Posts Tagged punjab

“Thank you, Paji!” – Canada to Punjabis

Canada owes its prosperity to Punjabi settlers: Prime Minister Harper

Following the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper took a trip to Punjab and visited Amritsar to pay his obeisance at the Golden Temple – the Sikh holy shrine.

Pointing out the contributions from Punjabi immigrants in Canada, the Prime Minister admitted that his country owes its prosperity to the perseverance and work ethics of more than a million Punjabi.
“1.2 million Punjabis out of which more than eight lakh are from Indian Punjab are settled in Canada and making significant contribution to strengthening the Canadian economy,” Harper said.

Recognizing the Punjabi settlers as partners in the Canadian progress, the Premier said that Punjabis have been contributing to the country’s development through their hard work and grit for more than a century.

The Canadian government is fully committed to preserve and promote the Punjabi culture and the Punjabi language in Canada, he added.

Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary are three main cities of Canada with large population of Indians, majority of them of Punjabi origin. Read the rest of this entry »

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California legislature passes the kirpan Bill for Sikhs!

California satae legislature passes the ‘Kirpan bill’ to support Sikhs dress code

Most of us -from India or those of Indian origin- need no introduction to ‘kirpan’. It is a small blade that resembles a sword in shape, and is carried in a shoulder strap. It is one of the Sikh articles of faith, or a religious symbol that Sikhs wear after baptism. Over the years, many Sikhs have been questioned and arrested overseas for carrying a kirpan. The police, for example in USA, can compare the kirpan to carrying a concealed weapon if they don’t know the Sikh tradition.

In an effort to recognize the Sikh dress-code, the Californian state legislature unanimously passed a bill to train law enforcement personnel about Sikhs and the religious significance of ‘kirpans’.

Summary and the excerpts from the bill:

SUMMARY:Requires the Commission on Peace Office Standards and Training (CPOST) to create and make available to all law enforcement agencies a training component on how to recognize and interact with a person carrying a “kirpan”.

Excerpts from the Bill:

“Sikh Americans form a vibrant, peaceful, and law-abiding part of the United States community. California was one of the first places that Sikhs settled in this country over 100 years ago. Today, California is home to a large number of the Nation’s 500,000 Sikhs….” Read the rest of this entry »

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