Nihangs and weed

Jihad in east Londonistan

Melanie Philips

Wednesday 19 March 2008

I wrote yesterday about the attack on Canon Michael Ainsworth in his own east London churchyard by three ‘Asian’ youths. From the rather fuller stories about this incident in today’s papers, it is clear that this is far from the first such attack in the area. Indeed, there appear to have been many attacks on vicars or churches by Muslims who are clearly intent on turning east London into a no-go area for Christians (and, given the stoning of the Jewish group visiting the area on Holocaust Remembrance Day, for Jews as well. The mosque in the picture, by the way, was once St Sophia cathedral which was converted into a mosque on the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the fate of innumerable churches under Islamic conquest).

The jihadi nature of the attack on Canon Ainsworth, who was taken to hospital after being kicked and punched in the head when he asked three ‘Asian’ youths who had gathered in the churchyard of the ancient church of St George-in-the-East to quieten down, is unmistakeable. The Mail on Sunday reports that the church

has regularly had windows smashed by youths - who on one occasion shouted: ‘This should not be a church, this should be a mosque.’…In another attack on the church, families were showered with glass when a brick was thrown through a window during a service. Mr Allan Ramanoop, a member of the Parochial Church Council, said often parishioners were too scared to challenge the gangs. The Asian church member, who lives nearby, said: ‘I've been physically threatened and verbally abused on the steps of the church.

On one occasion, youths shouted: “This should not be a church, this should be a mosque, you should not be here”. I just walked away from it - you are too frightened to challenge them. We have church windows smashed two to three times a month. The youths are anti-Christian.’ … The Reverend Alan Green, Area Dean for Tower Hamlets, said it was the latest in a series of ‘faith hate’ crimes in the borough… ‘There are one or two incidents of faith hate every month across the borough and across all faiths’.

The Sunday Telegraph further reported:

A survey of London clergy by National Churchwatch, which provides personal safety advice, found that nearly half said they had been attacked in the previous 12 months. The organisation suggested that vicars should consider taking off their dog collars when they are on their own.

Pinch yourself. This is Britain.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/560427/jihad-in-east-londonistan.thtml#comments

Lost behind bars

Gihan Shahine delves into the lives of Egyptians held in Guantanamo, the world's most infamous prison

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Click to view caption

Close to 600 detainees from 42 countries are being held at Guantanamo for allegedly posing a potential threat to US security in its war on terror (photos on the left are stills from The Road to Guantanamo)

"My name's Shafiq Rasul and I'm from Tipton. I tell them I am not Taliban but they don't want to listen. You won't believe I just came out here for my mate's wedding, do you?"

The poignant scene is from the British blockbuster The Road to Guantanamo depicting the plight of an innocent Pakistani- Briton detainee who was subject to forced confessions at the notorious US military base in Guantanamo. The docu-drama tells the true story of how Rasul and two other Pakistani- Britons were caught in an unfortunate coincidence. The three flew to Pakistan to attend a friend's wedding, but instead of eating part of the cake, they ended up spending three miserable years in Guantanamo before they were eventually released in 2004 after having been found innocent.

But The Road to Guantanamo is not just drama; it is a documentary that seems to epitomise the plight of close to 600 detainees from 42 countries held at Guantanamo for allegedly posing a potential threat to US security in its war on terror.

Mat Whitecross and Michael Winterbottom, co-directors of the docu-drama, were unaware they had also been depicting the plight of Egyptian detainees Sherif El-Mashad and Adel El-Gazzar who happened to be in very similar circumstances when the film was in production but with one major difference: the two have yet to be released.

On Red Cross postcards delivered to his family back home upon his arrest, El-Mashad expressed similar anguish to that of Rasul. "I did nothing to deserve imprisonment and they have no charges against me... I'm probably only here for interrogation and will be released. Only God knows when.

"If I had known a war would break out in Afghanistan, I would never have gone there in the first place, but it is God's will," El-Mashad said, asking his mother to pray for his release.

El-Mashad was caught in more or less the same way as Rasul. El-Mashad had spent four years in Italy as a permanent resident before being invited by a friend in Afghanistan in July 2001 to take part in voluntary relief work and also to work in a clothing business. On 30 December 2001 he was caught on the Afghan-Pakistan border during a failed attempt to flee the country after the outbreak of war.

El-Gazzar's story was not much different. An accountant and the father of four children [his youngest daughter was only a few months old when he was incarcerated in Guantanamo], El-Gazzar went on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia on 27 August 2000 and then decided to stay to search for a job. He disappeared in 2001 and almost a year later, his family received a hand-delivered Red Cross postcard from him saying he was in Guantanamo. It turned out that El-Gazzar went to Afghanistan to engage in relief work and when the war broke out, he was caught on the border while trying to flee the country.

"El-Gazzar spent four months in a US-run detention camp on the borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan where he was subjected to a range of the fiercest kinds of torture before he was finally moved to Guantanamo," said Adel Mekki, executive chair of the Egyptian Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP), which was involved in defending Egyptian detainees in Guantanamo.

According to American lawyer Carol Bruce, counsel for El-Mashad and El-Gazzar, what matters most "is that neither was arrested on or near a battlefield in Afghanistan and that both men insist they are not affiliated in any way with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or any other terrorist or terrorist-supporting organisation."

"They were both arrested at different times and in different places in Pakistan in November/December of 2001, and were turned over to US authorities by Pakistani security forces," Bruce told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The US government was posting large bounties for the arrest of suspected Al-Qaeda or Taliban fighters. There has been much written about how many detainees apparently are innocent but were essentially sold to the US government by people eager to be paid the bounty."

El-Mashad and El-Gazzar are not alone. Almost all human rights activists talking to the Weekly confirmed Bruce's testimony. They argued that prisoners in Guantanamo seem to be totally innocent, were not engaged in any conflict upon arrest or even caught on the battlefield, and were abducted by local Afghans keen to collect the $5,000 reward that the US was offering for "foreign Taliban".

