Pyara

Bomb blast at Dargah Hazrat Baba Farid Ganjshakar Pakpattan, Punjab, Pakistan. Up to 8 killed. http://www.samaa.tv/..._explosion.aspx http://www.bbc.co.uk...h-asia-11617910 http://www.geo.tv/10-25-2010/73375.htm http://economictimes...how/6807662.cms

Please see this week's Punjab Times (published today 22 October 2010) for coverage of the Grays Beadbi issue on the front page and third page. Note the online pdf version is to be updated with latest edition later this week

You will find that the above mentioned Gurdwara committees run community hall or party halls which permit alcohol, meat, tobacco and parties and are in direct violation of Sri Akal Takht Sahib's issued sandesh of April 2006. It has nothing to do with caste but there is no denying that caste affiliations have played a part in certain anti Sikh customs remaining unchallenged over the last 30 years or so. I agree with you that there is more benefit in taking the issue up with the Gurdwara committees' themselves rather than post comments on the internet. However, what you may find now is the beginning of a manifest to eradicate anti Sikh practices which have entered a small number of our UK Gurdwaras (as mentioned above). This movement may have found it's roots in discussion forums such as these, where issues were first highlighted.

It has become apparent that some specific members of the Grays Gurdwara Committee are spreading malicious rumours within their local congregation that they [the Committee] were threatened with kirpans and that a large number of thugs were hired to intimidate the local Grays "Sikh" community. From the transparency of the media, it can clearly be seen that this is a clever ploy by certain members of the Committee to portray themselves as victims within their local congregation and hence defend the existence of the Party Hall. If there is any doubt on the outstanding conduct of the UK Sangat who turned up to prevent the beadbi at Grays, please contact D.C. Jerry Gay of Grays Police Station on 0300 333 4444 ext 70439.

