Organizations for Creating Awareness

Organizations for creating awareness about Sikhs and their uniqueness

There is a no of organizations which are engaged in such activities which aim at apprising the people of our unique identity so that the Sikh community may be able to live in a peaceful and cordial atmosphere in their adoptive countries. Whereas, the Sikh children have been facing in schools considerable bullying and even neglect in the schools, colleges and at a later stage even at their working places, the Sikhs in general have also been facing the risk to their life and properties at the hands of local people who hate them just because of prejudice or lack of understanding about them and their religion.

The Media Organizations of Sikhs

It is a known fact that the media is the most effective and successful way of propagating any ideology, be it political, social or spiritual. The term media has become so wide in the present age that it rules almost every sphere of life. It may be print media, electronic media or social media. It is because of its increasing power that most of the communities have started making use of it for their benefit and promotion. Sikhs have also realized this fact that the media is a must to promote Sikh values, culture, traditions and above all the unique Sikh religious identity. It is also true the most of the media persons have a commercial angle and they use their media mode as a source of earning. That is why most of the media modes are owned by individuals, families or corporate controlled by big business houses, politicians or the governments. So, we cannot think of such media organizations which consist of community members and work exclusively for the Sikh community. So far ‘Dharam Parchar’ is concerned, the same being not a lucrative field, there is hardly any media mode which can be said to have been exclusively devoted to this aspect. Despite this position, the contribution made by the media is so significant that it cannot be ignored. In this chapter, we will mention briefly some of the well known media outlets which have made the people aware of Sikh identity, values, teachings of the masters, Sikh history and traditions. For example, only some years back even majority of the Sikhs did not know about a rare unequal ‘Battle of Saragarhi’ in which 22 Sikhs had fought with thousands of Pathans and won the battle after becoming each one of them Martyrs. Nobody knew that these brave soldiers were given the highest honour by the British Government and were given a standing ovation by the British Parliament who were ruling over us at that time. Similarly, nobody knew about the valour shown by the Sikhs in world wars or about their maximum participation in the freedom struggle. If people have come to know about these facts, the credit goes to the media.

Print Media

Firstly, talking of print media, though there is not even a single newspaper which is exclusively meant for Sikh news and view points, there are a number of Punjabi news papers which mainly deal with these aspects bringing the Sikhs in world attention. In India, major Punjabi Newspapers are published from Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi. Jalandhar is the hub of such newspapers which include the most important ones like Ajeet & Jagbani. The Tribune Group publishes Punjabi Tribune from Chandigarh and Rozana Spokesman is published from Mohali. Many other newspapers in Punjabi are also published from other cities of Punjab including Chardikala from Patiala.