Clive Stafford-Smith, director of Justice in Exile, had previously told the Weekly, "US claims that Guantanamo prisoners were enemy combatants who were all captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan are pure fiction," citing two prisoners abducted in Gambia and six seized in Bosnia.

Like many others, both El-Mashad and El-Gazzar remain in custody without charge or a fair hearing. According to Bruce, the two men were wrongly found to be unlawful enemy combatants by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) at Guantanamo Bay in early 2005. She argued, however, that the two captives "have not yet had a fair hearing about their status; have not been charged with any war crimes or crimes; have not been given the opportunity to see or hear any of the so-called secret evidence against them; have not had a fair opportunity to challenge the accusations against them; and have not had the benefit of counsel in any military tribunal hearing to date."

A detailed picture about the health of the two prisoners is not available, although some unofficial reports claim that El-Gazzar is in bad health. Bruce said she has no reports that the two detainees are in poor health, but added she "cannot imagine they are in the best of spirits.

"They are both being held, like most of the men in Guantanamo, in super maximum security prisons, in individual, small, windowless cells, with little or no physical contact with other detainees, with little or no reading material, and with no ability to see the horizon during their one hour a day in a narrow, outside exercise yard." This sort of prison in the US, according to Bruce, "is usually reserved for men convicted of very serious crimes, yet these men have not been charged with any crime."

Egypt named five detainees held at Guantanamo: Alaaeddin Mohamed Salem, Reda Fadel El-Weleli, Sami El-Leithi, Adel Fattouh El-Gazzar and Sherif El-Mashad. El-Leithi and Salem were released in November 2006. El-Leithi returned to Egypt while Salem, afraid of further abuse back home, requested to be taken to Albania where he was granted asylum. The Weekly could not gather accurate information about El-Weleli who was allegedly released three years ago. Neither Salem nor El-Leithi were willing to talk to the press, but according to Mekki, the two were found innocent and released after spending more than three years in detention.

"Both Salem and El-Leithi were subject to the harshest ever modes of torture that left Salem with slurred speech and El-Leithi with total paralysis," Mekki said. Neither has received compensation.

The Road to Guantanamo depicts a bleak picture of how prisoners were tortured in Guantanamo. According to film producers, torture scenes had to be softened for the benefit of the actors who were unable to stand the pain caused by shackles pressing on their legs. The actors said they were unable to remain in the stress positions they were supposed to for more than an hour. The three prisoners claim they were held in the same positions for up to eight hours.

The US has been heavily criticised for holding hundreds of detainees without charge or fair trial. It has recently faced mounting pressure to close the camp after some prisoners driven by despair, committed suicide. US President George W Bush has repeatedly said he would like to close the camp and send detainees back to their home countries. But although many detainees held without charge have been released over the past two years, many others remain in custody.

Bruce doubts that the camp will be closed any time soon and if it is, "then I expect the government will simply move the detainees to other detention facilities in the US or elsewhere."

Mekki speculates that the US administration "is saving face by keeping many innocent captives in custody.

"The camp is internationally considered a stigma in US history and if the US decides to close it and release all prisoners for not posing any threat to the US, it would be telling the whole world that it has made a grave mistake that history will never forget." The fact that some prisoners were released while others were not despite being classified as non-enemy combatants may serve as a case in point, according to Mekki.

Mekki further regrets the absence of any criteria governing the release of prisoners, just as the case has been with random arrests. US authorities have, for instance, found that El-Gazzar could be released while according to Bruce, they have given no indication El-Mashad will be released any time soon. Not that El-Gazzar is so fortunate himself. Though he has been cleared by US authorities for almost a year now -- since February 2007, he has not yet been released.

"The prisoners are not more than scapegoats," Mekki insisted, claiming the US is allegedly keeping prisoners in detention "in order to use them as trump cards with countries of political and strategic interests to the US."

Mekki would equally blame the Egyptian Foreign Ministry for not pressing enough for the repatriation of its prisoners as other countries did. Mekki concedes that thanks to diplomatic efforts, two detainees were released. That said, he added that such effort "should have been exerted earlier to save innocent prisoners many years of unneeded suffering." In addition, according to Mekki, Egypt's diplomatic efforts have so far failed to release El-Mashad or El-Gazzar.

The HRAAP had won a lawsuit against the Egyptian Foreign Ministry demanding that it presses for the repatriation of the two remaining prisoners. "The ministry then sent two delegates to visit El-Mashad and El-Gazzar and hold high-level talks with US officials, which ministry officials claimed were very fruitful," Mekki said. "It remains questionable, however, what kind of success the talks achieved when the two prisoners remain in detention," Mekki said.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on the issue.

According to Bruce, "the only thing blocking El-Gazzar's return at this point, as far as we know, is the US government wanting to satisfy itself through its own discussions and negotiations with the Egyptian government that El-Gazzar will not be subjected to torture or abuse if he is returned to Egypt."

Which is one major issue of concern for both captives and human rights activists back home. HRAAP Director Mohamed Zarie is sceptical that El-Gazzar and El-Mashad will fair any better back home and suggests that the two might seek asylum in any other foreign country if they are released soon. "They have had enough and there is no guarantee that they would get fair treatment here in Egypt," a pessimistic Zarie speculated. Mekki said he had asked the Egyptian ministries of interior and foreign affairs for guarantees that Salem, who was granted asylum in Albania, would be safely repatriated without any further abuse, but he has received no answer. The ministry, however, had held a press conference last year to announce the success of Egypt's diplomatic efforts in the release of two Egyptian detainees, and that the released prisoner who chose to go to Albania "has the right to return home whenever he wants."

Mekki is not blatantly pessimistic. After all, he said, El-Leithi returned and was not subjected to any abuse. In fact, the government provided him with free medical care.