Panthic Weekly's article below. [/url]http://www.panthic.org/articles/5299 UK SANGAT PREVENTS BEADBI AT GRAYS GURDWARA GRAYS, ESSEX - On Saturday 16 October, at least 250 Gursikhs, which included men, women, children, young and old from across the UK, travelled to Grays Gurdwara to prevent the Beadbi of meat and alcohol being served on Gurdwara owned hall. On arrival, the Gurdwara committee was adamant that the party would go ahead. In the Khalsa spirit, the Sangat went to the proposed party hall and did Simran, Chaupai Sahib Paath and Kirtan to prevent any party from taken place. The family who had arranged the wedding party and the Gurdwara committee realised the party could not take place after seeing the sheer numbers of Sangat that were present for the peaceful protest. The committee declined the Sangat's request to come face to face with the Sangat and openly declare that they will not commit any sacrilege or allow anti-Gurmat activities in the future. After successfully preventing the wedding party from taken place, the Sangat went to the Darbar Hall where requests were repeated for the Committee to talk the Sangat openly. The committee refused to come in the public eye and instead agreed after some time that they would be prepared for private talks with a small delegation of Gursikhs in the committee room. Eight respected Gursikhs were chosen to speak to the committee. Before the delegation engaged in talks with the Committee, an Ardaas was performed and Guru Sahib blessed his Sikhs with the following Hukamnama on Ang 677: ਧਨਾਸਰੀ ਮਃ ੫ || ਸੋ ਕਤ ਡਰੈ ਜਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਸਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਰੈ || ਡਰਿ ਡਰਿ ਪਚੇ ਮਨਮੁਖ ਵੇਚਾਰੇ ||੧|| ਰਹਾਉ || Dhanaasaree, revealed by Fifth Guru: One who contemplates his Lord and Master - why should he be afraid? The wretched self-willed manmukhs are ruined through fear and dread. ||1||Pause and Reflect|| The Gursikh delegation told the committee members in no uncertain terms that the party hall must be stopped, and explained the Akal Takhat Sahib Sandesh that requires no dancing, anti-Gurmat activities, or serving of meat or alcohol on any Gurdwara owned property. The committee said that although they agree with the Akal Takhat Sahib, however they were in no position to take a decision as their local community had approved the usage of the party hall. After no resolution being reached, the Sangat present in the Darbar Hall unanimously decided that the Grays Gurdwara committee and local community will be given one month to confirm whether they will implement the Akal Takhat Sahib Sandesh and not allow any more parties in the future. If any future sacrilege occurs in the future, the Sangat agreed that they will come in greater numbers and respectfully take away all Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji's Saroops and remove the Gurdwara Nishaan Sahib. The resolutions of the Sangat will be re-communicated to the Grays Gurdwara committee in an open letter, which will be made available to the wider Sangat. The Sangat also resolved, and did Ardaas in front of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaaj, that each member of Sangat that had attended would personally take responsibility to ensure that their local Gurdwara Sahib complies with the Akal Takhat Sahib's directives and would work peacefully towards preventing any beadbi. The Sangat were passionate that no form of sacrilege and violation of Gur Maryada will be tolerated and that are currently there are 14 or so other Gurdwara Sahibs in the UK, where meat and alcohol is served on Gurdwara owned premises. Guru Jee gave the following Hukamnama (Ang 681): ਧਨਾਸਰੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥ ਦੂਤ ਦੁਸਮਨ ਸਭਿ ਤੁਝ ਤੇ ਨਿਵਰਹਿ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਪ੍ਰਤਾਪੁ ਤੁਮਾਰਾ ॥ ਜੋ ਜੋ ਤੇਰੇ ਭਗਤ ਦੁਖਾਏ ਓਹੁ ਤਤਕਾਲ ਤੁਮ ਮਾਰਾ ॥੧॥ Dhanaasaree, revealved by Fifth Guru: All demons and enemies are eradicated by You, Lord; Your glory is manifest and radiant. Whoever harms Your devotees, You destroy in an instant. ||1|| Throughout the protest, the Sangat maintained a peaceful presence, and was focused only on ensuring that Gur Maryada is abided by and that sacrilege of meat and alcohol being served on Gurdwara owned property is prevented. The Sangat was thankful to all Gurdwara Sahibs, organisations and Panthic jathebandis that had publicly supported this peaceful protest. The whole peaceful protest was filmed by Sikh TV and Sikh Channel and will be telecasted for the wider Sangat soon. The Grays incident has galvanised the Sangat's spirit, determination and resolve to peacefully rid the curse of meat and alcohol in all UK Gurdwaras.This successful peaceful protest sends a strong warning to all individuals and Gurdwara committees that are or plan to allow anti-Gurmat activities on any Gurdwara owned or funded property in order to earn extra revenue that they immediately stop as the beloved Sikhs of the Guru never have and never will tolerate any violation of the Guru.

Sadh Sangat ji, It was extremely uplifting to see such a large number of Sikhs from around the country gather at Grays to oppose the anti Sikh activities/resolutions passed by the local committee and community of Grays Gurdwara. I personally have never witnessed such a diverse turnout of Sikhs before. The sangat roop did not just consist of naujwaan 'tyar bar tyar' Singhs, but this time our Singniya, Elders and Sehajdhari brothers/sisters stood with us side by side. Not only did this gathering feel historical, but there was an immense feeling that a foundation has now been established to uproot the beadbi of party halls run by our Prabhandhak committees. In the past Gursikhs have been accused of many fabricated things when they have opposed the anti Gurmat actions of these influential committees. This time the transparency of the Sikh media (via Sikh Channel and Sikh TV) will allow all to see how these committees actually act and how they have no concerns about dishonouring the Guru's Maryada by promoting the distribution of alcohol, meat, tobacco and the belligerent party atmosphere. There is confirmation that Sikh Channel (Sky channel 840) will be airing the whole day on Wednesday (20 October 2010) evening. Can anyone else get an update from Sikh TV and advise what day they plan airing this? In between now and what the Sangat decided on the day (see Satkaar Press Release above), we still need to gather as much support from our Prabhandaks and Jathebhadis as possible. The letter writing must continue and it's important we continue to wake our leaders up to this issue. So far the following Gurdwaras/Jathebhandi's made direct contact with the Grays Committee: Letters Sent from: -Central London Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha UK), Shepherds Bush, London -Singh Sabha Gurdwara Hitchin, Hitchin, Hertfordshire -Gurdwara Singh Sabha London East, Barking, Essex -Gurdwara Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, Coventry -Akhand Kirtan Jatha UK Phone Contact made from Prabhandaks (please also scan any letters sent): -Gurdwara Singh Sabha Southall, Southall, Middlesex -Gurdwara Singh Sabha Slough, Slough, Berkshire -Guru Har Rai Gurdwara, West Bromwich, Sandwell -Individual members of Sikh Federation UK -Scottish Sikhs No contact or interest still shown by the following who claim national Sikh representation: -British Sikh Consultative Forum -Network of Sikh Organisations -Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) -National Sikh Council UK (Established via Sikh Channel)

