Sikh Organisations for General Amnesty to Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana (India)

Sikh Organisations for General Amnesty to Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana (India)

Sikh outfits here today urged Jathedar Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, to ask Punjab government to pass a resolution seeking amnesty to Balwant Singh Rajoana who has been sentenced to death for killing former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995.

The leaders of the outfits, who submitted a memorandum to the Akal Takht, were former Punjab Education Minister Manjit Singh Calcutta, former MP Dhian Singh Mand, United Sikh Movement Bhai Surat Singh, Akali Dal Panch Pardani Bhai Jasbir Singh, Sikh Student Federation president Karnail Singh Peermohammed, Akali Dal Delhi Balwinder Singh Bhullar, President Shriomani Akali Dal (Amritsar) President Simranjit Singh Mann besides others.

Image Credit: sikhsiyasat.net

The Sikh organizations appealed to the Akal Takht to take necessary and early steps to issue directions to SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar to help save the life of Rajoana.

They claimed there was lot of anxiety in Sikh community when the news with regard to hanging of Balwant Singh Rajoana was flashed in the section of media.

However, Jathedar Akal Takht Gyani Gurbachan Singh said people from different walks of lives were asked to reach at Teja Singh Samundri Hall, known as mini Sikh parliament on March 23 when a strategy is to be announced before the gathering to launch effective efforts to save Rajoana from the gallows. He is scheduled to be hanged on March 30.

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The Jathedar said saving the life of Rajoana was not a political issue but a matter related to Sikh community.

Punjab’s late chief minister Beant Singh was assassinated on 31 August 1995 at Chandigarh by members of militant outfit Babbar Khalsa group. The mastermind of the attack includes Jagtar Singh Hawara and Rajoana. Both were awarded death sentence by a special CBI court.

While commuting the death sentence of Hawara into life, the high court had, however, upheld the death sentence to Rajoana who had not opposed the punishment awarded to him in 2007 after an 11-year-old trial in a special trial court.

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source: http://news.outlookindia.com

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Sikh wins turban case against France in UN (India)

Sikh wins turban case against France in UN (India)

  Times of India's News Report,

AMRITSAR:"The UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has asked France to submit a report by March 15 on measures it is planning to take against violation of religious freedom of 76-year-old Ranjit Singh, who was asked to remove his turban for an ID photo" informed Mejinderpal Kaur, legal director of Sikh NGO, United Sikh on Thursday.

Following this observation of UNHRC, the Sikhs had won the turban case against France at UN, Mejinderpal Kaur added.

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Quoting the media conference held in Bobigny, near Paris, by the United Sikhs legal team that had filed a communication in December 2008 on beahlf of Ranjit Singh, she said the UNHRC had concluded that France had violated the religous freedom of Ranjit Singh.

The committee observed that France had failed to explain how the turban hindered identification since the wearer's face would be visible and he would be wearing the turban at all times, she said.

She also conveyed the reaction of Ranjit Singh, who said "I had faith that truth and justice would prevail and I patiently waited for this day. I pray that France will now fulfil its obligation and grant me a residence card bearing my photo without baring my head."

Mejinderpal Kaur said that they were happy with the Committee's observations that France was under obligation to provide Ranjit Singh with an effective remedy, including a reconsideration of his application for renewal of residence permit and a review of the relevant legislative framework and its application in practice.

"We now look to France to fulfill its treaty obligations under International law and its moral duty to ensure that the freedom of religion and belief is upheld for everyone who lives within its territory," she added.

source: Times of India

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