"There is no guarantee, of course, that other released prisoners would fare the same [since El-Leithi was in very bad health] but detainees should take the risk since they cannot stay away from family and home for the rest of their lives," Mekki advised. El-Gazzar has four children without a breadwinner and El-Mashad was the main financial earner for his family.

According to Bruce, both El-Gazzar and El-Mashad were initially concerned about how they would be treated in custody in Egypt because of the fact that they have been branded -- falsely, they argue -- "unlawful enemy combatants". Later, they individually and separately (they have no contact with each other in Guantanamo and apparently did not know each other before going to Guantanamo) concluded that they do not care what suffering may await them in custody in Egypt.

"They are confident that they have done nothing wrong and they are eager to see their families," Bruce said. "They want to leave Guantanamo. They want to see the Egyptian sun again."

The two prisoners, however, do not know that more family woes are in store back home. El-Gazzar's father, no longer able to cope with the heartbreak of losing his son, died a few months ago leaving El-Gazzar's wife and four children without any stable source of income. El-Mashad's mother is not fairing much better. According to close family sources, the teacher has been almost bed-ridden after suffering a series of health problems.

"We do not allow her [El-Mashad's mother] to see or talk to the press because her nerves are shot," a relative said, asking to have his name withheld. "Sherif has no criminal record here or there and his mother expected him to be the first to come out. Now the whole family languishes in sadness. They don't have a social life anymore."

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/889/focus.htm

November 1984 Sikh Genocide - Who Are Guilty

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh ||

Report on November 1984 Sikh Genocide issued by PUCL & PUDR named Who
Are Guilty? is available online.
Visit:
http://www.sikhstudentsfederation.com/link7/who-are-guilty.html

Rabbi: Hang Arab children from trees

A Zionist cleric has urged the Israeli regime to give the green light to the massacre of Arabs in retaliation for Palestinian attacks. In an article published in the newsletter Eretz Yisrael Shelanu Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed, has urged the Israeli regime to officially allow "revenge against Arabs to restore Israel's deterrence." "I'm not talking about individual people in particular, I'm talking about the state. [Israel] has to pain them to the point where they scream 'Enough,' to the point where they fall flat on their face and scream 'help.' Not for the sake of satisfying the need for revenge but for the purposes of deterrence," he wrote. In the newsletter Eliyahu proposes "hanging the children" of those who attacked the Mercaz Harav yeshiva from a tree. The rabbi added: "We'll stay here. We need to live with those who understand very well the language of revenge." On Wednesday, Mossawa Center, an Arab human rights group, called for a probe into Eliyahu's remarks. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=49052&sectionid=351020202

Baby Seal Slaughter Opens at Dawn

Today marks both the opening of this year's Canadian commercial seal hunt—the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth—and the 25th anniversary of the European Union directive banning the trade in fur from newborn seals.

The 1983 directive brought the Canadian seal hunt to a virtual standstill for a number of years.

However, Canadian seal hunters now circumvent the law by killing the pups when they are just a few days older, allowing the legal trade of products from those baby seals in Europe.

"Today the slaughter of baby seals began again in Canada, largely because Europe continues to import seal products," stated Mark Glover, director of Humane Society International/UK.

"A comprehensive ban on seal product trade in the European Union will stop the cruelty of commercial seal hunts and finally meet the expectations of the European Parliament and European citizens," Glover continued.

In 2006, the European Parliament passed a historic resolution calling on the European Commission to immediately draft legislation banning the trade in seal products, regardless of the age of the seal.

The European Commission then conducted a study on the animal welfare aspects of commercial seal hunting, the results of which should provide the foundation for a ban.

That study found, "in practice, seals are not always effectively killed", seals suffer "pain and distress" during Canada's commercial seal hunt, and "seals may be skinned while conscious."

"Just days ago, we stood on the ice floes with beautiful baby seals still covered in white fur. It is heartbreaking that the commercial seal hunt will begin today, and these pups will be brutally clubbed, shot and skinned to produce fashion items nobody needs," stated Rebecca Aldworth, director of Animal Programs for Humane Society International-Canada.

"The European Union holds the power to right an international wrong by ending its trade in all seal products."

Despite mounting pressure from around the world to end the commercial slaughter of seals, the Canadian government authorized seal hunters to kill 275,000 harp seals in 2008, one of the highest quotas in recent history. The slaughter officially opens at dawn on March 28.

A large delegation of sealing industry lobbyists traveled to Europe at the request of the Canadian government to lobby against the pending seal product ban.

Recent polling shows the overwhelming majority of Canadians are opposed to the commercial seal hunt, and two-thirds of Canadians holding an opinion support European nations banning seal product trade.

Facts

• Canada's commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth, with hundreds of thousands of seals killed annually.
  
  
• In Canada, more than 95 percent of the seals killed each year are less than 3 months old. At the time of slaughter, many have yet to eat their first solid meal or take their first swim, and they are utterly defenseless against the hunters.
  
  
• The seals are killed for their fur, which is sold in fashion markets in Europe, Russia and Asia.
  
  
• Nations around the world have taken action to end their trade in seal products or announced their intention to do so, including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Slovenia and the United States.
  
  
• In Canada, sealers are commercial fishermen, who earn only a small fraction of their annual incomes from killing seals during the off-season.
  
  
• HSUS is calling upon the Canadian government to end the seal hunt by implementing a fair buyout of the sealing industry, compensating seal hunters for lost income as the slaughter is closed.
  
  
• Since 2005, The HSUS has urged U.S. companies to avoid selling and serving Canadian seafood in order to convince that country's fishing industry to stop participating in and supporting the commercial seal hunt. Since the boycott began, the value of Canadian snow crab imports into the U.S. has decreased by more than $465 million.
  
  
• Trade data shows the 2007 value of exports to the U.S. from the Newfoundland fishing and seafood preparation industries decreased by 44 percent compared to 2004, the last year prior to the boycott. For Canada as a whole, the value of exports to the U.S. from the fishing and seafood preparation industries decreased by 22 percent.

