Sikh Skillz

Ik Onkar TV | Sevadaars | Sikh Music Producers | [email protected] sikhskillz.com

[sikhskillz-blog]

Bhai Jagraj Singh of @basicsofsikhi will be at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara 7-8 talking about Naam. Please spread the word and come tonight! (at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara)

[sikhskillz-blog]

Proud To Be A Sikh will be shown at the following locations: Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar, January 23rd at 8:30 pm. Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, February 8th at 7:30 pm. Bhanda Singh Bahadur Gurdwara, February 15 at 7:15 pm.

[sikhskillz-blog]

January 11th, 2015 marks 100 years, to the day, since Mewa Singh's hanging. Come and engage in the century-old tradition of commemorating the life of Mewa Singh in New Westminster. Events will be taking place throughout the day including lectures by academics, scholars, activists, community pioneers and icons; musical and spoken word performances by young South Asians; and a completion ceremony (Bhog) of the uninterrupted recitation of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (Akhand Paath). www.mewasingh.com facebook.com/bhaimewasingh

[sikhskillz-blog]

Black and white challenge day 5 - last of the challenge. We were originally nominated by @northparkssa. Today's nomination is @singhscamp. BATTLE OF SARAGARHI The Battle of Saragarhi was fought by a detachment of twenty-one soldiers of the 36th (Sikh) Bengal Infantry (later the 36th Sikhs). During the late 19th century the British maintained a heavy presence on the North-West Frontier and fought for many years against Afghan tribesmen. Havildar Ishar Singh and twenty comrades held the signal post of Saragarhi, a small block house with loop-holed ramparts and a signalling tower situated on a rocky ridge between two British-controlled fortifications. A surprise attack by thousands of Afghans on 12 September stranded the twenty-one men without reinforcements. Although massively outnumbered, they inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. It was a battle that could not be won, so they fought to the last man. All this time, the signaller Sepoy Gurmukh Singh continued flashing the details of the action back to the commanding officer of the regiment at Fort Lockhart. When the tribesmen finally breached the fort walls, Sepoy Gurmukh Singh asked headquarters for permission to shut down the heliograph and take up his rifle. Permission was flashed back. The final message from the signaller said that every other member of the team had died fighting and now he would kill as many as he could before also dying; that would therefore be the last signal. He dismounted his heliograph equipment, packed it in a leather bag, fixed bayonet on his rifle and joined the fight. From this vantage point in the tower he wrought havoc on the intruders in the post. He died fighting, but took twenty of the enemy with him. All twenty-one soldiers were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, the highest gallantry award given to Indian soldiers in those days, in an event that remains unparalleled in military history. Memorials were raised at on the site of the Saragarhi post, at Amritsar in the form of a gurdwara, and on the cantonment at Ferozepur, where most of the men hailed from.

[sikhskillz-blog]

Black and white challenge day 4. Today we are nominating @dharamseva. JASWANT SINGH KHALRA In September of 1995, the Punjab police abducted, tortured, and murdered human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra for his work in uncovering thousands of disappearances, extrajudicial deaths, and secret cremations of Sikhs perpetrated by the Punjab police. Jaswant Singh Khalra's investigation of disappearances led him to Amritsar's municipal cremation grounds, where he discovered records revealing that the Punjab police had paid for firewood to cremate thousands of "unidentified bodies." The records also exposed the identity of the police stations and officials responsible for depositing the bodies, and in many cases, the identity of the victim, despite the body being classified as "unclaimed/unidentified." #ChallengeTheDarkness #ShaheedJaswantSinghKhalra

[sikhskillz-blog]

