Easter is not just “Easter Day,” it is the fifty days from Easter Day until the Day of Pentecost. Easter is, so to speak, the “Sunday season”. Every day of the Easter week is liturgically like a Sunday, and is of a similar rank as Easter. The following days are a further extension of Easter: the Sundays following Easter, often wrongly called “First Sunday after Easter,” “Second Sunday after Easter,” or (better) “Second Sunday of Eastertime” etc., are rightly called “Second Sunday of Easter”, “Third Sunday of Easter” etc.
All the 7 weeks of Easter (a week of weeks) preserve an Easter and Sunday character. These fifty days, approximately a seventh of the year, make up a great “Sunday” in the yearly cycle.
The season of Easter has always been a time of joy and celebration. The Council of Nicaea, to favor this spirit of joy and celebration, even forbade fasting and kneeling during the fifty days of Easter.
This keeping of Easter as an extended celebration of the Resurrection has unfortunately been very much lost. I was struck today reading a pastoral letter of Bishop Conlon, of the diocese of Steubenville, inviting the Catholics of the diocese to resume the practice of abstaining from meat on Friday, and stating “The resumption of year-round abstinence in the Diocese of Steubenville will begin after this coming Easter, one week after Good Friday (April 17).” Of course this is certainly a good practice, but in fact, he chose the most inappropriate day possible to begin it. The Code of Canon Law, which in general preserves the law of abstinence on Fridays (though permitting the conferences of bishops to substitute other forms of penance), states that “abstinence from eating meat” is to be observed on Fridays unless they are solemnities. Easter Friday is a solemnity, indeed the greatest solemnity of the year that occurs on Friday. So this would not traditionally have been, nor according to the Code of Canon Law be a day of abstinence. The particular point about the starting date for beginning the practice is a small one, perhaps, but does seem to point to a certain regrettable lack of liturgical understanding.
Source:Easter: The Great Sunday
“…the life and ideals of Buddha are still relevant and ‘continuously inspire us to seek the purpose of our life” said the Chief minister of Gujarat Mr. Narendra Modi while expressing his resolve to build a Buddhist temple in the state. He also announced that with the cooperation of other countries Gujarat intends to host a Global Seminar on Buddhism at M S University in Vadodara.
Read full story in New Kerala
Source:Guj govt to build a Buddhist temple
This is yet another of the Jataka tales I read on Internet today. The tale goes like this. The Buddha, in one of his earlier birth, was a monkey. Along with his brother, he ruled a band of eighty four thousand monkeys. The two brothers also had a blind mother. Once, the brothers set out in search of food and went far away. However, they sent food to their blind mother through other monkeys. They believed that the mokeys would take care of their mother but to their disappointment, they found their mother in an extremely neglected condition on their return. Saddened by the apathy of their fellow monkies,the two brother went to live in a seclusion along with their mother.
One day, a brahmin spotted the mother monkey and tried to kill her. The two brothers requested him to take their lives and let their mother go. The brahmin killed the two brothers, but even after that he was not satisfied and he killed the mother monkey too. The brahmin was overjoyed to have killed three monkeys in a day and was sure that his family would be proud of his possessions.
On reaching home, he was devasted to find that his entire family had been wiped out when a lightning struck the house. The brahmin went mad at the loss of his family.
The moral of the story is when you are cruel to others, fate treats you with equal cruelty.
Source:The Tale of Monkey Brothers
This is for all those who have a desire to visit sacred Buddhist places in India but really donot know how to plan out their trip. They find it difficult to locate a reliable tour operator in India who can arrange things for them. Here is a one stop destination – www.itopc.org is what I came across while surfing the net today. It has a number of tour operators listed in its members section. Some of the tour packages they offer are also listed here including the Buddhist tour packages. Also given are the website address of the individual tour operators, in case you would like to know more. The site, however, is not a travel agent site’s, so do not expect to make your bookings from there.
I think this is really going to help those who find it difficult to surf the net and select a tour operator for their trip.
Source:Looking for a Buddhist Tour in India?