Letter from Gurdwara Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji - Coventry sent on Wednesday.

Dhan Guru Dhan Guru Pyaray!

Further to Central Gurdwara London (Khalsa Jatha), Gurdwara Singh Sabha London East and Singh Sabha Gurdwara Hitchin, I have also been made aware that Gurdwara Singh Sabha Southall, Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Slough, AKJ UK and Scottish Sikhs have also written to Grays Gurdwara. Please can anyone scan those letters onto the forum......Thanks Just bumping what Satkaar Committee have advocated below.

Many thanks to the committees of Singh Sabha Gurdwara Hitchin and Gurdwara Singh Sabha London East for taking a stand against beadbi.

Thankyou Gurmukho!

100% correct. Gursikhs must be whiter than white on the day. No doubt there will be provocations from the Grays Committee and Party attendees, but GurSikhs must remember to act with dignity and uphold the image of the Khalsa. There will be zero tolerance to troublemakers or renegade groups and they will be asked to leave immediately. I believe a posting outlining protocol on the day will go up later.

&..... it's owned by the Sikh community it's associated with the Gurdwara, therefore, it's associated with the Sikh community, it's to be used by the congregation of the Sikh Gurdwara, BUT...it promotes activities which go against the core principles of Sikhism and Akal Takht Sahib .....if that's not enough, it's physically next to the pavitar Gurdwara sahib So as Sikh stakeholders of this "party hall", we can exercise our right to raise an objection to the activities which will take place in this "party hall"...that is all that has been happening Gill Ji.

This is uplifting news! Many thanks to BSSF and SIKH TV for arranging this.

Other Gurdwara need to follow suite and make contact with Grays Gurdwara. There must be articulate Panthic-minded Sikhs in each town who should be able to help/advise the Gurdwara Committees on this. Please can we get out of our comfort zones and attempt do something constructive like the sewadars of Central Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha) London, Shepherds Bush have done!

There you go Paman Ji... Great letter. Many thanks to MR JS Anand, General Secretary on behalf of Central Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha) London

Why does Grays Prabhandak committee want to make this into a pendu punch up when all that needs to happen is a civilised discussion around a table?! Grays Gurdwara Committee just have their head buried in the sand as they are trying to avoid dealing with a situation by simply pretending the problem is not really there. It is the nature of a Panthic minded Gursikh to rise to greatness as greatness is expected of that Gursikh. There can be no "pass the buck" culture in the panth of Guru Nanak, it's up to each and everyone one of us to do what we can to ensure the betterment of this great panth. Panthic minded Gursikhs must take the lead from the front and not have the false sense of security that there is a current active leadership structure in place that will deal with the issues of the panth... A message to the submissive self proclaimed leaders of the Sikhs in the UK... "Lead us, stand with us, or just get out of the way!"

Great stuff. Many thanks to the sewadars of Shepherds Bush Gurdwara. Incidently, Shepherds Bush Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha) is the oldest Gurdwara in the UK (http://www.centralgurdwara.org.uk/). So with Maharaj's kirpa, I can't think of a better Gurdwara Sahib to set the example for the rest of the UK Gurdwaras to follow. Please scan the correspondence on the forum so that other Gurdwara prabhandaks will see it and get their act together.

