Sikh Care Society Heathrow collects £ 367.24 for Sumatra’s Earthquake’s victims
£ 100 from T5 workers, £ 50 from family and the rest from ‘golak’
First Posting on the Kirtan Darbar remembering the birthday of Guru Nanak in 1469
All pictures will gradually be added to the Flickr set on Guru Nanak Gurpurabh ‘09 Southall & Heathrow
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622701631084/

Setting up the room
We had two rooms next to each other, one for the divan and one for the jora ghar (shoe house) and the langar (free Sikh kitchen)

Best Wishes on Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Birthday !

Tall Singh hangs the decorations from the ceiling

 Sikh and Salvation Army Airport Chaplains
those high viz jackets play havock with my pictures

Much More to Follow !
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

Harnam Singh
Sikh Sepoy in the ‘Great War’ of 1914 till 1918

I am busy preparing for interfaith week, for which many of the FE Colleges I work with want my advice and assistance. I am also preparing for the London Regional Forum of the 24^th of November, where London FE Colleges learn about new developments in interfaith work and get some training.

To restrict my time even more I went to Coventry on November 7 to meet my friend Balwant Singh and to visit all the Coventry Gurdwaré and I am writing this during a four-day visit to Belgium to attend the 11/11 Armistice Day commemoration in Ieper.

Saturday 14/11 I will be at an all day Lib Dem London Region conference where I will speak about my work with FE Colleges, Tuesday 17/11 I will be in Birmingham for the Association of Colleges conference and on Friday 20/11 again in Birmingham to discuss the status of the Sikh 5 Ks and turban.

I am not complaining or bragging, just explaining that the interesting and rewarding life that I have been blessed with sometimes gets too interesting.

On 10/11 I went to Belgium by Eurostar and got my kirpan through without too much trouble. From Brussel Zuid station I took a train to Landen and a connecting bus to the Sikh Sangat Gurdwara, Halmaal, St Truiden.

The bad news from St Truiden is that my brother Mohinder Singh, the Gurdwara pradhan, has recently been attacked by some white thugs. The good news is that the Gurdwara held its second Nagar Kirtan where this time the Panj Piaré were allowed to carry their traditional talwar. 

On the afternoon after my arrival I went with Manpreet (Louke) Kaur and Granthi Kewal Singh to an event in the adult education centre where the Flemish equivalent of ESOL classes are given. I spoke with the burgemeester (mayor) about the cultural and religious communities in St Truiden.

The political situation in St Truiden is complicated. I hope that if the mayor loses his job the good work he is doing with the diverse communities of the town will continue.

November 11 is a national holiday in Belgium, and as per usual we went from the Gurdwara by coach to Ieper. The grey sky did not look to threatening, but it also did not really promise sunshine. 

We left late and arrived in Ieper late, we missed the actual parade but were on time for the ceremony at the Menen Gate.

This report on my visit to Belgium will be continued next week. Pictures will appear both on this blog and on my flickr account.

One of these issues must make you want to take part in the mass Sikh Lobby in the UK Parliament on Thursday 19 November 2009 (1.30-6.00PM)

Wednesday, 11 November

Four specific issues will be raised:

1. the campaign for separate Sikh monitoring for the Census 2011 where the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is ignoring the needs of the Sikh community
2. the need for a Code of Practice on Sikh articles of faith where the UK Government has been dragging its heels for over 5 and a half years and Sikhs are experiencing more and more difficulties each day, especially since 9/11
3. how we can exert pressure on the UK Government to take action against those involved in the Genocide of Sikhs in November 1984 – a specific dossier is being produced targeting a number of leading Indian politicians and police officers implicated where we will be requesting UK MPs, the UK government and the EU to exclude entry to these individuals.
4. the death penalty case of Professor Davinderpal Singh Bullar where we will push for the immediate withdrawal of the death sentence imposed and demand a full review of the Professor’s case in accordance with international law, under monitoring by UN observers that could result in his release given he has already spent almost 15 years locked away (more on an Urgent Action Appeal for the Professor will follow)

One of these issues must make you want to take part in the mass Sikh Lobby in the UK Parliament on Thursday 19 November 2009 (1.30-6.00PM)

First post about going from Camden to Brick Lane
Next posts will include pictures of the new East London Line
All pictures will gradually be uploaded on my flickr account
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157614139538921/

Camden Town, Northern Line
Due to having a morning and an afternoon meeting in Central London, with quite a bit of time in between, I had the opportunity to go on this excursion. I was in an office near London Bridge station and took the underground from there to Camden Town.

