30 September Panjabi Virsa School
More group fotos
More group fotos
Beautiful sky-blue patka
This might look funny to us, but most Sikhs are unaware of European history
The divan, ragis and Sikh Channel’s equipment
Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Bristol
301-307 Church Road
St George, Bristol BS5 8AA
To see more World and UK Gurdwara pictures :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/4304661200/in/set-72157611278213681
More Bristol & Gloucester pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue
New Delhi, December 29. The entire North India continued to remain in the grip of severe cold with 13 more people succumbing to the chill in Uttar Pradesh, even as the mercury went up by a few notches in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.
Delhiites basked under a sunny day today with the sky remaining clear for most part of the day after a misty morning.
Both maximum and minimum temperatures remained a degree above normal to settle at 21.4 and 8.5 degree Celsius respectively against yesterday’s 19 and 6.3 degrees. The Met office forecasts mainly a clear sky with mist or fog in the morning for tomorrow.
Uttar Pradesh, however, continued to reel under biting cold with 13 more persons dying in the state, taking the toll this winter to 62.
While four persons lost their lives in Hathras district, three died in Kanpur Dehat, followed by two each in Mirzapur and Lalitpur and one each in Chitrakoot and Banda districts.
Muzaffarnagar and Kanpur City remained the coldest places with each recording a minimum of 2 degrees, Met sources said.
Night temperature remained to hover below normal in most parts of the state, dipping by as much as 6 to 11 degrees.
In Himachal also, night temperatures plummeted in the mid and lower hills and hovered around freezing point.
Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district remained the coldest place with a low of minus 4 degrees, followed by Kalpa in Kinnaur district with minus 2.6 degree Celsius.
While Solan and Manali recorded minimums of 1 and 1.6 degrees, Shimla and Sundernagar settled at 3 degrees, Met sources said, adding that Lahaul and Spiti, Rohtang and Kunzam Passes had another spell of moderate snowfall.
Cold wave swept entire Rajasthan too, where Sri Ganganagar shivered at 1.6 degree Celsius followed by Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Churu and Pilani with minimums of 4.4, 5.7, 5.9 and 6.7 degrees.
In Punjab and Haryana, fog threw life out of gear in most parts, even as mercury went up by up to three notches above normal in most parts of the two states.
Rail and road traffic remaining affected, causing inconvenience to commuters. Later, as visibility improved, flights from Chandigarh to various states resumed, though with minor delay, officials said. Narnaul continued to be the coldest place in the region with a minimum of 4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.
Hisar, Ambala and Bhiwani in Haryana had a low of 6.6, 7.8 and 5.6 degrees Celsius respectively. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a minimum of 6.6 degrees, up by three notches above normal while Ludhiana and Patiala had low of 7.9 and 8.5 degrees respectively. (PTI)
Lahore, Saturday 29th December 2012. At least 16 people, mostly drug addicts seeking a fix, have died after drinking toxic cough syrup in Gujranwala, officials said Saturday.
The deaths started occurring Wednesday in the industrial city, some 70 kilometres north of Lahore, with most of the victims drug addicts who took the syrup for intoxication, police and doctors said.
“We have received 54 patients at hospital who said their condition deteriorated after taking cough syrups and 16 of them have died,” local hospital chief doctor Anwar Aman told AFP.
The victims were between 20 to 40 years old and a majority had a history of drug addiction, Aman said, adding that so far the culprit syrup has not been identified.
Senior police official Azam Mehr confirmed the toll and said samples of cough syrups available at local pharmacies have been collected and sent to laboratories.
“Police and health department have started inquiries and investigations into the deaths,” he added.
A report sent to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif by Health Secretary Arif Nadeem on Friday said the ‘killer drug’ had been identified as Dextromethorphan cough syrup manufactured and distributed by Lahore-based Ethical Laboratories (Pvt).
It said the deaths resembled those taking place last month.
At least 19 people, also said to be drug addicts, were killed in November in Lahore after consuming a cough syrup.
In the initial inquiry, Tyno cough syrup, manufactured and distributed by Reko Pharma of Lahore, was held responsible for the deaths that took place in Shahdara area of Lahore.
In the latest report, the health secretary said an excessive dose of active ingredient Dextromethorphan in the cough syrups had caused the death in the incidents this week and in November.
http://dawn.com/2012/12/29/toxic-cough-syrup-kills-16-in-gujranwala-officials/
Jagtar Singh
Chandigarh, Saturday, 29 December 2012. The radical Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa today contested the apprehension raised by Director General of Punjab Police Sumedh Singh Saini about the revival of terrorism and said he was trying to cover up the failure in containing deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The organisation also condoled the death of the girl who was subjected to brutal gang rape in Delhi.
Party chief H S Dhami said it was wrong to link the arrest of militant leader Daljit Singh Bittu and SGPC member Kulbir Singh Barapind with the revival of terrorism and said it was on the ground that state’s political as well as police leadership had some grudges. “Those who are at helm of affairs at political as well as police level be it in state or centre, do not want to see former militants joining and giving politics a try to further their cause”, he added.
