The Tribune – Sikh leaders hail Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha nod to marriage Bill

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 22. With both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passing the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012, there is a sense of jubilation among the Sikhs. Talking to The Tribune, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said it is indeed a commendable achievement for which he thanked all the MPs who rose above the party lines to extend their support to the Bill.

He said it will help in establishing separate Sikh identity across the globe. SGPC Chief Avtar Singh Makkar said it is a matter of great happiness as it has been a long-pending demand of Sikhs. He said the move will facilitate registration of Sikh marriages under the Anand Marriage Act. SGPC Secretary Dalmegh Singh also hailed the nod given to the Bill by both the Houses of Parliament.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh, who played a significant role in it, said, “This is a historic day as the separate identity of the Sikhs has been recognized in India for the first time. As per the Act, the Sikhs will now get a Sikh Marriage Certificate. Earlier, they were getting a Hindu Marriage Act certificate. I moved this Bill in the parliament in 2007 and got the approval of the Parliamentary Standing Committee.”

DSGMC Chief Paramjit Singh Sarna said the Bill’s passage in the Rajya Sabha and subsequently in the Lok Sabha exhibits the sincerity of the Congress-led UPA government towards the Sikh issues. He lauded Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh who himself participated in the Rajya Sabha proceedings when the Bill was passed. He hoped that the government will soon resolve the other Sikh issues as well.

Former SGPC Secretary Manjeet Singh Calcutta said this is for the first time ever that the Sikhs don’t have to put up a “morcha” or resort to protest to get their demands accepted. He showered praises on former Rajya Sabha member Tarlochan Singh who led the RS members in support of the Bill. He said after the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012 the next aim of Sikhs should be the amendment in Article 25-B of the Indian constitution. “The Sikh intellectuals and well-wishers who are concerned about maintaining separate Sikh identity should start making efforts in this direction after taking the consent of the Akal Takht,” he added.

Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh said though it is a positive step yet a partial relief, as Sikhs need a comprehensive personal law which should address all the issues related to their exclusive identity. He said it was a fact that the amendments made in the Anand Marriage Act-1909 were insufficient and did not fully resolve the identity crisis of the Sikhs. “Sikhs can’t afford to leave the social problem of divorce unaddressed,” he pointed out. He said the only solution to the identity crisis was abrogation of Article 25 (b) (2) of the constitution which clubs Sikhs with Hindus.

Dr Rajwant Singh, President of EcoSikh, has also welcomed the passage of the Bill in Parliament.

In Delhi, Tarlochan Singh, former chairman of the National Minorities Commission, welcomed the amendment to the Anand Marriage Act. “I had moved a private members Bill in 2007 which was approved by the standing committee of Parliament,” he said.

Tarlochan termed it as ‘historic day’ saying a separate identity for Sikhs has been recognised for the first time and thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Law Minister Salmaan Khurshid.

Delhi Sikh Gurdawara Management Committee chief Parmjit Singh Sarna thanked UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi saying the nod to the Bill shows the seriousness of the UPA towards issues of the Sikhs.

Journey of the Bill

- The Bill was moved in the Rajya Sabha as a private member’s Bill by MP Tarlochan Singh in June 2007

- It aimed at amending the 1909 Act to provide for separate registration of Sikh marriages

- On August 29, 2011, the Centre decided to drop the proposal saying such a step will lead to similar demands from other communities

- On April 12, 2012, the Cabinet cleared the Bill to amend Anand Karaj Act 1909

- The Bill was introduced in the Parliament on May 7

- The Rajya Sabha passed it on Monday and the Lok Sabha passed it on Tuesday in record time

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120523/nation.htm#7

The Tribune – Sikhs move a step closer to separate marriage law

Aditi Tandon, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 22. The Sikh dream of a separate register of marriages within the community is all set to be realised with Parliament today passing the long-pending amendment to the Anand Karaj Act 1909 that does not provide for such registrations. Once the President assents to the Bill, it will become a law, allowing the Centre to direct states to maintain separate registers of marriages for Sikhs and designate separate bodies to register such weddings.

