Blog of Sikhs http://www.sikhismblog.com Connecting Sikhs Like No Other! Fri, 20 May 2011 23:27:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Amnesty International says UAE abused Indian prisoners http://www.sikhismblog.com/amnesty-international-says-uae-abused-indian-prisoners/ http://www.sikhismblog.com/amnesty-international-says-uae-abused-indian-prisoners/#comments Sun, 25 Apr 2010 23:11:23 +0000 admin http://www.sikhismblog.com/?p=10 Rights group Amnesty International has condemned authorities in the United Arab Emirates over the alleged torture and forced confession of 17 Indians.

They were sentenced to death last month for killing a Pakistani man.

Amnesty says the men were taken to the scene of the killing in the emirate of Sharjah and forced to re-enact it.

It says they were made to beat a police officer posing as the dead man a month after their arrest – an act filmed and presented as genuine evidence.

There has so far been no comment so far on the allegations from the UAE authorities.

‘Faked video’

Citing evidence produced by Indian rights group Lawyers For Human Rights International (LFHRI), Amnesty said that the 17 men were beaten with clubs, given electric shocks, deprived of sleep and forced to stand on one leg for prolonged periods.

“This is a mockery of justice. These 17 men have been tortured, forced to confess and sentenced to death based on a faked video,” Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Hassiba Hadj Sharaoui said.

“Amnesty International is calling on the UAE authorities to investigate the allegations of torture and abuse and to ensure the 17 men receive a fair trial on appeal,” the group said in a statement.

The murder allegedly took place after a dispute over control of an illegal alcohol business.

About 50 people were involved in the fatal attack in which the Pakistani man was stabbed repeatedly.

Correspondents said gang violence connected to illicit alcohol is on the increase in the UAE, where the sale of such drink is controlled.

Reports said that it could be the highest number of death sentences handed down at one time in the Emirates.

The 17 have appealed and are due to reappear in court on 19 May.

]]> http://www.sikhismblog.com/amnesty-international-says-uae-abused-indian-prisoners/feed/ 0 Controversy Surrounding Prof Darshan Singh Ji http://www.sikhismblog.com/controversy-surrounding-prof-darshan-singh-ji/ http://www.sikhismblog.com/controversy-surrounding-prof-darshan-singh-ji/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:53:41 +0000 admin http://www.sikhismblog.com/?p=6 Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of The Akal Takht, has for several decades dazzled Sikhs around the world with his inspiring kirtan and erudite discourses on gurbani. He has also been quite courageous, forthright and outspoken about the anti-Sikh and anti-Sikhi goings-on in India and Punjab since 1984. Through the last two decades, his integrity has been attacked by a handful over and over again. Through time, the allegations have been found to be wild and baseless. The most recent one is over his views on the Dasam Granth. He is now being accused of making derogatory remarks about Guru Gobind Singh!

QUESTIONS TO PONDER -

To those who have known him these past few decades through his kirtan and discourse, do you think it is reasonable to believe, or at all feasible, that Prof. Darshan Singh would make derogatory remarks about Guru Gobind Singh or say anything which could in anyway be designed to be hurtful to his memory?


- Why has he been the focal point of repeated and relentless attacks?


- Even if we disagree with his views on any subject, is it right for any of us to attack him personally and accuse him of being an “enemy of Sikhi”?

- How should the community deal with such allegations against its highly respected Elders?

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