07-04-2011, issue

Tel: 905-670-1522, Fax: 416-661-7273 Vol.8 , No. 1071 Thursday, April 07, 2011 25 Chetah, Nanaksahi Calendar 543

Sikh Press Staff Reporter

(April 6-2011) Liberal candidate Gurbax Malhi

became the talk of the town today when he

choose word like “dogs are barking” in response

to the conservative candidate`s suggestion for

him to renew his real estate license because he

is gone need it. Bal Gosal made these comments

in the presence of Hon. Jason Kenney at his

campaign office during a rally on Monday

afternoon. The host of ankhila punjab radio,

Sukhminder Singh Hansra played audio clip of

Bal Gosal then asked Malhi’s response. Liberal

incumbent Mr. Malhi used a phrase from

Punjabi saying that if a dog runs through cotton

field, won`t get quilt. He then reiterated that

dogs are barking and he has blessing of

almighty. After intervention from the host, he

said he did not name anyone.

This became hot topic within minutes,

phone line start lighting like a storm in the

studio said Hansra. He said there were no plans

for a open line program but the circumstances

compelled to make a quick change in the

programming. Many calls came to criticize the

language used by Mr. Malhi.

NDP candidate from BRAMLEA

GORE MALTON, Mr. Jagmeet Singh was

quick to ask for an apology from both candi-

dates. In a release issued by Jagmeet`s cam-

paign office said “It is important that all

candidates take their responsibility as role mod-

els and community leaders seriously”.

Singh said the use of profanity, insults

and personal attacks should be discouraged as

they are cheap tactics to distract voters from the

real issues facing the community. He urges both

candidates to apologize to the community and

constituents.

The constituents are upset and calling

me to know more about the incident said

Hansra. He told Sikh Press that the conservative

candidate Bal Gosal has called me to ask for an

audio recording of the program which will be

provided after his formal request. Baljeet Gosal

told me that he has received many phone calls

about Malhi`s gaff on radio.

Apology demanded

Ludhiana, Punjab: The per-

formance of Sukhdev

Singh amazed spectators as

he came on stage with inno-

vative ‘Sikh war tool’ that

shoots 12 arrows without

loading it again. A disciple

of Baba Banda Singh Ba-

hadur Gatka Akhara,

Sukhdev was taking part in

the first district-level

‘gatka’ competition at Guru

Nanak Dev Engineering

College. Seven teams from

various ‘akharas’ took part.

He targeted a card-

board placed at a distance

of around 20 metres and

hisd plastic arrows knocked

the board as effectively as a

bullet.

Sukhdev said, “This

is one of the ancient arms

that Sikhs used in war. It

has a magazine fitted over

the wooden body.”

Telling how to operate it, he

said, “The operator needs

to stretch his legs to hold it

in both hands like a camera.

He loads arrows and

presses the trigger.”

Kamaan, a Sikh War Tool

Sukhdev Singh with his ‘kamaan’.

Courageous Journalism02 April 07, 2011

Closer you get, clearer you see the ConservatismBrampton/SP Bureau/April 5-2011:-

The conservative culture of divisive

attitudes is more and more visible in

Brampton and Mississauga as the

election draws near.

It is the culture of playing

partisan games. To note, they even

hand pick journalists for opportuni-

ties to meet and greet their leaders

perhaps, just to push their agendas,

rather then actually engaging voters

about their policies to win their

votes. For example Hansra Group is

a Mississauga based media outlet

with three major components, is ex-

periencing difficulties to have a one

on one with the Prime Minister, per-

haps because some of the notes in the

conservative war room are written in

red ink by some local supports of the

Conservative Candidates in Bramp-

ton. “These types of tactics are to-

tally rubbish to think that our media

outlet is bias in anyway” said

Sukhminder S. Hansra of Hansra

Group.

In the Punjabi Daily news-

room, journalists are struggling to

get information where as the minister

Kenney and Prime Minister Stephen

Harper are rolling around giving

roundtable meetings to their hand

picked Punjabi journalists.

This has been brought to at-

tention of Dimiti Soudas and other

PMO media individuals recently and

in the past and no response other then

“we can’t bring everyone to PM’s

roundtable” He noted that the Prime

Minister came to Brampton and no

questions were granted to ethnic

media, though the crowd and the pur-

pose of his visit was to address

the people of the riding.

Mr. Hansra also pointed out

that during the general

election in 2008, To-

ries had written off the

ethnic media. When our marketing

people approached their office for

buying ads, they were told that we do

not have any funds for ethnic media,

where as now in 2011, the party war

room is playing divisive games to

hand pick their favourite journalists

to cater. ‘This could cost Tories big

time if they stick to their divide and

rule policy” said senior member of

the Punjabi Press Club of Canada &

radio host Sukhdev Singh Gill. Gill

said that no defection from Liberals

has been seen even though the prime

minister and immigration minister

has routinely been seen in the streets

of Brampton.

Should Canadianpoliticians attend SikhGenocide Conference?

Sukhminder Singh Hansra

Recently Amnesty Interna-

tional criticized Canadian

Government for their stand

for Human Rights. Canada

was known to be a champion

for Human Right, which been

slipping due to wrong politi-

cal decisions by our politi-

cians.

When Sikh Genocide

was taking place in New

Delhi in 1984 after the assas-

sination of the Prime Minister

of India Ms. Indira Gandhi,

Canadian foreign minister

Hon. Joe Clark was present

there. He saw first hand the

killing of Sikhs in the streets

of New Delhi, yet when he

came back to Canada, he is-

sued a secret memo to all

Canadian politicians to refrain

from attending functions of

Sikh organizations. Since then

the Canadian Sikhs are living

under a suspicious shadow.

The fact is that Canada, a

human rights champion

started trading human rights

for economic benefit.

After 26 years, a liberal mp

from Brampton West Mr. An-

drew Kania filed a petition in

the House of Commons ask-

ing the Government of

Canada to recognize the mass

killing of Sikhs in 1984 as

GENOCIDE. 4 liner petition

created a hue and cry for In-

dian Government and Indian

citizens in garb of Canadian

citizens, who raised concerns

and painted those who were

trying to seek Justice for

30000+ dead Sikhs as extrem-

ists.

Canadian Politicians

stood still and watched idle.

Will Canada continue doing

that? I think Canada need to

uphold our standard as a

Human Rights champion.

For this very same reason, it

is imperative that the Cana-

dian politicians should attend

the Sikh Genocide conference

happening in Malton at

Moonlight Convention Center

on Saturday April 9th 2011, to

watch evedential documen-

tary film prepared by the Sikh

for Justice and hear some

speakers who can shed some

light .

April 07, 2011 03 Courageous Journalism

Stephen Harper made over-

tures to new immigrants in

the Greater Toronto Area

Wednesday, but questions

persisted over why a num-

ber of people were barred

from attending Conserva-

tive events earlier this week.

On Tuesday, several

people said they were

kicked out of Conservative

rallies in Ontario for various

reasons, ranging from Face-

book profile pictures to

bumper stickers to attending

climate-change confer-

ences. Harper responded

Wednesday to the criti-

cisms, saying that local or-

ganizers are responsible for

security, but emphasized

there are "literally thou-

sands of people coming out

to these events."

Similar to Tuesday,

he declined to comment on

what took place at the rallies

in southwestern Ontario or

to respond when asked

whether staff actually check

attendees' Facebook ac-

counts. One of those barred

from a London, Ont., event

had posted a picture of her-

self on Facebook with Lib-

eral Leader Michael

Ignatieff. "I think it's better

when you're turning people

away than when you can't

get people to come but as I

say I don't want to comment

on individual cases," Harper

said. The RCMP also re-

leased a statement Wednes-

day after a man came

forward saying a Mountie

was the one that kicked him

out of an event.

"A RCMP officer

came up to us and said,

‘This is a private event and

organizers want you out and

you either leave or we will

escort you out," Ismail Hirji,

who was preregistered for a

Tory rally, told Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the

RCMP sent out a brief state-

ment to officers, saying that

they are only responsible for

the security of party leaders,

not for managing political

events.

"RCMP members

assigned to the security de-

tails for party leaders have

been reminded of their re-

sponsibilities," said the note

from spokesman Sgt. Greg

Cox. It's not the first time

the Conservatives have used

the police to keep journalist

or members of the public

away from events.

In 2008, a prime

ministerial aide had the

Mounties move the media

away from Harper. The aide

was later appointed to the

Senate. The Liberals were

quick to pounce on the

issue, posting a parody of

Conservative Facebook

tactics.

Harper on defensive over rally restrictions

Courageous Journalism04 April 07, 2011

Some tims; electioneering and its prop-

aganda gets over nasty turns into a real

verbal abuse against one another.

Covering election in India with “Peo-

ples’Gaurdian” some where in early

1970, a candidate was virtuelly hy-

jacked and was returned unharmed after

the elctions. There are cases when the

Candidate is assaulted and some times

meet his tragic death. It is politics, any

way. Political leaders meet such fate no

matter they are Gandhis or president

John Fitgerard Kennedys.