Sri Akal Takht Sahib and SGPC are all aware of Grays. They have the details as it was requested. All that is needed to get this going is the influential Sikh leaders in the UK need to endorse the situation so that Akal Takht Sahib get moving. Letters were sent out to all the Sikh Jathebhandis in the UK (Dharmic and Political) with all the details of the situation, the response of Akal Takht Sahib and the contact details of Akal Takht Sahib (including the direct fax and tel numbers to the administration office, Jathedar Ji and Punj Singh Sahibaan). The Sikh media discussed the Grays issue (Des Pardes, Punjab Times, Panthic Weekly carried articles) and Sikh Channel did a bland live show about Party Halls. I still fail to see why UK Sikh leaders expect an "invitiation" to deal with the issue and choose to ignore it. The ground work has already been done by the naujwaan, all the leaders have to do is step in and "lead" and they can even take all the glory for it!!

I believe the Sikh Federation mukhi Amrik Singh Gill has been approached specifically about the Grays issue but gave a non response. I also know that every attempt has been made to track down and contact this elusive National Committee Uk which is portrayed on the Sikh Channel as being the bees knees to all our issues. So in the event of a big massive non-response from all the public faces who have self proclaimed themselves as voices of the panth in the Sikh media, we clearly see the dire need for a group of panthic minded Sikhs to form under banner of a Satkaar committee.....

From the information being circulated and what the committee have confirmed, the party is scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday 16 October. It follows on from a Karmayee (engagement ceremoney) programme scheduled in the morning at Grays Gurdwara and booked by the same local family. I suppose any paka confirmation will be made closer to the day. I suggest ask your local active Singhs/Singhniya and even persuade your local Gurdwara to organise something. That's all I know at the moment. If someone knows anything more, please post it on the forum ASAP. THanks....

Thankyou Bhenji. You don't realise how uplifiting your comments above actually are...

New topic regarding 16 October started....see link below.....

Only 388 views, 11 responses, no confirmation of contact with the Grays committee! If this was a thread talking about the aftermath of a specific beadbi issue it would generate a larger reaction. But this is a preventative scenario, which requires Sangat input. The Uk has a countless number of Sikh Jathebhandis/Organisations set up, some are one man bands and some are made up of a substantially large membership. If the sole aim of these jathebhandis/organisations is to propagate the Sikh Dharam then how can they justify not intervening in a situation where the core principles of Sikhi will be poisoned with the pouring of alcohol and the serving of meat in the House of Guru Nanak. My family think I am deranged when I keep repeating the same story about the 15 Gurdwara committees who serve meat and alcohol. How can an individual Sikh of Guru Gobind Singh Ji (like you and me) mentally blank this whole situation out of their minds and carry on with their lives as normal. I don't understand how we have become so numb and accepting to the beadbi. From what I have witnessed for many active youth, Sikhi seems to be revolved around organising competitive kirtan programmes, with focus on sangat turnouts and kirtanya. These Sikh naujwaan groups become exclusive to following a type of maryada or specific Gurdwara but are failing to see issues that are detrimental to the Sikh community as a whole because they think it does not directly effect their group, their maryada, their nit nem, their lives. Unless Sikhs snap out of this mindset, then are we just no different from the bemukhs Guru Amardas Ji describes? Just like we point fingers at the generation before us, our children/grandchildren will point fingers at us because we didn't bother trying to stop the manmat of parties, alcohol, meat, cigarettes in our sacred Gurdwaras. We allowed the "Sikh" name to be associated with community centres which promoted the degradation of Gurmat values. Time to take some ownership of our jeevans and do something. This is not someone else's problem.. this is your problem! We can either contact the committee ourselves or put pressure on influential Sikhs to take responsibility of the mess we have allowed to happen.

Admin's rules. Beadbi issues must go in the new beadbi section!