AISSF Rejects Amendment to Anand Karaj Act

Demands Amendment to Article 25 to Restore Separate Identity of Sikhism

May 8, 2012. All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) rejected the amendments to Anand Karaj Act 1909 as proposed under under a new Bill Anand Marriage Amendment – 2012. The new bill that was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Law Minister Salman Khurshid amends the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, by inserting a new Section enabling registration of marriages performed as per the Sikh rituals.

AISSF President Karnail Singh Peermohammad stated that proposed amendments to Anand Marriage Act does not give separate identity to Sikh religion as propagated by various advocates and law minister. The Government’s action of forcing Sikhs to follow Hindu Acts is discrimination against Sikh community and is an open attack on the Sikh identity and is in violation of “equal rights” provided under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India.

As per Article 14 & 15 of the Constitution, the Government cannot deny Sikhs to have Separate Acts as Muslim, Christians, Parsis and Jews already have their own acts for Inheritance, disposition of property, adoption and registering marriages added Peermohammad.

AISSF President Karnail Singh Peermohammad stated that it took Government more than sixty years after independence to propose a change in Hindu Marriage Act, which is a failure on the part of the Government to grant separate identity to Sikhs, while keeping a status quo on Inheritance, disposition of property, adoption laws for which again Sikhs have to follow Hindu acts.

AISSF President stated that Amendment to article 25 of the Constitution of India is the only Solution that is acceptable to Sikhs since it will give Sikhism a separate identity.  Sikhism which is a separate religion and is acknowledged as such throughout the world, except in Indian legal system and Article 25 of the Constitution of India has amalgamated Sikhism into Hindu religion. Sikhs across the world object to this undermining of their religious identity and demand restoration of separate identity and status of their religion-Sikhism in Indian Constitution.

Ever since the promulgation of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, Sikhs have opposed it and demanded restoration of their religion’s separate status. The struggle of Sikhs to have their religion recognized as a separate and distinct religion has resulted in extreme repression of Sikhs by the Indian government added Peermohammad.

On May 15, a memorandum will be submitted to PM Manmohan Singh demanding amendment to Article 25, which is the root cause of all issues related to separate identity of Sikhs in India. AISSF will launch an international campaign to bring consensus among Sikhs and to force Government of India to amend Article 25 of the Constitution of India granting Sikhism a separate identity.

Issued by :
Karnail Singh Peermohammad, President, AISSF
M: 98144-99503
aissf_news@yahoo.com
http://www.aissf.in

The Tribune – Jalandhar tragedy; Divisional Commissioner begins probe

Varinder Singh, Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 8. Divisional Commissioner SR Ladhar has started a probe into the April 15 Shital Fibre building collapse which killed 23 workers and left dozens injured.

An exhaustive probe into the incident from technical point of view is already underway by a team of engineers headed by Technical Adviser to the Chief Minister Lieut Gen. BS Dhaliwal (retd).

Ladhar will ascertain the apparent reasons of the mishap. He will also make suggestions on how to avoid such disasters in future.

Ladhar today inspected the site. He was accompanied by ADC Parneet Bhardwaj, SDM Iqbal Sandhu, Nakodar SDM Sumeet Kumar and industrialist Narinder Saggoo. He said he would complete his probe within one month.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120509/punjab.htm#12

The Tribune – Preneet takes up Patiala rail link issue with panel

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 8. Union Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur has requested the Planning Commission of India to clear the Jakhal-Narwana to Patiala via Samana rail line at the earliest, which was included in the 2009-10 Railway Budget.

In a communication addressed to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia last week the Minister apprised him that the railways authorities had confirmed that the project had been referred to the Planning Commission.

She said, “Samana being comparatively backward, considering its socio-economic status, this rail line is an urgent necessity to provide proper rail connectivity in this area.”

Preneet had recently reviewed with the Railway Minister and the Chairman of the Railway Board some demands pertaining to Patiala, which included new rail link, stoppage of Shatabdi Express at Rajpura and re-routing of some trains to Amritsar via Patiala.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120509/punjab.htm#10

The Hindu – Armed forces asked to meet new challenges

Sandeep Joshi

New Delhi, 8 May 2012. Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Tuesday said India was raising an offensive Corps and taking steps to boost its preparedness along the border with China. Nobody should expect “dramatic” results from talks on Siachen with Pakistan, even as India continues to insist on proper authentication of Pakistan troop positions at the highest militarised zone, before any disengagement is undertaken there.

Expressing concern at growing military ties between Pakistan and China, Mr. Antony, while replying to a discussion on the performance of his Ministry in the Rajya Sabha, said the Indian armed forces have been issued a directive to change their strategy to meet the challenges presented by the two hostile nations.

“We have given a new directive to our armed forces to meet the new challenges, in the context of the new threat faced by the country. After analysis of the threat perception, we have found that the picture is problematic,” he said.

