by deliberately reducing their attacks in some areas and then initiating a comprehensive hearts-and-minds campaign.

It says that in areas where Isaf has withdrawn, Taliban influence has increased, often with little or no resistance from government security forces. And in many cases, with the active help of the Afghan police and army.

When foreign soldiers leave, Afghan security forces are expected to take control.

However according to the report, rifles, pistols and heavy weapons have been sold by Afghan security forces in bazaars in Pakistan.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16821218