Hey … here is a good news for all, as many of the world’s leading Tibetan-English translators are gathering next week in the tiny Indian village of Bir in northern India to map the future of Dharma translation for generations to come. What they decide could help make the Buddha’s core teachings available to millions worldwide. Read full story in Buddhist Channel
Source:Translating the Words of the Buddha
In a report released by the world tourism experts, 2 Indian sites are under danger due to the lack of proper preservation and maintenance work as well as changing climatic conditions.Incidentally,the two sites are related to Buddhism.
The first of these is the Dhankar Gompa in Himachal Pradesh faces neglect and also suffers from land erosion. The other one is the old Leh town. The weather patter is causing the damage here. Leh is one place where the Buddhist culture still thrives in India. Monasteries and monks can be spotted easily in this town. Leh is situated in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir
The lovers of culture and heritage, like me, will definitely wish that the two sites in India are given proper care and steps are taken to protect them from getting ruined. These sites should be there for the future generations to see.
Check out more on this news here
Source:Two Indian Buddhist Sites Amongst the World's 10 Endangered Treasures
The Ajanta and Ellora Caves of Maharashtra are amongst the most visited Buddhist sites of India. The Ajanta caves are around 110 km from Aurangabad while the Ellora caves are only 30 km away. Aurangabad itself is around 380 km NE of Mumbai, the commercial capital of India and capital city of Maharashtra.
At Ajanta, there are 30 Buddhist caves that were dug when Buddhism was thriving in India. Today, not all are in a good state. Cave 16 and 17 are exceptions, they are well preserved. The paintings here are inspired by the jatakas. A reclining Buddha image in Cave 26 is also worthseeing. 
The Ellora Caves are not just Buddhist, there are also some Hindu and Jain Caves here. Cave 16 again hogs the highlight here. Known as the Kailashnath Temple, the cave temple was carved out of a single piece of rock top down. The Buddhist caves (1-12) of Ellora are the oldest one here. Most of the Buddhist caves are viharas.
Both MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) and ITDC (Indian Tourism Development Corporation) offer pacakges to tour the Ajanta and the Ellora caves. There are private tour opeartors as well who offer packages for Ajanta and ellora. Staying options are better in Aurangabad, hence most of the visitors on a trip to these caves put up in the city itself.
Check out the link here to find out more details on the Ajanta and Ellora Caves. There are also information on the various nearby tourist sites that can be visited after exploring the caves.
Source:Ajanta Ellora Caves
While surfing the net today, I came across this piece of news which I am sure must have delighted a lot many people. The news says that Nalanda still attracts attention of the Chinese and the hence it is showing great interest in the development of the site. It is great to see that authorities from two great countries are coming together to restore the heritage of Buddhist past. And Nalanda by no means occupies a small place in the past of Indian history. It has a significance which is unparalled. I think, once it is developed properly, it will attract numerous tourists form both India and abroad and this will really help spread awareness about the past of Buddhism.
The article also has another interesting piece of information. In China, there is a place named Rajgir in the Lingsa province. In India, Rajgir is a small town in the state of Bihar. Historically, it is the place where lord Buddha spent around 12 years and delivered many of his sermons. If you wish to know more about about Rajgir, you can visit Buddhist Tourism. The site also has information on number of other Buddhist places of interest in India.
For those who wish to read the above news, here is the link
Source:Developing Nalanda
Source:Buddha Image at Bodhgaya
‘Chap Goh Mei’ means it is Magh Puja to the Buddhist, a significant festival in Buddhist calender. It is celebrated on the day of full moon in the month of March in the countries like India, Thailand, Srilanka and Laos. The Buddhist festivals are very calm and quiet affair, the followers celebrate the spirit of Buddhism and listen the discussions on Dharma. Distribution of food to the monk and poor are an integral part of the Buddhist festival.
Origin of the Puja
According to the recorded in the commentary to the Mahāsamayasutta, nine months after the enlightenment of Lord Buddha at Veḷuvana Bamboo Grove, near Rājagaha in Northern India four marvelous events occured. These are
- 1,250 enlightened disciples of the Buddha spontaneously gathered
- every one of those enlightened disciples had been given monastic ordination personally by the Lord Buddha
- those disciples knew to meet together without any previous appointment
- it was the full-moon day.
