I was recently asked to comment/write about the victory of the youth slate as they won the Gurdwara elections for New Westminister Gurdwara, incidently enough I wanted to mention it before but being tight on time, never did get around to it.

Firstly, congratulations to those who won, and those who supported the cause. I don’t know much about the people involved, let alone the situation, but overall it seems like a positive change. At the same time the concept of a youth slate got me thinking more about things in Toronto and how a youth slate would apply here.

From my experience there hasn’t been any real conviction by the youth to get involved in the local Gurdwara politics, at the same time though I havn’t seen much need for it either. Most Gurdwara Sahibs, be it Malton, Dixie, Mississauga, Rexdale or Jot Parkash at one time or another do what they can to support the youth. That’s not to say there hasn’t been frustration at time over the amount of support given, or in what manour, let alone the politics played with who gets support versues who doesnt, but for the most part things seem ok. At the same time most Gurdwara Sahibs in one form or another have/encourage youth involvement, by having youth representatives work with them be it in the form of a commitee membership or simply as liasons.

Be that as it may, I’m still left to wonder what a youth slate in Toronto would look like, who would be a part of it, and how much support it would get, not only from the youth but in general sangat. For example take Dixie, the biggest Guru ghar in North America, and known for its elections. In Toronto right now there are 3,4 major parties that are involved on a political level in some shape or form running to run the big show. At the same time most youth in Toronto are in some way shape or form linked knowingly or unknowingly in some way to the above parties. In most cases its by family association while for others its a particular party that supported or continues to support them in one way or another even if it is just in the means of providing a venue.

Now with that as it is, several questions also come to mind in regards to any said youth slate. Would the youth really rally behind a youth slate at any of the major gurdwara’s? Would a youth slate be able to exist free of elders from one of the major parties not trying to pull the strings? and last but not least, would the youth be inept in understanding the larger demographic nature of the Gurdwara Sahibs, and compete with the elder generation on the same level.

Who knows, but there’s my post for the week..

Over the past few weeks I’ve been in various discussions with people over the Israel / Lebanon conflict always trying to see things as objectively as I possibly could, from both sides. In light of all this I can clearly say that I’m behind Hezbollah in this conflict and although it’s hard to fathom, can see them coming out of this on top.

Firstly, I’ll openly admit that Hezbollah is out gunned and out manned. However, one can never under estimate the power of the guerrilla fighter. Guerrilla’s in the context that I speak of them are those individuals fighting in a resistance movement, against an oppressive government. Basically the way I look at it, although maybe naively is that the guerrilla fighter is he who fights for something greater then himself, the underdog going up against the heavy weight champ In that sense, it goes without saying that a guerrilla warrior is by far one of the strongest type of warriors that any foe can go up against on the field. The Sikh jhajaroo’s of the 80’s and 90’s and of today are guerrilla’s. The strength of the guerrilla against the forces of the West in this case Israel, was best summed by Malcolm X, in his Ballot of a Bullet speech that he gave, when he described why the White Man (US, British, Euro league) will never win another war when fighting against such guerrilla’s,

Why some rice farmers — some rice farmers — some rice eaters ran him out of Korea. Yes, they ran him out of Korea. Rice eaters with nothing but gym shoes and a rifle and a bowl of rice took him and his tanks and his napalm and all that other action he’s supposed to have and ran him across the Yalu. Why? ‘Cause the day that he can win on the ground has passed.

Up in French Indo-China those little peasants, rice growers, took on the might of the French army and ran all the Frenchmen — you remember Dien Bien Phu. No.

The same thing happened in Algeria, in Africa. They didn’t have anything but a rifle. The French had all these highly mechanized instruments of warfare, but they put some guerrilla action on, and a — and a — and a white man can’t fight a guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla action takes heart, takes nerve, and he doesn’t have that. He’s brave when he’s got tanks. He’s brave when he’s got planes. He’s brave when he’s got bombs. He’s brave when he got a whole lot of company along with him, but you take that little man from Africa and Asia, turn him loose in the woods with a blade, with a blade — that’s all he needs, all he needs is a blade — and when the sun comes down — goes down and it’s dark, it’s even-steven.