To help end this Brutal Activity Visit: www.seashepherd.org

Where was the media in 1984?

Babu Singh Dukhiya is the president of a 1984 riots victims’ society and he is getting cynical.

“A thousand years will pass but we still won’t get justice. It took months and years in filing cases, recording statements and other such court work. Now it is almost 24 years since the riots,” says Dukhiya. This veteran of countless protest marches says he never got attention to his demands.

Mohan Singh, a riot victim, the media didn’t pay attention during the 1984 riots. “In those days it was just Doordarshan for TV but now there are so many news channels. It is because of the media that there is hope of justice in the post-Godhra riots,” says Mohan Singh.

Senior journalist Manoj Mitta, who along with lawyer H S Phoolka has written a book called When a Tree Shook Delhi on the riots, feels that the media in 1984 focused on Indira Gandhi's assassination and not the riots that followed

“The media by and large went by the official line on the carnage. It focused on the happenings at Teen Murti Bhawan, where Indira Gandhi's body lay in state and where from people around the world had come to pay respect. So photographers were flocking to that place and the killings that were simultaneously going on in the capital did not get recorded at all. It’s bizarre but true,” he says.

The 2002 Gujarat riots in contrast got extensive media coverage, which helped human rights activists to prod both the judiciary as well as public conscience.

“At the time of Gujarat riots all these TV channels played a very important role in bringing out the magnitude of the violence that was going on and the dubious role played by state authorities. As a result, the National Human Rights Commission and the Supreme Court had to take cognizance of high profile cases,” says Mitta.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 stood in Parliament to issue an apology on behalf of the Congress, admitting that the anti-Sikh riots were a shameful episode in India's history.

"On behalf of our government, on behalf of the entire people of our country, I bow my head in shame that such a thing took place," he said.

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler did resign from the Union Cabinet hours after the PM's apology, but no prominent politician or government official has been ever found guilty of involvement in the 1984 riots.

“In all big cases involving major political leaders and involving large-scale killings, there have been absolutely no convictions at all. So, that contrast is there to see between what happened in 1984 and what happened in 2002,” says Mitta.

Lawyer H S Phoolka, who has represented 1984 riot victims for almost 24 years, admits he has not achieved much for his clients. The reason he alleges is sustained political pressure.

“Some the judges were doing their duty very diligently and were giving orders of conviction, but the government manipulated in such a way that those judges were transferred. The cases then went to judges who looked pliable. Like we have mentioned one particular judge who was acquitting everybody. He decided 123 cases, out of which he acquitted 121,” says Phoolka.

India didn’t pay attention to the riots in 1984 and now the danger is that it may forget them, say victim

Grooming of White Girls

Det Supt HERRMANN: It is not about race'

POLICE have been accused of not doing enough to tackle Asian men who groom white teenagers into prostitution for fear of being branded racist.

National Muslim organisation the Ramadhan Foundation said that extremist political parties like the BNP benefit from the vacuum left when police and local authorities do not speak out on the issue.

And he said the while Lancashire Police was doing more than most to tackle the problem, their efforts were not enough.

But Lancashire Police have hit back at the claims, saying that the problem of grooming young girls by Asian men, particularly in the Blackburn area, is being investigated actively - and publicly.

The issue has been highlighted in the Lancashire Telegraph's Keep Them Safe campaign, which began in 2006.

And a new team of officers in Blackburn working on Operation Engage has been formed by the police, council, the Blackburn with Darwen Safeguarding Child-ren Board and other young people's organisations.

Speaking about the national problem, Moha-mmed Shafiq, director of the Ramadhan Foundation, based in Rochdale, said: "We believe that practice of grooming white teenagers into prostitution is a problem that needs to be dealt with openly and without any fears.

"Having heard at first hand the effect this has on young girls and their families I am determined that we speak out and ensure that the communities recognise the problem and work to eradicate it.

"Whilst there is no evid-ence that the police or local authorities are deliberately not speaking out about this evil practice, due to the fear of being labelled racist, their silence is contributing to a vacuum where only the BNP benefit."

Det Supt Graham Herr-mann of Lancashire Police hit back and said that there was a danger that talk of ethnic origin of the criminals would take away from the focus on protecting vulnerable young women.

He said: "It doesn't matter what part of society these people are from, we will investigate stringently. It is not about race."

Mr Herrmann pointed to the high-profile re-launch of Operation Engage after an extra £250,000 was made available.

Police in Pennine Division, set up a similar operation called Freedom.

Police Take Revenge on Relative of Ex-Cop Turned Freedom Fighter

Karnal, Haryana (KP) – It has been over a week and Bibi Parveen Kaur is still lodged behind the bars. Several Panthic and Human Rights Organizations have come out to support her, but when and how she will be released remains a mystery to be solved. Ever since her arrest, the Bibi has had to face severe torture and access to her lawyer and family has also been somewhat limited.

Who Bibi Parveen Kaur is and on what grounds was she arrested? She is an innocent Sikh woman in her youth and comes from a middle class family. Quite oddly, while many perceive this simply as the cause of her harassment, it is not entirely true. The story of Parveen Kaur is not merely few weeks old, it is a legacy.

Two decades ago, her parents and relatives were targeted by the most ruthless and corrupt police force in the world, and now she and the rest of her family are under the authorities’ crosshairs. The police forces of Punjab and Haryana Police are notoriously known on record for eliminating thousands of innocent Sikh youths using conjured up charges and staged encounters. Now, these dishonest forces are targeting the next generation of Sikhs, and using similar age-old Indian police tactics.

Falsified Charges

Bibi Parveen Kaur was arrested on falsified charges of taking part in the supposed assassination attempt on Gurmeet Ram Rahim last month. Shortly after the blasts took place, the police named several suspects. Despite failing to provide credible evidence to support the arrests, the Haryana and Punjab Police have continued to use this as an opportunity to harass innocent Sikhs.

