Ottawa – (February 5, 2010) The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) reminds the Sikh community to become familiar with the guidelines accommodating the kirpan at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympics Games. It is important that all Sikh spectators at the Olympics who wear the kirpan strictly abide by the guidelines.
Sikh spectators wearing a kirpan must inform security personnel prior to being screened at venues, and must meet the following stipulations:
1. All articles of faith must be worn.
2. The maximum TOTAL length of the kirpan, including the sheath may not exceed 7.5 inches with a blade of not more than four inches and a handle of two inches or less.
3. The kirpan must be worn in keeping with Sikh traditions including being secured into its sheath, attached to a fabric belt and worn across the torso.
4. The kirpan must ...
Ottawa – January 17, 2010: The World Sikh Organization offers condolences to the victims of the tragic earthquake in Haiti and their loved ones. WSO encourages the Sikh community to offer its full assistance and support to the relief effort taking place. The earthquake, which registered 7.0 on the Richter scale, has left Haiti, the western hemisphere’s poorest nation, in ruins and the dead numbering in the tens of thousands.
Local Sikh communities and Gurdwaras are organizing fundraising drives and soliciting donations to meet the immediate needs of the survivors and to help in the relief effort. WSO Canada’s president, Prem Singh Vinning said, “as per the teachings of the Sikh faith, Sikhs have an obligation to help in the humanitarian effort in Haiti. The Sikh community’s generosity will go a long way in helping the ...
Ottawa – January 6, 2010: The World Sikh Organization (WSO) expresses concern over the recent process of amending the Sikh community’s Nanakshahi calendar. The Nanakshahi calendar marks the major Gupurabs or Sikh holidays which are celebrated with enthusiasm and fervor worldwide. The current Nanakshahi calendar was researched and developed over a period of several years and finally announced in 2003. The calendar has received acclaim and acceptance from the wider Sikh community as it established fixed dates for important Gurpurabs and eliminated the yearly conjecture and guessing about these days.
It is unfortunate that the Nanakshahi calendar which is so widely accepted and regarded as a symbol of Sikh identity, has within the span of a few weeks been radically changed. Although legitimate concerns about the calendar may have existed, in the interest ...
