After recitation of Mool Mantar, Lt. Col. JS Multani read out the minutes of the last meeting held on 20 Feb 2016. These were proposed to be passed by S. JS Gogia and S. Sukhdev Singh Laj and passed unanimously.

Address by Dr. SS Johl

2. Dr. Johl noted with great regret the continuous lapses in the punctuality of the EC members in attending meetings which are carefully arranged for members at very convenient timings. He expects our members to reach ten (10) minutes before the scheduled start so that we are able to devote appropriate time for discussing important items on the agenda. In fact, Dr. Johl who travels to Chandigarh from his house in Ludhiana is normally here at least 20 minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting. Please do not follow the bad example of our political leaders who normally reach late for various functions.
3. Dr. Johl appreciated the excellent work being carried out in the field of education and distribution of scholarships in the rural areas. Besides our coaching centres are producing good results with improvements each year. Maintaining good health and obtaining good results in Education are vital in the careers of our young population. Teachers need to be motivated to raise the standards of our youth in education and sports.
4. Touching the religious sphere, Dr. Johl felt that we The Sikhs are today advocating and practicing the law of “Elimination” rather than that of ‘Assimilation’. We should aim to bring together our various sects such as Sehajdharis, Amritdharis and Namdharis and other cults prevailing in our society. The Akal Takht Jathedar Sahib should work towards doing this. The achievement of such unity will raise both our morale, physical strength and values.
5. ISC is a Sikh Confederation and we should work towards protecting our legal rights and must therefore discuss legal matters. We must call Sikh conclaves and clarify the definition of the Sikh Panth in clear terms. We should take on the larger and more important matters concerning the Panth, in addition to working towards our participation in preparing our young generation for the IAS, IPS, Medical line, Engineers and top technical experts.
6. We should somehow work towards not letting politicians fight elections by distributing Nashas, Money and clout.
7. On the lines of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s teachings and his slogan.

“Sikhs do not smoke”
“Sikhs do not accept begging”
We should add two slogans
“Sikh does not drink”
“No Sikh is illiterate”
He advised the ISC to introduce more activities for the religious and legal councils.

Address by Lt. Gen Kartar Singh Gill

8. 8. Gen. Gill then proceeded to update members regarding major activities of the ISC:-
      
      1.  Minority Scholarships were at last announced to be given as late as end August this year instead of April each year. However we activated our teams and took various corrective actions.
      2. We attended a meeting on request with the full Panjab Govt. team with Education Minister, Dr. Daljeet Singh Cheema present.
      3. This meeting started with a briefing by Col. JS Multani and S. Charanjeet Singh (Delhi) as to the difficulties faced by schools / colleges with regards to various functional aspects as well as the need to extend the final date for submission.
      4. We finally succeeded in having the date for submission of applications for Minority Scholarships extended upto 31st October 2016 due to various difficulties faced by rural students in using only the National portal for applications to be sent online this year.
      5. Due to ISC efforts, 6.5 lakh applications had been received in the state Chandigarh office when last contacted. We expect many more applications would have been sent by the closing date.

9. 9. News from Hyderabad We have managed to train 26 students from amongst the poor section of Sikligars in various trades. This was done after they joined regular classes held at VETF (Virs Education and Training Foundation) Hyderabad. This was achieved by sending the above boys on four consecutive courses run by this excellent organization. All successful students were absorbed by the various factories in Hyderabad willingly. The boys are now earning good wages with a bright future. A total amount of Rs.2,65,000/- is due to be paid as per minimum charges of Rs.15,000/- per student by us. ISC has already contributed One Lakh and Twelve Thousand in paying this amount. The rest will be settled soon with the aid of Sister Organisations.
   10. Coaching Centres Since three more coaching centres have been fully activated on similar or improved models of our Mukandpur center, there is good competition now amongst them to produce good results.
   11. We have, in addition to the above, also adopted many needy potentially bright students from villages during our constant visits to the rural areas of Punjab. A list of some of these students is hereby attached at Appx ‘A’ for your information.

Address by Col. JS Multani

12. He gave out the difficulties faced by students in applying for Minority Scholarships and help rendered by our workers in all districts:-
    1. Extension of time for submission of applications on the National Portal from July 31 to 31 Oct 2016 in three phases
    2. National Portal being maintained by a Central Agency had numerous shortcomings. All difficulties were projected at the level of Minister Shri Naqvi. This was achieved by detailing our trained employee S. Ranjit Singh to attend meetings held in Delhi when required. This saved time and ensured quick implementation of the scheme.

