Monthly Archives: April 2017

Press release – General Election – Sikh Council UK urges increase in selection of Sikh candidates

Sikh Council UK is urging all political parties to positively select Sikh candidates ahead of the snap General Election called for 8 June 2017.

There are no MPs from a Sikh background in the House of Commons currently.

Representatives from all the main political parties have spoken of the huge contribution that Sikhs make to British society and have acknowledged the lack of Sikhs in the House of Commons.

Sikh Council UK Secretary General Elect Jagtar Singh said “We call upon the parties to address the glaring lack of Sikhs in Westminster by shortlisting and selecting promising Sikh candidates in winnable constituencies. We will offer support to Sikh candidates who make it through the selection processes”.

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Vaisakhi Greetings and a date for your diary.

Sikh Council UK extends its warm greetings to all members and the wider community on the occasion of Vaisakhi.

It is the first day of the month of Vaisakh which is the second month in the Nanakshahi Sikh calendar. On this day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, created the order of the Khalsa in the Sikh faith. Vaikakhi also traditionally marked the end of the spring harvest in the Punjab region of northern India.

Sikhs in the UK celebrate Vaisakhi with colourful Nagar Kirtan processions and the distribution of free food to Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike. It is a time for festivities and also new beginnings with many Sikhs choosing this time to undertake the Khalsa initiation ceremony.

With the challenges to religious identity and the practice of faith faced by Sikhs and others in recent times, Sikh Council UK is requesting in particular all Sikhs this year to share and celebrate our faith with the wider community in which we live and work. Only by getting to know our neighbours and letting them know about us and the values we stand for will we be able to foster greater understanding.

This year also marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of Guru Gobind Singh. Sikh Council UK will be holding a national event at Wymeswold Airfield Grounds in Loughborough (east midlands) on Sunday 13th August 2017 to mark the occasion. It will be the largest one day event organised by Sikh Council UK with the support of all members. More details about the event will be released in the coming weeks.

Press release – Launch of Hate Crime Monitoring: Platform for UK Sikhs

Sikh Council UK is pleased to announce the formation of Sikh Aware UK, the first ever hate crime monitoring platform for the Sikh community in the UK in partnership with several supporting partner organisations including , Khalsa Foundation, City Sikhs, Metropolitan Police Sikh Association, West Midlands Police Sikh Association, Home Office Sikh Association, Sikh Network, Sikh Helpline, Sikh Women’s Alliance and Gursevak Trust.

Continue reading the press release:

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