The greatest asset that a guerrilla has, is the fact that the guerrilla is not fighting someone else’s war (again sticking to my definition of a guerrilla). He is not doing a job, which will put food on his table, or completing a duty for which he will get a cheque to help pay his bills. The guerrilla warrior is that person fighting for something larger then himself, an idea which can not die with the death of just one man. It’s because of this that the guerrilla fighters always have uprisings. Israel has been fighting Hezbollah since ‘82, and with each new generation finds itself fighting the same battle over and over again, simply because you can kill the people, but not the idea, and cause that Hezzbollah’s fighting for, which the majority of people in Lebanon support, ie. Israel out of Lebanon and release of all political prisoners.

So, given that Israel may in all likeliness (even though they are getting rocked right now) win this battle, Hezbollah and the people of Lebanon will win the war, and only then will there be the chance for peace.

Otpreka Singh posted a video on his site, which I’ll post below which I feel best justifies Hezbollah’s stance against Israel and why I to choose to stand for them in this conflict.

Its that time of year again ,when every Sikh, Gurdwara Parbhandik, and Jathabandi takes a moment out of their normal routine and spends just that extra time to reflect on 84, the genocide, the fight and the attacks.

In Toronto, I don’t know about any big public programs, which is quite sad really, and the onus falls largely on us the youth, considering its now our turn to pick up the slack. Fortunatly not all the Sangat or youth are as lazy as us Torontonians when it comes to raising their voice at this time of year publicly, and it seems like the UK Sangat (yes I realize how hypocritical this post must seem considering last weeks post), have really started something positive. The 84 march/rally is definitely something that would be awesome if we could pull the likes of here in Toronto, but I highly doubt that the number of supporters and Sangat there would ever be replicated.

It would be awesome if we could get even a good 10 000 + people together and march downtown just to bring awareness in the media and the people that Sikhs are still bleeding from the terrorist attacks taken against us, by the Indian government, but just seems like every year less and less is done, which again is our fault.

Anyways for all you UK readers be sure to go out and support the rally, since every head counts, and the more people that walk, the more the community will make its point.

For those who don’t know, now you know. Mandeep Dhaliwal is YOUR official candidate for city councillor Wards 9 & 10. That means if you live in/around the :

• Springdale (North Side of Bovaid, between Airport and Heart Lake)
• Castlemore (East of Airport, South of Mayfield. and West of Highway 50)
• Everywhere else (East of Airport, and in between Highway 50 and before Steels)

Then its your duty, no, its your obligation, no, its the sole purpose of your existence to go out and vote Mandeep Dhalwail. NOT Vic Dhillon, NOT Stella Ambler, NOT Iqbal Dhillon, NOT Daljit GILL,

BUT MANDEEP DHALIWAL!!!

Now in all seriosness Mandeep is your Candidate, he is my candidate, he is every constituents candidate. He is the peoples champ..

Reasons to get Mandeep into Brampton City Hall

1. Sports. If you play hockey, basketball, football, baseball then you must vote Mandeep. He will make sure you get the parks, the rec centers that Springdale and Castlemore so desperatly need so that you can go out and play, compete and have fun.
2. Libraries. Not all of us are athletes. Some of us like to read, other things besides this blog. For that you can always go online, but when you feel like reading something worth reading you need to goto the library, and this my friends is where Mandeep Dhaliwal thats right MANDEEP DHALIWAL will help you. He will work hard at opening a REAL library not the excuse for one that they got on the corner of the Fortino’s plaza, a REAL library the type that those folks from Brampton South enjoy, the same type that those in Bramlea enjoy, a library better then 4 corners, that my friends is what Mandeep Dhaliwal will work hard at getting for YOU.
3. Say no to Nukes. Mandeeps against Nuclear Radiation in our backyard, he’s against accidents or the risk of them happening. He’s against us going to Jot Parkash matha teking and worrying about potentially harmful chemicals and radiation waves coming from the proposed nuclear incinerator down the street Mandeeps against the opening of a Nuclear Incernator in Wards 9 & 10, so voting for him is a vote for a clean environment, a radiation free environment, its a vote in the right direction.
   
