ਰਹਿਣੀਰਹੈਸੋਈਸਿਖਮੇਰਾ॥ ਓੁਹਸਾਹਿਬਮੈਉਸਕਾਚੇਰਾ॥

Akal Purakh Kee Rachha Hamnai, SarbLoh Dee Racchia Hamanai


    View Post Listing    |    Search    



WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS WHO NEEDS ENEMIES ?
Posted by: Jarnail Singh "Arshi" Gyani (IP Logged)
Date: June 10, 2008 07:00AM

KULDIP NAYAR IS supposedly a friend of the sikhs...really ?? He cant even tolerate vasakhi being celebrated as a "Sikh" festival.......

Exhortations to revive militancy

By Kuldip Nayar submitted 10 hours 28 minutes ago





Americans are likeable people, but they have lately begun to believe
that they are the rulers of the world. They poke their nose in even the
minutest cultural events of different communities and countries,
without keeping in mind the sensitivity of the others. One such
instance was the commemoration by the American ambassador in London of
Vaisakhi as the New Year of the Sikhs.
The American ambassador in London, Robert Tuttle, declared
Vaisakhi as the New Year of the Sikhs. The Vaisakhi party, which took
the form of a two-hour celebration at the Embassy's Grosvenor Square
premises, including a bhangra performance and speeches by the
ambassador and others, has been likened to the Indian High Commissioner
in London hosting a celebration for the Red Indians.
Describing Vaisakhi as the New Year of the Sikhs is being seen
as offensive and disturbing. Vaisakhi is a secular spring festival
celebrated in North India, especially Punjab, and is not restricted to
the Sikh community alone. Invitations to the London event were sent out
in the name of Ambassador Tuttle, the Loomba Trust and the Sikh Welfare
and Cultural Society in Leicester.
The head of the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society, Resham Singh
Sandhu, commented: "Basically, the ambassador is from California and a
number of Sikhs have lived in California for many years. He wanted to
incorporate the friendship between India, the US and the UK."
All this sounds well, but reports are that a few Sikh militants
were also at the celebrations. The militants are always on the look out
for an opportunity to register their presence. That the American
ambassador should provide a platform is indeed intriguing and
bewildering.
As India's High Commissioner to the UK, I remember how most
gurdwaras in London in the early 1990s were controlled by the militants
who had effectively distanced the Sikh community from India. I was
humiliated when I went to pay obeisance at one of the gurdwaras
controlled by the militants. They shouted: "Indian dogs go back." This
type of behaviour is difficult to imagine at present when all the
gurudwaras are under the control of liberal elements. But my impression
is that the militants are lying low, waiting for the right time. I have
always felt that there are some other forces, egging on the militants
to network their support in Punjab and revive insurgency.
Canada is, of course, another kettle. Here, the militants are
not discouraged. Even the government is soft. This was witnessed when
the trial on the bombing of Air India in midair was going on.
Ultimately, nothing came out of it. Some proceedings of sorts have
begun once again because of New Delhi's pressure. But these proceedings
are informal and will take a legal shape only when some concrete
evidence is available.
However, the scenario has somewhat changed both in the UK and
Canada following the 9/11 incidents. All militants, whatever their
religion, have come under the scan. They are operating in twos and
threes covertly, but the governments are quite hard on them. New
Delhi's advantage is that it is getting information about the militants
from London, Washington and Ottawa, a practice which despite India's
prodding, was not welcomed.
The US embassy function coincides with the concerns that some
vested interests may be trying to revive the Khalistan issue. Last
month, the then London Mayor Ken Livingstone appointed a former member
of a banned Sikh terror group to the board of London Transport.
Dabinderjit Singh was a member of the banned International Sikh Youth
Federation (ISYF) and is a senior member of its successor body, the
Sikh Federation UK.
The 2008 calendar of the Sikh Federation UK glorifies such
terrorist "martyrs" as the killer of Indira Gandhi, Beant Singh, and
Air India bombing mastermind Talwinder Singh. Singh was a speaker at a
Sikh Federation UK rally in London last year where banners of the
banned Babbar Khalsa were on display and where one of the other
speakers praised suicide bombing.
It is difficult to imagine such things happening in Punjab when
terrorism has been crushed thoroughly. State chief minister Prakash
Singh Badal rightly took the credit while making a speech at Patiala
that the phase of militancy was over once and for all. He underlined
the fact that the militants, if any, had no support among the people
and that the government was quite vigilant.
He is probably right, but the literature doled out in Gurmukhi
casts a shadow on the good work done. There is exhortation to restart
militancy to free people from "oppression and tyranny." Punjab does not
have to worry about such appeals so long as the rhythm of prosperity is
not disturbed. The educated unemployed poses a problem and the
consumption of drugs by the youth in villages should be a matter of
concern.
E-mail: knayar@nation.com.pk

jrnYl isMG igAwnI "ArSI"





 



Re: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS WHO NEEDS ENEMIES ?
Posted by: kulbir singh (IP Logged)
Date: June 10, 2008 08:21AM

ਕੁਲਦੀਪ ਨਈਅਰ ਸਿਖਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਹਮੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਮੋਮੋਠਗਣੀਆਂ ਗਲਾਂ ਹੀ ਕਰਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਹੁਣ ਬਿੱਲੀ ਥੈਲੇ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਆ ਗਈ ਹੈ। ਹੁਣ ਕਹਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਿਚ ‘ਮਿਲੀਟੈਟਸ ਨੂੰ ਕਰੱਸ਼ ਕਰ ਦਿਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ’। ਉਦੋਂ ਖਾੜਕੂਆਂ ਦੇ ਦੌਰ ਵਿਚ ਇਹ ਬਹੁਤ ਚਿਕਨੀਆਂ ਚੋਪਟੀਆਂ ਗਲਾਂ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਸੀ ਤੇ ਇਸੇ ਕਰਕੇ ਹੀ ਇਹ ਸਿਖਾਂ ਦਾ ਦੋਸਤ ਸਮਝਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਪਰ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਇਹ ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਸਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਲਗਿਆ। ਹਮੇਸਾਂ ਇਸ ਤਰਾਂ ਹੀ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਤ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਨੇ ਚੇਹਰੇ ਤੇ ਮਖੌਟਾ ਪਾਇਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਬਜ਼ਾਹਿਰ ਤਾਂ ਸਿਖਾਂ ਦਾ ਹਮਦਰਦ ਬਣਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਪਰ ਅੰਦਰੋਂ ਕਦੇ ਸਿਖਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਕਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਬਣਿਆ।

ਕੁਲਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ

 





© 2007-2024 Gurdwara Tapoban Sahib