A day after the Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the Anand Karaj Amendment Bill, 2012 (which inserts in the old Act a clause allowing registration of Sikh marriages solemnised under the ‘Anand Karaj’ ritual), the Lok Sabha also approved the draft legislation with a voice vote. The Cabinet had earlier cleared the legislation, which lacks a provision for divorce.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid described the passage of the Bill by the two Houses in a record time of two days as a significant step forward for the Sikhs. “This is a very significant step. I know we have delayed the Bill but I am happy we have passed it. The passage sends a symbolic message to all citizens of India that their aspirations would be regarded.”

Only last August, Khurshid had told Parliament that the Centre had decided to drop the proposal to allow a separate marriage registration law for Sikhs. He had justified the move saying it would trigger similar demands from other religions covered under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. So far, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists are required to register marriages under the Hindu law.

For the Sikhs, today’s move is just the beginning of a long struggle for separate personal laws. The only Sikh MP who raised this matter today was Congress Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa. He demanded separate personal laws for Sikhs and said the current amendment would only lead to further complications.

“This is a technical amendment and is confined to marriage registration. It simply validates the Sikh ritual of ‘Anand Karaj’ and doesn’t provide for divorces. It won’t help NRIs. It will complicate matters as foreigners won’t be able to understand the meaning of Anand Karaj.

If the Centre is serious about helping Sikhs, it must enact separate personal laws for them. Such laws should cover marriages, divorces, maintenance and succession, adoption and guardianship issues. That would result in real benefit to the community,” Bajwa said. Hindus, Christians, Parsis and Muslims have their own personal laws, he added. The Tribune has been stating how the Anand Karaj Amendment Act is incomplete without a provision for divorce.

Bajwa apart, other Sikh MPs – starting from Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Badal, Sher Singh Gubaya and Paramjit Gulshan to Congress’ Ravneet Bittu – supported the amendment, calling it historic and saying that it would fulfill a long standing demand of the community.

The Akali Dal reiterated its demand of amendment to Article 25 of the Constitution that defines Sikhs as Hindus for the purposes of opening up places of worship to people from all communities. The Constitution Review Commissionset up during the NDA regime had recommended changes to the said Article that defines Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains as Hindus.

Akali Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal, while initiating the debate on the Bill today, said, “For the Sikhs, separate identity is an emotional and religious issue. It is not political. This amendment will help 3 million NRI women who routinely face problems on account of lack of a separate law to register Sikh marriages. It will secure the Sikh identity to an extent. But it will remain incomplete until Article 25 of the Constitution is amended and Sikhs granted identity as a separate religion that it is.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120523/main2.htm

The Hindu – Indian couple held for fraud

Hasan Suroor

London, 23 May 2012. In a second case of its kind in less than a week, two Indians have been jailed for running an immigration racket, following an investigation by the Home Office.

Srinath Aredla (39) and Santosh Koletti (33), both from London, were sentenced to a total of 11 years after they were found guilty of “conspiracy to defraud” by running bogus companies that helped people settle in Britain illegally.

Aredla was sentenced to six-and-a-half years, while Koletti was sentenced to four-and-a-half years.

The U.K. Border Agency, which enforces immigration rules, said it estimated that they made more than £800,000 by supplying fake documents, such as payslips, to support their clients’ applications for stay in Britain as highly skilled migrants.

The scandal was detected when the Home Office noticed a large number of applications from employees of one group of companies that were being dealt with by a particular solicitor. The men were arrested in August last year after a raid on their properties in Hounslow, West London.

“This was a sophisticated scandal, which netted the perpetrators a large amount of money — we estimate around £800,000.

That Aredla was prepared to misuse his position as a practising solicitor to help people break the law makes his offence all the more serious. And not only will the pair face deportation after serving their sentences, we have also begun Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings to prevent them from benefiting financially from their crimes,” a spokesman said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/article3447103.ece

Sint-Truiden – Brussel – Bristol vv 19/04 – 25/04 2012

On the 19th of April I went to Vilvoorde and on the 20th I travelled from Vilvoorde to Bristol via Brussel and  London. I returned from Bristol to Sint-Truiden on the 25th of April.