Early Newspapers

The history of Sikh media starts with those papers and magazines which were started during the period of Sikh movements like Singh Sabha movement and Gurdwara reforms movements etc. towards the end of 19th century. These papers and magazines were started with the object of awakening the Sikhs regarding their history and heritage. Originally some of these were started in Urdu. For example Aftab-i-Punjab, by weekly publication in Urdu was started in 1866 by Diwan Buddha Singh for encouraging reforms efforts. After some years some of the scholars associated with Khalsa Diwan Movement tried to bring out Punjabi papers. When Bhai Ditt Singh established Khalsa Press, Khalsa Akhbar was started in 1883. It was a weekly newspaper in Punjabi. Then came such papers like Gurmukhi Akhbar (1880), Khalsa Akhbar (1883) and Khalsa Samachar (1899) in Punjabi. Some English language journals were also started such as The Khalsa (1899) and the Khalsa Advocate (1903). Some papers were started for fighting against the Britishers and to support the freedom struggle. These included Hindustan Ghadar, which was a weekly publication of the Ghadar party started in San Francisco. The two publications that became very popular before independence were Mauji and Phulwari. Mauji (1931), a Gurmukhi weekly published first in Amritsar and later in Lahore, featured satire humour, commentary, and critical essays modelled after those in the English Punch. Phulwari (1931), a monthly specializing in social, literary and political commentary, evolved from a narrow and essentially political focus to a broad-based journal prominent among educated Sikhs who appreciated its range of concerns. Edited by Hira Singh Dard, Phulwari set new standards of Punjabi prose and served as a major sounding board for Sikh intellectuals. Some of the most important essays by Sikh historians and theologians were first printed in Phulwari. After 1947, the Sikh journalism took another shape and started emphasizing upon the creation of a Punjabi speaking state. In the 21st century, the Sikh journalism mainly revolves around news regarding the community, the Sikh issues and the state of Punjab. Some of the old papers and journals continuing even today also focus upon these matters as well as Gurbani with a view to clarify the Gurmat concepts. These old journals and newspapers include Khalsa Samachar started by Bhai Veer Singh and still being published by Bhai Veer Singh Sahitaya Sadan, Nirguniaara founded by Bhai Veer Singh is being continued by Khalsa Tract Society, Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar. Chief Khalsa Diwan had also brought out an issue of Khalsa Advocate in the recent past. Among other old journals, mention may be made of Singh Sabha Patarka, which was started by Gyani Gurdit Singh, and is still being published by Kendri Singh Sabha Chandigarh. Akali Patrika is also an old newspaper in Punjabi which is continuing to be published from Jalandhar along with a Hindi edition of the same started at the later stage. Its present Chief Editor is S. Beerpal Singh.

Tribune Group of Newspapers

Although Sikhs were instrumental in starting and promoting newspapers like Hindustan Times and Tribune in English, it is the daily Tribune which is presently the most popular newspaper among the people of Punjab including Sikhs. Whereas, Hindustan Times was founded in 1924 by S. Sundar Singh Layalpuri, also founder of Akali movement, The Tribune, an English language daily newspaper was founded on 2 February 1881 in Lahore (now in Pakistan) by S. Dayal Singh Majithia. It is now being run by a Trust comprising five persons as Trustees (Chairman is Mr. M. N. Vohra). During all these years, The Tribune, originally shifted from Lahore to Chandigarh, is now being published from Amritsar, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. It has also started its Hindi and Punjabi edition known as Dainik Tribune in Hindi and Punjabi Tribune in Punjabi (Editor Mr. Swarajbir). The internet edition of Tribune was launched in July 1998 and the internet editions of Punjabi Tribune and Dainik Tribune were launched on 16 August 2010. These three papers of this group have a wide circulation not only in northern India but also in several other states of the country. Shri Rajesh Ramachandran is the Editor-in-Chief. The contact details of the Tribune are, address Sector 29-C, Chandigarh, Phone Numbers: EPBAX JUNCTIONS -91-01722655066 to 2655072.

Sadhu Singh Hamdard Trust

Selecting one out of several Punjabi newspapers, Ajeet is the most widely read newspaper with a tag ‘Punjab Di Awaz’. This newspaper is published by Sadhu Singh Hamdard Trust. S. Sadhu Singh Hamdard was a well known freedom fighter and journalist of Punjab. He was also a great poet excelling both in Punjabi and Urdu. In his hands, the journalism matured and reached respectable heights in the form of a newspaper called Ajeet. Later on, when his son S. Berjinder Singh took over the trust, he made the newspaper popular and expanded its readership by starting a daily Hindi Newspaper also called ‘Ajeet Samachar’. Now the Punjabi Newspaper Ajeet is also available on online. S. Berjinder Singh Hamdard is the Editor-in-Chief of the Newspaper. It may be mentioned here that every year a cultural fair is organized dedicated to this group. This fair known as ‘Hamdard Virasti Mela’ is organised by Punjabi Sabhiyacharak Pidh Kapoorthala. The 22nd International ‘Hamdard Virasti Mela’ was organised during this year. In this fair, Punjabi artists are invited from different places including outside India and are honoured for their efforts for keeping alive and promoting Punjabi culture. Several competitions are also held during this fair including a Punjabi Mutiar competition. The contact details of this newspaper are address Ajit Bhavan, Nehru Garden Road, Jalandhar city 144001, Contact numbers 0181-2455961 to 2455963.