And this auspicious day is marked as a Magh Puja day. On that special day Lord Buddha gave an important teaching to the assembled monk, 2500 years ago called ‘Ovādapātimokkha’, and these are laid own the principles of the Buddhist teachings. In Thailand, this teaching has been dubbed the ‘Heart of Buddhism’. This festival is also known as the Four fold Sangha because of these four features.
Celebration of the festival
Celebration of the festival varies from country to country but the festival is a time to come together carry out discussions of the various aspects of Buddha’s life and teachings. They do group meditation and candle light procession. It is a time to exchange gifts.
Significance of the festival
One of the most important Buddhist festival is Magha Puja. This festival honours the Buddhist community or Sangha. It is a time or chance to reaffirm the faith and commitment to Buddhist practices and traditions.
In 2009 the festival is on 11th March.
Know more about the Buddhist tourism in Buddhist Tourism
Source:Magh Puja
When railway authorities acquired the cremation land in Palei village for construction of a railway line from Haridaspur to Paradip, they must have had little idea of what they would come across during their work. In process of digging the earth for construction of wall, they came across relics that supposedly date back to 8-12 century.Prominent amongst the relics recovered from the site are the images of Lord Ganesha and Buddha.
There are other relics too that have been dug out from the site, however, the bad news goes that some of these relics were stolen.
I think that whenever such relics are recovered, authorities should take proper measures to ensure their safety. Also it becomes the responsibility of the local people to protect these relics. Theft of relics doesn’t really sounds good.
More on this news here
Source:Buddha Relics Unearthed in Orissa
The Government of Gujarat was looking for some sites there which can be linked with Buddhism. Finally The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) has come out with some spots in Gujarat which have some connections with Gautam Buddha. The purpose behind this is to promote Buddhism in the state Gujarat. Know the detail in Buddhist Channel .
Source:Gujarat government discovers’ state’s Buddha links, to develop tourism circuit
In her book Comfortable with Uncertainty,Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön states that by practicing four limitless qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity can help to free all beings from their suffering.
Read more: “Buddhism and the Four Limitless Qualities: Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity”
Source:Buddhism and the Four Limitless Qualities
Leh-Ladakh is a part of India’s northernmost state Jammu and Kashmir. It’s an area that is known for its unique landscape (it’s a cold desert) and culture. For those of you interested in Buddhism, it’s a good place to visit. The large number of Buddhist population of the region ensures that you will get a lot to learn and experience while roaming around in the area. The monasteries of the region are the highlights for any visitor. These are Hemis Monastery, Thiksey Monastery, Likir Monastery, Lamayuru Monastery, Spituk Monastery, just to name a few.
Hemis is famous for its two day annual festival by the same name while Thiksey is considered the most beautiful of all monasteries in the region. Actually, there are two well marked out monastery circuits that help tourists to explore the monasteries more conveniently.
Tourists visiting the area can also keep a few days to explore the other two parts of the state – Jammu and Kashmir. The beauty of Kashmir is awesome. Staying in houseboats of the Dal Lake is what many people come to enjoy. Also, high on the list of tourists are the beautiful Mughal Gardens.
You can fly to Leh airport from Delhi, however, a more interesting way to reach Leh is by driving through the Manali-Leh highway. Manali is a beautiful hill station in the state of Himachal Pradesh, just south of Jammu Kashmir. The route is only open between June to October when the weather is good so plan your trip accordingly if this route is what you would like to take to reach Leh.
Source:Buddhist Tour to Leh-Ladakh
This is one place to which a visit cannot be missed out if anyone is interested in exploring Buddhism in India. Bodhgaya is a town in the noth Indian state of Bihar and is regarded the place where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. The Mahabodhi temple complex here is the centre of interest. The bodhi tree here is the first to be visited by any tourist. This tree is considered the fifth descendant of the original bodhi tree under which lord Buddha achieved nirvana. Apart from this, the temple complex also houses the huge Mahabodhi temple and the Vajrasana (seat of stability).
