December 2007

The Sikh community of Canada joins the nation of Pakistan and all friends of democracy in mourning the tragic death of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto. read more ..

The Air India Commission report, titled “The Families Remember”, is a fitting tribute to the devastating loss that these families suffered in the wake of the Air India tragedy.  The report profiles many of the victims and their families and shines a necessary light on the real human side of this event.  The WSO appears as Intervenors in the Air India Inquiry and has been calling for such a public inquiry since 1987.  As such, we certainly welcome this first report by the Commission focusing on the victims, and we are hopeful that at the very least, the families of the victims will feel some sense of closure as a result of this Inquiry. read more ..

Pakistan’s implementation of a Sikh marriage registration law, which it refers to as the Anand Karaj Act, is a welcome affirmation of that country’s recognition and acceptance of Sikh identity in Pakistan. This is a dramatic move, and will hopefully serve to highlight the less than sympathetic treatment of Sikhs in Pakistan’s neighbor, India.  In India, where a majority of the world’s Sikh population lives, Sikhs have been struggling for over half a century for the simple affirmation of their distinct identity, yet the Indian constitution continues to refuse this simple act.  In India, Sikhs are still forced to register their marriages under the Hindu marriage act, unlike Muslims and Christians, whom the Indian constitution formally recognizes as distinct.  Read the WSO press release on this subject. read more ..