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The Sikh Coalition Newsletter
Justice for All - The Weekly Newsletter
Katik 24, 534 NanakShahi
November 7, 2002
Volume 17
Coalition Receives "Creating a Voice"
Award
The Sikh Coalition was recognized for its positive contributions
in working against hate crimes and for its education and advocacy
campaigns at Project Impact’s annual “Creating a Voice”
awards banquet in Washington, DC. The banquet was attended by
South Asians from the entertainment, business, political, and
media arenas.
Fellow awardees included Mr. Subodh Chandra, City of Cleveland's
Director of Law; Aziz Haniffa, National Affairs Editor and Chief
Diplomatic and Political Correspondent for India Abroad; Dr.
Irshaid Shaikh, Chester, Pennsylvania Health Commissioner; and
Seema Singh, Public Advocate-designate for the State of New
Jersey. Ms. Sonia Nikore, Vice-President of Casting for NBC,
delivered the evening’s keynote address, and Ms. Ayesha
Nariman, a South Asian running for Congress in New Jersey, was
a featured guest speaker.
In accepting the award, The Coalition recognized the invaluable
contributions of the many organizations and individuals who
have partnered with The Coalition in its initiatives, and called
for continued united efforts to address the challenges faced
by all minority communities.
The Coalition would like to thank Project Impact for this most
meaningful award. To learn more about the event and about Project
Impact, please visit www.project-impact.org.
Coalition Wins Dismissal of Kirpan Case in
NYC
Ravinder Singh (Bhalla), an attorney representing The Sikh
Coalition, successfully defended Joginder Singh in Criminal
Court in Manhattan on Thursday, October 31. Joginder Singh was
arrested for wearing the kirpan and spent a night in jail as
a result. At the hearing, Ravinder Singh argued that the kirpan
is a Sikh article of faith and mandated by Sikhi. The judge
consequently dismissed the case. [Resources
on the Kirpan]
Coalition Co-sponsors Community Forum in Richmond,
VA
The Sikh Coalition co-sponsored a Community Forum addressing
“Profiling and Hate Crimes in a Post-9/11 World” on
Wednesday, October 23rd. Held at the University of Richmond
School of Law in Richmond, VA, the Forum included two screenings
of the hate crimes documentary, “Raising Our Voices,”
and a panel discussion discussing these issues in depth. The
panel included Professors Rod Smolla and Azizah al-Hibri from
the faculty of the law school, Professor Archana Bhatt from
the undergraduate campus, Nicolas Rathod, a civil rights attorney
and SAALT Board Member, and Amandeep Singh (Sidhu), Director
of Regional Affairs for the Sikh Coalition. The panel was moderated
by Dean W. Clark Williams from the law school, who said, “this
event has opened our eyes to the situation facing Sikhs, Muslims,
and South Asians following 9/11 – it was an invaluable
learning opportunity for us all.”
Both the screenings and the panel discussion were extremely
well attended by students and faculty from the University of
Richmond, as well as members of the greater Richmond area community.
[Details
of the Event
[Information on the
South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT) “Raising
Our Voices”]
If you would like to arrange for a screening of this video
in your community, please contact us at info@sikhcoalition.org
or email the SAALT Project Coordinator at deepa@saalt.org.
Coalition Co-sponsors "Raising our
Voices" Screening in Seattle, WA
The Sikh Coalition and the Hate Free Zone Campaign of WA sponsored
a screening of the SAALT documentary, “Raising Our Voices,”
in Seattle Central Community College on Monday, November 4.
The screening was followed by a short Question and Answer session
discussing the need for dialogue on racism, hate crimes and
discrimination. The event received a very positive response
from the student body. The Coalition would like to thank Ms.
Dimpal Jain, Multicultural Events and Activities Coordinator
for the college, who was instrumental in organizing this event.
Seeking Equal Opportunity for Sikh Women in
Panthic Seva
The Coalition calls for members of the Sikh community to sign
a petition expressing support for Sikh women to be granted equal
opportunity in panthic seva.
The Sikh Gurus unequivicolly taught equality of women and men
and put these tenets into practice by encouraging women to take
leadership roles in all aspects of panthic life. However, today
we have strayed from these teachings in many respects, and women
are denied equal oppurtunity to perform seva at the Sikh capital
in Amritsar, Darbar Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple).
Although a resolution was passed in 1966 by the Jathedars of
four Takhats and the Shiromani Parbhandak Committee recognizing
Sikh women’s equal right to perform Seva at Darbar Sahib,
women are still not allowed to partake in early morning seva
there, and no Sikh woman has yet been given the opportunity
to perform kirtan at Darbar Sahib.
A petition has been started as an initial effort to reverse
this situation. The petition states, “It is urgent and
imperative that this denial of Seva to women be immediately
rectified.” It calls for the enforcement of equal rights
for women to participate in seva at Darbar Sahib and equal opportunity
for women to be appointed as Granthis and leaders. These requirements
are consistent with Sikhism and exemplify the teachings and
practices of the Sikh Gurus.
The Sikh Coalition highly commends the efforts of the organizers
of the petition. It is imperative that we show commitment to
upholding the equality of women as a unified community. We therefore
call upon all Sikhs to sign
the petition.
To endorse the petition as an organization, or to find out
how you can help, please email sevapetition@yahoo.ca.
[More information
on The Coalition’s Women’s Program]
Further Reading on Darbar Sahib:[The
Golden Temple: Its Theo-political Status]
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