Discrimination against Sikhs has grown in US: Rights expert to US Congress

 Religious discrimination and hate crime against Sikh community in US has increased in recent years, an eminent human rights expert has told the lawmakers urging US Congress to take steps against it

Religious discrimination and hate crime against the Sikh community in the United States has increased in recent years, an eminent human rights expert has told the lawmakers urging the administration and the US Congress to take steps to end this. Congress must take action, Amrith Kaur Aakre told members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties during a recent Congressional hearing on Discrimination and Civil Right. Aakre is legal director of the Sikh Coalition.

Workplace discrimination harms Sikhs in a range of public and private sector jobs including transportation, entertainment, health care, the military and law enforcement by allowing for the biased interpretation and application of government policies and laws. “We’ve seen Sikhs willing to put their lives on the line in defence of their cities and country, only to be told that uniform and grooming policies prohibit their articles of faith, she said….Read More

India slams Pakistan for persecuting Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities

India described Pakistan as an epicenter of terrorism and said no one deserves unsolicited lecture on human rights from Islamabad

India on Tuesday described Pakistan as an epicenter of terrorism and said no one deserves unsolicited lecture on human rights from Islamabad that has consistently persecuted its ethnic and religious minorities including Hindus, Sikhs and Christians Exercising the Right of Reply to the statements made by Pakistan at the 45th session of Human Rights Council (HRC) here, the Indian representative said that it has become habitual for Pakistan to malign India with false and fabricated narratives for its self-serving malicious purposes.

“Neither India nor others deserve this unsolicited lecture on human rights from a country that has consistently persecuted its ethnic and religious minorities, is an epicenter of terrorism, has the distinction of providing pensions to individuals on UN Sanctions list and has a Prime Minister who proudly admits training tens of thousands of terrorists to fight in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian diplomat said.

The diplomat said that it was not surprising that other relevant multilateral institutions have been raising serious concerns on Pakistan’s failure to stop terror financing and lack of effective actions against all terror entities in Pakistan. Highlighting the nefarious designs of Pakistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the diplomat said, “the mass influx of outsiders has whittled down the number of Kashmiris to an insignificant number in Pakistan occupied parts of Indian Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Laddakh…

Govt has assured visas to 600 Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan: DSGMC

DSGMC president met External Affairs Ministry officials and claimed that he had been assured that 600 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan will be issued visas by India in the coming days

Current Affairs: Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjinder Singh Sirsa met External Affairs Ministry officials on Monday and claimed that he had been assured that 600 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan will be issued visas by India in the coming days. A delegation led by Sirsa met the incharge of Afghanistan and Pakistan desk of the ministry, JP Singh,a DSGMC statement said.

Sirsa told reporters that he took up the issue of bringing to India the remaining Hindu and Sikh families from Afghanistan and the ministry assured him that 600 people whose list is ready will be given visas within a week. “India will issue visas to all remaining Hindu and Sikhs families to repatriate them as soon as possible. This assurance was given to the DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa here today,” the statement said.

Sirsa claimed that the ministry has assured him that the Hindus and Sikhs will be issued “long term” visas. Those left out can apply for visa and will get the same as soon as they will apply, the statement said. “We will ensure that those Hindu and Sikh families left out in Afghanistan are brought here,” Sirsa said thanking the government and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

PMC Bank scam: 2,000 Sikhs from Maharashtra can’t go to Kartarpur

Ravindra Kaur Saini, who has three accounts in the PMC Bank, said she was disappointed at not being able to be a part of the historic pilgrimage

At least 1,950 Sikhs from Maharashtra could not go to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan after opening of the Kartarpur corridor as they are facing financial crunch due to a scam at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, a senior community leader claimed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor and flagged off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.

The PMC Bank has been put under restrictions by the RBI since September after an alleged Rs 4,355 crore PMC Bank scam came to light, following which the deposit withdrawal was initially capped at Rs 1,000, causing panic and distress among depositors. The withdrawal limit has been raised in a staggered manner to Rs 50,000.

Nearly 2,000 Sikhs from Mumbai, Nashik, Nanded, Navi Mumbai and Thane, most of whom have accounts in the PMC Bank, wanted to go on to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib as part of the trip organised by local body Nirmaan Sevak Jattha, Hardev Singh Saini, member of a gurudwara committee in Kurla, said.

“We were in the process of submitting their details online on the required website, but suddenly due to the PMC Bank crisis many opted out. Of these 2,000 people, only about 50 could finally manage to go. All others dropped out due to lack of money because of the PMC Bank scam,” he claimed...

Sikhs don’t need passport to visit Kartarpur, no fee on day one: Imran Khan

The Kartarpur Corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced that Sikh pilgrims from India would not need a passport to travel to Kartarpur and no fee would be charged from them on the opening day of the corridor on November 9.

“For Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off two requirements: i) they won’t need a passport-just a valid ID; ii)they no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee to be charged on day of inauguration and on Guruji’s 550th birthday,” Khan tweeted. The Kartarpur Corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4 kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

India and Pakistan last week signed the agreement on the Corridor that will allow Indian pilgrims to undertake visa-free visit to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the shrine of the Sikh religion’s founder Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan, notwithstanding a chill in bilateral ties over Kashmir. The agreement will allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims daily to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib where Guru Nanak spent last 18 years of his life. Each visitor would be required to pay $20 as fee, though India has requested Pakistan not to charge the Indian pilgrims.