According to revelations made by police officials, Bibi Parveen Kaur was supposed to be used as a human bomb and she allegedly kept the 'explosives' in her custody for at least two weeks. While Parveen had refused to partake in the actual implementation of the action, the Police alleged that she remained faithful to the cause.

Sikh organizations, however, rejected such allegations against Parveen Kaur, and demanded her release from police custody. The Shiromani Akali Dal (A), Mata Gujri Sahara Trust, and Dal Khalsa leadership have shown particular interest in the case and have organized rallies in large scale to express their dissent with the Police. They state Parveen Kaur is completely innocent, and is being unfairly targeted by the Police due to her family’s background.

Family, friends, and neighbors have also totally rejected claims by the Police and state that Parveen has been falsely implicated in this case by the police to fulfill their self-interests. Parveen Kaur, who comes from a Muslim family, had converted to the Sikh religion years ago during the turbulent 1980s.

History of Police Persecution

As details of her family’s background emerge, the actual motives of the Haryana and Punjab Police behind her arrest become clearer. Parveen’s family has long suffered under the persecution of the Police forces of both states. Parveen’s father, Mohammed Sadiqque, was killed by the Punjab Police during the freedom uprising of the last two decades. His only fault was that he was married to the sister of Bashir Mohammed, an ex-Police officer who quit his Government job after observing human rights abuses at the hands of the Punjab Police.

Bashir Mohammed was set up as a spy against the Babbar Khalsa organization by DSP Sukhdevn Chahal and was sent to provide confidential news from the training camps. There, not only did he realize the reality of the Indian Government and Punjab Police, the jeevan of Babbar Khalsa Singhs deeply influenced Bashir Mohammed that he took up the Sikh baptism and became Lachman Singh.

Bhai Lachman Singh soon stopped proving reports to DSP Chahal which hurt many of his projects badly. In addition, he provided valuable information that helped safeguard many Sikh families. Eventually he crossed the border and settled in Calcutta with his pregnant wife Bibi Rani Kaur. The DSP was stunned by the conversion of Bashir Mohammed and saught revenge at all costs.

Massacre by Police

It was during 1993, when operatives of the Punjab Police led by DSP Sukhdev Chahal found out the whereabouts of Bhai Lachman Singh and came to Calcutta to assassinate them. Late at night on May 17th, the cowardice police officers entered the house of Bhai Lachman Singh and gunned him and his wife down while they were asleep. The unborn child of Bhai Lachman Singh also became the target of police brutality. There was huge uproar in the State of West Bengal and surrounding areas after the murder of Lachman Singh and his wife.

Supreme Court charged Punjab Police Officers

A case was filed by Bhai Lachman Singh’s mother-in-law (mother of Bibi Parveen Kaur) against the Punjab Police. The Supreme Court of India found very credible evidence against five Punjab Police Officers, all of them who were later sentenced. SP Operations SK Sinh (Bathinda), Sukhdev Chahal (Bathinda), Hawaldar Ramdayal, Sukhjiwan and Darshan Sipahi were found guilty of murder, abduction and forgery of evidence.

After collecting evidence from the State of West Bengal, the Supreme Court issued orders to summon the accused immediately so that they could not forge evidence any further. The evidence collected by the Court suggested that the Police officers involved in this case were wearing Police uniforms, were armed with Sten assault rifles, held walkie talkies, and spoke the Punjabi language. After killing the couple, they took the bodies in two blue Maruti cars. No report of the incident was filed with the local Police.

Retaliation and Torture

This past week, Bibi Parveen Kaur was presented to a local court after being arrested and a remand was issued to the Police. Ever since being in police custody, Bibi Parveen has been brutally tortured for her one and only crime of being related to Bhai Lachman Singh.

The Police officials who hold personal rivalry against Bhai Lachman Singh are using Parveen’s arrest as revenge against her family. The Sikh organzations are demanding a higher level inquiry into this case by national and international human rights organizations as well as by an independent CBI counsel directly under the supervision of the honorable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India.

Statement by Bibi Sohanjeet Kaur

Bibi Sohanjeet Kaur alleged that the arrest of Parveen Kaur is no different from hundreds of arrests that were made of innocent Sikhs during the 80’s and 90’s. Bibi Sohanjeet Kaur, who was widowed during the years of State organized oppression, is a key witness to many such arrests. She now runs the Mata Gujri Charitable Trust which provides housing to wards of Shaheeds and Bibi Parveen Kaur is one of them.

Bibi Sohanjeet Kaur held that she was arrested by the Haryana Police without any warrant. According to her statements to the press, the policemen first took away Bibi Parveen Kaur for some investigations at the Patiala Sadar Police Station. Later it was found that the police presented her in the court and received her remand.

Support by Human Rights Activists

Surprisingly not only the Sikh organizations have come up to support Bibi Parveen Kaur, she has won support of many non-Sikh organizations as well. The CPI ML Liberation also lashed out on the Haryana and the Punjab Police for arresting Bibi Parveen Kaur under false allegations. Rajvinder Singh Rana held that the arguments presented by the police were baseless and that it was clear that the police was preplanned her arrest. On behalf of his organization, he demanded the release of the Bibi and held that the Government should punish the police officials who arrested her without first registering the case.

SGPC President Alleges His Support

The SGPC President Avtar Makkar has also alleged his support for Bibi Parveen Kaur. At a meeting held at Fatehgarh Sahib, Avtar Makkar and several other SGPC members announced to provide support to the Bibi. He has however not raised this concern with the State Government, for which he remains most loyal to.

The type of support Bibi Parveen Kaur needs cannot be provided merely by using fancy words, if Avtar Makkar really wishes her well, he should use the resources of the SGPC and his self influence to provide her with good lawyers and proper media coverage. However, it will be interesting to note if Avtar Makkar does decide to take any part in the current issue as the counterpart of Makkar’s title-holder – Parkash Badal, Rajinder Bhandri has already released statements critical to the release of Bibi Parveen Kaur.