Black and white challenge day 3. We were originally nominated by @northparkssa. Our next nomination for the challenge is @saffronstudios. It literally translates to the "entire Sikh Nation" but as a political institution it refers to the meetings of the Dal Khalsa, Sikh Misls, and the legislature of the Sikh Empire.The first Sarbat Khalsa was called by the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh before his death in 1708 and the tradition of calling Sarbat Khalsa has continued ever since at times of hardship or conflict.The last major Sarbat Khalsa was in 1986 at the declaration of Khalistan was made outside of the Akal Takht Sahib. A verse in the Sarbloh Granth, generally ascribed to the Guru, declares: Khalsa is the army of the Akal Purakh, Khalsa is born of the wish of the Supreme Spirit. Sarbat Khalsa as the Guru Panth, along with the Guru Granth Sahib, is held to be the true and eternal spiritual successor in the line of personal Gurus ending with Guru Gobind Singh. Sarbat Khalsa is mentioned in the daily Panthic Ardas as follows: ਪ੍ਰਿਥਮੇ ਸਰਬੱਤ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਅਰਦਾਸ ਹੈ ਜੀ, ਸਰਬੱਤ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਜੀ ਕੋ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ, ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ, ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਚਿਤ ਆਵੇ Prathmae sarbatt Khaalsaa jee kee Ardaas haae jee, sarbatt Khaalsaa jee ko Vaheguroo, Vaheguroo, Vaheguroo, chitt aavae

[sikhskillz-blog]

Black and white challenge day 2. Our nomination for today is @shaheedi. DARH TERE TE Darh Tere Te Kharhe Savaali, At your doorstep, we are standing here before you as blessed expectants Khair Mehr Di Pa Data, Give us your blessing like one gives to a poor begger Nadar Savalli, Rehmat Karke, Apni Charni La Data. Keep your eyes overlooking us, Bless us your pity, and keep us at the reign of your feet. Auganhaar Haan, Gun Nahi Koi We are without virtues, We have no qualities Par Tu Bakhshanhaar Pita But you are the forgiving figurative father for us Lakhan Paapi Taar Dite Ne You have blessed and forgiven numerous sinners Saanu Vi De Taar Pita Please bless us and fogive us for we want to reunite with you Jis Ke Sir Uppar Tu Swami The one you look over and back support to Lagge Na Tatti Vaah Data They are not even touched by the heat of wind Uthdian Baindiyan, Naam Dhiayiye Sitting, Standing, Walking, etc, We keep your True Name in mind Ik Pal Vi Tu Bhullen Naa You aren’t forgotten even for a moment Vadhe Jag Vich Saanjhi Vaalta, May the world attain oneness as a human race Zehr Mana Vich Ghulle Naa, Shall it be as such that Poison should not be instilled into humanity Tere Bhaane Vich Sarbat Da Under your reign, In your world Hove Sada Bhalla Data Shall everyone be blessed and live happily Teri Ott, Bharosa Tera It’s all your support, It’s our faith in you Sarb Kala Samrath Guru Fulfilled with all praises, The one who created, takes care of, the world, True Guru Aap Japaan, Te Naam Japaavan I recite your Name, and Urge others to do the same Bakhsh Lio De Hath Guru Help me, Bless me, by giving me your hand True Guru Sharn Pia Di Laaj Rakhi Tu Protect our dignity and respect, as we have come to your light Teri Sharni Aaye Haan We have come to your Light, to your spiritual courtyard Tere Sharni Bhet Karn Lei To present and gift to you, in this spiritual courtyard Kavita Phull Liaye Haan We have brought a flower in the form of this poem Likhe Pamadi, Inder Kooner Pamadi writes, and Inder Kooner, Kavita Riha Hai Gaa Data, He is singing Lord

[sikhskillz-blog]

Our photo for the black and white challenge we give the Panj Pyare from Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar's Nagar Kirtan earlier this year. PANJ PYARE At crucial moments of history Panj Pyare have collectively acted as supreme authority, representing the Guru-Panth. During the battle of Chamkaur, it was the last five sulviving Sikhs who, constituting themselves into the Council of Five, Panj Pyare, commanded Guru Gobind Singh to leave the fortress and save himself to reassemble the Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh had abolished the masand system and before he passed away, he also ended the line of living gurus. In the institution of Panj Pyare, he had created the nucleus of a casteless and democratic continuing society. We were nominated by @northparkssa. We nominate @sygm1. Post a black and white image for the next five days.