It is exciting to the point when

the Parties show their plumes and on the

attack of the opponent, or else show

their white feathers and run. No matter

it is India or Canada on electoral fight;

all finish to death for success. Since the

fall of the Tory Government all Polical

Parties are criss crossing Canada as if

the voter does not know what to do with

his vote and these Parties are the only

School Masters to teach its use. To my

mind in a Western World like Canada

campaign and propaganda must be

stopped for all parties so that they may

have the period of detoxification of all

political glut.

This idea will save millions of

tax payers’ money on wasteful mad run.

Millions of pounds of smoke pollution

of cars, coaches and chartered plane

will stop. Above all, the mental pollu-

tion of verbal abuse of all Candidates on

our ear drums may give us a restful

sleep. In westren World, epithets like

stupid, foolish, absurd, brain damaged,

mad statements, bitchiness, are very

common. They often hurl these slurs

upon one another.Recent remarks of

Stephen Harper of “ You Ethnics” be-

came talk of the town for the liberals.

It looks that electioneering is

not the War of Roses but a War of

words. Why not induct a new idea of

making Canada a land of no campaign-

ing, no convassing, no speeches and no

wooing for the Parties. It is an educted

society; leave them alone to chose their

own party candidate. It looks just as our

eating wearing and transport is gov-

erned not by our own psychic order of

selection, but by the advertising agen-

cies and propaganda machine of com-

mercialism; so do we select our party

candidates. We are left with no choice

of our own. You cannot deny the fact

that without propaganda and commer-

cial advertisement you cannot sell your

self and your product. You simply can

not over rule it. Where as election de-

void of partie, slogans, advertisement,

debates, calling names and casting

down the opponent remains no more a

marriage party, but a dolesome

funeral procession.

Canada being the melting pot

for many cultures and societies; is learn-

ing soon the phrases and the sign lan-

guage of “ These people!” I am sorry I

am also using those divisive hateful

words or else there is no harm in calling

a spade a spade. What else will you

say! In the West to show a finger means

some thing nasty; but in Indian culture

it has the nicety if you point to the sky

it means God is great or God is one. A

western women loves to call her hus-

band, “ My dogie, my darling dogie!”

In Indian culture to call a husband

“dogie”will end up in husbands’ wrath

and else in divorce. To throw a shoe on

some one in the West; means not more

than a retort, a shoe string, but in Indian

or Middle East culture it is most uncom-

mon degradation to throw a shoe on any

body; as did a Journalist on home Min-

ister and in Iraq some one threw a shoe

on President Bush.

Recent Radio Show of Ankhila

Punjab had an interview with Mr. Gur-

buksh Malhi on his campaign and how

his opposition of Conservative Candi-

date has remarked that Mr. Malhi

should get his “real estate licence re-

newed”. In fact, it was a sarcastic re-

marks saying that he should go to his

old profession.

On this remarks Mr. Malhi lost

his cool and labelled all his opponents

as “howling dogs” not once, but four or

five times. Along with that he used

some “dog culture” phraseology that

will lose its impact in any translation

of English.

How does Mr. Malhis’ Party

take it or how the Conservative Party

candidates react to these remarks is

their plate of pie! For us; as tied up with

Punjabi culture; isnt it too much over

savoury or really sour!!

Toronto/Sikh Press:- The National radio

C.B.C hosted a Canada wide discussion

on attention towards ethnic voters in

forthcoming election. It was hosted by

renowned Radio host Micheal Enright.

The members of the penal were Ms.

Sama Elbiary who is the host of Mon-

trial based Arabic Radio called Carvan.

Frank Qi who is the editor of Chinese

TV television station FairChild TV, An-

gelo Percicilo who is the editor for Ital-

ian newspaper and is a weekly columnist

of Toronto Star, Mr. Sukhminder Singh

Hansra who is the managing editor of

Punjabi Daily, Sikh Press and host of the

the Ankhila Punjab a Radio.

In this discussion, Mr.

Sukhminder Singh Hansra exposed the

main concerns of the Sikhs living in

Canada; exclusive from the issues of

all Canadians. In these Sikh issues; one

outstanding concern is the genocide of

the Sikhs in India. It is the main issue

where the parliamentarians stood

against the petition filed by a Liberal

Member of Parliament in June 2010.

Hansra said the opposing Candidates

may have to face the hornets’ nest. He

further stressed

if the Govern-

ment of India

had justified the

issues and con-

cens of the

Sikhs; there

would be no

need for the

Sikh to raise it

today in

Canada. It is a

pity that the

High Commis-

sioner of India

influenced the

Canadian polit-

ical parties not

to support geno-

cide petition of the Canadian Sikhs.

In his discussion Mr. Hansra

emphasised the gravity of the Punjabi

ethnic votes by saying that all political

Parties kicked off their campaign right

from Brampton and Mississauga; due to

the fact that these ethnic votes do bal-

ance the swing of vote bank. Along with

that Mr. Hansra said that the remarks

“You People” by Stephen Harper is not

very much cherished by our community

and we do realise that the term is very

much divisive.

Remarking on NDP leadership;

Mr. Sukhminder Singh Hansra said that

Jack layton is a hero for the Sikhs. Re-

garding the NDP Candidate; Jagmeet

Singh, Mr. Hansra said that he could

damage Mr. G Malhi in a considrable

way. As regard Sikh and their strong

participation in Canadian politics; Mr.

Hansra Remarked that, “ Politics is a

passion for the Sikhs”

The most out standing sum up

of Mr. Hansra were; when he said that if

ethnicity is a divisive phrase, do not use

it for us as ethnic media, we are the new

mainstream.

Dr. Solomon Naz ( 416-661-7272+3)

Election Preparednessand Propaganda

Discussion on Ethnic Votes hit CBC Airwaves!

Angelo Percicilo, editor for Italian newspaper, Michael Enright CBC The Sunday Edition, Sukhminder Singh Hansra

05 April 07, 2011 Courageous Journalism

by Dr. Amarjeet Singh

‘Some operatives are engaged in the ‘statistical ethniccleansing’ of the worlds’ Sikhs! They MUST be stopped!India, the worlds’ largest demoN-

cracy, released (last Thursday) the

first results of the (2011) census

which shows that the world’s second-

most populous nation (India) had

added, in the past decade, another

181 million people (equivalent to

about six ‘Canadas’) to reach a huge

population total of one billion two

hundred million, despite the fact that,

India’s bigoted Brahmin-castedomi-

nated ruling elite, has been engaged

in ‘statistical’ and physical ‘ethnic

cleansing’ of minorities like the

Sikhs, tribals, Muslims, Dalits and

other minorities.

While people are focused on

the results of the 2010 census a ‘sta-

tistical ethnic cleansing’ of the Sikhs

has been discovered. There is no bet-

ter example in the whole world, of

statistical ‘ethnic cleansing’ than the

current state-sponsored exercise,

being covertly carried out by Indian

Intelligence agency operatives on be-

half of the Indian rulers to reduce the

numbers of a muscular and proud mi-

nority – the Sikhs. This ‘statistical

ethnic cleansing’ of the Sikhs is

being carried out in the worlds’ top

Encyclopedias, Almanacs and Year

books etc., to somehow reduce the

number of the worlds’ Sikhs and thus

reduce their voice and their influ-

ence. The following lines will show

how the muscular, prosperous hard

working Sikhs are being ‘ethnically

cleansed’ by the use of statistics:- Ac-

cording to the ‘2008 New York

Times World Almanac And Book of

Facts’ page 711 (Library of Congress

Catalog Card Number 4-3781: Soft-

cover ISBN-10: 1-60057-072-0:

ISBN 13: 978-1-60057- 072-8) the

worlds’ Sikh population was shown

(four years ago, in 2008) as number-

ing twenty five million, eight hun-

dred and eighty thousand, one

hundred (yes 25, 880, 100). This

number was sourced to the presti-

gious 2007 Encyclopedia Britannica,

on page 711 of the widely-used 2008

New York Times World Almanac and

Year book published by World Al-

manac Books, 132 West, 31st street,

New York, NY 10001.

Lo and behold, one year later,

the Sikh population for the whole

world, in 2009, was shown as having

dropped to 22, 927, 500 (from the

2008 figure of 25, 880, 100, men-

tioned in the above paragraph) and

published in the prestigious ‘2009

New York Times World Almanac

And Book Of Facts’, page 682 (Li-

brary of Congress Catalog Card No.