Contesting another claim by the DGP that marches organized by radical groups in the month of March-April were aimed at disturbing peace in the state, he said cutting across party lines, the youth hit the streets to save Balwant Singh Rajoana from gallows at the call of Jathedar, Akal Takht and Panthic groups.
He said the DGP had reiterated that during militancy period 1,784 cops had lost their lives, which was very unfortunate because many were targeted just because they were wearing uniform. However, Dhami wondered why the DGP had not revealed how many citizens, that included sympathizers of movement, relatives of militants, human rights activists, lawyers, and ordinary men and women unconnected with the movement, lost their lives at the hands of Punjab cops during those 10 years. The DGP must also tell the numbers of slain militants that were killed by security forces in real and stage managed encounters.
Meanwhile, condoling the death of the girl, he said, “All members of my group join me in mourning the demise of 23 year old woman, who was gang-raped in Delhi”. He demanded that culprits should be handed exemplary punishment so that no one could dare to think of doing such ghastly and barbaric act against woman in future. He said the party was also deeply moved by another shameful incident of rape of Patiala girl, who committed suicide because of inaction of the local police against the rapists and expressed grief and condolences to her family.
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/Dal-Khalsa-contests-DGP-on-revival-of-terrorism-in-Punjab.html
Tribune News Service
Patiala, December 28. Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, Speaker of the Pakistan Provincial Assembly of Punjab, claimed the Pakistan government had respect for every religion here today. Khan, who was on his way to attend a function in Haryana, said Hindus living in Pakistan were safe as the Government of Pakistan treated all its citizens irrespective of his/her religion equally.
Khan said it was wrong to perceive that the Government of Pakistan neglected Hindu citizens because some had migrated to India. “It is an individual’s choice to reside wherever he or she wishes to,” he said.
Asked about the conditions of gurdwaras in Pakistan, Khan said the Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) had handed over the Kar Sewa to Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC). He said that PETPB had been taking care of gurdwaras in Pakistan. The reconstruction work of the gurdwaras would be carried out only after consulting with the Sikhs in India and other parts of the world.
Khan said that the two countries, which had now become nuclear powers, had fought many wars and should work towards a brighter future. He said that he strongly favoured easing visa norms on both the sides in order to promote people to people contact.
Mohit Khanna, Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, December 28. Ten women are being raped in the state every week and 40 women every month. According to information obtained under the RTI Act, as many as 4,974 rape cases have been registered in the past 10 years (2002 to 2012).
Investigations in 251 rape cases is still pending while in 309 cases the accused could not be traced and 479 cases were cancelled. This information was given to Karandeep Singh Kairon, president, People for Literacy who filed an RTI petition on August 11, seeking details of rape cases.
In the Union Territory, 43.7 per cent of households are headed by women
New Delhi, 29 December 2012. The Union Territory of Lakshadweep, which has to its credit the youngest MP in the Lok Sabha, now has another feather in its cap — it has the largest number of households headed by women in the country.
The Lakshadweep group of islands, off the western coast, has 43.7 per cent of households headed by women.
Its MP Hamdullah Sayeed is the youngest in the Lok Sabha at 30 years.
Kerala, where some communities follow the matriarchal system, comes next with 23 per cent homes headed by women.
In India, about 27 million households, constituting nearly 11 per cent of the total households, are headed by women.
This finding was revealed in a census of “Female Headed Households” released here on Friday by Minister of State for Home Affairs R P N Singh.
Inaugurating a National Data Dissemination Workshop organised by the Registrar-General and Census Commissioner, India, the Minister said such detailed statistics would help the Planning Commission and the government in finalising schemes properly.
He pointed out that “significant improvement” had been achieved in quality of houses but access to drinking water, electricity and sanitation were the areas where more needed to be done.
C. Chandramouli, Registrar-General and Census Commissioner of India, presented the highlights of Census 2011.
Less than half — 48 per cent — of the number of female-headed households have a toilet within the premises, while just over half — 59 per cent — of such homes have bathing facilities within the premises.
Other findings of the census are:
There are about 49 lakh single-member female households in the country with three-fourths of them living in rural areas.
In seven States — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat — the proportion of single member female-headed households is more than 20 per cent.
The proportion of male-headed households has declined by 0.6 per cent in 2011 compared to 2001 while proportion of female-headed households has increased by 0.5 per cent in the same period.
More than 60 per cent of female-headed households have permanent houses while in the case of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the percentage of such homes is at 55.8 and 33.4 respectively.
Members in around 18 per cent of female-headed households have to trudge more than 500 metres in urban areas and one kilometre in rural areas to access drinking water.
Around 45 per cent women-headed families live on one-room premises.
Around 45 per cent of these homes have television, in comparison to 47.5 per cent in male-headed homes.
