Kuki Gill's blog

There are moments in history when each of us is called upon to declare where we stand. The events of 1984 provided that moment for me. The chance arose for me and many others like me to enter in to meaningful participation in public affairs. With a young mind, I didn’t have the proper anticipation and understanding that I do now, but still we aspired to see what life is and we did that without fear and with the desire of being able to lead a dignified life.

To date, fifteen great women have won the Nobel Prize in its 110 year history for contributing to the upliftment and inspiration of humanity. One of them is Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to be rewarded with the Nobel Peace Award in 2004. She passed away on 25 September at the age of 71, after fighting a long battle with cancer.

When I reached the United States in 1986, I had a chance to stay at Michigan State University with some of my old class fellows. There I observed and came across the interesting subject of packaging engineering - how to package products to enhance their consumer acceptance and market appeal. The product within might remain the same for years, but this subject taught that the packaging was of the greatest matter. The reason I am sharing this is as I have travelled along on my life journey, I have tried to correlate this packaging subject in a different manner.

As I have travelled along the journey of my life and as I still move along today, thoughts of regret inevitably accompany along side. The 'could have', 'might have' and 'should have' aspects of life remain even in small traces, despite doing the utmost to shed them. It is a burden that has accompanied me on my very different route towards exploring life - a route that I took to chase a challenge thrown at us by rulers who have done everything they can to destroy our dignity, identity and most importantly our self pride, all in an attempt to keep us subjugated.

The process to elect the new body for Sikh religious places was in the last phase of campaigning over the last few weeks before Sunday’s chaotic polling day.

Today I want to share my thoughts about participatory democracy - an expression of the people's will and their share in this political participation.

There is a lot of upheaval around the World these days. Libya's Gaddafi regime is imminently crumbling; Egypt is now under another thrust of military power other than Mubarak's; people power is still elusive in Tunisia and Yemen too is under similar stress; London is emerging from one of the worst states of unrest in a long time although the reasons behind it are still being debated; moreover, the great power that is the USA is reeling under severe financial strain as is much of mainland Europe.

The Guru Granth Sahib states: "Air is the Guru, Water is the father and Earth the great mother". But in our homeland Punjab, all around us the bullish kar-sewa babas are converting our iconic treasures into mar-kana marbles in the name of rebuilding. Historic trees and other relics are being uprooted and with them a piece of our heritage and the presence of our past is being taken away. There have been too many instances of this occurring and we should now demand serious discussion of this issue.

Life will always try to knock you down one way or another, but with self determination and focus you can stand right back up again. How a person will achieve this state depends on their thought process and the way in which they are able to put across their opinions.

Noted American writer, singer and social commentator Gil Scott-Heron passed away on 26 May 2011 in America at the age of 62. In today's world where the social crisis created and developed by careless governments is reaffirmed every day, the loss of certain individuals, particularly those who were able to voice concern and awaken people, demands a few words to be shared in tribute. The message that these individuals preach through lyrics like Scott-Heron's, depict reality as it truly is. His way of singing, though I never saw him live but heard on the radio, was quite unique.