43781: Soft-cover ISBN-10: 1-

60057-105-0: ISBN 13: 978-1-

60057-105-3). About Three million

Sikhs just disappeared from the face

of the earth – statistically ‘cleansed’

as a consequence! These reduced

numbers were also sourced to the

prestigious and widely used 2008

Encyclopedia Britannica by the

‘2009 New York Times World Al-

manac And Book Of Facts’. A tele-

phone call was made to The World

Almanac Books publisher of the Al-

manac in New York (which was at-

tended by an employee with an

accent) who was asked to correct the

false (reduced) entry for the world’s

Sikh population. He promised to look

into it. He did’nt!

One year later, in 2010, in-

stead of making a correction, or mak-

ing amends, the ‘2010 New York

Times World Almanac And Book Of

Facts’, page 705 (Library of Con-

gress Catalog Card No. 4-378: Soft-

cover ISBN-13: 978-1-123-7 ::

ISBN-10: 1-123-9) had the chutzpah

to repeat the previous years 22, 927,

500 figure, without a + or – change,

as the number of Sikhs in the world

stood still at the number of 22, 927,

500. This grave error was again

brought to the attention of World Al-

manac Books, the publishers of the

2010 New York Times World Al-

manac And Book Of Facts.

However, after repeated tele-

phone calls, the “2011 New York



ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-134-3 ::

ISBN-10: 1-60057-134-4) has grudg-

ingly shown the world-wide Sikh

population as being 24, 222, 700,

which number is still short by one

million, six hundred fifty seven thou-

sand from the published 2008 figure,

of 25, 880, 100 Sikhs. Prior to 2008

Almanac the number of Sikhs in the

world had been increasing by about

five to seven hundred thousand every

year. The correct number of the

worlds’ Sikhs, for 2011, with the nor-

mal Punjabi increase, should have

been around + or – around 28 mil-

lion. Nobody in this world is inter-

ested in reducing the number of the

worlds’ Sikhs by use of statistics ex-

cept the Indian rulers who want to

make the Sikhs a minority in the

strategic Sikh homeland of Punjab,

Khalistan which borders Pakistan.

Going by the ‘Duck’ adage that ‘if it

walks like a duck, looks like a duck,

quacks like a duck – it is a duck’. It

is obvious this ‘statistical’ assault on

the world’s Sikhs, has been spon-

sored and carried out by some min-

ions of the Indian government as the

‘finger prints’ of the rogue Indian In-

telligence agency - RAW – are visi-

ble all over this episode. Sikh

compatriots in the legal profession,

who read this column in the United

States and Canada ought to have a

‘look see’ so that the matter can be

properly pursued through the courts.

Getting back to the first re-

sults of the ongoing (2010) census,

announced last Thursday, (mentioned

in paragraph one above) the 2010 ac-

tual Indian census population figure

of one billion, two hundred and ten

million far exceeds the projected

2010 population figure for India of

one billion one hundred and seventy

three million, which had been fore-

cast by the prestigious ‘Population

Division/International Programs cen-

ter of the U.S. Census Bureau; U.S.

Department of Commerce. (See

‘population forecast’ for 2010 for

India on page 732 of “2011 New

York Times World Almanac And

Book Of Facts’). These (population)

numbers are quoted and used by the

U.N. Development Program and

other world bodies and any excessive

change puts a black mark on India’s

so called growth ‘story’. See a report,

full of lies in the Wall Street Journal,

by Tripti Lahiri, published last week-

end, headlined ‘India passes 1.2 bil-

lion mark’ ‘which says that, India,

the worlds’ largest demoNcracy, re-

leased (last Thursday) the first results

of the (2011) census which shows

that the world’s second-most popu-

lous nation (India) had added, in the

past decade, another 181 million peo-

ple (equivalent to about six

‘Canadas’) to reach a huge popula-

tion total of one billion two hundred

million, despite the fact that, India’s

bigoted Brahmin-castedominated

ruling elite, has been engaged in ‘sta-

tistical’ and physical ‘ethnic cleans-

ing’ of minorities like the Sikhs,

tribals, Muslims, Dalits and other

minorities.

While people are focused on

the results of the 2010 census a ‘sta-

tistical ethnic cleansing’ of the Sikhs

has been discovered. There is no bet-

ter example in the whole world, of

statistical ‘ethnic cleansing’ than the

current state-sponsored exercise,

being covertly carried out by Indian

Intelligence agency operatives on be-

half of the Indian rulers to reduce the

numbers of a muscular and proud mi-

nority – the Sikhs. This ‘statistical

ethnic cleansing’ of the Sikhs is

being carried out in the worlds’ top

Encyclopedias, Almanacs and Year

books etc., to somehow reduce the

number of the worlds’ Sikhs and thus

reduce their voice and their influ-

ence. The following lines will show

how the muscular, prosperous hard

working Sikhs are being ‘ethnically

cleansed’ by the use of statistics:- Ac-

cording to the ‘2008 New York

Times World Almanac And Book of


Catalog Card Number 4-3781: Soft-

cover ISBN-10: 1-60057-072-0:

ISBN 13: 978-1-60057- 072-8) the

worlds’ Sikh population was shown

(four years ago, in 2008) as number-

ing twenty five million, eight hun-

dred and eighty thousand, one

hundred (yes 25, 880, 100). This

number was sourced to the presti-

gious 2007 Encyclopedia Britannica,

on page 711 of the widely-used 2008

New York Times World Almanac and

Year book published by World Al-

manac Books, 132 West, 31st street,

New York, NY 10001.

Lo and behold, one year later,

the Sikh population for the whole

world, in 2009, was shown as having

dropped to 22, 927, 500 (from the

2008 figure of 25, 880, 100,

mentioned (Cont..to page 8)

According to the 2011 census preliminary numbers released recently India’s population hasshot up to 1.2 billion which will add millions more to the S. Asian dystopia’s unwashed


Letter to EditorDear Mr. Hansra,Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh

Last week I saw a picture that made myblood boil. I saw a group of Sikhs standing aroundStephen Harper giving him some sort of credit inthe Sikh community. I can not begin to say howupset I was given this man’s history with the Sikhcommunity.

Stephen Harper has never cared for thecommunity. In fact, his first political party, withhim as a senior adviser, had a policy not to haveSikhs in the RCMP. In the almost 20 years sinceMr. Harper has never apologized or shown regretfor this irresponsible action. It seems some Sikh‘leaders’ don’t seem to remember either. I remem-ber. I remember people having buttons asking ifwe were Sikhs or Canadians. I remember havingcomplete strangers coming up to argue with meabout this situation. Now Mr. Harper may nothave led the fight against Sikhs in the RCMP buthe and his party sure fanned the flames. He couldhave been responsible and said that we are allCanadians or that people should be given the rightto help fight crime. Instead, he and his party triedto make us feel like outsiders.

If that is not enough about turbans, here’sa quote from the Blogging Tories who on one oftheir blogs state, ‘Prime Minister Stephen Harperis appreciative of the Blogging Tories’ efforts’.Here’s a quote from that same blog: "Rememberthe Sikh turbans ruling for the RCMP. The Sikhslook like clowns in those, better suited in circusesthan in a police force."

If this is not enough to make people think,let’s take Stephen Harper’s visit to the GoldenTemple last year. In the national newspapers wesaw a picture of Stephen Harper praying. This wasthe cute photo-op he was looking for. I read astory in the Indian Tribune saying how StephenHarper refused Prasad and langar. The part of thestory that I found most troubling was a quotationfrom a senior SGPC official who said, ‘It is forthe first time that we have suffered such humilia-tion at the hands of a foreigner in our own office.’This is not the quote I want to hear about thePrime Minister of our country. Of course therewill be someone who wants to spin my words solet me say this: I have worked with several hon-ourable large and small ‘c’ conservatives. I do notdislike Tories. I do not find it wrong for Sikhs tobe Tories. However I do find it wrong for Sikhsor anyone who supports religious freedoms tosupport the Conservatives under Stephen Harperor as he likes to call them the Harper Government.For those Sikhs who are card carrying Tories andcan’t see themselves voting for another party, youdo have a choice to sit on your hands until yourparty chooses another leader.

Stephen Harper has come to the GTA sev-eral times already. He feels that he has a chancein these ridings. Let’s show him that he is not wel-come until he apologizes and makes it sincere.Let’s not him give those photo-ops he loves. Fi-nally, let’s not give him our votes.

Sincerely,

Tunu Sodhi

Liberal platform would cut spending,hike taxes on the very wealthy

OTTAWA — The federal Liber-als will slash spending, increasetaxes for the rich, encouragehomeowners to make green ren-ovations and allow citizens tovote online according to detailsof their election platform re-leased Sunday.

"We know the humblingdisciplines of being in office,"Liberal leader Michael Ignatiefftold reporters in Ottawa. "Whatthat means is there are a lot ofthings you'd like to do, there area lot of things you coulddo, and there are about fivethings you absolutely mustdo," he said.

That's why the firstLiberal budget would beheavily focused on a fam-ily pack plan, Ignatieffsaid, $500 million for earlychildhood learning, a$190-million increase foremployment insurancebenefits for family care-givers and $545 million fora family care tax benefit.