The detailed findings on “Female Headed Households” can also be seen on the website of Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India at http://www.censusindia.gov.in. (IANS)
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/its-women-power-in-lakshadweep-households/article4249796.ece
30 September 2012
The baptism of the grandchild of our friend the College Chaplain
The baby’s father
Javinder Singh Bristol Wala
Looking very smart !
I think this is the sister of the grandfather
Baba’s acquire many aunties and uncles on a day like this
Panjabi Virsa School Bristol UK
The obligatory group photo
Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Bristol
301-307 Church Road
St George, Bristol BS5 8AA
To see more UK general pictures :
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More Bristol & Gloucester pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue
Mumbai, December 28. Corporate icon Ratan Tata today retired as chairman of the Tata Group after a 50-year run, predicting that India’s growth will re-establish after the “passing phase” of a difficult environment that would most likely continue in 2013.
Turning 75 today, he kept away from the Bombay House headquarters of the $100 billion group, but instead spent time with employees in the manufacturing facilities of Tata Motors in Pune.
“At the request of the union, I spent the day — my last day prior to retirement – at the Tata Motors’ various manufacturing facilities at Pune to say farewell to my shop floor colleagues. We have been together in good times and bad and have gained closeness based on mutual trust,” he tweeted.
He said in his Twitter message that going to the plants and receiving greetings from so many colleagues was a great emotional experience. “I have been deeply moved by the sincerity and spontaneity of their greetings. I will always carry memories of this day with me through the rest of my life,” Tata said. In a farewell letter to all employees, he asked them to live by the value systems and ethical standards the group had followed all along.
Cyrus Mistry, the 44-year-old chairman-designate who is likely to take over as Tata Group chairman tomorrow, visited the office today. He was groomed for the assignment by Tata for a year. He chose group company Tata Motors’ sedan Indigo Manza to travel to work on a day that marked the end of an era.
The narrow lane leading to Bombay House, one of the oldest buildings in the heritage Fort area of south Mumbai, had heavy media presence since morning in anticipation of Tata visiting Bombay House. (PTI)
Saturday, 29 December 2012. A female student gang-raped on a bus in India’s capital Delhi has died at a Singapore hospital, doctors say.
The 23-year-old had arrived in Singapore on Thursday after undergoing three operations in a Delhi hospital.
The attack earlier this month triggered violent public protests in India that left one police officer dead.
As news of the student’s death spread across social media in India, police sealed off large parts of central Delhi and appealed for calm.
The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder tweeted that the centre of Delhi resembled a fortress, with armed police and riot troops maintaining a heavy presence.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was “very saddened” and promised to channel “emotions and energies” into a course of action.
Six men have been arrested and two police officers have been suspended following the 16 December attack.
A statement from the hospital said the woman “passed away peacefully” early on Saturday with her family by her side.
“The patient had remained in an extremely critical condition since admission to Mount Elizabeth Hospital,” hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh said.
“She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome.
“We are humbled by the privilege of being tasked to care for her in her final struggle,” Mr Loh said.
A team of eight specialists had tried to keep the patient stable, but her condition continued to deteriorate over the two days she was at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, he added.
Officials from the Indian High Commission were also present when the patient passed away. The Indian home minister said the government had decided to send the victim overseas on the recommendation of her doctors.
Arrangements are being made to take her body back to India, said Indian high commissioner to Singapore T C A Raghavan.
“The requisite formalities for sending the body are being completed. The deceased and family members to be flown out in a chartered aircraft later today,” Mr Raghavan said.
In a statement issued in Delhi, Prime Minister Singh said: “It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channelise these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action.
“The need of the hour is a dispassionate debate and inquiry into the critical changes that are required in societal attitudes.
“Government is examining… the penal provisions that exist for such crimes and measures to enhance the safety and security of women. I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests… to help us all reach the end that we all desire – making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in.”
Rising anger
The victim and her friend had been to see a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area of Delhi, intending to travel to Dwarka in the south-west of the city.
Demonstrators shout slogans as they are surrounded by the police during a protest rally in New Delhi.
The woman’s case has sparked public debate as well as several days of protests across India.
Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, and both she and her companion were beaten with iron bars and thrown out of the moving bus and into the street.
On arrival at the hospital in Singapore, doctors said that as well as a “prior cardiac arrest, she also had infection of her lungs and abdomen, as well as significant brain injury”.
The government has tried to halt rising public anger by announcing a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.
These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.
The government has also said that it will post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to shame them.
It has set up two committees – one looking into speeding up trials of cases involving sexual assaults on women, and the other to examine the lapses that might have led to the incident in Delhi.
But the protesters say the government’s pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough – many are calling for the death penalty.
Since the Delhi incident, several cases have been highlighted of authorities failing to respond to reported rapes.
On Wednesday, a woman committed suicide in the state of Punjab, after having tried to report to police a rape which allegedly took place last month, local media reports said.
At least one police officer involved in the case has been sacked, according to local officials.
