<i>London Sikhs lead riots fightback </i>

The fires which have raged in London's worst rioting for decades have forged a sense of community rarely seen in the British capital, with Sikhs in the western borough of Southall leading the way.
Hundreds of turbaned men gathered outside their gurdwara, or temple, to defend the west London borough on Tuesday after rumours circulated on social networking website Twitter that it was next on the looters' hitlist.
Men sporting traditional garb including the kirpan, a ceremonial Sikh dagger, led chants as others patrolled the area by car and motorcycle looking out for the looters who have terrorised the city since Saturday.
The Sikh religion obliges every devotee to carry a small stylized dagger sewn in a closed scabbard under their clothes but most were steadfast in their of rejection of violence.
Amarjit Singh Dhillon, an adviser to the hastily-convened committee, explained to AFP that the operation was "not about vigilantes, just self-defence".
Committee President Himat Singh Sohi, sporting a lustrous white beard and black turban, stressed that "the message of our guru is peace, live in harmony and work hard".
Community defence groups have sprung up across the capital since unprecedented rioting and looting began late Saturday.
Sympathy for the rioters was in short supply among the men of Southall.
Investment bank worker Davinder Singh, who called on his fellow Sikhs to uphold their reputation as "saints and soldiers", bemoaned the descent into anarchy.
"From a spiritual and religious view, it's the dark ages we're living right now," he said. "There was a little bit of a disturbance and then people just go to gain whatever they can. It's just pure selfishness."
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded in 15th century Punjab, India, on the teachings of Guru Nanak and 10 successive Sikh gurus. Its principal beliefs are faith and justice.