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July 17, 2011

Australian school apologises to Sikh boy

Last Updated: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 16:27
Chandigarh: A catholic school in Australia, which had forced a Sikh student to shave off his beard, has apologised to him, Ministry of External Affairs said.

In a communique to Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna, who had demanded Central government's intervention into the incident that took place last month, the MEA said principal of the Melbourne-based school has sought an apology from the student.

"The MEA said it had taken up the issue with the High Commission in Canberra which informed it that the school principal has apologised to the student for hurting religious sentiments," Khanna told reporters here on Thursday. 

According to the letter, the Indian High Commission at Canberra was told that as per the school's rules and regulations, it is mandatory for students to shave off their facial hair. However, at no stage the boy indicated his religious practices and his beard was not shaved off, the MP said.

Last month, the Sikh boy studying in class 11 at an outer northern Christian school in Melbourne was forced to a shave off his beard by the school administration, sparking an outrage among the Indian community which accused the institute of religious discrimination.

UK Sikh Organizations honour Zee Punjabi

Birmingham: For its exemplary service to propagate Punjabi culture and Sikh values across the globe, Zee Punjabi was conferred upon honour by leading Sikh religious organizations in United Kingdom. 

While honouring Zee Punjabi team in Birmingham, Bibi Gurdev Kaur OBE, Chairperson of Sikh Naari Manch UK said, “Ekonkar ’ is a unique contribution of Zee Punjabi to enlighten viewers on the real perspective of Sikhism and it's true values”.
A Zee Punjabi team was specially invited at England’s oldest and historical Khalsa Jatha Gurudwara, better known as Shepherd Bush Gurudwara in west London, for the honour ceremony.

Speaking on this occasion, channel Editor Sanjay Vohra reinforced his commitment to promote and propagate Punjabi language, Punjabi culture and spirituality through news and other programmes.

“Channel’s tag line ‘Apni Boli Apna Maan’ truly endorses our commitment to the same” he emphsized.

Recognizing the growing popularity of ‘Zee’ brand, the team was well received in England by religious groups, cultural groups, social activists and politicians of Indian origin and excellent hospitality was extended to them in London and Birmingham. Sangat TV specially invited the Zee Punjabi team for a live discussion on ‘Religion and Media’.

Complimenting the hosts for their hospitality, Sanjay Vohra said, “It was matchless. Punjabian da koi jawaab nahin bhaanve Amritsar hove jaan London.” (Punjabi hospitality is matchless be it Amritsar or London).

A sizeable Punjabi community from India and Pakistan lives in England so the channel team freely interacted with Punjabis on the streets of Southall and in the Parliament and shared their take on life in England, pressures and challenges thereof.

First Published: Friday, July 08, 2011, 23:33

Court allows extradition of NRI fugitive to US

Jul 16, 2011, 10.26am IST
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court Friday paved the way for non-resident Indian (NRI) fugitive Avtar Singh Grewal's extradition to the US to face trial for allegedly killing his estranged wife in 2007. 

The court dismissed his petition challenging a trial court's decision to allow his extradition. 

The division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Manmohan Singh said: "We find no infirmity or illegality in the order passed by the ACMM (additional chief metropolitan magistrate)." 

Grewal, 37, challenged a trial court's inquiry report which held that there was prima facie sufficient evidence for his extradition to the US. 

The bench said: "We may also point out that we are not sitting in appeal over the report. The petitioner has invoked our extraordinary writ jurisdiction and, in doing so, we do not have to examine as to whether the inquiry order is right or wrong, but we have to examine whether the same are legal or illegal and whether the procedure prescribed in the Extradition Act, as also in the said treaty, have been followed or not." 

"We have already pointed out that we find no illegality in the order and we are of the view that the procedure has been correctly followed," the bench said in its 24-page order. 

"In view of the foregoing discussion, the writ petition has no merit and the same is dismissed," said Justice Ahmed. 

The fugitive, then working as manager with a firm at Vancouver in Canada, allegedly travelled to Phoenix in the US to meet his estranged wife Navneet Kaur and flew out of that country on a one-way ticket after killing her March 29, 2007. 

"Once it is clear, prima facie, that the offence for which the petitioner has been charged constitutes murder under the Indian law, there is no question of invoking article 8 of the Extradition Treaty requiring the government of India to refuse extradition," said the bench. 

The court allowed the plea of A.K. Vali and Naveen K. Matta, special prosecutors of the external affairs ministry, that the offence allegedly committed by the fugitive was an extraditable crime. 

Grewal was arrested on arrival at Delhi airport March 31, 2007 following an alert sounded by theInterpol.

'US visa issuance to Indians good indicator of thriving ties'

Jul 16, 2011, 04.38pm IST
WASHINGTON: Though it has hiked fee for H-1B and L1 visas popular among Indian professionals and companies, the US has said it continues to issue these visas to a large number of Indians which is a "good indicator" of the thriving bilateral ties. 

"US visa issuances to Indians are another good indicator of our thriving relationships," said Robert Hormats, under secretary for economic, energy and agricultural affairs, who would travel to New Delhi and Chennai next week along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to attend the second Indo-US strategic dialogue. 

For the past four years, Indians have received about half of all H-1B visas issued worldwide, and more than 44 per cent of all L1 intra-company transfer visas, he argued. 

"650,000 Indians traveled to the United States in 2010, an 18 per cent increase over the year 2009," he added. 

