Turnover at the temple
Thu, November 27 2008
The split in the moderate group ensured the victory of the orthodox youth slate led by Amardeep Singh. Of the nearly 15,000 votes polled, the Sikh Youth slate bagged 5,900 votes, while the moderate factions led by Balwant Singh Gill and Sadhu Singh Samra got 4,747 and 3,947 votes each respectively.
Ironically, Gill and Samra mounted a united fight to wrest control of the temple from religious fundamentalists a decade ago, whereas this time out they were locked in a bitter tussle among themselves.
While Gill was the temple president, Samra was its vice president. Both men were running for president in Sunday’s election. They parted ways following differences over the leadership issue.
Amardeep Singh and his teammates are baptized Sikhs, unlike many clean shaven candidates of the other two slates. His team includes Ranj Dhaliwal, the author of Daaku, a famous novel about gang life. He is now a baptized Sikh with a flowing beard and a turban and a complete Sikh name, Randheer Singh Dhaliwal.
The incoming team was supported by the fundamentalists, who wish to bring changes in the community kitchen or the “langar” hall of the temple.
The present liberal environment of the temple allows devotees to take the community meal on tables and chairs with heads uncovered and shoes on. The practice is in sharp contrast to what is followed in Sikh temples, or gurdwaras, in India, where devotees take the community meal while sitting cross legged on the floor and is consistently opposed by the fundamentalists. Interestingly, this practice continued even when the fundamentalists managed the Surrey Sikh temple in earlier years.
Metro Vancouver Sikh temples have allowed their congregations to use tables and chairs since 1906 because of the hostile weather conditions back then and for the convenience of seniors.
In 1998, the Akal Takhat, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs in Punjab, India, issued an edict that asked the temple leaders in Vancouver to stop serving “langar” on tables and chairs.
This led to a violent clash between the moderates and the fundamentalists at the Surrey Sikh Temple when the fundamentalists tried to remove the furniture from the langar hall.
“We will try to bring consensus and take care of the needs of the seniors and those with disabilities,” he said.
The new management will take charge of the Surrey temple from January 1.
Its victory has sent shock waves through the moderate congregation of the temple and some fear cancellation of previously booked wedding ceremonies if the furniture is removed from the langar hall.
“We are pretty much concerned about it,” defeated president Balwant Singh Gill said in a radio interview.
Harbans Singh Maan, the temple manager, disclosed that some people have called him with similar concerns.
Some seniors are also worried about the possible change. Baldev Singh Gill, the member of the executive committee of the temple’s senior centre told the South Asian Post that some seniors have expressed their apprehensions. “The moderates have lost only because of their own infighting,” he added.
By Gurpreet Singh
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