"What we don't want is toforce families to place their lovedones, their seniors in hospitals.That is not a good solution. Thatwill increase health-care costs foreveryone," Ignatieff said.

Despite mocking Conser-vative leader Stephen Harper forproposing policies such as in-come splitting that won't kick inuntil 2015, nearly half of Ignati-eff's major proposals — a $700-million boost for the GuaranteedIncome Supplement and $980million for a post-secondarylearning "passport" — won't befunded until the second year of aLiberal mandate.

The Liberal leader saidhis party would tackle the deficitthe same way the party did in the1990s — by bringing the deficittarget to one per cent of GDPwithin two years. Although Ig-natieff told Postmedia News Fri-day he planned to balance thebudget by 2015, he did not pro-vide a target date Sunday.

Liberals, however, an-nounced they planned to save $3billion in one year — rising to $5

billion in year two — by increas-ing the corporate tax rate by 1.5per cent, to a level of 18 per cent,and another $300 million byeliminating a tax break on stockoptions for the very rich.

Canadians who earnmore than $100,000 in annualstock options would now have topay income tax on those earn-ings. "On the corporate-tax num-bers you'll notice that we havetaken a cautious and prudent es-timate of the revenue implica-

tions of this — it ramps up to$5.2 billion, not $6 (billion)," Ig-natieff said, referring to estimateshe had made two days earlier.

"We've made very cau-tious assumptions here. We oweit to the Canadian people to givethem responsible, prudent fiscalmanagement." The party also be-lieves it will save $500 million intwo years by slashing govern-ment advertising, limiting thesize of the cabinet and the PrimeMinister's Office and cutting theamount of money spent on con-sultants. With the money savedthe party presented a balancedplatform that increased socialprogram spending by $2.69 bil-lion. The Liberals' new "redbook," entitled "Your Family.Your future. Your Canada," how-ever, makes no mention of a$2.2-billion deal the federal gov-ernment plans to sign with Que-bec for that province's HST.

Ignatieff could not saywhere precisely this moneywould come from when pressedby reporters. Among the Liberals'new proposals is a green renova-tion tax credit worth $2,025 for

expenses of up to $13,500 onnew windows, doors and roofing.A new youth hiring incentivewould allow small- and medium-sized businesses to not pay em-ployment insurance premiumsfor any youth hired."We aregoing to create a specific hiringincentive, roll back your payrolltax, if you hire young workers,"Ignatieff said. "We think that is akey thing we can do for small-and medium-size businesses toprosper." The party would end

the acceleratedcapital cost al-lowance for oil-sands developmentand reinvest the$265 million intotechnologies to re-duce the oilsandsimpact on the envi-ronment. The Lib-erals also pledgedto create a cap-and-trade system,such as the one

that already exists in Europe. Theparty would boost spending onaboriginal education and lan-guage training and pledged $40million for a veterans learningbenefit. The Liberals would also:restore the court challenges pro-gram; spend $100 million for afreshwater strategy; and reallo-cate $1 billion in funding, afterthe Afghan mission ends, to in-crease development aid andCanada's participation in UNmissions. Ignatieff is also pledg-ing to reform question period inthe House of Commons, with oneday dedicated to questions theprime minister would answer.The party will also create a "peo-ple's question period" in whichcabinet ministers and the primeminister would answer questionsfrom Canadians online. The Lib-erals also say they will directElections Canada to develop In-ternet voting options to encour-age more people to vote.Meanwhile, the federal Conser-vatives took aim at the Liberalplatform Sunday, launching a cri-tique of it even before it waslaunched.

Courageous Journalism April 07, 2011 07

OTTAWA —Liberal leader Michael

Ignatieff dumped a Quebec candidate

who called aboriginal people "feath-

erheads" and a newspaper revealed

another Grit nominee had once been

convicted of drunk driving.

A star Tory candidate, mean-

while, came under fire for his remarks

on whether Canada has conquered

poverty. The controversies drove

Wednesday's policy announcements

into the background as scrutiny of

potential MPs and their pasts

dominated the political agenda.

The case of Quebec candidate

Andre Forbes elicited the quickest

reaction. "As soon as I was apprised

of past comments made by the Lib-

eral candidate in Manicouagan, Andre

Forbes, I immediately asked my staff

to inquire about

their validity," Ig-

natieff said in a

statement.

"As a result, Mr.

Forbes has been

informed that he is

no longer a candi-

date for the Liberal Party of Canada.

Mr. Forbes' comments have no place

within the Liberal Party of Canada."

Forbes, who is Metis, founded

an association called the "Rights of

Whites" and made a series of

allegedly racist comments which

came back to haunt him after the

NDP brought them to light.

"We all know that the aborig-

inals will not keep their jobs . . . I

have worked for many years for Gulf

Paper of Clarke City, which closed in

1968. Many Montagnais worked

there. I only remember one who did a

good job," Forbes is quoted as saying

in Le Soleil newspaper in March

2002.

According to the NDP, an-

other organization Forbes ran Metis

Cote-Nord also suggested in a letter

to Hydro-Quebec in January 2009

that: "If our Metis community was

formed of Muslims, homosexuals or

of an association of elderly ladies

making moccasins out of caribou

skin, would Hydro-Quebec consult

with us? Yes."

A Liberal MP and Incumbent

from BRAMLEA-GORE-MALTON

Gurbax Malhi, is under attack for

calling conservative candidate Bal

Gosal a “barking dog” in Ankhila

Punjab radio interview. NDP

candidate is asking Mr. Malhi to

apologoze from the constituents.

Liberal Candidate fired for bad behaviour

Reisterstown, MD: On January 10, 2011, Harpreet

Singh was visiting a 7/11 to purchase anti-freeze. That

morning, along with his flowing beard, he was wearing

a white kurta and a white dastaar. Based on the police's

probable cause report, it seemed that an officer saw Mr.

Singh entering the 7/11 and followed him into the con-

venience store. Noticing the handle of Harpreet's kirpan

under his jacket, the officer immediately called for

back-up, took Harpreet outside, and questioned him

about the kirpan. Even after Harpreet provided an ex-

planation that the kirpan was an article of faith and how

it reminds a Sikh of their obligation to uphold the basic

dignity of all human beings, Harpreet was arrested and

his kirpan forcibly seized from his person.After receiv-

ing communications from Harpreet Singh and his attor-

ney, Michael Cerri, UNITED SIKHS felt "compelled

to voice our concern on behalf of the Sikh community

because the kirpan was incorrectly being equated with

a dangerous weapon instead of being recognized as an

article of faith and an inextricable part of the Sikh iden-

tity," said Senior Staff Attorney Hansdeep Singh.

UNITED SIKHS drafted a letter to Assistant

State's Attorney Jared Green pointing out that since

9/11, at least 22 kirpan cases have been dismissed na-

tion wide indicating that many courts have found that

the prosecution of a Sikh for wearing his/ her article of

faith would result in injustice. Fortunately, through the

efforts of Mr. Cerri and the assistance of the UNITED

SIKHS legal team (ICHRA), Mr. Singh's case was

promptly dropped. It is also important to recognize that

prosecutors have broad jurisdiction in making the de-

cision to pursue or drop criminal cases and we are grate-

ful for the measured approach taken by Mr. Green in

this instance. After having his kirpan returned to him,

Harpreet Singh's resolve remained firm and unshaken

and he discussed the importance of his article of faith.

"The kirpan symbolizes the highest ideals for the ben-

efit of humanity . . . as a Sikh it is our duty to protect

the rights of others [so that we may live in a] world

without hatred, injustice, and oppression."

UNITED SIKHS Intervenesand Assists in Preventing

the State of Maryland fromCriminalizing the Kirpan:

On Jan. 10, 2011, Harpreet Singh was arrestedfor wearing a kirpan (one of five articles of

faith) after an officer saw it under his jacket ata 7/11.UNITED SIKHS joined the case in an ad-visory capacity and submitted a letter to the Of-fice of the State's Attorney to dismiss charges.


‘Some operatives are engaged in the ‘statistical ethniccleansing’ of the worlds’ Sikhs! They MUST be stopped!in the above paragraph) and published

in the prestigious ‘2009 New York


Facts’, page 682 (Library of Congress

Catalog Card No. 43781: Soft-cover

ISBN-10: 1-60057-105-0: ISBN 13:

978-1- 60057-105-3). About Three

million Sikhs just disappeared from

the face of the earth – statistically

‘cleansed’ as a consequence! These

reduced numbers were also sourced to

the prestigious and widely used 2008

Encyclopedia Britannica by the ‘2009

New York Times World Almanac And

Book Of Facts’. A telephone call was

made to The World Almanac Books

publisher of the Almanac in New

York (which was attended by an em-

ployee with an accent) who was

asked to correct the false (reduced)

entry for the world’s Sikh population.

He promised to look into it.

He did’nt!