Chardikala – Media Group

Another newspaper in Punjabi, called Chardikala is also significant to mention as the media group publishing this newspaper is also rendering a unique service to the community. This group based at Patiala is publishing newspapers as well as magazines, named ‘Daily Chardikala, Daily Bharat Desh Hamara and monthly Chardikala’ from Delhi and Patiala. This group is also running a TV Channel. The Chairman of this group is S. Jagjeet Singh Dardi. The newspapers and the magazines published by this group have a wide circulation in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and some other states of India. The same provide useful information regarding Sikh history and heritage with the aim of keeping the coming generations tide to their roots. The publications also deal with other subjects including the current issues for spreading general awareness among the people. The contact details are address 593 Chardikala Press, S.S.T. Nagar, Rajpura Road, Patiala-147001, Punjab, India. Phone number +9192165-31303, +9198155-04554, +1-647-231-1118, +1-647-239-1118, 777-308-4488, Email: feedback@timetv.in. Chardikala News Group is also serving in Canada and USA.

Educational Institutions of Chardikala

Chardikala Media Group is also playing an important role in the field of education. S. J.S. Dardi is the founder and the Chairman of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Patiala, New Delhi Public School, Shri Guru Harkrishan College of Management and technology, Patiala and the College of Management Technology, Patiala. It is gratifying to note that the Institutions have emerged as a premier institutions in the field of Information Technology and have been producing top computer and management professionals year after year.Other newspapers in Punjabi include Pehredar, published from Ludhiana under the Editorship of S. Jaspal Singh Hairan, Punjabi Jagran (published by Jagran Group), Nawa Zamana, published from Jalandhar, Aaj Di Awaz (Jalandhar) and Daily Punjab Times published by PT Live Pvt. Ltd. under the editorship of S. Baljeet Singh Barar (from Jalandhar). It covers Sikh mainstream media with tagline ‘Sab Da Akhbar’. Punjabi Newspapers are published in other parts of country also. Some journals dealing with Sikh religion, Punjabi Language and Punjabi Culture are also published outside Punjab. For example, Punjabi Suman is published and distributed from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha, Gurdwara Building, 12 Atal Road, Sadar Cant, Lucknow is the owner organization. S. Narinder Singh Monga (M.: 9415561425) is the Editor of this magazine which is by lingual and gives articles, both in Punjabi and Hindi. Similarly, there is another journal published from Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Sikh Magazines

When we talk of the magazines which have been dedicated to the exclusive object of promoting Sikh religion, we find a number of magazines started by various organisations and prominent Sikhs right from the period when Sikh reform movements like Singh Sabha movement, Gurdwara reform movement etc. were active. One of the magazines which was started by S. Maan Singh in 1961 in Urdu was later on converted into a four language magazine. After the death of S. Maan Singh, his son S. Harcharan Singh Chawla thought of continuing the magazine started by his father. He retired in 1992 from the post of Controller of Imports and Exports, and then dedicated himself to publish this magazine named as ‘The Kesar Kiari’. The unique feature of this magazine was that during the period of 25 years (1992-2017), it was the only religious Sikh magazine dedicated to Sikhism which was published in four languages, English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.
‘Jeewan Rishma’ is a magazine published by the Sanstha from Amritsar. It was started in the year 2000. It is also mainly a Sikh religion magazine, although many a times, it covers various other important aspects of life like health care, comparative religious studies, sports etc. This is a trilingual magazine, the 75th issue of which will be published in February-March 2019. The most important magazines published in India in English, which are doing a wonderful service to the Sikh community are The Sikh Review, Nishaan, the Eternal Voice and Abstracts of Sikh Studies.

