There is something unique and central in the faiths that the men-in-arms professed to have made it incumbent upon men of different religions Christian, Sikh, Muslim and Hindu to have lived and fought and died together”. Thus wrote Major General Mohindar Singh Chopra, founder of The Jullundur Brigade Association in 1989, at the 75th anniversary of the first battle of Neuve Chapelle. 25 years later, those emotive words were recalled…
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December 25, 2022: Mikey Hothi, whose parents are from India, has been unanimously elected as the mayor of Lodi city in northern California, becoming the first Sikh to hold the top position in the city’s history. Hothi was nominated by newly-elected councilwoman Lisa Craig, who won election to mayor Mark Chandler’s seat in November and was unanimously selected vice mayor during Wednesday’s meeting. He represents the council’s fifth district and…
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23rd December 2022 is in historic day for the Sikh Community in the United States of America, as 24 million students can now learn about Sikhism or Sikh faith, in their school curriculum for the first time ever. In spite of Sikhism being the fifth largest religion in the world and the Sikh community has contributed immensely to American society in the fields of civil rights, politics, agriculture, engineering, and…
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This subject has become the clarion call for Sikhism. Numerous scholars have written on it; dozens of articles are being written and published about this all over the world. I am not re-visiting this subject for the sake of it but want to share some ‘Case Histories’ which are important as they become the mirror of daily life. They either confirm the application of what the scholars deduce or highlight…
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Speech by HRH the Prince of Wales I must say that I am enormously grateful to Harbinder Singh, for not only his marvelous works – I always enjoy listening to him because I learn a great deal from him about the great history of the Sikhs – but I am particularly grateful to him for having helped put together such a marvelous gathering of the Sikh community here today. Harbinder…
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It might be the undisputed food capital of North India today, but once upon a time, Amritsar was a major textile trading centre too, as Jasvinder Kaur writes: Around 200 years ago, as Maharaja Ranjit Singh, aided by his legendary French generals, was consolidating his kingdom, the latter were introducing rich northern Indian textiles to Europe. At the heart of this trade was Amritsar, the undisputed food capital of North…
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In his prolific writings, Dr IJ Singh has drawn attention to a very vital issue of Sikhism and re-structuring. The training, employment and wages of Granthis have been neglected for far too long. Any type of training, more so of Granthis or Katha Vachaks, requires a professional approach, to ensure consistency of quality. This quality is achieved by building a body of knowledge, careful training of people in that knowledge…
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There are several drawbacks to emigrating, as well as a major gain. One has to recast one’s assumptions and cultural framework in terms of the new, host culture and in a new language. Such transformation is not easy. Since culture and language are inseparably intertwined, many of the religious and cultural concepts cannot be adequately or accurately expressed in a different language. Yet, effective communication requires that we try. The…
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Established by Guru Ramdas, Amritsar owes its name to the sacred tank (amrit sar or the pool of nectar) at the centre of which was laid the foundation of the holiest of Sikh religious shrines by Miyan Mir, a Qadiri Sufi mystic of Lahore, in 1588. Sikh tradition acknowledges the role of Sufi mysticism in its tradition through the inclusion of Baba Farid’s mystical poetry (Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar, a Chishti Sufi…
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S Harbhajan Singh Sapra, now in his 81st year, has written this piece for the next generation of youth, his desire being to present the vitality of Sikhism to those in modern times educational institutions, in India and around the world. Sikhism is the youngest and the most visible amongst the world’s religions, but is not a passive faith. It advocates active participation of mankind in the process of transformation…