4. Respect. Mandeep was raised to respect his elders, a trait that seems long gone amongst our youth today. Mandeep WILL work hard to make sure the seniors of Wards 9 & 10, don’t share the neglected fait of the elders in Malton, who are left with no options but to sit around in Westwood mall. Mandeep will work to get them the community centers the drop in centers the clinics, whatever they need Mandeep is there for them. WHY!?!? Because Mandeep respects his elders Mandeep loves his elders, its the elders who help shape tomorrows leaders, Mandeep knows that and he respects that, and he will work to prove that to you!

Now I could go on I could list you a million other reasons why Mandeep deserves to be in city council. Hes worked in the community. He’s worked for the community. He knows the community. That my friends is why Mandeep deserves to represent the community.

So make sure come November, that you do whats right, whats needed and vote Mandeep Dhaliwal. None of the others, will do what Mandeep can do. Mandeep can read write and speak English, Punjabi, Hindi, Patwa, the others might try, but they’re not Mandeep. So vote genuine, vote the truth vote with whats right, vote MANDEEP DHALWAIL for your City Councillor Wards 9 & 10 to represent the diversity that is our community.

**Note**
This message has not been authorized or endorsed by the Official Agent of Mandeep Dhaliwal or the Mandeep Dhaliwal campain. This site is independent of Mandeep Dhaliwal, and this piece is written as a personal opinion on Mandeep Dhaliwal.

Thank you.

Its only a matter of hours now before the verdict from the Supreme Court regarding the Kirpan is announced.

I think as a community as a whole we have yet to grasp the far reaching implications that this verdict holds on our community. A positive verdict, allows us the freedom to practice Sikhi without worrying about the Kirpan issue again. Sure challenges will arise, but the Supreme Courts decision will only but help to set the precedent for all future cases, in which case the minor courts would more then need to accept the Supreme Courts ruling.

A negative verdict however would offer the opposite. It would set the wrong precedent, and make challenges for the Kirpan, just that, challenges. Future legislation such as allowing the Kirpan on trains and busses will be that much harder to fight. Schools and school boards would be free to discriminate against Sikhs who choose to wear the Kirpan and basically have the power to decide whether or not they allow them.

Now I don’t see this being that big of a problem in places like Brampton, Rexdale, Mississauga, but that’s not to say that things can’t change. The battle will be especially tough in places such as Ottawa, Quebec, and places in rural Canada where the Kirpan has raised many eyebrows and not all for the better.

In a worst case scenario there would only be a few options left for us to exercise. The main being to get legislation and amendments made to existing laws, by means of lobbying our politicians. I wrote before about how a Conservative government may not be the ideal candidate to help us with this, but then again they did help us with the Turban case back in the early 90’s so you never know.

My prediction on the verdict that I’m sure is shared with a few others is that the Supreme Court will allow the wearing of the Kirpan as justifiable by The Rights to Religious Freedom, however restrictions such as those placed by the Quebec court will be put in place. The conditions in that ruling, were such things as The Kirpan need be sowed and wrapped in cloth, at all times.

I guess that all depends on how well the lawyers who argued this case, fought. If they made the Kirpan into nothing more then a symbol, then such restrictions wouldn’t hurt or affect the Kirpan’s value. However, if the opposite was argued such that the Kirpan is more then mere symbolism and that it acts as a tool for a Sikh, then off course that gives the judges more food for thought.

So as we sit back and wait for the ruling we can only hope things go our way, but we still can’t let optimism cloud reality. That being, Canadians and Canada may just not be ready.

Note: By the time I finished writing this the Court had ruled, and it ruled in favor of the Sikhs and the Kirpan!!

I was having a discussion with a Singh about comments he left, in an article on The Panthic Otpreka, in which he raised an interesting conversation point:Are we Canadian Sikhs or Sikh Canadians? Now for many this may seem like something pretty redundant and petty, but are we Canadians then Sikh? Or are we Sikhs then Canadian?

I would like to think the latter. Although we make home in Canada; a Sikhs first and foremost allegiance should be too their Guru, but I agree that this is just making note of a grammatical nuisance considering by no means does being a tall Sikh or a fast Sikh make one less of a of Sikh rather describes a characteristic of that Sikh.