The environment in the temple complex is one of tranquility and spirituality. Anyone can sit there and spend some time meditating. Or else they can also watch monks performing prostrations to the tree. For those who would like to have some guidance, there are recorded commentary in Hindi, English,Japanese and Korean that can be heard via headphones. These are available on hire in the complex itself.
A number of monasteries and temples have also been built by the Buddhist community of various countries. These temples and monasteries serve as the place of worship for the people of the respective countries and also provide tourists an opportunity o enjoy different architectural style.
Bodhgaya is easily accessible. Gaya, 14 kms away, is the nearest airport and railhead. People also use the Patna (state capital) airport (182 kms away) to reach Bodhgaya. By road also, Bodhgaya is well connected to other parts of the country.
Source:Bodhgaya
Here is a good news for the Buddhist follower the first ever arts and cultural festival drawing on Buddhist cultural traditions has been unveiled in Britain. Get the detail in Focus on Tibet
Source:First Buddhist cultural festival launched in Britain
The first is about Emperor Ashoka, the one who was so much appalled by bloodshed in a war raged by him that he renounced violence and took to the preachings of Lord Buddha. This Mauryan Emperor had a great role to play in the spread of Buddhism in both India and abroad. For so many years nobody was sure of how this powerful emperor looked like but now two statues recovered from Langudi, Orissa have been decalred to be that of the king. The statues were recovered some years back but the confirmation that are of Emperor Ashoka has come now.
I would have liked to provide more details but could not find more recent updates on this news on net. Instead I found this – link which is an old one ut still very relevant.
I am also providing another link which has more details on -Langudi in general
The other news is about the movie of Lord Buddha which reputed Indian film maker Shyam Benegal is going to make. As per reports, he is very keen that Bollywood superstar Hritik Roshan play the role of the Buddha in his film. If Hritik Roshan agrees to do this film, it would be interetsing to see him in a new avtaar. He is also playing Emperor Akbar in soon to be released movie, Jodha Akbar which will show whether the Indian audience will accept the hero in a historical character or not.
You can have more news on this topic – here
Source:Two Interesting Piece of News
The most sacred, most important, and the most special Buddha festival is the Buddha purnima or Buddha Jayanti. The birth anniversary of Gautama Buddha is celebrated as the Buddha Jayanti through out the world. There are several events and celebrations take place in the Buddhist temples through out the world. But the as usual grand celebration will take place at Bodh Gaya near Varanasi.
Followers from across the world throng the holy place to commemorate Buddha Jayanti. The day is celebrated with prayer meetings, religious services, group meditation sessions and a huge procession
with peaceful and joyous manner with great piety. The roads, streets, houses and temples are decorated with colorful lanterns and lights. Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh are the main areas where this festival is celebrated the most. These are the places one must visit during the festivities.
The prayers and meditation of the devotees are amazing. People gather under the Bodhi tree for special prayer where the adorers pray for the world peace. It must mention here that devotees all over the world pray for the world peace.
The procession that take place during the festival is also a eye catching thing. The devotees take a procession with a huge portrait of Lord Buddha and event progress with different colourful dance performances.
The worshipper of Buddha who witnessed the grand festival in Bod
h Gaya expressed that the experience is like once in a life time achievements which is undoubtedly inspiring and harmonious.
The importance and gaiety of the celebration in Bodh Gaya is described by one British devotee thus -
“It is wonderful to be here today on this wonderful day, the day of Buddha’s enlightenment in this holy land under the Bodhi tree. It was very inspiring to be here and to see the gathering of people who have come here to worship Lord Buddha. Today particularly it was so peaceful and so very harmonious I feel honoured,” said Richard Thero.
Buddha Purnima falls on the full moon day in the month of Vaishakh (April to May), this day holds special significance for the followers of Lord Buddha as the three main events of the life of Lord Buddha took place on the same day. His birth, enlightenment and death all three occurred on the same date more than two millennial ago.
In 2009 the date of Buddha Purnima is on 8th May.
Source:Buddha Purnima celebrations in Bodh Gaya
In earlier times when not many people were educated, story telling was the way to instill moral values in them. In Buddhist communities, too, simple stories were used to convey and strengthen moral values. These stories are known as Jataka tales.
