Latest news with #GurdwaraSinghSabha
Time of India
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Akal Takht asks German gurdwara to lift ban on Sikh family
1 2 Amritsar: Taking cognisance of a complaint regarding the alleged denial of permission by the management of Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Singen, Germany, to a Sikh family to hold the antim ardas and bhog ceremony for an elderly woman who had passed away, the Akal Takht has directed the gurdwara committee to lift the ban imposed on the family and submit a written clarification within two weeks. Bagicha Singh, in-charge of the Akal Takht secretariat, informed that a letter was issued to Davinder Singh, president of Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Singen, instructing him to revoke the ban on Daljit Singh and Parmjit Singh, along with their family members, from entering the gurdwara. "The Akal Takht has clearly stated that no one can be barred from visiting a gurdwara, and the management has been asked to provide a written explanation within two weeks," said Bagicha Singh. In recent past, Rajwant Singh, who contributed to the development of the gurdwara, wrote a letter to the officiating jathedar of Akal Takht, seeking his intervention in the matter. Bagicha Singh added the Akal Takht had also advised Daljit Singh and Parmjit Singh to reach a truce with the gurdwara management and refrain from any actions that could lead to further controversy. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and s ilver prices in your area.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Denied rites at gurdwara after mother's death, says Sikh family in Germany
Amritsar: A Sikh family has alleged that Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Singen, Germany, refused them the right to perform Bhog and Antim Ardas there after the death of their mother. The grieving family has approached Akal Takht, seeking the intervention of the Jathedar, even as the Singen gurdwara management said that the family was stopped from entering the gurdwara on the directions of local police. The controversy has sent shockwaves through the Sikh diaspora. Balwinder Singh, a resident of Singen for over four decades, said that brothers Daljit Singh and Paramjit Singh approached the local gurdwara to hold the Antim Ardas and Bhog ceremony for their mother, but the management denied them. The letter, written by the 'entire Sikh sangat' of Singen, says, "Regrettably, due to personal grudges, the current gurdwara committee denied permission to hold this religious ceremony. This decision is not only unjust and against Sikh values, but also a clear violation of Sikh Rehat Maryada (Sikh code of religious conduct) and Gurmat principles." Balwinder Singh said that the sangat spoke with the gurdwara management committee and asked them to reconsider, reminding them of the core Sikh values of compassion and inclusion. "But the committee didn't listen or show any intention to resolve the issue with understanding or care," he alleged. Davinder Singh, president of Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Singen, told TOI that the management committee stopped the family from holding the ceremony on directions from the local police. He claimed that the persons involved had previously clashed with members of the sangat and caused disturbances, prompting police to advise the management not to allow them entry to the gurdwara. Balwinder Singh said that the family brought a granthi from another Gurdwara, nearly 150km away, to perform the Antim Ardas and Bhog. "We have now requested the Jathedar of Akal Takht to investigate the incident, summon the gurdwara management to the Akal Takht, and deliver justice," he said. MSID:: 123016954 413 |
Mint
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Rahul Gandhi writes to PM Modi, seeks relief package for Poonch, areas affected by Pakistan shelling
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded that the government must provide a concrete, generous and immediate relief and rehabilitation package for Poonch and other areas affected by Pakistani shelling. Last Saturday, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha visited Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir and spent time with the affected people, including the families who lost their members in the cross-border attacks between May 7 and May 10. Gandhi also visited shelling-hit Gurdwara Singh Sabha, temple Geeta Bhawan and Madrassa Zia-ul-Uloom, besides interacting with the students at the Christ High School. In his letter to Modi, Gandhi said he recently visited Poonch, where 14 people including 4 children have tragically lost their lives and dozens have been injured in Pakistani shelling. "This sudden and indiscriminate attack has caused massive destruction in the civilian areas. Hundreds of homes, shops, schools and religious places have been badly damaged. Many victims said that their years of hard work has been destroyed in one stroke," he wrote. The people of Poonch and other border areas have been living in peace and harmony for decades, he said. "Today when they are going through this deep crisis, it is our duty to understand their pain and provide all possible assistance to rebuild their lives. I urge the Government of India to come up with a solid and generous relief and rehabilitation package for Poonch and all other areas affected by Pakistani shelling," Gandhi said. Sharing a video from the visit, Gandhi said on X, "The pain of Poonch can be felt only after going there. Broken homes, shattered lives - even from the echo of this pain, only one voice comes out - we Indians are one." "I am not requesting, but reminding the government of its responsibility - a concrete, generous and immediate relief and rehabilitation package should be prepared for Poonch and other areas affected by Pakistani shelling. This is not help, it is a duty," Gandhi said in his post in Hindi on X. In the video, many people affected by the shelling were seen sharing their experiences with Gandhi. Gandhi on Saturday had said the border district in Jammu and Kashmir embodies the "harmony, unity and patriotism of Hindustan" and those trying to divide the country will never succeed in their design. Poonch faced the brunt of the Pakistani shelling that left 28 people dead and 70 injured. This was Gandhi's second visit to the Union territory since the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. Gandhi had also visited Srinagar on April 25 to meet those injured in the attack. He met Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and several stakeholders then.