The Sikh Review

The Sikh Review is a monthly journal which was founded by Captain Bhag Singh in association with a distinguished group of dedicated scholars and devout Sikhs, namely S. Raghbir Singh Bir, and Mrs. Kuldeep H. Singh in the year 1953. The group was later joined by S. Mohan Singh Kalra, Dr. Hira Lal Chopra, Dr. Hari Singh Bindra, Dr. Trilochan Singh, D.Litt., Bhai Sahib S. Kapur Singh ICS, S. Amrik Singh and S. Kulraj Singh. Later on S. Saran Singh, the retired IAS officer carried it further and made it the most popular magazine on Gurmat philosophy, Sikh history and the role of the Sikhs in the modern age. Scholars and specialists from different countries contribute their writings as a labour of love. An editorial board works smoothly to select and streamline the articles. The dedicated volunteer representative body reaches out to Sikhs in every country they live, with the sole intent to disseminate Guru Nanak’s mission for people of all ages in every continent. The magazine is being presently published by The Sikh Cultural Centre, Kolkatta, with its head office at Park Street in Calcutta (Presently Kolkata). Its contact numbers and emails are 91-3322299656, sikhreview@vsnl.com.

Nishaan

Nishaan is a wonderful magazine which is being published by the Nagarra Trust, 16-A, Palam Marg, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi in association with the Chardi Kalaa Foundation, San Jose, USA. Its Managing Editor is S. Pushpinder Singh, whereas the Editorial Board consists of scholars like Dr. I.J. Singh, Bhaee Sikander Singh and Inni Kaur. The magazine not only presents intellectual articles which inspire faith in us, but, also deals with topical Sikh issues and highlight the achievements of Sikhs in various fields. The magazine was started in April 1999 at the time of Tercentenary of the Birth of Khalsa and since then is being published as a quarterly journal. The editorial office of the magazine is D-43 Sujan Singh Park, New Delhi. Its contact details are Email: Nishaan.nagrra@gmail.com, Contact Number: 011-24617234.

Eternal Voice

This magazine is another quarterly magazine which is being published from May 2013 onwards by the Kalgidhar Trust. S. Rajiner Singh Chadha is the Editor of the magazine. It also covers articles on Sikh history, philosophy and Gurbani. The Kalgidhar Trust under the stewardship of Baba Iqbal Singh is doing marvellous job in the field of education so, a portion of the magazine covers the news relating to the activities of the trust in this field. Its contact details are Regd. Office at Baru Sahib, District Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, contact no. 91-1799-276041, Email: ev@barusahib.org. The contact no of Delhi Office situated at F-3 Rajouri Garden, New Delhi is 91-11-25100982.

Abstracts of Sikh Studies

This is another wonderful journal which is published by the institute of the Sikh Studies, Chandigarh. This registered magazine vide RNI Regd.: 609639/98 was started under the able guidance of S. Daljeet Singh and Dr. Kharak Singh the founders of the Institute of Sikh Studies. The magazine presents highly researched articles written by learned Sikh scholars from different parts of the world. Infact, the highly intellectual persons have always remained on the editorial advisory board of this journal. They include Dr. Gurbaksh Singh, S. Pritam Singh, IAS (Retd.), S. Gurdev Singh, IAS (Retd.), Bhai Ashok Singh, Dr. Kirpal Singh, Col. Amrik Singh, S. Gurcharan Singh and S. Gajinder Singh. The magazine also publishes reviews of prominent works by Sikh scholars.

There are many other English magazines which are published by various organisations in India and abroad which deal with Sikh subjects, history, Gurbani etc. mention may be made of a half yearly journal ‘Studies in Sikhism and Comparative Religion’ being published by Guru Nanak Foundation Delhi. It was started in 1982 with S. Manohar Singh Batra as its editor. Its present editor is S. Pratap Singh (9316948159). Magazine ‘The Gursikh’ being published by Gursikh Sabha Canada Scarborough Gurdwara Sahib has already been mentioned at a different place in this compilation. There is one magazine named as North American Sikh Review. Which is published from 202N, 8th Street, Allentown, PA-18102 mainly by individual efforts of S. Avtar Singh. The Advisory Board of this magazine consists of Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgir, Col. G.B. Singh (US Army), Dr. I.J. Singh and S. Amrit Singh Batra. This is a bi-lingual magazine which gives articles both in English and Punjabi. Many such events about which even Sikhs did not know were brought to their notice through articles in this magazine. For example, Saragarhi battle was quite unknown till it became the subject matter of articles in this esteemed journal which was started in the year 2006 by a group of Sikhs, headed by S. Avtar Singh. The mission as mentioned was to educate our Sikh families and coming generations in America and Canada regarding Sikhism, Great Sikhs and their achievements, our great history and culture. The magazine is still rendering useful service under the stewardship of S. Avtar Singh (M.: 6104341410) who is the main editor. He can be contacted on email also vide info@northamericansikhreview.com, namericansikhreview@gmail.com.

