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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.

Home Office Policy review update meeting 9th July 2015

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Dear Colleague
Re: Failed Visas for Religious Workers – Home Office Policy review update meeting
Sikh Council UK has now been able to secure an update meeting with the Home Office Head of Migration policy (Immigration & Border Policy Directorate)
Details of meeting as follows

Thursday 9th July 2015 Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, 128-130 High Street, Smethwick, B66 3AP Time: 4.30pm


If your Gurdwara Sahib is affected by this issue it is important you make every effort to attend and also bring with you some case samples so that we can take these up with the Officer.
If you do have cases but are unable to attend please send these to us asap and we will be happy to share these on your behalf
Kind Regards
Balvinder Kaur Head of Operations Sikh Council UK

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Application for World heritage Site Status for Sri Harmandar Sahib..

The Sikh Council UK is very concerned to note that an application has been made in secret without any consultation with neither the community /key stakeholder institutes of Amritsar nor the wider global Sikh Community. Sri Harmandar Sahib is a sacred space and over centuries very many Sikhs have died to preserve its sanctity and sovereignty – it is not in the gift of the Indian State nor SGPC or any political party to take this decision.Therefore we urge for this application to be withdrawn immediately and for an independent inquiry to be held as to how it came to be submitted in the first place.
The Sikh Council UK has written to UNESCO, expressing our concerns and the lack of consultation by the Indian Government with the diaspora Sikh Community who are also key stakeholders in relation to issue about the Independance and sovereignity of Harmandar Sahib. We will also be taking this matter up with  the Akal Takaht Jathedar during his visit to the UK, this weekend
The Sikh Council UK also recognises that there an urgent need to safeguard the built and historical heritage of the Sikhs and is very concerned at the failure of the those with responsibility to preserve and conserve this heritage leading to widespread heritage vandalism. In this regard we strongly recommend that no Sewa should be given to any party or undertaken with out written agreements as to exactly what needs preservation and how it would be done.In this regard the SGPC is asked to urgently clarify the arrangement being put into place in relation to the bhora of Baba Deep Singh Ji and the Sewa being awarded as to the conservation and preservation arrangements.
We urge all Sikhs to sign the petition, link below and write to and the Prime Minister of India to withdraw the application and UNESCO asking them to refuse the application, if its is not withdrawn.