However, regardless of how we formulate the sentence the real discussion revolves around the intent behind it. Do we intend to say that we are Canadians who happen to be Sikh? Or Sikhs who happen to be Canadian? Although both can be said using either line, the meanings for each is quite different. Whereas one implies loyalties to Guru Gobind Singh and the Panth first the other implies loyalties to the host nation first then after to the Guru and the Panth.

So where am I going with this. As Sikhs we need to realize that we have our own nation. Guru Sahib made and created us as Nyara, and not just in looks and philosophies as they apply in the religious sense, rather Nyara in the independent sovereign nation sense.

• We have our own distinct identity and dress. (Panj Kakaars, Bana etc).
• Own language, with its own dialect (Singha dee boli, atey Singhaa de Bol Balay)
• Own musical traditions (Gurmat Sangeet - Partaal)
• Both a political and pseudo religious system (Punj Pyarai & hierarchy of a justice system, Takhats).
• Etc.

(A great read alluding to this can be read on solariders blog – The Revolutionary Sikh Spirit)

???? ???? ?? ??? ? ????, ??? ??? ???? ??? ????
They are not subservient to anyone, They are either purely sovereign or in a state of rebellion

??? ???? ????? ?? ?? ??? ???????, ??? ??? ???? ???????
To these Sikhs I have blessed sovereignty; They shall never forget their prophet,

I think the above just speaks for itself, we are either free, or we are fighting for that freedom, there is no middle ground, which brings things back to what caused this whole conversation in the first place, the Sikhs and the Kirpaan.

With the Supreme Court decision coming out anytime now, there is no accepting a verdict that bans or puts unacceptable limits on the Kirpaan or any other kakaar for that matter. After all that would go against the fact that we have already establishished we are soverign.

So where is this all going and what does this all mean? Well it means that we need to identiy who we are. Unlike what many like Mr T Sher Singh have said,

“With the utmost respect, Mr. Vedanti and the Akhal Takht have no understanding of the Canadian context on this issue and have no jurisdiction to tell Canadians how to deal with it,” T. Sher Singh, a Guelph lawyer and trustee of the Sikh Foundation International, said.

“He’s no more a priest or high priest than I am the Queen of England,” Singh added. He noted that Sikhdom does not have a religious hierarchy.

Sri Akaal Takht Sahib has every right to dictate to Sikhs abroad especially those who have pledgded there allegance to the Guru Panth (by receiving Amrit), how to behave and act, after all any less would be us moving away even further from the system established by Guru Sahiban themselves.

So think, are you a Canadian first or a Sikh?

For those of you who didn’t know, Rexdale Gurdwara, (on Highway 27 where Yudh was held last year), for the past while was involved in a legal struggle. Basically to spare the irrelevant details there are two committee’s A & committee B. Committee A is the bad guy in all this, and basically started to rob the golak causing the Sangat to create committee B. The whole court thing happened and it’s only a matter of time now before committee A is officially removed and the Gurdwara handed back to committee B, the Sangat. Right now everyone’s just waiting for the legalities to get sorted out, but judgment was awarded to committee B last week.

Now as I stated earlier Committee B is the Sangat. So this leads to what I’m really after, what will the Sangat decide to do with the Gurdwara now? The reason I even bring this up, is because there is already another Gurdwara 5 minutes away (old Rexdale), and the location of the Gurdwara in question is not all that desirable (its next to a strip joint), and people have been complaining about that for a while now.

Soooo, what will come of the Gurdwara when the old committee finally receives the boot?

If the Sangat decides to keep the Gurdwara, as a Gurdwara then I guess life will pretty much go on as normal. However I could also see the property and land being sold, and the money put back into the community, and I don’t really object to that.

But I was thinking, why not turn the inside into a gymnasium, install basketball courts add in some meeting rooms, and off course throw in a weight room for good measure.

It would be a convenient facility to have around for events such as Yudh, and even a good place and way to start other youth initiatives such as sports leagues (i.e. a Basketball leagues for youth etc.)

For maintenance and all that you could have a minimal cover charge, just enough to keep upkeep. It’s been a long time coming that the Sikh community get itself such a facility, especially at the rate that it’s been growing, so its about time we get something like a rec-center that is sponsored by the OGC or Sangat in general.

But then again that’s just my 10 cents. I’m sure everyone else has their own ideas.