One year later, in 2010, in-

stead of making a correction, or mak-

ing amends, the ‘2010 New York


Facts’, page 705 (Library of Congress

Catalog Card No. 4-378: Soft-cover

ISBN-13: 978-1-123-7 :: ISBN-10: 1-

123-9) had the chutzpah to repeat the

previous years 22, 927, 500 figure,

without a + or – change, as the num-

ber of Sikhs in the world stood still at

the number of 22, 927, 500. This

grave error was again brought to the

attention of World Almanac Books,

the publishers of the 2010 New York

Times World Almanac And Book

Of Facts.

However, after repeated tele-

phone calls, the “2011 New York



ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-134-3 ::

ISBN-10: 1-60057-134-4) has grudg-

ingly shown the world-wide Sikh

population as being 24, 222, 700,

which number is still short by one

million, six hundred fifty seven thou-

sand from the published 2008 figure,

of 25, 880, 100 Sikhs. Prior to 2008

Almanac the number of Sikhs in the

world had been increasing by about

five to seven hundred thousand every

year. The correct number of the

worlds’ Sikhs, for 2011, with the nor-

mal Punjabi increase, should have

been around + or – around 28 million.

Nobody in this world is interested in

reducing the number of the worlds’

Sikhs by use of statistics except the

Indian rulers who want to make the

Sikhs a minority in the strategic Sikh

homeland of Punjab, Khalistan which

borders Pakistan. Going by the

‘Duck’ adage that ‘if it walks like a

duck, looks like a duck, quacks like a

duck – it is a duck’.

It is obvious this ‘statistical’

assault on the world’s Sikhs, has been

sponsored and carried out by some

minions of the Indian government as

the ‘finger prints’ of the rogue Indian

Intelligence agency - RAW – are vis-

ible all over this episode. Sikh com-

patriots in the legal profession, who

read this column in the United States

and Canada ought to have a ‘look see’

so that the matter can be properly pur-

sued through the courts.

Getting back to the first re-

sults of the ongoing (2010) census,

announced last Thursday, (mentioned

in paragraph one above) the 2010 ac-

tual Indian census population figure

of one billion, two hundred and ten

million far exceeds the projected

2010 population figure for India of

one billion one hundred and seventy

three million, which had been fore-

cast by the prestigious ‘Population

Division/International Programs cen-

ter of the U.S. Census Bureau; U.S.

Department of Commerce. (See ‘pop-

ulation forecast’ for 2010 for India on

page 732 of “2011 New York Times

World Almanac And Book Of Facts’).

These (population) numbers are

quoted and used by the U.N. Devel-

opment Program and other world

bodies and any excessive change puts

a black mark on India’s so called

growth ‘story’.

See a report, full of lies in the

Wall Street Journal, by Tripti Lahiri,

published last weekend, headlined

‘India passes 1.2 billion mark’ ‘which

says that, which exposes Indian

shenanigans in the literacy field.

PM offers loans to transfer credentialsevents and why several people were

barred from an event in London,

Ont. earlier in the week.

Harper responded that local

organizers are responsible for secu-

rity, but emphasized there are "liter-

ally thousands of people coming out

to these events."

Similar to Tuesday, he de-

clined to comment on what took

place in London or respond when

asked whether staff actually check

attendees' Facebook accounts. One

of those barred from the London

event had posted a picture on Face-

book with Liberal Leader Michael

Ignatieff. "I think it's better when

you're turning people away than

when you can't get people to come

but as I say I don't want to comment

on individual cases," Harper said.

Ignatieff is continuing his

tour of Quebec on Wednesday, at-

tempting to drive home his message

to rural voters that the Bloc Quebe-

cois and Conservatives are out of

touch with their values. Ignatieff

was in Quebec's Eastern Townships

of Compton and Brossard. Speaking

in Compton, he touted the Liberals'

plan for farmers saying his govern-

ment would once again make agri-

culture a priority with flexible

funding for "practical, predictable

programs, such as the Ontario Risk

Management Program," according

to a news release. "A Liberal gov-

ernment will be there for flexible,

bankable farm programs built from

the 'farm up, not Ottawa down,'" Ig-

natieff said. New Democrat Leader

Jack Layton was in Prince George,

B.C. Wednesday. He introduced a

measure to boost access to home

care for seniors, add home care and

long-term care to the Canada Health

Act, set up a long-term care transfer

and double the loan program for

families renovating to keep older

relatives in their homes. "Our Qual-

ity Home Care Plan and new Long-

Term Care Initiative will show real

leadership on health care for seniors

and help families caring for older

relatives at home," Layton said. In-

creasingly both Harper and Ignatieff

have attempted to push the other

leaders out of the equation, pitting

the race as a two-way competition

with them as the only possible win-

ners. Harper has emphasized that

only a Conservative majority gov-

ernment will truly be able to fulfill

the party's mandate. Ignatieff has in-

vited Canadians to come into the

"big red tent" and vote Liberal as the

only way of stopping Harper from

getting the majority he is seeking.


Pam Hundal said

that Brampton families are

tired of getting stuck paying

the bill for Dalton

McGuinty’s legacy of waste,

which has tarred everything

from Ontario’s health care

system to its hydro system,

and they will send that mes-

sage loud and clear to the

Liberal party on October

6th, 2011.

Last week’s Sunshine List

revealed two key players in

the billion-dollar eHealth

boondoggle continued to get

rich off of health care dol-

lars in 2010. Former eHealth

CEO Sarah Kramer received

$107,000 from the eHealth

in 2010 despite being fired

in 2009. And former Deputy

Minister of Health Ron

Sapsford, who left his job in

the wake of the Liberal

eHealth scandal in January

2010, was paid $763,000 for

2010.

QUOTES:

Pam Hundal agrees with

Provincial PC Leader Tim

Hudak when he says that

“Instead of trying to be all

things to all people, govern-

ment has to focus on the ba-

sics, on services people

actually care about and

need,” Pam Hundal feels

that the people of Brampton

Springdale will agree with

her when she states “Far too

much money is going into

waste and bureaucracy and

The provincial government

has become too big, too ex-

pensive and too clumsy"]

QUICK FACTS:

· The 2011 Sunshine List

revealed former eHealth

boss Sarah Kramer was paid

$106,692 in 2010 despite

being fired from the job in

2009.

· Former Deputy Minis-

ter of Health Ron Sapsford

was paid $672,916.73 in

salary and $89,152.13 in

taxable benefits in 2010, de-

spite leaving the job in Jan-

uary that year.

· An Ontario Energy

Board report, released on

March 3, 2010, shows the

cost of installing so-called

smart meters on Ontario

homes and small businesses

reached over $994.4 million

as of September 2010.

Pam Hundal " It is appalling

to think that while families

all across Brampton and On-

tario suffer and have to work

2 jobs in order to keep up

with their bills and budget,

while the Liberals continue

to pay salaries to Govern-

ment employees far higher

than most people working in

the private sector. Govern-

ment needs o be downsized

and so that tax payers

money can go towards areas

needed the most such as

front line healtcare"

Pam Hundal says Brampton Families Stuck withthe Bill for Dalton McGuinty’s Legacy of Waste

United Sikhs Files Criminal Complaint Against Punjab Police

Sikhs Seek Con-

crete Measures from

Governments of

Panjab and India to

Ensure that the Pun-

jab Police Uphold

Religious Freedom

Mohali, Panjab,

India: UNITED

SIKHS has filed

today a criminal

complaint with the

Mohali Judicial

Magistrate First

Class about the will-

ful public removal

of a Sikh’s Turban

by a Punjab Police

officer, who said he

was acting on the

instructions of a po-

lice superintendent.

The Magistrate has

ordered the Police

to respond with a re-

port on the next

hearing date, 16th

April 2011. This in-

cident that has hurt

the religious senti-

ments of the global

Sikh Community, is

an affront to a com-

munity that consid-

ers Panjab as its

homeland and the

birthplace of its reli-

gion.

The incident in

question took place

on March 28, 2011

near the PCA sta-

dium, Mohali, Pan-

jab. A Sikh youth,

participating in a

peaceful sit-in

staged by re-

trenched rural vet-

erinary pharmacists

and employees, was

pulled aside by po-

lice officials and his

Turban was forcibly

removed without

cause. The police

official responsible

for the act is a Mo-

hali Phase VIII Sta-

tion House Officer

(SHO), Sub-Inspec-

tor Kulbhushan, and

he said he acted on

orders from Mohali

Superintendent of

Police (SP)- Pritam

Singh to remove the

turban of the Sikh

individual who had

requested that his

turban not be

touched.

United Sikhs’

Chandigarh based

lawyer, Sukhwinder

Singh, filed the

complaint with Ju-

dicial Magistrates

First Class, Mohali,

Panjab, under Sec-

tion 295 A of the In-

dian Penal Code on

grounds that the

Punjab Police offi-

cer’s removal of the

Sikh’s turban was a

deliberate and mali-

cious act, intended

to outrage religious

feelings of Sikhs by

insulting their reli-

gious beliefs.

