Briefly City

Dal Khalsa miffed over PM’s
Sikh extremism’ comment
The Dal Khalsa,in a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh,has expressed anguish over his comment that ‘Sikh extremism,which has no support in India,is not good for Canada’ during his recent visit to that country. Leaders said this has portrayed Sikhs as “enemies of peace” in the eyes of the world. “Not a single substantive issue of Sikhs has been resolved for which Punjab witnessed bloodshed for two decades. Not a single demand has been met. The tabling of a motion by Canadian MPs in Parliament asking their government to declare the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 as ‘genocide’ has also jolted the Indian establishment. Clearly,your statement in Canada expressing apology for the carnage was addressed to the international community rather than the aggrieved Sikhs,” Dal Khalsa president H S Dhami has written. “Fighting for one’s rights,including the right to self-determination,is not extremism and we expect you to desist from making comments which cast aspersions on the Sikh community,of which you also happen to be a member,” the letter adds.

Disrespect to Ambedkar statue: Ravidass group threatens Punjab Bandh
Shri Guru Ravidass Dharam Yudh Morcha has threatened to call a Punjab Bandh if those guilty of disrespecting a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Mansa district on July 3 are not arrested by Sunday. Convener Satish Kumar Bharti said the date will be announced in a meeting at Phagwara on July 11. He said the statue of Dr Ambedkar was installed in Tohana Basti at Breta in Mansa district. The neck of the statue was allegedly dismantled by some anti-social elements. He said the government should take action for hurting religious sentiments under the SC/ST ACT.

Refresher course in Punjabi at GNDU
A 21-day refresher course on ‘Punjabi Studies: Current Trend (in the context of Language,Literature,Folklore and Culture)’ was inaugurated at the Academic Staff College of Guru Nanak Dev University here on Monday. The course is being organised under the aegis of the School of Punjabi Studies of the University.

Army recruitment rally from Friday
The Army Recruiting Office in Ludhiana and Jalandhar will be holding a ten-day open recruitment rally at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana from July 9. Candidates from Ludhiana,Moga,Ropar and Mohali districts can visit the camp from July 9 to 12 while those from Jalandhar,Kapurthala,Nawanshahar and Hoshiarpur can go between July 13 to 17 at the same venue.