On the way to Camden Road Overground Station
From Camden Town I walked to Camden Road. The route was well signposted.

Camden Road Station 

Camden Road Station
Looking across the viaduct towards Caledonian Road & Barnsbury. The North London Line makes a dip towards the area where the Euston, St Pancras and King’s Cross rail terminals are.

Camden Road Station
New Overground train ready to take me to Dalston Kingsland

More to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

I am leaving early Tuesday (10/11) morning for Brussel by Eurostar and from there to St Truiden in the east of Belgium. On Wednesday 11/11 we will go to Ieper for the annual World War I armistice day commemoration. I will stay one more day in St Truiden to come back to London on Friday afternoon.

I have uploaded my column, an article on the drowning Maldives and the last pictorial on ‘from Bank to Cyprus’.

I have pictures of the London Underground, of the Heathrow Terminal 5 Guru Nanak celebration and of a visit to Coventry where together with my friend Balwant Singh I toured the local Gurdware. All these pictures will start appearing on my flickr account and a selection will make it to the blog.

Thanks for your ‘custom’
I hope to entertain and teach !

Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue 

 
Sardar Balwant Singh Coventry Wala
Sardar Harjinder Singh Southall Wala
at
Coventry Station

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

Monday, 9 November 2009

By Charles Haviland

The president of the Maldives has strongly criticised the world’s rich countries for doing too little to stem climate change.

Mohamed Nasheed said there was so little money offered to vulnerable nations that it was like arriving at an earthquake with a dustpan and brush.

He was opening a high-level two-day gathering of countries deemed especially at risk from global warming.

The Maldives government says the islands face disaster if oceans rise.

This was an outspoken attack on the G8 rich countries by the leader of a country so low that rising sea levels threaten to submerge most or all of it by 2100. The Maldives stands about 2.1 metres (7ft) above sea level.

President Nasheed said the wealthy nations had pledged to halt temperature rises to 2C, but had refused to commit to the carbon targets that would deliver this.

Glaciers melting

Even with a 2C rise, he added, “we would lose the coral reefs… melt Greenland, and… my country would be on death row”.

“I cannot accept this,” he said.

The Maldives wants the countries at this gathering to follow its own example in aiming to go carbon neutral, switching to renewable energy and offsetting aviation pollution.

Such a bloc of developing countries could change the outcome of next month’s climate change summit in Denmark, the president said, making it morally harder for rich countries not to take action themselves.

The Maldives is hosting about 10 nations vulnerable in different ways – African countries threatened by desertification, mountain ones whose glaciers are melting, large Asian ones affected by floods and typhoons, and other small islands like itself.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8349797.stm

Although the Guru Granth Sahib makes it perfectly clear that Brahminical practices are a waste of effort, many of our fellow Sikhs seem to know better than Guru. There are persistent misconceptions around food that are not supported by the Guru Granth Sahib or the Rehat Maryada. 

The Guru Granth Sahib pokes fun at the Pandits, who think that by creating a cooking square, by drawing a line around them, by cooking everything themselves and keeping others out, they can keep ‘pollution’ out, while from the air all kind of stuff falls on them. 

There is only one thing that I can understand. I do prefer eating food cooked lovingly at home, in the Gurdwara or at a small family run restaurant. Also, I have been a vegetarian much longer than I have been a Sikh. 

But the idea that eating meat is a sin, that I can only eat stuff that has been cooked by fellow Sikhs, the idea that I would be polluted by going into a meat shop, that somebody’s hand over my food pollutes my food, all this makes no sense, it serves no purpose and it is not Sikhí. 

