Misinformation About Leamington Gurdwara Incident

[ParwinderSingh]

FAteh ji

im against violence and geniunely belive alot of problems can be sorted out with out it. Thats not because im 'scared' or cant handle myself as those who know me will know. But i think we can gain alot more through showing the love in sikhi, the sikh way of life, making people understand, understanding that others do not know what we know, understanding that no one is perfect.

im also the sort of person who respects elders whateva colour they are, wthere they are sikh or not. but however i also belive and support what our father taught us that we must use the sword when all means fail.

in this situation i think that all means had failed before we could even try to use any peaceful means, im got all my info of the net and third party but from what i gather some of these people were in the commitee so they abused their power of upholding the foundation of the Khalsa panth and the position of the Guru,. there were those wearing turbans (i wont say sikhs) they must have known that alcohol is not to be drunk, an to do it in a gurudwara building, what were they thinking? they are also older people so they shouldn't they be telling us to stay away from these bad habbits, and shouldn't they be leading the way, seting examples?

there was no other way this could have been stopped, they wudnt have stopped their 'party' if the sikhs had peacefully protested, or if they even begged. these people know it is wrong and still they continued, someone had a duty to do something and that was done.

i can only congratulate those who helped stop the event.

[Daas]

Does anyone know what the situation is now ??? has the committee stopped all these activites ?? it would be good if some sort of hukamnama was passed against having so called wedding halls attached to gurudwarea as well

[ugurpals93]

the uk sangat are picking up the £7500 fine that has been put on bhai sahib jaswinder singh ubhi....contact bhai sahibs family if u want to contrinbute to the sewa....

the akaal purakh knows the truth....the local sangat know the truth....so leamington masands can say whattever they want....

Do you know if the above figure has been reached? If not, how much is outstanding to reach £7500?

[singh_1983]

i dont think there was anything wrong with what happened,

if sangat think this would have been stopped by voting them out or talking to them.....then sorry - i dont wanna burst any bubbles...........but that doesnt work with these kind of people

they needed a few slaps to wake them up and put a bit of fear into them to make sure they wouldnt doit again, fair enuf....some people may have gone a bit OTT but they needed to be taught a lesson

i dont think the Gurdwara would have passed the resolution to not doit agian if the incident didnt happen!

[Pakandi baba]

:D

[Bored]

WHAT I DONT GET IS, HOW DO THEY GET THE CHANCE TO STAND UP FOR ELECTIONS AGAIN? THEY SHUDNT B ABLE TO PERTICIPATE IN THE ELECTIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

IF THEY DO SOMTHING AS STUPID AS THAT, THEN THEY SHUD BE GONE FOR ONCE. AND NEVER RETURN, BUT WHO THE HECK ALLOWS THEM BAK!!!

WHO CARES ABOUT SECOND CHANCES TO THESE KIND OF PEOPLE. THIS ISNT EVEN A MISTAKE! ITS A GURUDWARA, AND UR BRING ALCOHAL AND MEAT IN. THATS SOOOO BAD. U DO SUMTIN LIKE THAT U SHUD NEVER GET A SECOND CHANCE!

THIS IS SO ANOYING !!!

[Hardeep__singh]

People who do this sort of thing, dont worry about it.....they be punished by waheguru!

[Pyara]

see the latest news report on ss news.......

http://www.sikhsangat.org/publish/article_1510.shtml

[dhan sikhi]

People who do this sort of thing, dont worry about it.....they be punished by waheguru!

[sikhlionz]

http://www.sikhsangat.org/publish/article_1510.shtml

The Real Verdict of Sikh Community of Coventry

The Gurdwara is the 'House of God' where Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji dwells. Sikhs believe that the highest authority is God, and that His Truth is revealed through the Gurus and His Word is embodied in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. As Guru Ji took the place of living Gurus, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is treated with the utmost respect and is central to the Sikh way of life.

Visitors to a Gurdwara will be aware that Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji occupies the most revered place, covered with a rumalla, resting on cushions on a dais, with a canopy above it. A member of the congregation remains in constant attendance and waves a chaur. The worshippers enter the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji without shoes and with heads covered. They bow before Guru Ji and touch the floor with their heads before sitting down. All these actions are symbolic of the importance of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. These are the marks of respect shown to the teachings embodied in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

The incidents of disrespect at Leamington Gurdwara created considerable debate regarding the consumption of alcohol and meat in the Gurdwara building and the disturbance that resulted due to this sacrilege. Alcohol or meat should never be brought into, let alone consumed, in a Gurdwara. To do so is highly disrespectful and flies in the face of the respect otherwise shown by Sikhs and non-Sikhs to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and described above.

Sangat state the Gurdwara Committee of Leamington, Warwick were organising monthly alcohol drinking sessions within the Gurdwara. On 12th November 2005, the Gurdwara Committee were caught red handed. There was no mistake as to alcohol and meat being inside the Gurdwara as pictures taken at the time show this.

The Party Room, which was later labelled as a Elderly Day Centre, is part of the Gurdwara Complex. The room itself had a sign on the door prohibiting Meat and Alcohol. This shows the attitude of the Gurdwara Committee who thought it would be funny to put this sign up and conduct drinking sessions within the same room.

The disturbance that resulted in Leamington due to the sacrilege in the Gurdwara should have been avoided as the type of violence that has been reported has resulted in immense personal insult and shown the Sikh community in a negative light. Due to some poor media reporting and a committee unwilling to shoulder any responsibility the Leamington Gurdwara situation became highly charged.

The situation could have been resolved much better but dialogue between the committee responsible and the congregation who attend the Gurdwara broke down. Everyone involved has a huge responsibility to ensure everyone pays the utmost respect to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji to avoid this type of situation in the future.

The committee did eventually decide to listen to the congregation and passed a resolution by the Sangat, declaring the Gurdwara a meat and alcohol free zone.

Poor media reporting and certain persons with vested interests in creating misinformation stated the sharaab room or drinking area was in a separate building. Anyone who has visited the Gurdwara in question could see this was an area of the existing Gurdwara building and hence causing disrespect but all dialogue went unheeded.

It is the widely publicised failing not only of the Sikh community but also of the media, the legal system, the committee and indeed society at large that people who run a religious establishment can get away with sacrilege. Sikhism is a way of life and a lack of understanding in wider society also leads to failings. Ignorance is no defence. As a result of these failings in court the importance of Maryada in the Sikh way of life was not effectively communicated and Bhai Jaswinder Singh Ubhi was put on probation for two years.

The application of the letter of the law was followed but was the spirit of the rules and legislation? Were all those responsible made accountable? Was one person truly to blame for the entire situation in Leamington Spa or was somebody made a scapegoat to cover up the failings of others?

Sikhs from throughout Coventry, Warwickshire and across the UK packed Coventry Crown Court and outside to show their support for Bhai Jaswinder Singh.

Bhai Jaswinder Singh was also ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work in the community and to pay £7,500 compensation and £500 court costs. This is a non-issue because as a Sikh, he has constantly conducted unpaid voluntary work in the community and congregations will of course continue to support him and continue to ensure Maryada is properly followed in Gurdwaras across the UK.