Today, I read quiet a few Jataka tales, one of which I am summarizing below.
Once upon a time there was a wealthy old man who had a young wife and a son. The old man had accumulated a lot of wealth and was suspicious that after his death his son would not get it. He suspected that his wife, being young, would get married to another person after his death and all his wealth will go to that another man. To ensure that his son gets all the money after his death, he hid it with the help of his faithful servant. He also directed the servant to reveal the truth to his son at the right time.
Years later after his death, his son inquired the servant about the wealth of his father. The servant took him to the location but every time refused to reveal the truth. The strange attitude puzzled the son and he sought help from his father’s wise friend. His father’s friend told him that the servant was a weak man and was overpowered by a sense of importance since he was the only person who knew the whereabouts of the treasure. He also advised him to send the servant back the moment he starts abusing him after reaching the jungle and dig the very spot to recover his inheritance.
The son followed the instruction and soon found his wealth. The moral of the story here is that even a bit of power can have a negative effect on a person who is not used to it.
Source:Jataka Tales – The Burried Treasure
Dalai Lama is worried about the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. He said the Buddhist nuns from Himalayan region from himalayan regions has an important responsibility to preserve Tibetan Buddhist traditions. He feels that the Tibetan Buddhist traditions is facing an uncertain future in the home land.
Know more about the detail in Buddhist Channel
Source:Himalayan communities better placed to preserve Buddhism: Dalai Lama
by Miroslav Volf
One of the most recognizable pieces of religious architecture in the world is the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, the most significant place of worship of the Sikhs. The upper part of this ornate rectangular marble structure is covered in gold. I saw the gleaming temple early in the morning, before sunrise, when it was bathed in soft artificial light. It stood immovable as a huge gilded rock, its reflected image dancing gently on the surface of the surrounding pool.
I was in Amritsar as a Christian consultant for a meeting of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, organized by my friend Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein. I had written a position paper to serve as a basis for discussions that would include the Dalai Lama and the chief rabbi of Jerusalem. Six writers of position papers representing different world religions had discussed their drafts with one another and with a larger interfaith group of scholars. It was a fascinating exercise. As I was writing, I was aided by wisdom from other faith traditions. What I presented as genuinely my own was in part received from others.
I grew up solidly Protestant in an overwhelmingly Catholic and Orthodox environment controlled by aggressively secular communists. Unlike the communists, those in our Protestant tribe nurtured a sense of the holy. But we differed from the Catholics and the Orthodox in that for us holiness was not to be located in time and space. The eternal and omnipresent God was holy; people could be holy if they made themselves available for God; times and places were not holy. We did not follow a liturgical calendar closely, and we met for worship in remodeled rooms of an ordinary house on an ordinary street. As a child of a pastor, I lived in that house; the neighbor kids and I played soccer in its yard and marbles on the patch of dirt in front of it. As examples of sacred architecture, the places where I experienced God—in restless rebellion and not just in sweet surrender—were the polar opposites of the Golden Temple.
At the temple I walked barefoot and with covered head around the holy pool in which people took ritual baths. I observed the people quietly streaming to the temple and walking by the place where Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is kept, the holy book which ultimately makes the place holy. But I didn’t feel spiritually pulled in. I was a sympathetic observer, learning, questioning, puzzling over things, appreciating. I remained an outsider, not a participant.
Yet I took with me something unforgettable, a nugget of enacted religious wisdom that I cherish more than I would a piece of that temple’s gold.
The next day, as I walked one more time within the temple complex, I wanted to buy a souvenir for my two boys. Then it dawned on me: I hadn’t seen a vendor or a shop anywhere on the temple premises. “Thousands of religious tourists mill around here every day,” I thought. “There must be a place to buy souvenirs!” But there wasn’t.
You had to leave the temple complex and step onto the profane ground of surrounding streets to satisfy your tourist appetite. There peddlers were as busy as anywhere else in the world, and I found what I was looking for—a small kirpan, a ritual sword that all baptized Sikh wear. But not on the holy site—there the only commercial transaction that took place was the purchase of a “ticket” to walk across the bridge to the temple in the middle of the lake. The ticket was a bowl of porridge, the size of which depended on how much you paid. You could eat some of it, but you were expected to put at least a portion of it into large bowls. When the bowls were filled, they were carried off to feed the poor.
