God and His Court are True

by Gursant Singh , Espanola New Mexico, Saturday, July 26, 2008, 10:14
edited by Gursant Singh, Sunday, May 23, 2010, 14:17

My name is Guru Sant Singh Khalsa. Many of you may have heard I was arrested January 12th in India by the Amritsar police. I have attached links below to newspaper articles which describe the situation.

I am asking for your prayers.
Please pray for all the facts and witnesses to come forward with the truth.

I am reminded of Guru Nanak's words:

ਕੂੜ ਨਿਖੁਟੇ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਓੜਕਿ ਸਚਿ ਰਹੀ ॥੨॥
Falsehood will come to an end, O Nanak, and Truth will prevail in the end.

They are judged by their deeds and actions in God's Court;
God and His Court are true.

The good and evil will be judged there.
(Satguru) Nanak says that these facts will become known in that court.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/SantaFeNorthernNM/Man-s-desire-for-mate-becomes--forei...

Man's desire for mate becomes legal affairLocal Sikh accused of defrauding women during trip to India

Tom Sharpe | The New Mexican
Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 7/25/08

A local Sikh who tried to find a wife in India is accused of conspiring with his marriage broker to defraud women by charging them to meet him even though he had no intention of marrying them.

Guru Sant Singh Khalsa said he spent 10 days in jail earlier this year after he was busted in a "sting" by the police and an Indian television news program.

He said in a telephone interview this week that he is free on bail and able to travel around India, but his passport has been seized, and he cannot return to the United States until the case is resolved.

"God gives us these tests," he said.

The 51-year-old California native converted from Christianity to Sikhism 30 years ago, changed his name and moved to Sombrillo, near Española, to be near Yogi Bhajan, the late spiritual leader who in 1972 founded an ashram there that drew hundreds of American converts.

In October, Singh Khalsa went to Amritsar in the northern Indian state of Punjab — his third trip there — for inexpensive dental work. But having recently divorced, he became interested in meeting local women who were raised in traditional Sikh culture.

He said the son of a man who owned his guesthouse referred him to a well-known marriage broker who arranged for him to meet a number of marriageable Sikh women and their families.

"It's not like dating in the U.S.," he said. "Usually, the parents would come, often without the girl. Ninety percent of marriages in India are arranged. It doesn't matter much what the girl thinks."

Singh Khalsa said he paid the broker the equivalent of about $50 up-front, then voluntarily gave him about $100 more for advertising. Unknown to him, he said, the broker also was charging the women and their families about $25 each.

One or two of the dozens of women he met, some as young as 18, were not interested in marrying him, but most were "absolutely ready to marry me" because he is a rich American, although he found no one to his satisfaction, he said.

He asked the broker to send him only English speakers, but most of the women spoke only the native Punjabi. Then on Jan. 12, the broker set him up with a woman who spoke excellent English. But as they spoke, police and television camera crews poured into the broker's office. The woman turned out to be a television reporter for a "sting" operation that was being televised live.

Singh Khalsa and his marriage broker were interrogated by the police, then jailed in an 8-by-10-foot holding cell with walls smeared with excrement and blood, and large rats wandering on the floor. After three days, they were transferred to a city jail that had better conditions, he said.

He said he was released on bail after 10 days, but must show up for various hearings, the next being on Aug. 6. He said the fraud charges against him stem from allegations by some of the women he met that he had reneged on promises to marry them after taking money from them and that he was splitting the fee with the marriage broker charged. None of this is true, he said.

"It's appalling how bad the system is," he said. "There are no rules of evidence, no guarantee of due process. The police have supreme power. ... But I'm innocent. I'm going to clear my name, and I'm not going to pay anyone off."

Singh is no stranger to the U.S. court system. In 1986, he sued the Department of Defense to challenge Army regulations banning long hair, facial hair, turbans and types of jewelry Sikhs wear. The case was eventually dismissed.

In 2005, he sued an Albuquerque man who had banned him from a seminar on blackjack because he thought Singh Khalsa was an uncover agent for Indian casinos. Singh Khalsa, who denied the charge, said he uses card-counting techniques to win at blackjack. The case was dismissed.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.

IndiaPost.com

Marriage fraud lands innocent Sikh in prison
Tuesday, 07.15.2008, 06:48am (GMT-7)

India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: Guru Sant Singh Khalsa set out in search of a wife and ended up accused of fraud, convicted in a kangaroo court, and thrown in an Indian prison. An American-born Caucasian residing in New Mexico, Sant converted from Christianity to Sikhism some 30 years ago and has been deeply involved in spiritual practices ever since.In keeping with the beliefs of his sect, he places high value on traditional marriage roles, so at the age of 50 he concluded that an arranged marriage with an Indian-born Sikh would provide him with the traditional lifestyle for which he longed.

