CHANDIGARH: The Pentagons latest directive rolling back the move that allowed beards for soldiers in the US military has drawn flak from Sikh groups and political parties in Punjab. In his speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had said, If you want a beard, join special forces. If not, shave. We dont have a military full of Nordic pagans. He added that the era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles through waivers for medical or religious reasons is over.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Badal requested action on the US Army's beard ban for Sikhs. This appeal followed US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent statement. Badal stated Sikhs worldwide are concerned. He urged the minister to ensure Sikhs can practice their faith freely. This decision affects religious identity.

CHANDIGARH: The political controversy over the Union Government denying permission for a Sikh jatha (group of pilgrims) to visit Pakistan for the Parkash Parb (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, in November this year refuses to die down. On Tuesday, both the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to allow the devotees to travel to the neighbouring country, respecting Sikh sentiments. Senior Congress lea

CHANDIGARH: Citing security concerns, the Union Government has denied permission for a Sikh jatha (group of pilgrims) to visit Pakistan for the Parkash Parb (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, in November this year. This move has triggered a political row in Punjab, with all major political parties criticizing the BJP-led central government and accusing it of double standardsparticularly in light of the government allowing a T-20 cricket match between India and Pakista

CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday announced to provide certified wheat seed to farmers for one lakh acres of land and distribute 500 trucks of maize silage and compressed hay. SAD also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a Rs 20,000 crore package for the flood victims. Announcing the partys relief package after an emergency meeting of senior leaders and district presidents who have been charged with implementing it, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, while attending the launch of the fifth phase of Tamil Nadu's Chief Ministers Breakfast Scheme in Chennai on Tuesday, praised the initiative and said he would explore implementing a similar scheme in Punjab. However, his presence at the event drew sharp criticism from opposition parties in Punjab, as the state continues to grapple with severe flooding. Mann lauded Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for the initiative, which aims to reduce schoo

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau today filed a 40,000-page charge sheet against senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, in a Prevention of Corruption Act case in the Mohali court. Sources claimed that over 200 witnesses have been cited in the case in the charge sheet, which runs into approximately 40,000 pages. These documents reportedly detail financial transactions, property records, and other evide

CHANDIGARH: A political storm has sparked over the viral video of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab-in-charge and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia saying that AAP will do ``whatever it takes to win 2027 assembly elections, as both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has complained to the Election Commission in this regard. Addressing the womens wings workshop on August 13 at Mohali, Sisodia said that women had voted enthusiastically to form the AAP governm

CHANDIGARH: Amid the backlash from farmers and opposition parties over its controversial land pooling policy, the AAP-led Punjab government, which is also grappling with growing internal dissent, withdrew it on Monday. With nineteen months left for the 2027 assembly elections, the AAP government was facing mounting pressure as farmer protests intensified. The protesters burned effigies of CM Mann and Arvind Kejriwal, while opposition parties termed the policy anti-peasantry and impractical. Sour

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal saw another split on Monday, with former Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh being unanimously elected president of the breakaway faction of the 104-year-old party. Satwant Kaur was appointed chairperson of the Panthic council of the new party by a five-member committee constituted by the Akal Takht. The Akal Takht-appointed committee held a meeting of the breakaway group of the SAD at Gurdwara Burj Akali Phoola Singh in Amritsar, which is being to

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) pledges to protect farmers' land in Punjab. Sukhbir Singh Badal promises to return acquired land if SAD wins in 2027. The party will launch 'Jameen Bachao - Punjab Bachao Morcha' on September 1, 2025. This is against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's land policies.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has put a four-week interim stay on the implementation of the controversial land pooling policy of the Punjab Government. The court made clear its intent to stay the policy after the government refused to withdraw it. The division bench of Justice Anupinder Grewal and Justice Deepak Manchanda also gave the state four weeks time after hearing detailed arguments for about two hours. We will stay the policy and give you time to address the concerns, the

We will not allow oneinch of land to be acquired under the AAP governments land grabbing scheme, says Sukhbir Singh Badal.

CHANDIGARH: Political uproar erupted in the state after the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Friday raided the residence of former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and prominent realtor Ranjit Singh Gill. The move came just hours after Gill joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) late Thursday night. He was inducted into the saffron party by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. A separate search was also conducted at Gills office in Kharar. There was a heavy police presence outside Gills Gillco V

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday raided the residence and office of former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and prominent realtor Ranjit Singh Gill. The sudden raid comes after Gill was inducted into the saffron party by the Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday. There was heavy police presence outside Gill's office in Kharar. The state vigilance team was inspecting his residence in Sector 2 of Chandigarh. Gill was not available for comment, but his close associat

Mr. Gill had recently resigned from the primary membership of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He was once considered a close confidant of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal

Expressing grave concern over the growing incidents of disrespect and discrimination against the sacred symbols of the Sikh faith, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene directly ...

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has nominated Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa for the upcoming Tarn Taran assembly bypoll. This follows the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal. Randhawa joined SAD with several leaders. Badal has appointed Gulzar Singh Ranike as the in-charge for the bypoll campaign. He accused Arvind Kejriwal of planning a land deal.

AMRITSAR: A software engineer was rounded up from Faridabad in connection with the five e-mails sent to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) threatening to blow up the Golden Temple, officials said on Friday. Police said that Shubam Dubey (24) has been rounded up and is being questioned regarding the first threatening e-mail sent to the SGPC on July 14. Additionally, Dubey's laptop and phone have also been seized, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said in a press

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab assembly on Tuesday unanimously decided to refer the anti-sacrilege bill 'Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025' to a Select Committee of MLAs for consultation with all stakeholders before it is enacted. On the concluding day of the special session of the assembly, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said after a three-and-a-half-hour debate that the panel will gather public input on the Bill and will submit its report on the bill within six months. Th

CHANDIGARH: The Takht Patna Sahib (one of the five supreme temporal seats of Sikhs) has withdrawn all previous edicts that had declared Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and the jathedars (high priests) of Akal Takht and Takht Damdama Sahib guilty of religious misconduct. A letter sent by Takht Patna Sahib withdrawing all previous edicts was accepted, and subsequently, the Akal Takht also withdrew edicts declaring three members of the Takht Patna Sahib 'tankhaiya'. Sources said t

CHANDIGARH: Chandigarh Police on Thursday registered a case against unidentified members of the Aam Aadmi Party based on a complaint by senior Congress leader and Punjab Leader of Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, over the circulation of a doctored video. The edited clip allegedly distorted Bajwas remarks criticising the Punjab Vigilance Bureaus alleged misconduct during a search at the residence of Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Ganieve Majithia, following the arrest of her husband and senior Akali lead