Gurdwara Committees Magazines

Some magazines are published by various Gurdwara Management committees. To start with Shirmoni Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, they are publishing ‘Gurmat Parkash’ and ‘Gurmat Gyan’ in Punjabi and Hindi respectively. ‘Gurmat Parkash’ gives articles on Sikh religion and news regarding SGPC, mainly the activities of the Dharam Parchar Committee of SGPC. Its present editors are S. Simarjeet Singh (Chief) and S. Satvinder Singh Phoolpur. Its contact details are Phone No.: 0183-2553956-59, Email: gurmatparkashmonthly@gmail.com. Gurdwara Board Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded is also publishing a magazine named as ‘Sachkhand Patra’. This is tri-lingual magazine which is being published for the last 44 years. The Editor of this magazine is S. Raj Davinder Singh Kalla. Its contact details are Email: contact@hazursahib.com, Phone: 02462-234813.

There are many organisations which are bringing out some Punjabi magazine/pamphlet/tracts for the propagation of Sikh religion. ‘Sikh Phulwari’, a monthly magazine is a popular Punjabi magazine published by Sikh Missionary College (Regd.) Ludhiana. It is also published in Hindi. It not only gives articles, but also answers the queries raised by inquisitive readers. The magazine also helps in finding out suitable match for Sikh boys and girls by giving their details. In addition, it gives articles on health care and topical issues including news regarding Sikh events and personalities all over the world. Principal Harbhajan Singh is the main editor at Ludhiana and S. Harjit Singh is the Editor stationed at Jalandhar. As the Sikh Missionary College has an office at Delhi also (C-1/35 Mansarovar Garden), the relevant details can be obtained from the contact number 0161-5021815 (Ludhiana), 0181-2430547 (Jalandhar), and 011-45771187 (Delhi). Its Email is query@smcludhiana.com.

Gurmat Gian Missionary College also publishes a monthly magazine ‘Gurmat Virsa’. It is in Punjabi and is published form Ludhiana. Rana Inderjeet Singh is the Chief Editor of this magazine. The contact details are email: gurmatvirsa@gmail.com. The contact numbers are 98146-35655 and 99155-29725.

An organisation at Mohali has been publishing a monthly tract with the name ‘Gurbani Chanan’ for last more than 30 years. The founder Editor of this tract was S. Sardara Singh. The present management can be contacted on 0172-2271125. Its email is gurbanichanan@yahoo.com.