In October of 2007, Sant traveled to Amritsar, India and met a popular marriage broker. Known as Dadaji, the respected businessman had a 16-year-long reputation as one of the best marriage brokers in the Punjab. Sant paid a fee, Dadaji advertised the American 'catch,' and eligible Sikh women proceeded to pour in from every corner of the region. Although Sant asked Dadaji to screen out the women who could not speak English, they insisted on coming anyway, so Sant met with each and every applicant.

Most did not fit his criteria or simply seemed incompatible, but he politely wished them well. Many begged and pleaded with him to marry them. Others tried to use coercion or logic to convince him to sign the papers on the spot.Each woman expressed eagerness to travel to America and obtain a green card, but none mentioned any affinity for Sant or a desire to marry him for any reason other than convenience. Sant kept meeting women, hoping for more. Over the course of a month, he met a total of around fifty women.

Finally, Sant found a compatible match, and the woman, though she spoke very little English, was eager to arrange it. Dadaji said that things must not move so quickly. He insisted that she take English lessons first, and that Sant meet a few more women just to make sure he had made the right choice. Sant acquiesced, and the next day, January 12, he sat down in yet another interview with a woman who, oddly, spoke excellent English.

But as the two of them spoke, policemen and a camera crew began to pour in through the doors of the office. Soon Sant and Dadaji were informed that the woman was not really a potential bride, but a television reporter, and that this was a 'sting' operation, being televised live. Sant and Dadaji were taken to police headquarters.

After Dadaji was interrogated for hours, the two were locked inside an eight- by ten-foot concrete holding cell. Within, excrement and blood were smeared on the walls, and a barred Iron Gate left the prisoners open to the elements and to the large rats that wandered in from the police yard. Sant had no idea of the charges against him or how long he would be detained.

The next day, Sant and Dadaji were taken into a courtroom, where policemen whom Sant had never seen before stood up and swore vaguely that they had seen Sant and Dadaji 'commit fraud.' Based on this testimony, the pair were taken to the Amritsar Central Jail and kept there for two weeks. Now Sant is unable to legally leave India, he is unable to return to the US to conduct his business affairs, and he fears that it may be years before his case will be tried.

He has called the US Embassy, but received no help. By continuing to communicate with the police, Sant has pieced together the true nature of the accusation against him. It seems that, just as Dadaji charged Sant Rs1, 100 (the equivalent of around US$25) as a membership fee to his marriage brokerage, he also charged the same membership fee to each woman who came to meet Sant. But when women heard about this 'rich American' who was up for grabs, many became determined to hook him.

When they failed to do so, about twenty of the women called the police, alleging that Sant and Dadaji were splitting the profits of their 'scam' and that Sant had promised to marry each of them. Sant has sent written statements to the police, stating that it would be quite improbable for him to engage in such a fraud. His bank statements show that Sant has plenty of money and the pittance that could be gained from such a scam would certainly not be worth it to him.

He has cited his many years as a devoted Sikh as evidence that his search for a Sikh bride was genuine, and his refusal of any dowry as further evidence that he is an honest man. The courts have not responded in any way to his protestations of innocence. Sant has been well known within the American Sikh community ever since 1982, when he famously sued the US Army for refusing to allow him to enlist due to the long hair, beard, and turban that are the trappings of his faith.

He was represented by the ACLU. Sant was a long-time devotee of the late Yogi Bhajan and is active within the 3-HO, or 'Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization' led by his spiritual teacher. Determined to foil those who would persecute him, he has successfully sued many dishonest businessmen in America, and appeared twice on television's 'The People's Court.'

But this time, he has found no recourse against false accusations and a law that can imprison him without evidence. Said he, 'I dreamed that a lady from a traditional Sikh background would be perfect for me, but now I see that not only would there be too many cultural conflicts, but many Indian Sikh women-or their parents-only want to live in the US. They are willing to do or say anything to get what they want.'

Katie Mehrer

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-16936879.html

Espaola Sikh Arrested in India, Accused of Fraud
From:
Albuquerque Journal
Date:
July 30, 2008
Author:
Katie Mehrer For the Journal | Copyright information Copyright 2008 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest LLC.

A Sikh man from the Espaola area has been arrested in India, for alleged fraud after he advertised for a potential wife.
Guru Sant Singh Khalsa, part of the Espaola area's Sikh community, denies participating in a scam to take money from women looking for a husband through a Punjab marriage broker. But his passport has been confiscated and his arrest was broadcast live by a television crew as part of a sting operation, he says.
He's already been waiting for a hearing in his case for s i x mont h s and can't leave India.
I n a tele - phone interv i e w f r o m India, Khalsa said he was visiting the Punjab city of Amritsar for low-cost dental work when he thought it would be interesting to ...

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