“The Sikh Commu-

nity is fighting for

justice and recogni-

tion as a distinct en-

tity globally amidst

challenges to the

wearing of the tur-

ban post 9/11. How-

ever, it least expects

disrespect to its arti-

cles of faith in Pan-

jab, where most

Sikhs originate

from,” said Mejin-

darpal Kaur, United

Sikhs Legal Direc-

tor.

In response to

mounting pressure,

the Panjab Home

Minister, Sukhbir

Singh Badal, has

announced suspen-

sion of the two offi-

cers and a magiste-

rial inquiry into the

incident. The action

is however not

enough to redress

the issue of protect-

ing the Sikh identity

in Punjab. Earlier

this year, the

Chandigarh Police

removed the turban

of another Sikh who

was a pillion rider in

order to prove his

Sikh identity, as ev-

idenced in the video

on you tube.

“The Punjab Police

officers cannot be

allowed to get off

lightly with a sus-

pension. This inci-

dent is not isolated

and there is a need

for a root and

branch reform of the

Punjab Police Rules

with respect to pro-

tecting religious

freedom, ” Mejin-

darpal added.


Pakistan to revisit Bhutto death sentence caseCultural festival ‘JUSTICE

ON TRIAL’ began todayThe three day cultural festival ‘JUSTICE ON

TRIAL’ began today with a massive partici-

pation of civil society, youth and eminent

artists, writers, photographers and perform-

ers.

Some of the top Indian artists and photogra-

phers contributed their original works for dis-

play at a special exhibition in solidarity with

Dr Binayak Sen and on the theme of human

rights and freedom. The work will be on ex-

hibit for three days from 4-6 April, 2011 at

the Alliance Francaise Art Gallery and is

open to all members of the public to visit.

Artists include Subodh Gupta, T.V.Santosh,

Bharti Kher, Probir Gupta, Gigi Scaria, Mithu

Sen, Sharmila Samant, Shreyas Karle, Su-

santa Mondal among others; photos include

those by Prashant Panjiar, Pablo

Bartholomew, Parthiv Shah and Ram Rah-

man. The artists in a statement said, “ The

Sedition Law directly attacks the freedom of

expression, and is therefore impossible to

reconcile with the conditions necessary for a

healthy atmosphere for culture, art and intel-

lectual life”.

They go on to say, “ No civilized society

sends an individual like Dr Binayak Sen to

prison for doing what can only be regarded

as his duty as a medical professional and as a

civil rights activist. If it can happen to Bi-

nayak Sen today, it can happen to anyone to-

morrow”.

On the first day of the three-day cultural fes-

tival of protest a panel discussion was held

with participation from Dr Ilina Sen,

Supreme Court lawyer Vrinda Grover and

well known social activist and National Ad-

visory Council member Aruna Roy.

In a statement issued to the media Dr Ilina

Sen said, “Binayak’s story illustrates the ex-

treme paranoia with which sections of our

political leadership and bureaucracy react

when they find that the writ of their unac-

countable power stands challenged.” Accord-

ing to her it was a sad reflection on our

system that once a false case is registered in

the name of security, it is almost impossible

to turn the clock back, even if facts stare us

in the face and indicate that the case had no

basis.”

Pavan Kumar’s award winning film ‘AFSPA,

1958’ was screened while Manipuri youth

band ‘Imphal Talkies’ performed at the event.

The second and third day of the cultural fes-

tival will see eminent film personalities and

social activists join artists, writers and per-

formers express their views on issues of free-

dom, human rights and democracy in the

context of Dr Binayak Sen’s controversial

conviction in Chhattisgarh late last year. On

6 April at 5.30 PM film maker Anand Pat-

wardhan and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore

will address a press conference at the venue

of the festival.

Three days

ahead of the

32nd death an-

niversary of

Pakistan’s first

directly elected

Prime Minister

Zulfikar Ali

Bhutto, the fed-

eral government

on Friday de-

cided to “re-

visit” his death

sentence by

making a reference

to the Supreme

Court.

Invoking Article 186

of the Constitution,

President Asif Ali

Zardari signed the

reference; seeking

the Supreme Court’s

opinion on the death

sentence by the La-

hore High Court

which was subse-

quently upheld by

the Apex Court in

March 1979. Bhutto

was hanged to death

on April 4, 1979.

Earlier this week, the

federal cabinet had

authorised the Presi-

dent to send such a

reference to the

Supreme Court

under Article 186

which states that “if,

at any time, the Pres-

ident considers that it

is desirable to obtain

the opinion of the

Supreme Court on

any question of law

which he considers

of public impor-

tance, he may refer

the question to the

Supreme Court for

consideration”.

The Pakistan Peo-

ple’s Party has al-

ways held that

Bhutto’s hanging

was a “judicial mur-

der” authored by the

then martial ruler

Zia-ul Haq. Given

that this much-talked

about reference –

billed as reopening a

three-decade-old

case -- has been crit-

icized in some quar-

ters as an exercise in

futility and a gim-

mick to divert atten-

tion from the

omissions and com-

missions of the PPP-

led federal

government, Presi-

dential spokesman

Farhatullah Babar

said the aim was

only to set the record

straight.

“The PPP had never

intended to

seek revenge

but it wanted to

put right a his-

toric wrong and

thereby vindi-

cate the posi-

tion of the

founding chair-

man of the

party,” Mr.

Babar said,

pointing out

that a former

judge of the Bench

of the Supreme

Court which upheld

the death sentence

had subsequently

publicly acknowl-

edged that the split

verdict was given

under pressure of the

dictatorship of the

time. Also, serious

reservations had

been expressed by

international jurists

about the legal pro-

priety of the death

sentence awarded to

Bhutto for allegedly

authorising the mur-

der of a political op-

ponent.

New Delhi: Punjab

Chief Minister Mr.

Parkash Singh Badal

today impressed

upon thePrime Minis-

ter Dr. Manmohan

Singh to immediately

direct the concerned

authorities to expedite

movement of food-

grain from Punjab

and to augment the

storage space in the

state.

Mr. Badal along with

Deputy Chief Minister

Mr. Sukhbir Singh

Badal raised this

issue with the Prime

Minister when they

called on him at his

residence this morn-

ing.

Disclosing this here

today a spokesperson

of the Chief Minster’s

Office said that Mr.

Badal also urged the

Prime Minister to also

accord approval for

the construction of

covered godowns as

per the proposal of

state government at

the earliest.

Mr. Badal also

apprised the Prime

Minister that Punjab

was suffering on two

accounts, the state

was not getting ade-

quate and quick

movement of food-

grain on one hand

and on the other hand

the Government of

India has not yet ac-

corded the necessary

approval for construc-

tion of storage capac-

ity.

Allaying fears in such

a scenario, Mr. Badal

said that it would be

difficult for Punjab to

procure and store the

recent crops that may

lead to farmer unrest

and serious law and

order problem in this

border state. He re-

quested the Prime

Minister to immedi-

ately accept the pro-

posal of state

government for stor-

age capacity in the

larger interest of the

storage of foodgrains

and national food se-

curity otherwise dur-

ing the ensuing paddy

season, there would

be total chaos jeop-

ardizing the law and

order situation, if

paddy was not lifted

from the mandis.

It may be recalled that

Punjab was facing

acute shortage of

space for the storage

of foodgrains. As per

a survey conducted

by Govt. of India/FCI

Punjab was having a

shortage to the tune

of 71 Lac MT. In view

of this alarming short-

age the state procure-

ment agencies were

compelled to store

wheat in open and

even on unscientific

plinths such as rice

mills, mandi yards,

katcha plinths etc. At

present more than

90% of wheat storage

in Punjab wais in

open. The shortage of

covered space was

adversely affecting

the rice acceptance in

the central pool. The

storage of foodgrains

in open and in the rice

mills leads to deterio-

ration in the quality of

grain and rotting.

The Chief Minister

also informed Dr.

Singh that realizing

the urgency of stor-

age needs, the Pun-

jab government has

floated tenders for

construction of cov-

ered godowns under

PEG Scheme of

Govt. of India for a ca-

pacity of 71 Lac MT.

However, this capac-

ity have been re-

duced to 51 Lac MT

by GoI without any

consultation with the

state government.

The FCI has finalized

a capacity of only 13

Lac MT in the state at

a rent rate upto Rs.

5.00 per quintal per

month after a long

cumbersome proce-

dure of the tender at

only 14 storage cen-

tres of Punjab. Al-

though the state

government has re-

quested FCI to allow

this rent rate for other

storage centres also,

so that additional ca-

pacity of around 35

lac MT could be made

available but no posi-

tive response has

been received from

FCI/GoI as yet.


