Arts/Society International Turban Day - April 13 2009

[spnadmin]

April 13 will mark the 4th Annual International Turban Day, celebrated in many countries around the world. International Turban Day is set to coincide with Vaisaki each year.

The first International Sikh Turban Day occurred in 2006:

First International Sikh Turban Day Celebrated in Orange County (California)

Apr 10, 2006


The Orange County Register


On April 10, 2006 The Orange County Register reported, "Many in the United States who practice Sikhism feared discrimination or physical confrontation and stopped wearing their turban after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks because they were assumed to be Muslim, said Chadha, co-director of interfaith activities of the California Sikh Council. About 1,000 people came to the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple of USA in Buena Park to recognize International Sikh Turban Day, held Sunday for the first time in Orange County. The Sikh Children Forum started holding the function in 2002 in Northern California with the hope of encouraging those who practice Sikhism - but who do not wear their turban regularly - to wrap their hair up for the day, or join the 'fold'... There are about 10,000 people in Orange County who practice Sikhism, Chadha said."

 

[spnadmin]

Last year one of the events that made International Turban Day a meaningful experience for Sikhs worldwide was the Mr. Singh International Contest -- the winner being declared a role model for young Sikhs who may be uncertain about wearing the turban, a symbol of their Sikh identity.

YouTube - Mr. Singh International Contest

 

[spnadmin]

This year in 2009, the following kinds of events are anticipated by the Turban Pride movement.




TURBAN PRIDE MOVEMENT

Global
Basic Info

Type: Common Interest - Religion & Spirituality
Description: The Turban Pride Movement (Dastaar Swai Maan Lehr)
Saabat Soorat Dastaar Siraa

The sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji sacrificed their lives for their religion and for the Sikh form, which is recognized by unshorn hair and turban. We are fast losing this form.

It is our aim to give recognition and prominence to unshorn hair and turban as our pride, which is why the Turban Pride Movement of the Guru Khalsa Panth and its programs has been drawn up.

The programs drawn up for the whole Sikh community are as follows:

1. Mr. Singh International Contest (The Turban Pride)
2. International Turban Day - 13 April
3. Dastaar Training Center
4. Sikh Tradition and Turban (Speeches, Dramas &
Poetry recitals)
5. Integrated Tajposhi (Dastaarbandi) Smaagam
6. Turban Tying Competitions

This Movement was launched in 2004 by AKAAL PURKH KI FAUJ INTERNATIONAL. Various partners have joined the Movement from around the world. The Malaysian partner is INSPIRE, Malaysia.

The Turban Pride Movement (Dastaar Swai Maan Lehr)
Saabat Soorat Dastaar Siraa

The sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji sacrificed their lives for their religion and for the Sikh form, which is recognized by unshorn hair and turban. We are fast losing this form.

It is our aim to give recognition and prominence to unshorn hair and turban as our pride, which is why the Turban Pride Movement of the Guru Khalsa Panth and its programs has been drawn up.

The programs drawn up for the whole Sikh community are as follows:

1. Mr. Singh International Contest (The Turban Pride)
2. International Turban Day - 13 April
3. Dastaar Training Center
4. Sikh Tradition and Turban (Speeches, Dramas & Poetry recitals)
5. Integrated Tajposhi (Dastaarbandi) Smaagam
6. Turban Tying Competitions

This Movement was launched in 2004 by AKAAL PURKH KI FAUJ INTERNATIONAL. Various partners have joined the Movement from around the world. The Malaysian partner is INSPIRE, Malaysia.

 

[Gyani Jarnail Singh]

Thank YOU Antonia Ji...for bringing this to our attention. Made my day.
This is one sure way of bringing back the Glory to the Dastaar that has been lost in the Sikhs quest for "merger" into the majority communiities....to slip into the crowds...unseen..unnoticed...as was the case in CHANDNI CHOWK the Day Guru Teg bahadur Ji was Martyred.....Not a SINGLE SIKH in the crowd dared step forward !!

Compare to the DAYS..in the Same DELHI.....when the 700 Sikhs captured ALIVE with Banda Singh bahadur were brought to DELHI..and Martyred at the rate of 100 a day for 7 days in public...EACH was given a Chance to be Fully Pardoned, released and HANDSOMELY REWARDED...IF..and Only IF..He chose to RENOUNCE HIS SIKHI/DASTAAR and REMOVE HIS KESH. None out of the 700 even gave the "time of the day"...even the 7 Year OLD HARKIRAT RAI....who DISOWNED his own MOTHER for claiming that HE was NOT a Sikh but a HINDU..and should be released..He cried out I am a SIKH and I want martyrdom NOW. She is not my mother..she is a liar.

The ONLY "DIFFERENCE" between the Day of Guru Teg bahadur Ji and the day of Bnada Singh bahadur Ji...is the Vasakhi of 1699 Anandpur Sahib when Guru Gobind Singh Revealed the AMRIT and installed the KHALSA.

Sadly TODAY most SIKH MOTHERS..take the SCISSORS themsleves or take their sons to the BARBERS themsleves. Times have reverted back to Pre-Guru Gobind Singh days....the day of Chandni Chowk is high..imho..such campaigns as the International Turban Day can reverse the trends..by giving us back the Day of Banda Singh bahadur...:welcome:

 

[spnadmin]

What the Sikh Turban Stands For

Sunday, April 5, 2009; Page A18

From a letter in the Washington Post today

A March 29 article on the destruction of the Sikh religious identity ["A Ritual Slowly Unravels in India; Alarm Grows as More Sikh Youths Give Up Turbans"] mischaracterized the nature and significance of the Sikh turban.

For observant Sikhs, tying a turban is neither a ritual nor a sign of extremism; it is a declaration of Sikh identity and signifies commitment to the Sikh principles of justice and universal equality. The turban distinguishes a Sikh as an ambassador of his or her faith and is a source of strength and pride for millions.

Throughout history, oppressors have persecuted Sikhs by targeting their identity; during the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in India, when thousands of Sikhs were massacred, their turbans were stripped from their heads and their unshorn hair was forcibly cut before they were murdered. If the Sikh articles of faith truly had no value, our oppressors would not have subjected them to systematic destruction.

As a Sikh, I reject the notion that wearing a turban or maintaining uncut hair is prohibitively wearisome or any more tedious than, say, shaving a beard or waxing one's legs. The case for what the article called "daily tedium" is often a smoke screen for loss of faith, lack of pride, susceptibility to peer pressure or all of the above. Young Sikhs are merely accelerating the work that their oppressors could not finish.


RAJDEEP SINGH JOLLY


Contributed by forum member VaheguruSeekr ji

Arlington