Indian Express
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Hit inside safety of their homes, 4 children among 11 dead in Pakistan shelling near LoC
In a sharp escalation in cross-border shelling, which has gone from small arms fire to heavy artillery, Pakistan targeted the civilian population residing near the Line of Control, killing at least 11 people and leaving 40 injured. While intense artillery fire was also heard in the Uri and Tangdhar sectors of Kashmir Valley, the worst was in Poonch town in Jammu, which saw artillery shells hit residential and government buildings, besides public places, for the first time since the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Many locals moved out to safer places, with the local administration making arrangements at designated locations in Chandak, Lassana, Sanai and Sathra. Though Pakistan has resorted to mortar and artillery shelling along the LoC in Poonch district in the past too, shells have never fallen so deep inside the border town, and particularly in residential areas, locals said. In 2019, after India carried out a surgical strike in PoK's Balakote area in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack, two-three Pakistani shells had fallen near Betar nullah on the outskirts of old Poonch town, recalled Narinder Singh, president of Poonch district's Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The Sikh community residing in Jammu lost at least five members, while the building of the local Gurdwara Singh Sabha suffered damage, he said. The 11 dead include two women and four children, including siblings Zoya Khan, 14, and Zain Khan, 12, who were killed when a Pakistani shell fell on their house at Kalani village. Their father, Rameez Khan, was injured. Two neighbouring shopkeepers at Syndicate Chowk – Amreek Singh, 55, and Ranjit Singh, 48 – died when a shell fell there in the morning. While the former was opening his shop, the latter had just taken his seat inside his establishment. Amreek used to sing hymns (shabads) in religious gatherings and local gurdwaras. Seven-year-old Maryam Khatoon, who was sitting in the compound of her house at Qazi Mohalla, was killed, while her sister Iram Naz, 10, was injured after being hit by splinters of a shell fired from across the LoC. Another minor killed in the shelling was identified as Vihaan Bhargav, 13, a resident of village Dungus. In Mendhar's Mankote area, Balvinder Kour, 35, was killed and her daughter Ravinder Kour, 12, injured. Others killed in the Pakistani shelling, whose identities have been established, include Amarjeet Singh, 47, Mohammad Akram, 40, and Qazi Mohammad Iqbal, all residents of Poonch. 'During the night of May 6-7, Pakistan Army resorted to arbitrary firing, including artillery shelling from posts across the Line of Control opposite J&K,' Lt Colonel Suneel Baratwal, PRO (Defence), Northern Command, said. Heavy shelling was reported in Krishna Ghati, Shahpur and Mankote in Poonch district, besides Laam, Manjakote and Gambhir Brahmana in Rajouri. 'We have been told to shift to ITI College in R S Pura, where arrangements have been made by the government for our stay,' said Liaqat Ali, a resident of Jora Farm. During the day, scores of youth visited the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu to donate blood for those injured. Authorities have ordered the closure of schools and colleges in five border districts — Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch — citing security concerns. Airports in cities close to the border, including Jammu, Srinagar and Leh, have suspended operations. Narinder Singh, the Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president, said they have not witnessed such shelling in decades. 'It is for the first time after the 1971 war that such intense and unabated shelling has been conducted. They are targeting the entire city… deep inside. It started around 1.30 am last night and has only intensified.' Narinder said that Amreek Singh, one of the deceased, 'was with me till a few hours before (his death) as we took a round of the city to assess things after offering prayers at the gurdwara'. 'He was sitting inside his grocery shop with the shutters down when an artillery shell pierced the shutter and hit him,' he said. On the damage to the Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Narinder said it was 'not much' and the interiors are safe. 'A door and some glass windows have suffered damage but we have kept the swaroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib safely inside,' he said.