Truth About Dasam Granth Sahib

It’s the Bani of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib which gives the Khalsa Panth it’s zeal to fight for Dharam Yudh.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji collected together the works of the Dasam Granth in Anandpur Sahib.

On the 5th December 1705 AD – Guru Ji left Anandpur Sahib the Dasam Granth was lost to the Sarsa River.

Bhai Mani Singh – Head Granthi Sri Darbar Sahib – made great endeavours to collect together the Banis of Sri Dasam Granth.

Bhai Mani Singh prepared the Dasam Bir – historic birs from this period still survive – in Moti Bagh and Sangrur

Picture of Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Ji, he was cut limb by limb, but refused to alter his faith. There was no sign of pain shown, instead he kept reciting Gurbani. (Some Shallow Sikhs of today think they know better then him, even dough they cry with a little paper cut)

Importance of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib

• There is NO ‘Ardas’ without Sri Dasam Granth Sahib

• There is NO ‘Nitnem’ without Sri Dasam Granth Sahib

• There is NO ‘Khande Da Amrit’ without Sri Dasam Granth.

• Conclusion – There is NO ‘Khalsa Panth’ without Sri Dasam Granth.

Bhai Desa Singh, known as "Rahitnamiya" (writer of a famous Rahitnama, or ethical code, of Sikhs), son of Bhai Mani Singh Shaheed, has written in his Rahitnama, in a vision of Guru Gobind Singh Jee said from his mouth:

"Oh Sikh, listen to what I say:
In the beginning I wrote Jaap,
Then I uttered Akal Ustat–
This is like the recital of Vedas.
Then I wrote Bachittar Natak–
In that the story of the Sodhi lineage is told.
Then two Chandi Charitras were compiled
And poets appreciated the poetry in them.
Then I recited Giyan Prabodh ["Source of Knowledge"]
I described that, and all the wise people understood.
Then came the stories of the 24 Incarnations,
Then the Masters of Datta Taraye [a saint who had 24 masters] were told,
Then Bachittar Bakhiyan ["wonderful descriptions"] were made;
Those were also called one scripture.
If a fool reads them, he becomes wise.
Then in Shabad Hazare the stories of all kings were told.
Then 404 Stories were made;
They described the guiles of women [and men]."

The banis included in Dasam Granth are as follows:
1. Jaap
2. Akal Ustat
3. Bachittar Natak
4. Chandi Charitra
5. Chandi Charitra II
6. War Bhagauti Ji Ki
7. Giyan Prabodh
8. Chaubis Avtar [incarnations of Lord Vishnu]
9. Up Avtar [Brahma and Rudr]
10. Shabd Hazare
11. Swaiye
12. Khalsa Mehma
13. Shashtar Nam Mala
14. Charitropakhiyan
15. Zafarnama, Hikayat

Rehatnama Bhai Desa Singh,

“ਦੁਹੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਮੈਂ ਬਾਣੀ ਜੋਈ॥ ਚੁੰਨ ਚੁੰਨ ਕੰਠ ਕਰੇ ਨਿਤ ਸੋਈ॥

Recite and learn off by heart Banis from both Granths [Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Sri Dasam Granth Sahib].”

Tricked into Prostitution and rape

After the sordid tale of exploitation of Indian workers in Mississippi, comes a shocking case of illegal confinement and rape of a woman from Punjab by unauthorized travel agents in Ukraine.

“She was raped repeatedly by a gang of Indian travel agents, who wanted her to become a part of the flesh trade for the rest of her life”, Singh said. The family of 25-year-old Sarabjeet Kaur of a Ludhiana village has alleged that she was held captive for over 30 months in Singapore and Ukraine.

Sarabjeet’s father Gurdev Singh said she was promised a clerical job in Singapore in 2005, for which the family paid Rs 8 lakh, only to find her life in danger a year later.

“We are poor people and had to mortgage our house and land to a private moneylender. We did it in the hope of a well-paying job for our daughter, who had studied till Class 10,” Singh told Hindustan Times.

The family said their daughter was alive only because of the intervention of former union minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, and the alertness of the Indian mission in Ukraine. Sarabjeet returned to India on Tuesday.

Singh said the family agreed to send his daughter to Singapore, after paying the money to a Tarn Taran based Hindu extremists, who assured him that a female agent would escort her daughter to the destination.

“However, instead of a job, Sarabjeet was forced into prostitution. On her refusal, she was made to work as a maid in somebody’s house, and all her documents taken away”, the depressed father said.

After two years, Sarabjeet was asked to move to Ukraine by the people of the same network, and the real ordeal began. “She was raped repeatedly by a gang of travel agents, who wanted her to become a part of the flesh trade for the rest of her life”, Singh said.

Sarabjeet was lucky in informing her family that she was in Kiev, and it was then her father contacted Ramoowalia and pleaded for help.

Ramoowalia wrote to the Indian ambassador in Kiev, Debabrata Saha, who provided consular help to Sarabjeet. “It was reported to us that a woman from Punjab was in Ukraine without travel documents, we provided her with emergency documents, so that she could go back home”, an official from the embassy said.

Demanding strong action against the agents who had sent Sarabjeet to Singapore and Ukraine, Ramoowalia said, “Both the agents are roaming free. We were lucky to get this girl freed, but I have information on 300 more girls from Punjab who have been smuggled by Hindu extremists to at least six countries”.

“Earlier, it was thought that the girls were being sent abroad only for marriage, but the latest reports were alarming. In this particular case, the amount spent by the victim’s family should be returned to her, who has lost everything”, the former minister said.