[sikhskillz-blog]

“From among the women held in the room, the hoodlums asked each other to select whoever they chose. All the women were stripped and many dishonoured. She herself was raped by ten men. Their lust satisfied, they told the women to get out, naked as they were. For fear of their lives they did so, hiding their shame as best as possible. Each begged or borrowed a garment from relenting neighbours and sought shelter wherever they could.” Artwork By: @anoopcaur #30YearsOf84 #NeverForget #Rape #Dehli #India #NeverForget84

[sikhskillz-blog]

“My father could not bear the weight of my sadness; he died of a heart attack three months after my husband was murdered. I had gone to my father’s home twelve days after being widowed; he could not bear my condition. He died.” Artwork By: @talveen21 #30YearsOf84 #NeverForget #Widow #India #Dehli #November #NeverForget84

[sikhskillz-blog]

"They say it has been more than 30 years so forget the 1984 massacres, but how can I? Not one day goes by without me thinking about it" Bhaggi Kaur, survivor of 1984 Sikh massacres. #30YearsOf84 #Massacre #Rape #Murder #Genocide #India #IncredibleIndia #HumanRights #Asia #Diaspora #NeverForget84 #Sikh #Peace #Resist #Simran #Gurbani #Katha #Amrit #Kirtan Artwork by @anoopcaur

[sikhskillz-blog]

“How much money does the government need; I will give it to them. I just want them to return my husband to me; he was my everything. Those who have experienced this loss, bhenji, only they will understand what I’m saying. That woman was Rajiv’s mother; mother’s age and then they have to die. Sons get married and in any case leave their mothers alone. My life was him; my life was to be with him. My life ended that day” - Kuldeep Kaur , Betrayed By The State Artwork By: @anoopcaur #30YearsOf84 #India #NeverForget #Dehli #NeverForget84

[sikhskillz-blog]

“Numerous woman were gang raped in these areas after the men and infant boys had been killed. One such case was referred from the Shahdara Mental Hospital to JP Hospital – a young girl who had no clue to her identity, so brutally had she been ravished. Many cases went unreported as the women concerned wanted their shame to remain buried with the cinders of their homes” – Who are the Guilty? (1984), People’s Union for Democratic Rights and People’s Union for Civil Liberties - 31 October to 4 November 1984 Artwork By : @talveen21 #30YearsOf84 #GangRape #NeverForget #India #Dehli #NeverForget84

[sikhskillz-blog]

"The sisters clung together; it was as if they had been apart for 8 years and not 8 days. For the first time they were allowed themselves to grieve for their parents and brother. Balvinder refused to let go of her sisters for even a minute. The 2 younger girls would wake up night after night saying, ‘they are killing Mummy and Papa’, and Satpal, herself still a child, would have to comfort them. " - I Accuse: The Anti Sikh Violence of 1984 by Jarnail Singh Artwork by @anoopcaur #30YearsOf84 #Massacre #Genocide #India #Dehli #StillNoJustice #NeverForget84

[sikhskillz-blog]

“I can still hear those sounds at night – ‘Ho, ho, ho, maro, maro, maro.’ The way they hit the rod behind the head, the cracking of the skull, they aimed it just right. Those who have witnessed these events cannot remain untouched” Art by @krantikari_art #30YearsOf84 #Witness #LivingHistory #Violence #Tyranny #Oppression #Massacre #NoJustice #NeverForget84

[sikhskillz-blog]

"Take me away, wails a three year old girl, crawling from under the bodies of her father and three brothers and stepping over countless others lying in her one roomed tenement, collapsing into the hands of a reporter” Politics of a Pogrom, Rahul Kuldip Bedi Artwork by @harman_gillz #30YearsOf84 #Massacre #Kids #Children #Journalism #News #India #Dehli #NeverForget84

[sikhskillz-blog]

"Ashoka Hotel is a five-minute walk from the Prime Minister’s residence but it was not this that disturbed me when that first mob surrounded my car. What disturbed me more was that it consisted, not just of young men, but of children who seemed to think they were playing some kind of game when they waved their oil soaked rags in my face and threatened to set the car on fire if there were Sikhs in it" - Talveen Singh Artwork by Komal Kaur of #UnspokenArt #30YearsOf84 #Children #1984 #Genocide #NeverForget #Delhi #Disturbed #NotAGame #NeverForget84