The contrast between the Golden Temple and other religious sites I’ve seen could not be greater. Everywhere else, greedy people—often religious leaders with business managers—were trying to cash in on the devotion of visitors. Here that devotion was channeled into feeding the hungry. I was reminded of the story of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, recorded in all four Gospels. “And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple. . . . ‘Is it not written,’ he said, ‘”My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers.’” The Gospels consistently tie Jesus’ death to the cleansing of the temple. Mark’s account continues, “And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him.”
I came away from the Golden Temple with a nugget of wisdom—houses of worship should not be sites of commercial activity, but places of gift giving to the needy, just as faith itself is not to be bought and sold but freely given. That Sikh wisdom turned out to be buried treasure of my own faith.
with thanks : source : http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=6937
sikhsindia
www.sohnijodi.com
Source:Sikh wisdom
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/4566145.cms
Source:Manmohan Singh takes oath as PM
Gulab Singh learned to engrave from his father Sardar Santokh Singh and began an independent studio where he would do engraving on industrial moulds. During these years, as the family was religiously inclined, he got involved in local Gurudwara activities and developed his faith in Sikh religion and learned about the history of Sikh gurus and the entire Sikh and Punjabi movement after the 10th guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
He started to dedicate more of his time to religious activities and while working he created few bass-reliefs of Sikh Gurus. Later this religious passion gave him a vision to create his first work Minar-e-Khalsa, which took four years of research, hard work and economic investment to materialize. The project was self financed with little help from the local Sikh community. The bass-relief was inaugurated on Baisakhi of the 300th year celebration of Birth of Khalsa at Hazoor Sahib, Nanded.
with thanks : source : http://www.minarekhalsa.com
sikhsindia
www.sohnijodi.com
Source:Minar-e-Khalsa by Sd. Gulab Singh ji
1984 anti-Sikh riots: Court reserves order on plea of victims
23 May 2009, 1658 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: A Delhi Court on Saturday reserved its order on the petitions of victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, pleading they should be heard while deciding the alleged involvement of former union minister Jagdish Tytler in it.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Rakesh Pandit fixed June 3 for pronouncement of the order on the application filed by riot victims as well as Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee that the court should decide their right to be heard in the matter.
Senior Counsel H S Phoolka, appearing for the victims, said the victims had a right to be heard in the matter.
During the argument, CBI counsel A K Srivastava questioned the jurisdiction of the ACMM Court and said the matter be referred to the Sessions court.
CBI had on April 2 sought to close the case against Tytler, claiming there was no sufficient evidence against him.
Tytler (65) was also given a clean chit by CBI on September 28, 2007, after the agency failed to trace Jasbir Singh, a key witness in the case.
However, the court had refused to accept CBI’s closure report and directed the agency to further investigate the case in December 2007, compelling the agency to send its officials to the United States to record the Singh’s statement.
Tytler resigned as union minister of the UPA government in 2005 in the wake of the Justice G T Nanavati Commission report indicting him for his alleged role in the riots.
The case relates to an incident on November 1, 1984, when a mob set afire Gurdwara Pulbangash in Delhi killing three persons.
Singh, the witness, had told the Commission on August 31, 2000 that “he had overheard Tytler rebuking his men on the night of November 3, 1984…for nominal killing of Sikhs in his constituency.”
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/1984-anti-Sikh-riots-Court-reserves-order-on-plea-of-victims-/articleshow/4569483.cms
sikhsindia
www.sohnijodi.com
Source:1984 anti-Sikh riots: Court reserves order on plea of victims
By Gemma Collins
SHOCKED members of London’s Sikh community who watched their temple go up in flames in a suspected arson in March have pledged today fight for justice with a £50,000 reward to track the culprits.
The committee of East London’s Gudwara Sikh Sangat at Harley Grove in Bow are treating the attack as “murder” because their holy books were destroyed.
