The awards were given in recognition of the 'tireless work' in projecting a positive image of the Sikhs
Reports suggested that hundreds of angry residents at Nankana Sahib pelted the Sikh pilgrims with stones on Friday.
Pak foreign office said that it was a scuffle between 2 Muslim groups and attempts to paint this incident as a communal issue are 'patently motivated'. It also said that claims of acts of 'desecration and destruction' are not only false but mischievous.
The fringe organisation, run by a few radical Sikhs of foreign nationality in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom openly espouses the cause of Khalistan and in that process challenges the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
Hundreds of Sikh youths, led by the Dal Khalsa, were carrying Khalistani flags and photographs of damaged Akal Takht.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is also against the move.
In a bid to allay growing concerns within the community, the White House sent one of its top officials to a Gurdwara in the suburb of Washington, DC on Sunday to meet members of the Sikh community and local leadership to assure them about their safety and interest.
Akal Takht head Gurbachan Singh's customary address on the occasion of Diwali drowned in the din on Wednesday amid slogan shouting by Sikh hardliners, even as parallely "appointed" jathedar of Akal Takht also managed to address the gathering but was arrested soon after.
The Indian Sikhs were in Pakistan to to participate in the celebrations marking the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. They met Sharif, who's father hails from Jati Umra, a village near Amritsar, at his home in Lahore.
Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness. He also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said "daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)".
Amardeep Singh, 22, a resident of Brampton, Surrey, and Abbotsford areas of Canada, has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Divisions among two groups of Sikhs in Canada over the authenticity of holy scripture Dasam Granth have come out in the open with violence breaking out in a gurudwara in which three people were injured.
The Indian government has sent Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri to represent India at the event.
The leaders of some Sikh outfits and hardline groups were taken into preventive custody early Wednesday in apprehension of breach of peace after a call that the newly-appointed jathedars would address the community from the Akal Takht.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of Sikh activist Nijjar, CTV News quoted a senior government source as saying.
Illinois State Governor Rod Blagojevich, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins have proclaimed October 20 as "Sri Guru Granth Sahib Day."
William Osler Health Center and the Canadian Sikh community raised $170,000 from a 3-day 'Akhand Paath' they organised last week at the Brampton Civic Hosptial.
US Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has taken strong exception to a report that she snubbed the Sikh American community in California by not attending a fund-raising event in Bakersfield, California that coincided with Guru Nanak's birthday celebrations.On November 19, the New York Sun had stated that the Clinton campaign's abrupt cancellation of scheduled appearances due to 'security reasons' had left members of the Sikh community dismayed.
The former HRD minister said the Congress is changing the education system of the country under 'unwanted influence of Left ideology'.
A robbery occurred at a Sikh temple in Livingston city of California on Sunday. The Livingston police suspects that the robbery was done by people who knew about the temple's wherabouts.
The Sikh community is up in arms against what they termed as 'desecration' of their holy book -- Guru Granth Sahib -- in Katia Patti town of Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district, about 350 km from Lucknow.
They will be among 25,000 pilgrims from the world over visiting Pakistan to commemorate the 539th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib.
Barring 2004 and 2009 when Navjot Singh Sidhu won the Amritsar seat as a BJP MP and 1998 when Daya Singh Sodhi from BJP was elected as the MP, it has essentially a Congress bastion.
Palanquin carrying Sikh scripture to move to Pak Tuesday
Officials also said that the move to send out the emails was a conscious choice as part of a communication strategy for public interest.
Sikh organisations, including hardline groups, gathered to take part in 'Sarbat Khalsa', seeking to free Sikh institutions from political influence.
The holy book was retrieved after an over 22-hour rescue operation by Sikh volunteers.
In a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Sidhu said that he had been invited by the Pakistan government for opening ceremony of Kartarpur Sahib corridor on November 9.
The Sikhs arrived by special trains to Lahore, capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, on Wednesday and will stay for a week. The pilgrims will visit various temples in the country.
Sikh religious leaders slammed the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh on Saturday for claiming that the community's sacred texts were "known for their salutations to Sri Rama".
Nearly 1,000 Sikhs from Pakistan prayed at Golden Temple in Amritsar for warm relations between India and Pakistan.
Calling the incident 'disorderly behaviour' by unknown individuals outside the Glasgow area, it further added that the Gurdwara is open to people from all communities and backgrounds.
A metropolitan magistrate on Saturday remanded three persons, arrested in connection with the firing by the bodyguards of Dera Sacha Sauda chief outside a suburban mall in Mumbai, to police custody till July 2. The three accused -- Jagdev Singh, Satnam Aroda and Rajguru Taneja -- bodyguards of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh had been arrested on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to ask Britain to take strong action against Sikh groups trying to revive the demand for a separate Khalistan and their attempts to radicalise Sikh youth besides giving them training on how to make bombs.
Shah said the decision reflects the Modi government's immense reverence for Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the Sikh community.
'There is something in our desh ki mitti that has held us together.'
'So many conquerors, colonisers, cultures came and went, but we withstood them and rose up again.'
He is the second Sikh to be appointed in any of the forces, the first being in Army. The Pakistan Army has also appointed a Hindu. Gulab did not tell his family when he applied for the Sub Inspector post.
The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit
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