Newspapers in Canada

As a large number of Sikhs started migrating to other countries during the last century, the Sikh journalism started flourishing there also. Presently, the journals in Punjabi and English focusing upon Punjabi Culture in general and Sikhs in particular are available in most of the foreign countries, particularly England, USA and Canada. Canada, having the second largest Sikh population after India is presently flooded with a number of papers, journals and magazine in English and Punjabi which are related with Sikhs and their religion in one or the other way. Although, journalistic efforts were made in Canada even before 70s of the last century, it was Indo-Canadian Time in Punjabi started by S. Tara Singh Hayer, which stimulated this activity. Indo-Canadian time is still being published by S. Tara Singh’s daughter Rupinder Kaur Hayer Bains. Other important papers now published from Toronto and Vancouver include Ajeet Weekly, Hamdard, Awaaz, Punjab Star, Khabarnama, Parvasi and Punjabi Post which is the only Punjabi paper published daily. This paper was started by S. Jagdish Singh Grewal in the year 2007. Ajeet Weekly was started by Prof. Darshan Singh in 1993 from Toronto and with the passage of time, its editions were also started from Vancouver, California, New York and London. Prof. Darshan Singh, the editor of this weekly is himself a literary figure. Hamdard Weekly is published by S. Amar Singh Bhullar. Parvasi Media Group is another big group which brings out papers both in English and Punjabi dealing with the Sikh religion. The ‘Parvasi Weekly’ in Punjabi is a leading newspaper of the Canadian Punjabi community. The paper covers the interest of all segments publishing National and international news, current events, investigative stories, community news, column and features, Health, sports, religion, women, children section etc. Rajinder Saini is its Chief Editor. The contact details of this media group, which, apart from the newspapers, also runs a weekly two hour radio programme on CJMR1320 in Punjabi and a TV channel for catering to the increasing demand of Punjabi news media in
Punjabi are office address, The Great Punjab Business Centre, Unit 221, 2980, Drew Road, Mississauga, ON-L4T 0A7, Tel. : 905-673-0600, Email : office@parvasi.com. There is one paper Sikh Spokesman in Punjabi. It is popular throughout Canada as it has offices in Toronto (9054971216), Alberta (7059841293) and Quebec (5148390614). It has a base office in India also (contact no. 9463216267). For any details or information its office at 12603, Kennedy Road, Caledon, Ontario, Canada L7C 3V6 can be visited or can be approached on email : info@sikhspokesman.com.There are some English papers also which are popular in Toronto and which write about the Sikhs, their religion and the news relating to them in Punjab, India as well as in foreign countries.

Sikh Journalism in USA

When we talk of Sikh journalism in America, the first thought that comes to our mind is about the weekly paper started to fight from freedom against the Britishers named as Gadhar. Lala Hardyal, the great patriot was its editor and as this paper was published in various languages, the Punjabi edition was managed by S. Kartar Singh Sarabha who, later on became a martyr in this struggle for independence. This paper inspired many persons in the pre-independence period to start many other papers like Shamsher Khalsa, Hindustan etc. Presently, Punjabi Tribune is published from California and Sher-e-Punjab from New York. Indo-Canadian times and Chardi Kala Published in Canada are very popular in USA also. The American edition of Hamdard weekly and Ajeet weekly are also published in USA. So far U.K. is concerned, Des Pardes is most well known paper. S. Gurbaksh Singh Virk is its editor. This paper has a number of pages, mostly between 60 to 65 which provide us readable material in the form of news items and articles. It was an established in 1965 by Late Tarsem Singh Purewal. There are some other papers also which are relevant in regard to Sikh Media, but none of them can match Des Pradesh. It is claimed that this weekly has the largest leadership outside India. Coming to Australia, Navyug monthly with a tag of Punjabiyan Di Awaz is dedicated to the propagation of Sikh Religion. S. Rajwant Singh is its Editor. Some of the pages in this paper are published
in English. Whereas this monthly is published from Sydney, ‘The Page’ is published in Melbourne by Harvir Singh Kang. Most of the papers are also available on Internet. Some persons in other European countries have also started their paper on internet. The Ajeet Weekly in Punjabi is published from Mississauga, Canada. Its contact details are Email: info@ajeetweekly.com and the telephone numbers are 905671-4561 and 416899-2548. The contact is also this weekly’s publication in English. Hamdard Weekly Toronto Edition is also published from Mississauga. Its contact details are e-mail is Toranto@hamdardweekly.com and telephone no. is 9057919999. Punjab Star is available on internet. Its E-mail is editor@punjabstar.com and phone no. is 9056757666. Panjpani is another Punjabi paper. Parvasi Dharti Apna Desh is published from many places in USA and Canada. Toronto Edition is also published from two places, Brampton as well as Mississauga. Its email is office@parvasi.com and contact no. is 905673-0600.

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