—After close to two and a half years, discussion is starting again regarding the elections at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara (Surrey-Delta). The Sikh Youth Slate led by Bhai Bikramjit Singh, took power in January 2010 after winning the election with 13,458 votes, 6,201 more than the 7,257 votes the Moderate Slate got. The Youth Slate won at a ratio of almost 2:1, showing the tremendous support they had from the Community. The campaign itself was remarkable, getting much praise from local municipal politicians. Now it’s been almost two and a half years, and the upcoming elections in November are garnering much talk in the BC Sikh community.
So much has been accomplished by the Youth Slate, from popular Sikh Youth camps throughout the year, to seminars for seniors, women, children etc. The most popular program perhaps is the Sunday Night Family Darbar, which runs every Sunday from 6 to 8:30 PM. It includes interactive talks with the youth, Keertan, Katha, Prizes and of course delicious Langar. It is hard to find a place to sit in Darbar on Sunday nights as the entire Darbar is full with parents and their children.
The Committee has gotten approval and has started renovations that will add much needed room in the Darbar and Langar Hall, as well as other helpful additions, such as classrooms for kids. This is exactly what the Youth Slate promised in their campaign.
Before the Youth Slate took over, the Gurdwara Sahib was lacking any sort of Parchar. The previous committee was not Amrit Dhari—the ex-President; Balwant Gill was twice charged for Drinking and Driving—and no Amrit Sanchar had taken place at the Gurdwara Sahib for 12 years. Within the first month of taking over, the Youth Slate organized an Amrit Sanchar and over 100 Sikhs received Amrit. Since then Amrit Sanchars have been held every month.
In June of 2011, at the annual General Meeting, a new resolution was put forth by the Committee to the Sangat that only Amrit Dharis may run on the Executive Slate. This resolution was passed with overwhelming support from the Sangat. However, a biased ruling by a Supreme Court judge found that there were insufficient members present at the annual general meeting. Her finding was contradicted by the evidence but she based her decision on the fact that the gurdwara’s darbar could not accommodate a quorum based on fire regulations. Any Sikh would know that fire regulations of darbar capacity are different than what most darbars can accommodate in reality.
Nonetheless, the looming elections are garnering much attention from the local Sangat. The election date had not yet been set, but it will be sometime in November. Membership for the Gurdwara Sahib opened up this past Sunday March 18th. All Sangat wishing to vote must sign up again, regardless if they are already members. Membership forms are available at the Gurdwara Sahib and there is a $25 fee for each member.