21 April, Bristol, River Avon, Floating Harbour

21 April, Bristol, River Avon, Floating Harbour

21 April, Bristol, River Avon, Floating Harbour, Harbour Steam Train

21 April, Bristol, River Avon, Floating Harbour, Harbour Steam Train

21 April, Bristol, River Avon, Floating Harbour, Harbour Steam Train

To see more UK pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157627296796095/

More UK pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Omar turns people-centric at 5-hour interactive meet

Arun Joshi, Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 22. It was meant to be a CM’s show at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre, Srinagar on Monday evening. But it came with a difference: from 4 pm to 9.45 pm, Omar Abdullah looked reflective, unusually self-effacing, his gravitas lurching to a more down-to-earth approach than what has been in evidence since he came to power three years ago.

The CM was interacting with civil society members, who like him, looked equally weighed down by the deaths of 368 infants at Srinagar’s GB Pant Hospital, the seemingly unending power outages, the rains and snow that have damaged the fruit crop.

“The CM appeared a changed person,” remarked Haji Jan Mohammad Koul, president Kashmir Traders Federation. “After all, the unprecedented five-hour interaction was a two-way traffic, where Omar took notes and appeared people-centric, laughed and made us to laugh too,” said Koul.

Many recall the 2010 unrest when he was repeatedly advised by Home Minister P Chidambarm to “reach out to the people”. Or the taunts he received for not visiting Shopian after the alleged rape and murder of two women there. In that backdrop,

Omar’s latest initiative with the people is seen as a sort of new beginning for him.

Omar is no longer “a happy to be CM” kind, said a ministerial colleague. Omar is aware he is facing a tough political competition both from within the coalition government and outside. That’s perhaps why he has gone back to the basics of politics: the people.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120523/main5.htm

Dawn – Steps urged to curb ‘forced conversion’

Iftikhar A. Khan

Islamabad, May 15: Speakers at a seminar on Tuesday called for urgent steps to curb the forced conversion of religion and suggested formation of a national commission for minorities to address such social issues effectively.

The seminar was organised by the Ministry of National Harmony.

The speakers also supported strengthening the jirga system to check the social evil.

The seminar, however, failed to come up with concrete proposals to solve the issue in more effective manner.

Representatives of National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), NGOs, officials and diplomats of different countries attended the seminar.

Minister for National Harmony Dr Paul Bhatti while speaking on the occasion said poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and social injustice made the victims an easy target for forced conversions.

Dr Makesh Kumar Malani, Maulana Mohammad Hussain Akbar, Raja Tri Dev Roy,  Bahram D Avari, Ms Samia Raheel Qazi, Bishop Humphery Peter, Hafiz Hussain Ahamad, Bajan Das Tanwani, Maulana Roohallah Madni, Maulana Tariq Usmani also addressed the seminar.

Dr Paul stressed the need of bringing poor minority peasants into mainstream of economic and social uplift as a long term solution to this problem. “We can encourage small cottage industry in areas which are more vulnerable,” he observed.

The minister assured to use his good offices to raise the voice of oppressed at all forums. He even offered to approach various public or private banks to seek small loans for poor minority people to help them get stronger economically.

He called for preparing educational curriculum on such a pattern that it promoted inter-faith harmony. “I have a plan to establish a University for Arts and Religions at Islamabad, where respect for all religions will be taught. It will make Pakistan a tolerant and peace loving country on the map of the world,” Dr Paul said.

Bishop Peter Jacob said that the white colour in the Pakistans flag represented minorities, but they were not getting even their due rights. He also criticised Article 2-A inserted in the constitution during General Ziaul  Haq’s regime to make Objectives Resolution substantive part of the constitution.

Raheela Samia Qazi observed that the Muslims and Pakistan were being targeted under a conspiracy following the 9/11 episode. She said the alleged incident of abduction of three Hindu girls in Sindh and their conversion to Islam was also propagated as part of the same conspiracy.

She pointed out that Faryal (Rinkle Kumari), Haleema (Asha Kumari) and Hafsa (Dr Lata) had told the Apex Court that they wanted to live with their husbands.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/16/steps-urged-to-curb-forced-conversion-2/