Dasam Granth Cynics Now Attacking Guru Granth Sahib

Picture of the spokes person of the Anti-Sikh newspaper

The Plan to Unravel the Sikh Panth by Removing the Source of Strength Coming to Fruition

Chandigarh, Punjab (KP) – Controversies continue to plague the notorious Rozana Spokesman newspaper and it’s editor, Joginder Sawney. The newspaper, which operates from over a dozen offices all over Punjab, seems to be creating a new controversy everyday it is published. Many have considered its views against Dasam Granth Sahib, Amrit Sanchar, and Rehit Maryada blasphemous. Recently, the newspaper has launched a new controversy by belittling Bhagat Bani in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee.

Joginder Sawney is embattled this time for allowing his newspaper to be misused by modern day unfounded missionary scholars. In its February 24th edition, the newspaper published a ‘tribute’ to Bhagat Ravidas on his birthday. The author of the ‘tribute’ – Harbhajan Sinh, entirely disbanded bani of Bhagat Ravidas Ji from the rest of Guru Granth Sahib Ji’s teachings and stated that when comparing the two, Bhagat Ravidas Ji seems unfamiliar from the teachings of Sikh Gurus.

Several sakhis (tales) of Bhagat Ravidas Ji were misquoted by Harbhajan Singh in ridiculing manner. The article erroneously states that no historical facts are present about the life of Bhagat Ravidas Ji. The same Rozana Spokesman that is trying its best to raise doubts about Dasam Granth Sahib and several other eminent Sikh practices is using the same agenda to now create doubts about the Bhagats.

Although Panthic groups should have dealt with Joginder Sawney long ago, even this time, Sikh groups failed to initiate any inquiries--whereas the Dalit community faced this matter with their own influence. Bhagat Ravidas Ji is without a doubt an eminent figure for the Dalits, but the Sikh community is also directed to give the same high status to Bhagat Ravidas Ji as it gives to other Saints.

Soon after the articles were published against Bhagat Ravidas Ji, the Dalit community filed FIRs against the newspaper’s editor-in-chief and the author of the article. As a result, teams of Punjab Police raided several offices of Rozana Spokesman and also arrested and filed charges against Harbhajan Singh for intentionally hurting the sentiments of a minority community. Charges have also been filed against Joginder Sawney who remains at-large.

Earlier, seeing the wrath of the community increase, Joginder Sawney had played a publicity stunt by publishing a statement to clear his stance. Joginder Sawney begged pardon from the Dalit Community and stated that the Rozana Spokesman is the voice of the Dalit Community. He further alleged that his entire team, including Harbhajan Sinh is regretful about the incident. Whether Joginder truly works to provide a voice to the Dalit Community remains unproven, but it is definitely true that he has hired people who hold no regards to the lower-caste communities, as well as Sikh scriptures and traditions.

"With the Spokesman providing a lead, and those like Amarjit Halwara support the cause from behind..."

In addition, Joginder Sawney and the entire staff of Rozana Spokesman have proven that their ideology is no different from that of the ex-communicated Kala Afghana who held Bhagat Bani with no regard.

With the Spokesman providing a lead, and those like Amarjit Halwara support the cause from behind, it seems like a new trend is emerging at a fast pace which allows people to raise questions about the Bani of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, just as they did before with Sri Dasam Granth Sahib.

Book now if you can and if you love Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji

A lot of People have started slating the Bani of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Guru Ji kept his Bani separate from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji because his bani was focused on Bir-ras, a warrior energy which inspires one to fight against tyranny. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji focuses on the spiritual path more. People have slated and made so many slanderous remarks against the words of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Singhs from the UK have decided enough is enough and are openly doing parchaar about the roots of Dasam Bani and informing the misguided Sangat of tradition values which have been lost by the Khalsa.

Just a few weeks ago there was a programme was organised by local midland youth and Nihang Singhs from the UK. The talk was headed by Sukha Singh, the presentation puts the slanders of Gurus bani in there place and leaves them with no argument. If you want to educate your local sangat and book this presentation please email: sridasamgranth@hotmail.co.uk

We all need to unite to defend Sikh principles!

To download the Audio of the Presentation Copy and paste following link:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0xcab0

Do your bit!

A favour to ask, it only takes a minute....

The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged women. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window in the middle).

This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
AGAIN , PLEASE TELL your FRIENDS TO TELL

Copy and paste this and send as an email.

"Please give me a chance"

PLEASE help save my life ...

This is 6-year-old Rianna Deol . She has been battling leukaemia with the help of chemotherapy for the past two years. Sadly, she has relapsed. She now only has 6 months to find a bone marrow donor.

A donor patient is more likely to find a donor from within their ethnic community. The number of Asians registered as donors with the Anthony Nolan Trust at the end of January 2008 totalled, 12, 686. Not a single one is a match for Ria. WE NEED TO INCREASE THIS NUMBER!

The key fact is that male donors provide more vital cells than female. So, if you are 18-40 PLEASE register NOW.

We are in a race against time. Ria desperately needs YOUR help. If you are not a match for Ria, you could be a match for someone else and help to save his or her life.

To register, all you need to do is fill out a simple form and give a tiny blood sample. This is a small task for such a rewarding result. Please register to become a donor.

You can read more and download the medical application form through this link

www.anthonynolan.org.uk/index.php?location=3.1.2

For more information contact Sukhi Bhatti on 07957310725.

Thank you.

We need independence!

Sikhs were pulled out of their houses and killed in police fake police counters

Houses were burnt

Cruel torture was afflicted on Amritdhari Sikhs

Sikhs were massacred in many operations

Sikh women were raped

Little kids were killed

Propaganda was done to slander us

Sikhs were imprisoned with no charges and still remain there since 1980s

Sikhs were framed

Our religion is being slandered and changed institutionally by India

We are labelled as terrorist just because a few Sikhs defended themselves

All our militants did was stand up for our rights and demand equality

Genocide and atrocities have been committed on us

After all this some Sikhs say we don’t need independence, all I can say that they are un-loyal low life traitors to their people and religion.

Gurjit Kaur

Gurjit Kaur makes a living by doing odd jobs at Amritsar's Golden Temple.

She lost her husband and 14-year-old daughter during Operation Bluestar.

Later, her oldest son was killed by police. Two other sons took to arms and became militants - they too were killed in encounters with security forces.

Her youngest boy was only 14 when he also disappeared after the police took him away.

"I have been left all alone in this world. Army soldiers killed my husband Gurmej Singh and our young daughter Jasvinder."

Almost her entire family - her farmer husband, four young sons and her daughter - over the years fell victim to the mindless violence that enveloped Punjab through the 1980's and early 1990's.

It all started with Operation Bluestar in June 1984.

"It was Guru Arjan Dev-ji's Martyrdom Day in the beginning of June that year.

"Gurmej Singh was a deeply religious man who visited the Golden Temple at least once every month.

He was also an ardent admirer of (militant leader) Sant (Saint) Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

"He left our home in Village Sodhiwala in Punjab's southwestern border district of Ferozepur along with our elder daughter, who was only a young child at the time.

"They were inside the Temple when the army launched its attack.

"Gurmej Singh and Jasvinder never returned home.

"All I know is they were among the thousands who were killed by the army that day. We couldn't even perform their last rites.

"To add to our grief, the police began harassing us because they recovered some pictures of Bhindranwale which my dead husband had once bought.

"My eldest son Kashmir Singh - 22 years and working as a mechanic at a nearby workshop - was picked up and killed. They threw his body in a drain outside the village.

"Intensely angry over the injustices we were forced to suffer, two of my younger sons left home to join militant organisations.

"I did not attempt to stop Jaspal Singh and Tarlok Singh from going away.

"I do not know if they were able to avenge the deaths of my husband, daughter and older son, but some years later - around 1991 - both the boys were shot dead in encounters with the police.

"I did not grieve - they had given their lives while serving the cause of the Panth (Sikh community) and the Gurus.

No respite

"But the police did not stop at this.

"One day - also in the year 1991 - a bunch of police wallahs came to my house and picked up my younger daughter, youngest son and me.

My daughter and I were locked up in the Jail at Nabha Town.

"But I still do not know what became of my youngest child. Baljinder Singh was only 14 years old.

"He simply disappeared from the custody of the police.

"Twenty years have gone by but I still cry each day. I cannot forget how my entire family was wiped out.

"Those who have seen the blood of loved ones spilt will never forget and I will carry my memories with me to my funeral pyre.

"Today I am all alone. My only surviving child lives with her husband outside Punjab. She does not visit me because the police harass her each time she came here in the past.

"My only remaining wish is to identify the men who killed Baljinder Singh. He was only a innocent little child.

"I want to know what kind of men could bring themselves to murdering a child. I want to know if they made my sweetest child suffer.

"My heart will not stop aching. Nothing else matter to me now."

READ THIS STORY AND WAKE UP - WAKE UP KHALSA PANTH!

FOR THE SAKE OF THESE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF OURS....

"So what, if you have killed my four sons, the hooded cobra [Panth Khalsa] is coiled up and ready to fight."

(Guru Gobind Singh - Zafarnama)

It is panthic tradition that if a generation of Sikhs get opressed and eliminated the next generation will come and get payback from the culprits!

Khalistan will be established

Interview with Shaheed Singhs Mum

We need freedom get our people into a better living position!

Final Thoughts

Sikhi tells us that the world is Gods game, one way to picture it is like when a kid plays his Gameboy. The aim of all humans in this Game is to defeat all the dark energies in life and the traps of maya (worldly illusion). When a person by living a life according to Guru Ji's teachings and Grace gets united with God, they have completed the game. The idea is to completely fall in love with God from the heart (to do this one must read Gurbani and meditate on Waheguru with every breath). Only in this way will we think of Waheguru in our final moments, otherwise we will think of worldly things in our final moments (which shows we never understood the game and have not completed it).

Goojaree:
At the very last moment, one who thinks of wealth, and dies in such thoughts,
shall be reincarnated over and over again, in the form of serpents. ||1||
O sister, do not forget the Name of the Lord of the Universe. ||Pause||
At the very last moment, he who thinks of women, and dies in such thoughts,
shall be reincarnated over and over again as a prostitute. ||2||
At the very last moment, one who thinks of his children, and dies in such thoughts,
shall be reincarnated over and over again as a pig. ||3||
At the very last moment, one who thinks of mansions, and dies in such thoughts,
shall be reincarnated over and over again as a goblin. ||4||
At the very last moment, one who thinks of the Lord, and dies in such thoughts,
says Trilochan, that man shall be liberated; the Lord shall abide in his heart. ||5||2|| Ang 526 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

3 pillars of Sikhi - Simran - Seva - Sacrifice

Meditate in God's Name: Sikhs meditate on Waheguru. Sikhs are ordered to wake up at Amritvela (early morning before sunrise) and meditate on God. Sikhs are to read Gurbani as much as possible to keep them in a trance with truth. Sikhs have to do Nitnem these are prayers which are done at different time of the day. Sikhs keep Waheguru's Name in their heart while engaged in the day-to-day worldly pursuits. Sikhs get the Divine blessing while worshiping Waheguru. They always cherish to accumulate the treasure of Waheguru's Name.

Fair Earning of Livelihood: A Sikh is to earn his livelihood by fair means. They are neither to exploit nor allow to be exploited. They are to be a constructive and positive role for the society with their fair dealings. They are to help in all types of charity and give food donations for Guru Ka Langar. A Sikh is also ordered to give a minimum of 1/10^th of their earnings to a noble cause.

Fighting for Justice: A Sikh always lives by the Will of Waheguru and cherishes the welfare of the whole humanity while living a peaceful life. But if there is injustice; cruelty and Evil brutality in the world. It is Dharma of the Sikhs to fight directly and even sacrifice their life for the Just-cause.