HARVEY, ILLINOIS (KP) - During an open public meeting, the City of Harvey, Illinois, situated in Cook County, officially recognized the 1984 November anti-Sikh pogroms in India as “genocide” and codemned the violence against the Sikh Nation.

The motion for the resolution was forwarded and ratified by Shirley Drewenski, Alderman, First Ward, Joseph Whittington, Alderman, Second Ward, Daryl Crudup, Alderman, Third Ward, Donald Nesbit Alderman, Fifth Ward, and Keith Price, Alderman, Sixth Ward in the presence of the city council and Mayor Eric J. Kellogg. 

TALWANDI SABO (KP) - In yet another controversial move, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) un-ceremoniously removed Jathedar Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh from his post at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib as his did not agree to tow the Badal-SGPC-Sant Samaj stance regarding the Nanakshahi vs. Bikrami calendar debate.

Giani Nandgarh had been a non-salaried Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib for the last twelve years and had often taken hard-line positions against various deras including the Sacha Sauda cult and often put the pro-Badal SGPC management and the ruling Akali-BJ regime in awkward quagmire due to his independent nature.

NEW YORK - While welcoming the US President’s reminder to India about the importance of religious freedom, Sikh For Justice (SFJ), which recently campaigned asking Obama to raise the issue of Article 25 (b), commended his stance on chances of India being splintering on religious lines, if they continue to deny religious freedom to the minorities.

Obama’s advise to India to protect religious minorities comes at a time when controversy regarding Article 25(b) of the constitution which labels Sikhs as Hindus is already reignited and RSS-BJP run government is being criticized for launching “Home Coming” to forcibly convert Muslims and Christians to Hindus.

VANCOUVER, CANADA - The World Sikh Organization of Canada has successfully assisted a Sikh student barred from wearing his kirpan into the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). 

Ishwer Singh Basra, an amritdhari (initiated) Sikh, was scheduled to write the LSAT on September 27, 2014. Upon arriving at the test centre in Burnaby BC, Ishwer Singh's kirpan was spotted by a proctor. Despite being explained its significance, the proctor said the kirpan would not be permitted in the test centre.

Fighting back tears, Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Asia Pacific Rishiwant Singh, said: "The faces of the villagers showed more than relief. When they saw the chopper hovering in the sky above their village, they had a very different look on their faces, almost as they have seen God in the sky to save them.

Despite losing one of our own Gurdwaras in Kuala Krai, we focused on the people in need irrespective of race and religion. Practicing the teachings of Guru Nanak we recognise the human race as one."

October 29, 2014

OTTAWA, CANANDA - The World Sikh Organization of Canada has helped Master Seaman Wanda McDonald become the first Sikh woman to wear the turban while serving in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).

McDonald, a Sonar operator based out of Halifax Nova Scotia, joined the RCN in 1997 and became interested in the Sikh faith three years ago. After deciding to become an initiated or amritdhari Sikh, she requested permission to wear the turban on duty.