Sikhí is about making an honest living, Sikhí is about always thinking about God, Sikhí is about sharing. Sikhí is about learning to love God and creation, Sikhí is about learning to experience God’s love for us. Sikhí is about giving a positive direction to your lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. 

Ethical behaviour, making a positive contribution to society, defending the defenceless, fighting injustice are part of Sikhí. In ‘Vár Malár Ki’ Guru Nanak writes about meat and he looks at both sides of the argument. Guru does not tell us to be a vegetarian, Guru does not tell us not to be a vegetarian. 

It is clear that a pandit type lifestyle is not what Guru expects from us. 

I knew this family in Panjab where the son and the mother were Amritdhari and the father and two daughters were not. The son was of the Taksali way of thinking and insisted that only his mother could do the cooking and the cooking preparation, otherwise he could not eat with his family. 

As a result the daughters were sitting around being idle, while their mother who did not have very great health was working away in the kitchen. Our brave Amritdhari boy might help in the langar kitchen, but of course would not give his mother a hand. Is this Sikhi ? NO ! 

In Amritsar, before I took Amrit, I could never share the overgenerous helpings of Karah Prasád, that sevadars gave me, with my friends, many of whom were followers of the Taksal or AKJ. They would not accept any food from me. Is this Sikhí ? NO !

This my fifth report on a trip from Bank to Cyprus
To  see all my DLR pictures go to :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157611244941713

Canning Town
Looking to the junction where the trains from Stratford International will join the other two lines and where the Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal line each go their own way.

Canning Town
West bound DLR platform

Cyprus
Students going to UEL

Cyprus
Tower Hill Train

Cyprus
View from the east bound platform

The End
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

Sikh Coalition – United Sikhs – Saldef

Sikh Organizations Condemn Fort Hood Attacks
Urge Community Caution

November 6, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Our national Sikh organizations offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed and wounded in the acts of violence at Fort Hood, Texas yesterday that left 13 dead and 31 wounded.  We unequivocally condemn the actions of the alleged assailant.

We are united in concern and sympathy for the victims and their families, and for the community at Fort Hood.  We urge community members to explore how they can provide support and resources to address the impact of this violence.

As Sikhs, we are regrettably aware that, in the past, similar tragedies have led to the scapegoating of entire communities based on actual or perceived ethnicity, religion, and national origin.   We call on political leaders, the media, and the public to set a tone of unity as the investigation unfolds and the healing process begins.  

We also join together to offer the following recommendations for the Sikh community in order to stay safe from possible misguided retributive violence:

(1) Be Street Smart to Keep Yourself Safe

(2) Develop Proactive Relationships with Local Law Enforcement

• Contact your local police department
• Ask them to work with your community on hate crimes prevention
• Ask them to step up patrols around local Gurdwaras

Here is a sample message that you can use via email or telephone:

Based on the apparent ethnicity of the assailant in the Fort Hood shootings, I am concerned about the possibility of backlash against members of the Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian communities.   Please ensure that an emergency bulletin is issued to local law enforcement agencies and community members to ensure that police officers and the communities they serve take appropriate precautionary measures.  

(3) Know What to Do in Case of an Emergency

(4) Contact Our Organizations if You or Someone You Know is in Danger or a Victim of a Hate Crime

Please feel free to contact legal@sikhcoalition.org.

We are working with our partners in the federal government to implement a national rapid response system to ensure that the Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian communities are safeguarded from hate crimes.

As always, the Sikh Coalition urges all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly. 

This my fourth report on a trip from Bank to Cyprus
To  see all my DLR pictures go to :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157611244941713/

Westferry to Poplar
Beginning of the ’spaghetti junction’ between Westferry, West India Quay and Poplar

Poplar
Trains to/from Bank, Tower Gateway, Lewisham, Stratford, Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal serve this station

Poplar
Beckton train

Poplar

One more posting to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue