The Tribune – Sharjah Case, Tears, joy, resolve as 17 youths meet kin

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 12. It was an emotional reunion for 17 youths – who returned to India from the United Arab Emirates – with their families at the Golden Temple here on Tuesday.

A majority of them met their families, who were camping in Amritsar since Monday evening, after a gap of five to seven years. The youths, facing death sentence for the murder of a Pakistani, were released by UAE authorities after they paid Rs 5.3 crore as blood money to the victim’s family.

The youths — 16 from Punjab and one from Haryana — landed at New Delhi on Tuesday morning and reached Amritsar in the evening. Most of them are school dropouts who had gone to the Arab nation to augment their family’s income.

Dressed up in a bright yellow salwar kameez, Ranjit Kaur from Jhoke Tehal Singh Wala village in Ferozepur district, screamed with joy after seeing her husband Dharampal Singh. She was accompanied by her five-and-a-half -year-old son. “It’s for the first time that he (Dharampal) is meeting his son,” she said.

Dharampal says he will now till his five-acre land to earn a living. “I went in search of greener pastures and avoided this easily available option (farming),” he said. He moved to Dubai in September 2007 after paying Rs one lakh to a Jalandhar-based agent to work as a carpenter. “The initial few months were okay. I used to earn Rs 15,000 per month. But soon the private company, which had hired me, ran into some trouble and I was rendered jobless,” he said.

Tears rolled down the cheeks of Jaswinder Kaur of Kukrana village in Moga as she hugged her son Kuldeep Singh (28) after a gap of five years.

Holding her son’s hand firmly, she said she would never allow him to travel out of the country for a job. Kuldeep said his first priority would be to clear the debt lakh his family had taken to send him abroad.

Kuldeep, also a carpenter, said he was fleeced by the private company that had hired him. “They had promised to give me Rs 12,000 per month, but they paid only half the amount,” claimed Kuldeep.

Kashmir Singh of Rattu Ke Village in Tarn Taran says he wants to give his daughters a quality life. A skilled mason, he flew to Dubai with the help of a relative to increase his monthly income in 2007. His hopes, however, were dashed as the company where he was employed failed.

As many as 14 out of 17 youths were staying together in a villa when they were arrested on January 26, 2009. In total, 70 persons from different countries, including, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, were living together to curtail their expenses.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130213/main3.htm

The Tribune – Operation Bluestar memorial; Split in Youth Cong over protest

Jaswant Shetra

Jagraon, June 19. Differences have cropped up in the state Youth Congress over the issue of opposing the construction of a memorial at the Golden Temple in memory of those killed during Operation Bluestar.

State Youth Congress chief Bikram Choudhry had declared to hold a protest on June 20 against the construction of the memorial. But the announcement has not gone down well with some Youth Congress leaders who have openly declared to boycott the protest.

Raising his voice against the protest, Kamaljit Singh Brar, Punjab Youth Congress general secretary and son of former Congress MLA from Baghapurana Darshan Singh Brar, said, “This issue is connected to the religious sentiments of the Sikh community and therefore, the state Youth Congress should not appose the construction of the memorial.”

Brar said, “No political party should mix politics with religious issues as this could disturb the communal harmony and peace in the state. He added that the Youth Congress should raise its voice against injustice being done to people and other social evils prevailing in the state.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120620/punjab.htm#9

The Tribune – EcoSikh to launch ‘Green Amritsar’ drive

Amritsar: Dr Rajwant Singh, president of EcoSikh, plans to launch ‘Green Amritsar’ campaign. In November last year, Amritsar joined the Green Pilgrimage Network as one of the nine founding member cities in Assisi, Italy. EcoSikh will celebrate its third anniversary here on June 30. Dr Rajwant Singh plans to conduct a leadership training workshop in Ludhiana during his trip to India. (TNS)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120613/punjab.htm#top

The Tribune – Special to the Tribune; A celebration of the history & exquisite artistry of Golden Temple

Shyam Bhatia in London

A labour of love has gone into the creation of a massive new book about the Golden Temple that incorporates a comprehensive account of the photographic and visual history of the holy place, including the earliest known image from an 1825 miniature.

Amandeep Singh Madra and his co-author Parmjit Singh are the moving spirits behind this 303-page book that has been published on Friday by Kashi House, the publishing wing of the UK Punjab Heritage Association. The book has been designed by Juga Singh with writing and research back up provided by Harbaksh Singh and Gurdeep Singh Gill.

Critics describe the book as a coffee table presentation, but there is much more substance to “The Golden temple of Amritsar, Reflections of the Past (1808-1959)”, which starts with an impressive and detailed introduction that records pre-Sikh mythology, including the story of the Pandavs, as well as Lav and Kush and the visit of the Buddha. Also detailed are the past acts of destruction, the re-building of the temple and the Great Game played out between the British Empire and its European rivals from France to Russia.

Few can fail to be moved by quotes from the Gurus, such as Guru Arjan Dev, as well as the observations of secular, foreign visitors. Three Englishmen who visited Harmandar Sahib in 1897 had this to say, “It was beautiful, this offering of blushing flowers, the reverence, the meekness, the atmosphere of mysticism, the lavish resplendent wealth, the impressive music, the fascinating Eastern-ness of it all. We came away speaking no words.”

One of the most interesting and shocking stories, extracted from the published account put together by the late Professor Sahib Singh of Khalsa College, Amritsar, concerns the attempted auction of the Golden Temple by the British authorities in 1877.

This is a shock and awe story related to an actual miracle that happened when a ball of lightning that entered the temple in April 1877 from one door while the congregation inside was at prayer, hovered above the Guru Granth Sahib and disappeared through the opposite door, leaving everyone in a sense of shock. The shocked British authorities were told of the miracle on the morning they were planning to auction the temple. The auction was subsequently cancelled.

The authors also write about the ‘bungas’, the palatial dwellings along the temple periphery that belonged to the Sikh aristocracy, as well as to various religious orders who offered free education in languages and religion, as well as comparative religions. Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s bunga was demolished by the British in 1870 to make way for a clock tower that overshadowed the temple itself. Demolitions of other bungas continued thereafter until none were left by the time of Partition.

Although the book is pricey at £45, it represents a huge amount of effort spanning two years with archives investigated from Delhi to Honolulu, including the uncovering of 70 eyewitness accounts.

Profits from the limited edition of 3,000 copies are to be ploughed back into special new edition of the now out of date and much sought after book, first published in 1999, entitled, “Warrior Saints, 300 years of the Sikh military tradition”.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111231/main5.htm