Akal Takht Jathedar voices concern over ‘spread of Christianity’ in Punjab

News Network
June 6, 2022

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Amritsar, June 6: Expressing concern over “spread of Christianity" in Punjab, Akal Takht Jathedar Gyani Harpreet Singh on Monday asserted that "churches and mosques" are being built in numbers in rural parts of the state and urged Sikh preachers to visit villages to promote Sikhism.

Delivering his customary address to the Sikh community from the Akal Takht's podium to mark the 38th anniversary of 'Operation Bluestar' here, the Jathedar also said that the Sikh community should make arrangements for the training of the youth in Sikh martial art and other heritage weapons.

"Today, we are confronting several challenges that are weakening us on the religious, social and economic fronts. To weaken us on the religious front, strong publicity of Christianity is being carried on in Punjab," he said.

The Jathedar of the Akal Takht - the highest Sikh temporal seat - said "churches and mosques" are being built in numbers in Punjab's villages and noted "it's a matter of concern and worry for us". This should be tackled by the Sikh institutions and jathebandis (organisations) by coming forward to preaching Sikh faith like the old Sikhs and saints did, he said.

He appealed to all the eminent associated with the Sikh religion to visit villages, especially the border villages, of the state and strengthen Sikh religion. The Jathedar pointed out that the time has come to step out of air-conditioned rooms and said Sikh preachers and scholars need to visit the border areas to promote Sikhism and apprise the youth about the rich Sikh tenets and history.

"We need to understand that if we are weak on the religious front, we will not be strong on economic and social fronts and then politically also, we will be weakened," he said.

The Jathedar said that the Sikhs have been blessed with the determination of Raj (sovereignty) from the time of Gurus (masters), which Sikhs still reiterate in their daily ‘ardas’ as 'Raj Karega Khalsa'.

"And to move in this direction, the Sikh youth will have to move forward in the world by getting high quality education. At the same time, it is imperative for the Sikh community to be proficient in the Sikh martial art received as inheritance," he said.

He said the Sikh community should make arrangements for the training of youth in Sikh martial art (Gatka) and other heritage weapons and also set up the shooting ranges for training of modern weapons as required.

The Jathedar also expressed concern over drug menace afflicting many youths and talked about the need to fight the scourge. Meanwhile, pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by supporters of radical Sikh outfits as well as that of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) at the Golden Temple on the occasion.

The marbled premises of the Golden Temple near Akal Takht echoed with pro-Khalistan slogans.

Many youths held banners and placards with 'Khalistan Zindabad' written on them. They wore T-shirts with the picture of slain separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale printed on them.

Pro-Khalistan slogans were also raised by activists of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by former MP Simranjit Singh Mann, who was also present at the spot. He raised the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala and demanded justice for the family.

Operation Bluestar was a military operation carried out in 1984 to flush out the militants from the Golden Temple.

Elaborate security arrangements were put in place in Amritsar to ensure that the event passed off smoothly.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of the Sikhs, displayed the bullet-ridden holy 'Saroop' (volume) of the Guru Granth Sahib. The 'Saroop', which was installed in the sanctum sanctorum at that time, was hit by a bullet during the military action in 1984. Saying that the ghallughara (holocaust) of June 1984 is a painful saga of atrocities perpetrated on the Sikh community, the Jathedar questioned the heavy deployment of forces by the government in Amritsar city during that time.

"The governments must understand that the Sikh community is not a community which intimidates but it protects the oppressed," he said.

He said that "the attack on several Sikh shrines, including Sri Akal Takht Sahib, still hurts the community and it is a historical fact that whoever attacked the Sikh shrines was doomed".

On the occasion, the family members of several former terrorists were honoured with 'Siropaos' (robes of honour) by Head Granthi Giani Jagtar Singh, Jathedar Gyani Harpreet Singh and SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami.

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News Network
November 7,2024

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The Israeli regime has killed at least 40 people during new airstrikes against eastern Lebanese areas, besides targeting the country’s capital Beirut with fresh acts of aggression.

Lebanon’s health ministry announced the fatalities on Wednesday, saying 53 other people had also been wounded during the aerial attacks that targeted the country’s Bekaa Valley, including the city of Baalbek.

In early Thursday, the regime was also reported to have attacked Beirut’s southern suburbs, including a site adjacent to Rafiq Hariri International Airport.

The attacks came after the regime issued short-notice evacuation orders apparently directed at the residents of the areas, claiming that the areas contained facilities belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement.

Tel Aviv has been using similar claims on countless occasions since last October, when it markedly intensified its deadly acts of aggression against Lebanon, in order to try to justify the escalation. Hezbollah has, however, invariably refuted the claims.

Also on Wednesday, the United Nations warned in its most recent flash report on the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli atrocities targeting Lebanon that the aggression had “reached a critical point.”

The attacks have claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, which was “58 percent more than the 1,900 fatalities” that were caused by the regime’s 2006 war against Lebanon, the report said.

“Additionally, an estimated 1.3 million people have been displaced, both within Lebanon and into neighboring countries, 33 percent more than the number of people displaced in 2006,” it added.

Women comprised the majority of those who had been rendered homeless within Lebanon as a result of the Israeli attacks, the report noted.

It also regretted that the Israeli attacks had featured 78 assaults on healthcare facilities across the country that had claimed the lives of 130 health workers and injured 111 others.

In response to the aggression, Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says its fighters have killed at least 20 Israeli soldiers in northern parts of the besieged Gaza Strip in just two days, in retaliation for the occupying regime’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

In a statement on Monday evening, Hamas said that fighters of its military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, “killed at least five occupation soldiers” in northern parts of the coastal territory earlier in the day.

It added that Hamas fighters also killed 15 Israeli soldiers in the war-ravaged region on Sunday.

The resistance movement’s “qualitative operation … confirms once again the failure of the criminal Zionist entity to suppress and eradicate the Palestinian resistance, which continues to direct qualitative strikes against its terrorist soldiers,” Hamas further said on its Telegram channel.

Palestinians have increased their resistance operations in the face of intensified Israeli aggression in northern Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 over the past weeks.

“Our valiant resistance is waging a war of attrition with the criminal enemy, inflicting daily losses on its soldiers and vehicles, and all of [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bets and dreams of achieving any of his goals are failing,” the Gaza-based resistance movement added.

Hamas also vowed that Israel’s ongoing crimes and aggression against Gaza would be met with increased resistance and painful strikes, which will continue until the aggression against Palestinians ends and the regime fully withdraws from the blockaded territory.

As the war in Gaza enters its 14th month, the Health Ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed at least 43,603 Palestinians and wounded 102,929 others.

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News Network
November 7,2024

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Mangaluru, Nov 7: In the quiet village of Tippunagar, Loretto Padavu, a heartbreaking accident claimed the life of three-year-old Aashika on Wednesday, leaving a family and community shattered.

Aashika, the beloved daughter of Unais from Pattanabailu near Farangipet, was simply enjoying a carefree moment, playing outside her grandmother’s house. It was then that an unimaginable tragedy struck: a parked goods tempo, owned by her uncle, unexpectedly rolled backward, trapping the innocent child beneath its wheels.

Despite her family’s desperate rush to get her to the hospital, little Aashika’s injuries proved too severe, and she was declared dead upon arrival. Her passing has cast a deep shadow over the close-knit community, who grieve alongside her family for the life taken too soon.

The Bantwal traffic police have registered a case and are investigating the incident, while the community mourns the loss of a precious young soul who had only just begun to experience life’s wonder.
 

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