The community’s 14 Saroops, the Sikhs’ holy books, were lost as 40ft flames swept through the building and broke through the roof.
Committee members holding a news conference this-afternoon in a tent in the small park opposite claimed police could be doing more to catch those responsible.
ATTACK ON RELIGION
Temple trustee Jagmohan Singh said: “This is more than just an arson attack on the building. It was an attack on the Sikh religion itself.
“Police could be doing more—so we have to assist them with the reward. The community won’t sleep until the intruder is caught and brought to justice.”
The community pledged to rebuild the temple which could cost an estimated £4 million.
They also plan a march on May 24 to show the attack “will not be tolerated.”
A police investigation began after eye-witnesses reported an intruder in the temple moments before the blaze on March 16, but no arrests have been made.
Detectives are appealing to anyone with information to contact Limehouse CID on 020-7275 4750, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555111.
with thanks : source : http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=ELAOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED15%20May%202009%2016%3A46%3A39%3A387
sikhsindia
www.sohnijodi.com
Source:£50,000 reward offered to catch Sikh temple arsonists
Ravinder Singh Bhalla was elected today to be a councilman-at-large for Hoboken, N.J., which gives him the national distinction of holding the highest elected office as a Sikh.
According to the Hudson County clerk’s office, Ravinder Singh won nearly 14 percent of the 25,988 votes, statistically tying Carol Marsh for the most votes. He now holds one of three at-large seats, for a four-year term.
Ravinder Singh was part of the slate for mayoral candidate Dawn Zimmer, who won with 36 percent of the 9,986 votes. This election also made Zimmer the first woman and the first Jewish mayor of Hoboken.
Zimmer and her two biggest challengers, Peter Cammarano and Beth Mason, were all council members who oversaw a very unpopular property tax increase last year. She and Ravinder Singh were hoping that voters were not angry with all elected officials, just ones that contributed to the tax increase. Solving the tax and budget crisis became the top campaign issue for Zimmer and Ravinder Singh.
A win for the mayoral candidate usually means a win for the entire slate. But not only did Ravinder Singh win his first election, he won big.
with thanks : source : sikhnn.com
sikhsindia
www.sohnijodi.com
Source:Sikh Wins Hoboken Council Seat – North America
Sarabjit Pandher
Congress plays the ‘Sikh card’
The Congress appears to have broken new ground in this election by using the “Sikh card” to woo the community, estranged since “Operation Bluestar” in 1984 and the anti-Sikh violence following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
It is hard to imagine that Manmohan Singh is not surprised by the fact that he has become the poster boy of the Congress in its campaign to win over the Sikhs.
The Congress was put on the defensive, when its nomination of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were alleged to have fanned violence against the Sikhs in November 1984, met with widespread protests — including a shoe thrown at Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram — from the Sikh community and the party was forced to withdraw their nominations. The party quickly went into damage control mode and reminded the Punjabis, especially the Sikhs, that it was the “first” party to have a “Sikh” as Prime Minister.
The tactic seemed to have worked, as it not only calmed the Sikhs but also put the combative Akalis on the back foot, with the party finding it hard to launch a full scale broadside against a Sikh.
The Akali leadership was almost knocked off its feet, when Sikhs reacted sharply to a Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee statement that Dr. Singh was not a Sikh. Put on the defensive, the Akali Dal failed to project Dr. Singh as “just another” Congress Prime Minister. Eventually, the Akali Dal had to resort to a no-holds-barred offensive against the former Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh.
Now, with Dr. Singh as the mascot, Capt. Amarinder, who has been getting a good response from the public, has emerged as the spearhead of the Congress campaign in Punjab.
For a change, the roles of the Congress and the Akali Dal appear to be swapped with the former using the “Sikh card” and the latter focusing on the development plank, say analysts.
However, this tactic is fraught with danger: it could conceivably lead to communal polarisation once again, say observers. They point out that the Congress used the “Sikh card” in the 1970s, which ultimately provided the fuel for the subsequent Sikh extremism.
with thanks : source : http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/12/stories/2009051250031200.htm
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Source:Manmohan as mascot