13. 13. His visit to Moga to attend an important meeting arranged by our representative Chamkaur Singh was a great success. The Deputy Commissioner and maximum Education staff were present. The large presence of teachers and some senior students from schools/colleges of the district was most encouraging. All problems troubling teachers and students were tackled jointly with great vigor especially with Col. JS Multani’s deep knowledge and vast practical experience. The meeting was indeed a great success and our representatives in Moga, S. Chamkaur Singh, played a huge part with the support from Dr. Kuldeep Singh Gill, Chairman Guru Nanak Sr. Sec. School (Talwandi Dosanjh Moga) and many allied organizations.
    14. Col. Multani gave out his experience with the Education Department Punjab and the various presentations made by the ISC to key members of the Punjab Govt. & the members of all six minorities. This was at the instance of requests from the Education Minister Dr. Daljeet Singh Cheema. These members then worked with vigor in speeding up the process of Applications by Minority Students.
    15. Col. Multani also confirmed to the gathering that we have trained a well- qualified young Ranjit Singh to answer special queries of various schools, colleges and individuals who had many doubts about the functioning of the central portals for online Applications. He had direct contacts by visiting central Govt. employees controlling the smooth functioning of the online proceedings and was made responsible to answer queries of teachers and students on line.

Progress and Activities of ISC Media Centre:

16. 16. 16. S. Inderjit Singh briefed the Executive Committee Members about the completion of our Studio in June 2016. It has been named as “Time Studios India” a 100% arm of the ISC.

Purpose of Media Centre:

17. As Digital Audio and Video have now become an important part of life, The following advantages will accrue to us:-

a) Continuous – Wider global visibility of ISC & donations- Many Sikhs are looking for giving duswand to reliable institutes. It is an attempt to reach them.
b) To-day’s generation relates to Computers & cell phone screens.
c) Along with formal education- awareness of Sikhi & Gurbani is the need for the Sikh youth to be good citizens & better human beings
-Gurbani has simple solutions to complex dunyavi problems.
-Due to joint family system fading away, this generation is not getting to stay with grandparents who could infuse values & Gurbani. So, we shall be quoting Gurbani in our productions to bring youth closer to Gurbani.
d) Studios now have important t role to play “E- education” which is already being practiced overseas & now being introduced in Indian schools & colleges -We at ISC are discussing & trying to find suitable ways to introduce this in our area of conventional operations.
e) Locate, Present & promote Sikh talent in all fields of life through ‘Audio & Video’ platforms –As NO OTHER KNOWN ORGANISATION DOES FOR SIKHS.
f) We are equipped to make short films & full feature films.
g) We are focusing on Production of in-house programs.
WhatsApp programs: are getting popular.
We are planning WhatsApp 2-3 min programs for cell phones.
h) Training Work Shop: Sound Recording and all departments of film
making.
i) Members are requested to encourage unemployed educated youth boys &
girls to contact us for APTITUDE TEST.18. We are depending on social media platform, which is gaining popularity day by day & is available all over the world. We have uploaded Gurbani & Gurbani related programs of 14 hours on YouTube till now. We are planning to apply for our channel on YouTube.
19. To meet running expenses, we shall be producing programs and seeking sponsors & co-sponsors at a nominal donation of Rs1100/- only per program. Sponsors Names & Photographs will be shown on the screen.
20. Lastly, we shall need ISC member’s active sewa to get ISC the sponsors.

Members Session:

21. Gen Gill then threw the house open to comments / queries from members.
a) S. Sukhdev Singh Laj suggested that the ISC should endeavor to open more chapters.
Reply given was that we have opened chapters at Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Dehradun and are now opening chapters in Amritsar and Delhi. This is done as soon as a really active coordinator comes forth and can raise at least ten more members to start with.
b) S. Izzat Singh from Delhi confirmed that he is a volunteer to be the co-ordinator as he has already started work in this direction. He along with five members have already sent their donations. He is keen to get going and organize an active ISC Centre in Delhi at the earliest. This was highly appreciated by Gen Gill and the house.
c) S. Gurcharan Singh, President Baba Makhan Shah Lobana Foundation offered to help the ISC in the setting up of more Coaching Centres. In fact we are grateful to him for regularly attending our EC meeting and for his ready help in any of our welfare activities.
d) S. Jaswant Singh from Ludhiana spoke about the various Religious activities of the Panth in Ludhiana. We are grateful to him for attending our EC meeting as supporter of our chapter in Ludhiana.
e) S. Surjeet Singh Madan, Senior Manager (retd.) from Chennai on a visit to Chandigarh called on the ISC and was keen to attend our EC meeting to put forth his views on Sikh affairs in Chennai in general, We are grateful to him for finding time to attend.
f) Col. Manmohan Singh Scout raised his voice to question the low key activities of the Institute of Sikh Studies. He felt that the IOSS was raised by eminent Sikh personalities but had now strayed from the path set by them.
He also felt somewhat dejected by the non-action of the IOSS in not publishing an article contributed by him which has still not been published. Dr. Birendra Kaur, Ex-President of the IOSS, clarified that all articles cannot normally be accommodated in one issue. If it is passed for publishing by the committee concerned, it will be published subsequently.
As there were no more points from members, Gen Gill thanked them for attending and requested them to partake of Langar.

Lt. Gen K.S. Gill, PVSM (Retd.)
Secretary General