The Minister noted that India faced a “volatile and dangerous” neighbourhood. “No one can predict the situation that will prevail tomorrow. What will be the situation in Afghanistan — no one can predict. We cannot predict the political future of some of our neighbouring countries.”

On Siachen, Mr. Antony said: “Some people have said we are hardening our position; some say we have softened the position. We have neither hardened nor softened our position. We are standing where we were.”

The 13 round of Defence Secretary-level talks on Siachen would take place in June second week. “Don’t expect dramatic results [from the next round of talks]… It is a complicated issue.”

Mr. Antony said the government was strengthening the defence capabilities. “Under the 12th Defence Plan, we have sent a proposal to the Finance Ministry to raise an offensive Corps with two special divisions, and it is in final stages. The force-level has been increased substantially. We had earlier approved raising of two mountain divisions, along with a Special Forces battalion, an artillery brigade and an armoured regiment for deployment in the northeast sector,” he said.

“If China can strengthen its capabilities in Tibet, then we can also build capabilities in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh,” the Minister asserted.

Defence budget

On defence expenditure, he said: “We will need to have a second look at the defence budget… We have been given Rs 1.93 lakh crore this year, but as per the estimated requirement of the armed forces, we would want Rs 2.39 lakh crore. We want Rs 45,716 crore more. I have asked the government to provide us more money.”

Mr. Antony pointed out that large-scale import of arms was another area of concern. The government was working towards replacing the foreign vendors with indigenous production.

“I hope that in the years to come, we would be able to replace foreign vendors in our country,” he added.

Referring to the delay in taking action on the alleged bribe offer to Army Chief General V. K. Singh, Mr. Antony said he had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the matter as soon as the matter came into public domain. “That day [when General Singh reported the matter to him] I didn’t do anything… I accept that I didn’t take action, I don’t deny that. The Army Chief didn’t want to pursue it then, so I didn’t take action.”

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3397675.ece

8 April 2012 Easter Sunday walk

Begijnhof – Beguinage

Begijnhof – Beguinage

Begijnhof – Beguinage

Begijnhof – Beguinage

To see more Belgium (mostly Limburg) pictures :

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

More Belgium pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Minister moves HC; Tota Singh may quit on moral grounds

Akash Ghai, Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 8. Pressure is mounting on Agriculture Minister Tota Singh to submit his resignation from the Cabinet on moral grounds. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who has sought legal opinion on the issue, has been told that the minister has no legal obligation to quit.

Tota Singh has reportedly told his supporters that he will not hesitate to resign if asked by the Chief Minister to do so .

Badal, talking to mediapersons at Mohali, where he laid the foundation stone of Punjab Olympic Bhawan in Phase IX, said he was yet to go into the details of the judgement. “All I can say is that the minister may resign on moral grounds if he feels so, but there is no legal necessity for him to quit ”. A Mohali court had on May 5 held Tota Singh guilty of misusing the official vehicle of the school education board during his tenure as Education Minister from 1997 to 2002.

Chandigarh: Agriculture Minister Tota Singh today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging a trial court orders of convicting and sentencing him in a corruption case.

The appeal is expected to come up for hearing on Thursday. Tota Singh, in his appeal, has argued that he was given a private vehicle with unlimited fuel and there was no need for him to misuse his official car.

The minister also submitted that the lower court, in its judgment, had cast serious aspersions on the investigating agency. The court had held that the investigating agency had deliberately not collected evidence against Tota Singh.

The minister submitted that the investigating agency was biased against him and he was implicated in the case.

In its 75-page judgement, the Mohali court had issued show-cause notices to three witnesses, asking them to explain why perjury proceedings should not be initiated against them for misleading the court.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120509/punjab.htm#6

Dawn – Triple attacks kill 12 in Afghanistan

Kabul, 9 May 2012. Afghan officials say seven Afghan policemen, four Education Ministry employees and a body guard have been killed in three separate attacks.

Gawas Malayar, deputy police chief in Farah province, says a roadside bomb killed five police officers Tuesday in Pusht Rod district in western Afghanistan.

Din Mohammad Darwesh, a spokesman for the governor of Logar province in the east, says two other policemen were killed Tuesday when Taliban militants ambushed them in a bazaar near the provincial capital of Pul-e-Alam.

Khorshid Aman, the chief of Urgun district of Paktika province, says a group of employees of the Education Ministry was traveling from the district to the provincial capital of Sharan when the militants ambushed their two vehicles.

The top education official in the province and one other person in the group also were wounded in Tuesday’s attack.

Separately, Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke on the phone Tuesday to relatives of civilians killed in Nato airstrikes that he says run the risk of turning the recently signed US-Afghan partnership agreement into a “meaningless” document.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/09/triple-attacks-kill-12-in-afghanistan/