Cm Seek Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Intervention

Vancouver, CANADA : Two po-

lice officers who tore off a Sikh’s

turban on Monday during a

peaceful rally by pharmacy stu-

dents in Mohali, Punjab were

suspended with pay. They

should be fired, say leaders of

the Canadian Sikh Coalition.

“The state security forces are

stooges for a caste-focused cen-

tral government,” said Moninder

Singh, Spokesperson for CSC.

“Since Article 25 of India’s con-

stitution identifies all anti-caste

religions founded in India as

Hindu, the security forces attack

religious symbols that show we

are actually distinct. Video of the

police attack shows that Sikhs

respond with peaceful non-resis-

tance even though the Indian

state does all it can to publicly

degrade their beliefs.”

The video, available on

YouTube, shows a uniformed po-

lice officer roughly escorting a

cooperative Sikh man as a

clean-shaven officer tears off his

turban. One of the most conspic-

uous emblems of a Sikh’s faith,

the turban represented nobility

for victims of caste discrimina-

tion. Religious freedom viola-

tions occur regularly in Punjab

and other states of India. Recent

examples include YouTube

footage of uniformed officers in

Orissa driving Christians out of a

church with lathis and the death

in mid-March of Sohan Singh, a

Sikh arrested and held without

charges for a week before al-

legedly dying from police torture.

Jitender Singh Grewal, Director

of CSC (East), called the sus-

pension given the two offending

officers a “paid holiday.” State of-

ficials ordered a probe of SP Pri-

tam Singh and SHO Kulbhushan

Singh, the offending officers, but

Grewal warned they will return to

work without further repercus-

sions once media attention

fades. “These officers should be

dismissed from their positions in

disgrace and their supervisors

investigated and then charged,”

commented Grewal.

Turban santching by Police infringes

religious rights: Canadian Sikh Coalition


Montréal, – This

morning, as part of

an investigation into

offences under the

Criminal Code and

the Canada Post Cor-

poration Act, officers

of the Montréal

RCMP, with the co-

operation of several

municipal police

services, made two

arrests and con-

ducted 24 searches

in businesses and

convenience stores

in the greater Mon-

tréal area. The pur-

pose of this

operation was to pre-

vent the illegal sale

and distribution of

counterfeit and

reused stamps.

Following an inter-

nal investigation by

Canada Post, postal

inspectors requested

the assistance of the

RCMP Federal In-

vestigation Section

which examined the

possibility that a net-

work engaged in the

sale of counterfeit

stamps might be ac-

tive in the Montréal

and Toronto areas. A

recent investigation

by the Service de po-

lice de la Ville de

Montréal, under

Project ACCES, had

also uncovered ac-

tivities connected to

the sale of counter-

feit stamps. This in-

formation was used

for the RCMP inves-

tigation.

Based on the parallel

investigations by the

Montréal and

Toronto RCMP, it

appears that the

stamps seized origi-

nated from the same

source of distribu-

tion. The stamps fea-

ture the same series

of images, i.e. a por-

trait of the Queen,

images of the Van-

couver Olympics,

and photos of Cana-

dian lighthouses.

The stamps were

sold in convenience

stores individually or

in booklets of ten. A

Canada Post fran-

chise is one of the

businesses targeted

by the investigation.

Reused stamps were

sold on the Internet.

Since the beginning

of the investigation

in May 2010, a total

of more than 40,000

counterfeit stamps

and 10,000 reused

stamps have been

seized in Montréal

and Toronto, and

five individuals have

been arrested.

Charges were filed

today in Toronto

against two of the

suspects and one in-

dividual has already

been charged in

Montréal.

The other individu-

als arrested as a re-

sult of this morning’s

operation could also

be charged with traf-

ficking in counterfeit

tokens of value and

selling stamps with-

out the consent of

Canada Post. The

RCMP investigation,

in close collabora-

tion with Canada

Post, continues and

more charges could

be filed when it is

completed.

Canada Post is

pleased with the re-

sults of the investiga-

tion that will put an

end to the illegal ac-

tivities of selling

counterfeit or reused

stamps in the Mon-

treal and Toronto

areas. In the last few

months, Canada Post

Postal Inspectors

have worked in col-

laboration with the

RCMP to identify

the culprits.

Thousands Of Counterfeit PostageStamps Seized In Montréal And Toronto

Hoskins: Federal Stalling Leads ToImmigration Agreement Expiry

Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and ImmigrationOn March 31, Ontario’s im-

migration agreement with

the federal government ex-

pired. For months, the

McGuinty government has

been fighting for a new deal

from the Harper govern-

ment – one that would treat

Ontario’s newcomers fairly

and give them the support

and services they need to

find jobs here in Ontario,

and contribute to our

province’s economy.

We have been fighting for

our newcomers because we

know that immigration is an

economic imperative. We

value all of our newcomers,

and we want to ensure that

they have the opportunity to

succeed in Ontario.

Unfortunately, when the

Harper government finally

came to the negotiating

table, they were completely

inflexible on all of the

points that Ontario raised

on behalf of our newcom-

ers, and their inflexibility is

the reason we couldn’t

reach a deal before the fed-

eral election.

The Federal Conservatives

unilaterally imposed a $44

million cut to settlement

services in Ontario that help

our newcomers adjust to

life in their new home, find

jobs, and learn a new lan-

guage. This cut comes on

top of a promised $207 mil-

lion that the Harper govern-

ment failed to spend on

services that help Ontario’s

newcomers succeed.

The Harper government has

refused to reach a new im-

migration deal that treats

Ontario and our newcomers

the same way they treat

newcomers in provinces

like British Columbia,

Manitoba, and Quebec.

For example, in Quebec the

Harper government spends

one and a half times more

per immigrant than for a

newcomer in Ontario. That

funding goes toward settle-

ment and training programs

– programs that help new-

comers succeed. Ontario is

fighting for a deal that sees

the federal government

treat our newcomers fairly.

But Prime Minister Harper

won’t agree.

A few months ago, Canadi-

ans learned that the federal

government planned to sig-

nificantly reduce the num-

ber of Federal Skilled

Workers it would admit to

Canada, as well as reducing

the number of families it

would re-unite by admitting

parents and grand-parents.

The Harper Conservatives

made these decisions with-

out consulting Ontario, and

they are decisions that hurt

our newcomers and hurt

Ontario’s economic future.

We need a stronger voice so

that we can stand up for

Ontario’s newcomers on the

issue of selection, but Prime

Minister Harper won’t

agree.


It is not surprising that obesity, a

major risk factor for heart disease, di-

abetes and other serious chronic dis-

eases, is on the rise. There are many

reasons for the rise in obesity, but one

major contributor is poor eating

habits.

But did you know that youth

in our area are not excluded from this

alarming medical trend,

as almost 20 per cent of

youth in Brampton, Eto-

bicoke and the sur-

rounding communities

are either overweight or

obese.

This statistic is

of particular concern to

the South Asian com-

munity. According to

the Canadian Medical

Association Journal

(CMAJ), people of South Asian de-

scent are at a greater risk of develop-

ing heart disease more often, and at

an earlier age, than any other commu-

nity group.

Even though the number of

youth that are either overweight or

obese is growing, there are a number

of actions you can take and resources

available to help your child maintain

a healthy weight and make good de-

cisions about nutrition.

When counseling families

about better food choices, dietitians at

William Osler Health System (Osler)

often encourage families to make one

or two small changes at a time. This

strategy is often more successful than

making a number of lifestyle changes

all at once.

One simple and often

overlooked change you can

make at home is to change what

you drink. For instance, decreas-

ing the amount of juice, sweet

beverages and pop that your

family consumes can have significant

positive health impacts. For your

families’ health, it is optimum

to decrease these beverages to

once a week, or even totally

eliminate the consumption of

these sugary beverages. Also,

when your child is thirsty,

water is always the best op-

tion.

Are you facing the challenge

of getting a picky eater to eat

fruits and vegetables? If so,

involve them in the planning

and preparation of meals. In-

vite them to go grocery shopping; let

them choose family meals once in a

while and get them to help with meal

preparation. Getting a picky eater in-

volved in the kitchen may make them

more willing to try foods that they

would otherwise avoid.

No doubt trying to curb un-

healthy eating is difficult; it often

takes many small steps to get to a

point where they can have a big im-

pact. If you are concerned about your

child’s weight and feel that it is affect-

ing, or may affect their health, then

please contact your family physician.

One resource available for

families in the community is Osler’s

Lifestyle Clinic, specializing in infor-

mation for individuals ages five to 17.

The Lifestyle Clinic is a unique two-

year program, where families receive

consultation from a variety of health

care experts to help them make

healthy lifestyle changes. You need a

referral by your family physician or

paediatrician to access the clinic.

Weighing in on childhood obesity in our community


Gliding along a highway at

speed in a Mercedes-Benz

automobile is a unique expe-

rience. Paragons of comfort,

smoothness and control,

there’s a reason they cost

more. And while all the cars

that wear the three-pointed

star truly come into their

own at elevated speeds, this

is particularly true for the

turbodiesel-powered Mer-

cedes-Benz E350 BlueTec.

