Sikh Jatha returns from Pakistan after observing 403rd Martyrs Day

October 8th, 2009 AMRITSAR - The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has requested Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to intervene and undo the illegal sale of land attached to Sikh shrines in Pakistan.. In a letter sent to Zardari, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar drew his attention towards the sale of land near Defence Colony in Lahore.

October 4th, 2009 AMRITSAR OCTO - The Sikh Diaspora on Sunday raised a hue and cry over the alleged sale of land attached to Sikh Shrines in Pakistan. According to reports, the Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) has reportedly sold around 850 canals worth multi-million rupees on a nominal price, which includes a piece of land of nearly 311 canals belonging to Mota Singh near the posh locality of Defense Colony in Lahore and second piece of land of nearly 500 canals belonging to Samadh Bhai Mann Singh and Gurdwar Deh in Lahore.

September 22nd, 2009 LAHORE - A group of 379 Sikh devotees from India have arrived here for ceremonies to mark the 470th death anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, the world's youngest religion. The 'jatha', under the aegis of Sikh apex body Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), will visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib situated in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province, Geo TV reported.

September 21st, 2009 AMRITSAR - Around 500 Sikh devotees from Amritsar left for Pakistan to attend the death anniversary of founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, on Monday. The "jatha", under the aegis of Sikh apex body Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), would be visiting Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib situated in Narowal district of Pakistan.

July 26th, 2009 HYDERABAD - While the country paid homage to the martyrs of the Kargil War on Sunday, their family members of the war heroes, who laid down their lives fighting the Pakistani Army, were prevented from paying their tributes at the war memorial here. The disheartened family members protested and staged a sit-on outside the war memorial premise and demanded a separate piece of land to build war memorial.

July 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Antony visited the Amar Jawan Jyoti here Sunday morning and paid homage to the Kargil war martyrs on the 10th anniversary of the armed conflict with Pakistan.

June 9th, 2009 Amritsar, June 9 (ANI): Nearly 200 Sikh pilgrims left for Pakistan on Tuesday from the Golden Temple in Amritsar to mark the 403rd martyrdom anniversary of fifth guru of Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev. The group led by Baldev Singh, a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), will also visit various holy Sikh shrines situated in Pakistan, including Nankana Sahib, birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassan Abdal and Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad.

May 24th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Various Sikh organisations have decided to observe the 25 years of Operation Blue Star as the Martyrs' Day in the first week of June in remembrance of Indian Army's action at the Golden temple to evict extremists hidden inside. President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Parmjit Singh Sarna, on Sunday said that they would observe the completion of 25 years of Operation Blue Star as they observed other days of the Sikh martyrs.

May 11th, 2009 LUDHIANA - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Monday that he represented the entire country and did not think 'in terms of Sikh or non-Sikh'. The first prime minister from the Sikh minority community was reacting to a query about the Congress garnering votes on the platform of having raised a Sikh to the top executive post even as it labelled the politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as communal.

May 6th, 2009 AMBALA - Members of the Sikh community staged a protest here on Wednesday against the atrocities being committed on their brethren by the Taliban in Pakistan. Raising slogans against the Pakistan Government, the protesters expressed their anguish against the treatment being meted out to Sikhs in the North West Front ProvinceNWFP).

May 3rd, 2009 AMBALA - Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Sunday slammed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for 'doing nothing' for Sikhs, who are being targeted by Taliban militants in Pakistan's troubled tribal areas. 'What have you done for the Sikh community (in Pakistan)?' Modi asked while addressing an election rally here in Haryana.

May 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Expressing 'deep concern' over reports of Taliban targeting Sikhs in Pakistan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday demanded that the Indian government take proactive steps to save the lives of people of Indian origin. The BJP demanded that the government should take proactive steps to save people of Indian origin living in Pakistan, a party statement said.

April 10th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Over 400 Sikhs and other pilgrims will cross over to Pakistan Saturday from the Attari-Wagah border check-post between India and Pakistan to participate in Baisakhi celebrations (April 13) there. The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), which sends the jatha (group) has not officially sent it this time.

April 4th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) is unlikely to send a group of pilgrims to Pakistan on the occasion of Baisakhi, the harvest festival of Punjab, later this month in view of security concerns in that country. Sources in the SGPC, the mini-parliament of Sikhs that manages Sikh shrines in Punjab, said the Baisakhi jatha (group) for Pakistan, which was to leave next week, is unlikely to go following recent terrorist strikes in that country.

March 5th, 2009 AMRITSAR - The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the politico-religious body of the Sikhs, Wednesday said it had asked the union government and the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to ensure security for pilgrims visiting Sikh shrines in the neighbouring country. The SGPC request comes a day after the attack by terrorists on the Sri Lankan cricket team in a busy area of Lahore city, 50 km from here.