India has historically been one of the largest sources of international students in the US colleges and universities with over 100,000 students coming here to study last year, Hormats said. 

"We welcome these talented and dynamic students, a source of talent, energy and innovation in our universities and many of them work in the United States after their university years and we welcome the energy and the entrepreneurialism they bring to our private sector as well," he said. 

"Mirroring the Indian enthusiasm for the United States, we would like to see more Americans go to India for tourism, business trips and exchanges. I particularly hope we can exceed the 2,700 Americans who studied in India last year," he said. 

The US-India higher education summit planned for this fall in Washington will bring hundreds of educational institutes together from both of the countries, Hormats said adding that it is aimed at fostering American students' participation in India's educational system and at the growing number of Indians studying in the United States as well. 

"I also hope the diaspora will continue its work in helping to strengthen US-India educational cooperation," he said.

ਬੇਕਾਬੂ ਕਾਰ ਘਰ ‘ਚ ਵੱਜੀ

ਭਾਦਸੋਂ, 16 ਜੁਲਾਈ (ਸੇਵਕ)- ਬੀਤੀ ਦੇਰ ਰਾਤ ਭਾਦਸੋਂ ਤੋਂ ਥੋੜੀ ਦੂਰ ਪੈਂਦੇ ਪਿੰਡ ਬਹਿਬਲਪੁਰ ਵਿਖੇ ਇਕ ਤੇਜ਼ ਰਫਤਾਰ ਫੋਰਡ ਫੀਗੋ ਕਾਰ ਬੇਕਾਬੂ ਹੋ ਜਾਣ ਨਾਲ ਵਾਪਰੇ ਇਕ ਭਿਆਨਕ ਸੜਕ ਹਾਦਸੇ ਵਿਚ ਇਕ ਵਲੈਤਣ ਮੇਮ ਦੇ ਮਾਰੇ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਸਮਾਚਾਰ ਹੈ। ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਮੁਤਾਬਕ ਹਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਪੁੱਤਰ ਬਚਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਾਸੀ ਬਠਿੰਡੀਆ ਮੁਹੱਲਾ ਨਾਭਾ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਪਤਨੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਚੀਅਨ ਕੈਫਰੀਨ ਬਰਸੀ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਕਾਲੇ ਰੰਗ ਦੀ ਫੋਰਡ ਫੀਗੋ ਗੱਡੀ ਵਿਚ ਸਰਹਿੰਦ ਸਾਈਡ ਤੋਂ ਭਾਦਸੋਂ ਵੱਲ ਆ ਰਹੇ ਸਨ ਤਾਂ ਪਿੰਡ ਬਹਿਬਲਪੁਰ ਦੇ ਮੋੜ ‘ਤੇ ਗੱਡੀ ਬੇਕਾਬੂ ਹੋ ਜਾਣ ਨਾਲ ਰਿਹਾਇਸ਼ੀ ਘਰ ਵਿਚ ਜਾ ਵੱਜੀ। ਕਾਰ ਵਿਚ ਸਵਾਰ ਔਰਤ ਬੁਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਜ਼ਖਮੀ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਜਿਸ ਨੂੰ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਹਸਪਤਾਲ ਭਾਦਸੋਂ ਵਿਖੇ ਇਲਾਜ ਲਈ ਲਿਆਉਣ ਸਮੇਂ ਹੀ ਉਹ ਦਮ ਤੋੜ ਗਈ। ਕਾਰ ਚਾਲਕ ਹਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਹਸਪਤਾਲ ਨਾਭਾ ਵਿਚ ਜ਼ੇਰੇ ਇਲਾਜ ਹੈ। ਹਾਦਸਾ ਇੰਨਾ ਭਿਆਨਕ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਕਾਰ ਬੁਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੁਕਸਾਨੀ ਗਈ ਅਤੇ ਰਿਹਾਇਸ਼ੀ ਮਕਾਨ ਵੀ ਬੁਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੁਕਸਾਨਿਆ ਗਿਆ। ਜ਼ਿਕਰਯੋਗ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਨੌਜਵਾਨ ਹਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਤੇ ਉਕਤ ਵਲੈਤਣ ਮੇਮ ਦੀ ਕੋਰਟ ਮੈਰਿਜ ਅਜੇ 2 ਕੁ ਸਾਲ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਹੋਈ ਸੀ। ਮ੍ਰਿਤਕਾ ਦੀ ਉਮਰ ਲਗਭਗ 55 ਸਾਲ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਜ਼ਖਮੀ ਹਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਲਗਭਗ 39 ਸਾਲ ਦਾ ਹੈ। ਦੋਵੇਂ ਫਰਾਂਸ ਵਿਚ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਸਨ ਅਤੇ ਕੁਝ ਦਿਨਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਆਏ ਹੋਏ ਸਨ। ਘਟਨਾ ਬਾਰੇ ਪਤਾ ਚਲਦਿਆਂ ਹੀ ਥਾਣਾ ਭਾਦਸੋਂ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਖੀ ਗੁਰਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੱਲ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਸਮੇਤ ਪਹੁੰਚੇ ਅਤੇ ਘਟਨਾ ਦੇ ਅਸਲ ਕਾਰਨ ਬਾਰੇ ਅਜੇ ਪਤਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਚੱਲ ਸਕਿਆ। ਮਾਮਲੇ ਦੀ ਤਫਤੀਸ਼ ਜਾਰੀ ਹੈ।