At startup and around town,

a most un-Mercedes-like

clatter raucously emerges

from the engine compart-

ment. It’s so loud, you might

even think something is

wrong with the engine; par-

ticularly when considered in

comparison to the sophisti-

cation of the manufacturer’s

gasoline-fired powerplants.

Around town, the sewing

machine on steroids sound is

readily transmitted through

the firewall of the mid-size

Benz. Eerily though, once

you attain cruising speed on

the highway, the sound drops

away completely. On the

freeway, all you hear is the

whisper of the slipstream as

it lovingly caresses the slip-

pery shape of the comely

sedan.

And while that might be a

high price for drivers who

spend more time in urban

traffic than on the highway,

it's a cost that comes with a

considerable benefit. In ex-

change for its noisier opera-

tion around town, our test car

returned an

average fuel

consumption

of 25.7-mpg

overall. That

i n c l u d e s

driving in

stop and go

city traffic,

accelerating

briskly onto

h i g h w a y s ,

and cruising

between 70

and 80 mph

on the highway. Taken with

the 23.5-gallon capacity of

the fuel tank, this gives the

car an effective range of over

600 miles without stopping.

You could drive it from San

Francisco to San Diego and

still have around 100 miles

left in the tank. The EPA

rates the car at 22-city, 33-

highway and 26 combined.

This efficient 3.5-liter turbo-

diesel V6 makes 210 horse-

power at 3.400 rpm and 400

ft-lbs of torque from 1,800 to

2,400 rpm. And while 60

takes a relatively leisurely

6.7 seconds to attain from

rest, the BlueTec E350 read-

ily pulls to its electronically

limited top speed of 130

miles per hour. The car just

keeps going faster and faster

and faster—pulling like the

proverbial freight train.

Plus, the E350 BlueTec is an

E-Class Benz—this means

you also enjoy the benefits of

all of the attributes that ac-

company a Mercedes-Benz

automobile. Our test car fea-

tured a 40-gig hard drive for

entertainment, Bluetooth,

Sat Radio, Dolby-Digital 5.1

Surround Audio, Voice Con-

trol, Keyless Go, and GPS

Nav, in addition to all the

other typical features you ex-

pect in a modern luxury car.

A soft band of golden light

emanates from beneath the

wood trim that encircles the

cabin at night. A nice accent,

it's a very pleasant effect. All

four door armrests are illu-

minated as well—and yes,

that's the entire armrest.

These are the sorts of details

that set this class of car apart

and make you feel special

when you're inside it.

Around town, despite the

muted clat-

ter from

the engine

c o m p a r t -

ment, driv-

ing the

BlueTec E-

Class is a

breeze. No

manufac-

turer builds

an easier

car to oper-

ate in

urban traf-

fic than Mercedes-Benz.

Need a U-Turn? You can pop

one off in an unbelievably

small space. In one situation,

we went directly into a U-

turn from a parking space,

completing the maneuver in

one pass—with more than

half a lane to spare.

Solidly planted at highway

speeds, the faster you go the

more stable the Mercedes

becomes. The sedan goes

down the road so fluidly and

gracefully, you almost ex-

pect to look out and see an-

gels clearing a path for you.

When changes of direction

are required, the E350 re-

sponds unhesitatingly. You

always feel connected di-

rectly to the road. The driv-

ing position is excellent, the

instrumentation is easily de-

cipherable, and all the con-

trols are intuitive in their

operation. The car does ab-

solutely nothing to induce fa-

tigue or incite anxiety.

With fuel prices running

north of four dollars a gallon,

truly economical cars are

going to find themselves in

great demand once again. If

you’re looking to maximize

your MPG without sacrific-

ing your S-T-Y-L-E, the

Mercedes-Benz E350

BlueTec is a car you’d do

well to consider. The Mer-

cedes is economical to oper-

ate and outstanding both on

the highway and around

town. It also delivers superb

comfort, along with a broad

array of the latest safety fea-

tures. If you can put up with

a bit of diesel clatter around

town, this Benz might well

be the car for you.

Auto Section

2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec Review

Actor Rani Mukerji has in the past said that she

is pretty fed up of people asking her as to when

she will be tying the knot. But it looks like the

actor has finally learnt to take the interest in her

personal life with a pinch of salt or maybe she

has just learnt the art of hiding her irritation

with clever answers.

A source says that Rani recently made an ap-

pearance for the launch of a diamond brand and

she was armed with witty answers to throw at

whoever dared to ask her about her shaadi.

Rani, says the source, was initially in two

minds as to how to tackle shaadi-related

queries. At first, she apparently thought of

snubbing curious cats by giving them a cold

shoulder but eventually she was in such a good

mood that she brought up the topic herself.

"Rani said that she believes in the idea of mar-

riage and that everything will happen when the

time is right. She even pointed out that she

doesn't wear any ring on her ring finger. The

reason she said was that she's saving it for

someone special in her life," says an onlooker

who was present at the venue. The next question obviously

was when she was planning to settle down and with whom,

considering that one hears about her impending marriage

plans almost everyday.

The petite actor said that whoever wants to know that will

have to set up a teleconference with God to know that. Is

that whom we see you talking to while you're glued on the

phone, Rani?


Actor Asin has earned the tag of

being a Khan favourite, what with

her making her debut with actor

Aamir Khan with film Ghajini and

later, actor Salman Khan with whom

she's working yet again in film-

Ready. Could whispers of a rumour

between them be far behind? To

which she responds, " I don't care,"

defiantly adding, "These are fig-

ments of some nasty minds. As an

actor you are linked up with almost

every other actor."

And what about her being Salman's

blue-eyed girl? "I am very fond of

Salman," gushes the actor. "He is a

sweetheart. I was unwell while

shooting for Ready in Sri Lanka and

Thailand, and he would always re-

mind me to take my medicines and

also ensure that I have them in front

of him. Salman is a very caring per-

son. In fact at times, I wonder why

he is called the bad boy of Bolly-

wood."

So is gossip about actor Neil Nitin

Mukesh and her affair true? "Rub-

bish! Neil is a very good friend. We

meet, have dinners and chat, that

doesn't mean we are going around. I

guess these gossip mongers have for-

gotten about a term called 'friend'. If

I am seeing someone I will happily

acknowledge it. Isn't finding a great

partner something to be happy about

rather than hiding it?" she retorts.

Recently there were also reports of

Asin being insecure about her posi-

tion in Bollywood. "Insecure and

me? Such stories make me laugh. I

am the last person on this earth to be

insecure as an actor or as an individ-

ual. I am very happy and content in

my space," she says

South hottie Asin takes up for friends in B-Town;also pens an open letter to friend Dhoni's Team

India, our cricket world champions

'I am very fond of Salman'

Industry ex-perts give ustheir take onwhich crick-eter from the

World Cupwinning

brigade haswhat it takes

to light up thebig screen as

well...

Cricketers we want tosee on the silver screen

Post the cricket

World Cup triumph,

the nation and the

players are busy in

an extended revelry

of sorts. Not that it

means that the

cricketers were

worshipped any less

earlier, but with the

recent victory, their

stardom seems to

have grown mani-

fold.

And it has almost

become an accept-

able trend to see

cricket stars, their

abilities on the field

regardless, take on

the television terri-

tory or the Bolly-

wood domain.

Ex-cricketers Salil

Ankola took to

movies following a

not-so-bright run on the

cricket field; Angad Bedi

(who played domestic cricket

but couldn't get into the na-

tional team) is a well known

name on television and re-

cently made his Bollywood

debut; Navjot Singh Siddhu

has become more popular for

his roaring laughter and jokes

on television now — so much

so that it has overpowered his

cricketing background and has

got him branded him as a co-

median instead.

Even a cricketer like Sunil

Gavaskar, with an enviable ca-

reer graph did a Marathi film,

just after he resigned from the

then-Indian cricket team.

Cricketer Sreesanth too was

rumoured to be interested in

doing a South Indian film.

So who is capable of making

the big cut from the present

brigade? Trade analyst Taran

Adarsh roots for young crick-

eter Virat Kohli as the next big

star! "When I look at him, I

think he's a star. He's a very

good looking guy, perhaps

better-looking than most of

our Bollywood stars put to-

gether. The way he walks, the

way he walks — he's a star,"

he says.

Film-maker Vikram Bhatt, on

the other hand, is of a different

opinion. "Cricketers would

make for bad actors! Picking a

cricketer merely because of

his looks is equivalent to hav-

ing an actor of Aamir Khan's

acting talent play the opening

set in a game of cricket."

"I'm not a cricket fan but I

think Yuvraj Singh would

make for a good Bollywood

star," asserts trade analyst

Komal Nahta. "He has a great

fan following, good looks and

he's in his top form," he adds.

Who's her man?

Courageous JournalismApril 07, 2011 16

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