By Balpreet Singh (Legal Counsel, WSO)

“Bhaji, even Sikhs make mistakes….”

On behalf of WSO Canada, we wish you a happy Sikh new year (Nanakshahi).  It has been our pleasure to serve you for the last 28 years.  We are excited about the coming year as our desire for service has resulted in the development of our  "SEVA for ALL" initiative.

Once again this year on March 14th, the Gurpurb of Sri Guru Har Rai, Sikhs across the world will be marking Sikh Environment Day. This initiative was started by EcoSikh, a US & India based organization.  The Sikhs highest temporal authority, Sri Akal Takht Sahib, now officially recognizes March 14th as Sikh Environment Day and encourages Sikhs all over the world to participate in this initiative which promotes environmental awareness about issues facing our world.

On International Women’s Day 2013, we reflect on the various themes adopted around the world for March 8.  Canada’s theme, “Working Together:  Engaging Men to End Violence against Women” echoes the United Nations’ theme of “A promise is a promise:  Time for action to end violence against women.” In addition to joining these efforts, WSO would like to take this opportunity to celebrate and take inspiration from Sikhi’s strong egalitarian foundation.

The tragice ordeal and ultimate death of Jyoti Pandey in Delhi has turned the eyes of the world to the 'rape problem' in India.  It is no secret that shocking deficiencies exist with respect to the prosecution of rapists and the treatment of victims in India.  A recentblog in the Washington Post correctly stated that India's rape problem is also a police problem.  Not only are police unwilling to investigate and prosecute sexual crimes, they also often punish the victims with insensitive questioning and invasive examinations.

WSO's Balpreet Singh talks about combatting sexual violence in India on CTV News

2012 marked WSO’s 28th year in the service of the Sikh community. Below is a brief review of our activities and achievements in 2012 in the three main areas of WSO’s operation: legal advocacy, outreach & education, and media response:

Yesterday on International Human Rights Day, we focused on the practice of "fake encounters" in India.

Last week, India’ National Human Rights Commission informed the Supreme Court of India that it has confirmed 191 ‘false encounters’ in the past five years.  This was based on a total of 1,671 complaints of false encounters to the NHRC during the same period. 

Today's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women  and the 'days of action' following the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women are an opportunity for South Asians in Canada to reflect on violence against women.  Over the years there have been several tragic cases of violence against women in the South Asian community that have been well documented by media.  Responses within the community to these tragedies were swift.