Peaceful Rally At Ramgharia Sikh Temple Birmingham

[dalsingh101]

Great news.

[Into the Light]

Well, this does appear to be a step in the right direction...however, lets wait for the outcome of the meeting that takes place with the Satkaar Sevadaars before we start celebrating.

Really good work on the part of the Satkaar Sevadaars!

[West London Singh]

Party was scheduled for Saturday night.........The demonstration planned for Saturday afternoon.

Sangat at the Gurdwara only on Sunday..........The demonstration planned for Saturday.

If this demonstration went ahead......who exactly would be there to even see it ?

[RSTBirmningham]

Party was scheduled for Saturday night.........The demonstration planned for Saturday afternoon.

Sangat at the Gurdwara only on Sunday..........The demonstration planned for Saturday.

If this demonstration went ahead......who exactly would be there to even see it ?

Paji, This is formally from the commitee, please do not be disillusioned that there was a party on Saturday afternoon,night or on Sunday afternoon or night, Satkaar Sewadaars do not have information on when any event is scheduled and nor will they as this is a formal contract between Ramgarhia Sikh Temple Birmingham and the hirer. As part of data protection any discussion that will take place with the hirer will be that of a recognised body and the hirer. Satkaar Sewadaars do not fall into the category of a recognised body who could negotiate on behalf of Ramgarhia Sikh Temple so only Ramgarhia Sikh Temple will have any formal dialogue with the hirers.

The Sadh Sangat however as always mentioned in gurbani is above all others, and the sangat who worship regularly at Rangarhia Sikh Temple will answer anyones queries,

[GurSa Singh]

Party was scheduled for Saturday night.........The demonstration planned for Saturday afternoon.

Sangat at the Gurdwara only on Sunday..........The demonstration planned for Saturday.

If this demonstration went ahead......who exactly would be there to even see it ?

As in Grays, you will probably find that the rally could go on for several hours. The Sangat stayed in the Grays Gurdwara Complex for over 7 hours. So the rally is likely to tip into Saturday evening and even further.

The media would have also been expected to attend, I believe BBC WM, ITV Central, Sunrise TV expressed an interest in covering the satkaar rally as they had made contact/asked for statements from some UK Sikh organisations regarding the Akal Takht Sandesh & Sikh Rehit Maryada. Coverage was also obviously expected in Punjabi/Sikh media which would have raised further awareness to the wider Sikh community.

Anyway, fortunatly the Pardaan of RST, Mr Jasvinder Singh Sagoo, is showing a great deal of support for the Uk sangat's concerns about meat, sharab and parties in MJSR Hall and Akal Takht Sandesh. It looks less and less likely that there may be a need for the demo on the 15th at RST. I suppose the meeting with satkaar will formally finalise everything.

[Pyara]

Punjab Times, Page 5 in this weeks edition (6-1-2011)

[Into the Light]

I'm not sure how far the Satkaar people want to go, but note should also be taken of the "meat and alcohol", nothing re: Bhangra etc. Just an observation

The Punjab Times doesn't seem to have picked up on this either - Its important that no parties take place on gurdwara premises even if meat/alcohol isn't served. In addition, the premises should not allow womens giddha events or any bhangra event either regardless of if they are women/men only.

[Pyara]

Its important that no parties take place on gurdwara premises even if meat/alcohol isn't served. In addition, the premises should not allow womens giddha events or any bhangra event either regardless of if they are women/men only.

I agree with you. Although, I do think that if meat and alcohol are not allowed, the venue is likely to be less attractive for bhangra party bookings. I can't see many Punjabi's booking a venue for a party where they can't get drunk and munch kebabs. Nevertheless, we do deserve to have full clarity from the RST committee and full adherance to the Akal Takht Sandesh..

[guptkuri]

Mods Note: I have split this topic into 2, all posts talking about what kindof parites should be allowed have been moved to http://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?/topic/58340-sikh-approved-parties/

[Satkaar]

JOINT Press Release and Sangat Update by Satkaar Sevadaars and RST Birmingham

Birmingham, UK - 13 January 2011

RAMGARHIA SIKH TEMPLE, BIRMINGHAM AGREES TO STOP MEAT AND ALCOHOL PARTIES AT HALL

Peaceful rally on Saturday 15 January 2011 is cancelled though dialogue to continue in future

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Further to our previous Sangat Update on 4 January 2011, Satkaar Sevadaars and the Ramgarhia Sikh Temple (RST) Birmingham committee held an amicable and open meeting on Saturday 8 January 2011. Satkaar Sevadaars thanked the RST committee for the bold and positive step that they had taken to stop meat and alcohol parties at the Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Hall (which had previously been running for 20 or so years) and for confirmation of their intention over the longer-term to comply with Akal Takhat Sahib's 2006 Sandesh. Accordingly, the peaceful rally planned on Saturday 15 January 2011 is cancelled.

The RST committee confirmed that no future bookings will be taken for meat and alcohol parties. In relation to the existing parties that have been booked, the relevant families will be provided with the option of having a vegetarian, non-alcoholic party at the hall or having the party entirely cancelled with a refund of the initial deposit. The existing bookings run until November, though since there is an immediate ban on meat and alcohol, it is expected that most, if not all, such parties will be cancelled (as has been the case with the most immediate parties). Upon request by the RST committee, Satkaar Sevadaars will also be willing to have any discussion required with an affected family.

The only outstanding point is the situation where individuals may wish to make a new booking for the hall to be used for family parties which are vegetarian and non-alcoholic in nature, but do permit dancing. The RST committee explained that such instances are likely to be few and far between. Satkaar Sevadaars had requested that these also be stopped in accordance with the 2006 Sandesh, but the RST committee has said it is not yet in a position to agree to this due to the local situation. Satkaar Sevadaars and the RST committee have agreed that they will continue to work together on this and to maintain an ongoing dialogue to reach the Gurmat-oriented solution.

Satkaar Sevadaars also made a humble request to the RST committee for their further assistance in the wider Satkaar Campaign, and there was a discussion on other issues on which the Khalsa Panth needs to unite in order to further propagate Gurmat Maryada in all UK Gurdwaras. The RST committee and Satkaar Sevadaars discussed how they could positively work together on these issues. The RST committee also demonstrated the many positive initiatives they undertake at the Gurdwara to ensure that Gurmat flourishes in future Sikh generations, and they thanked the Satkaar Campaign for their offer to hold Gurmat Camps at the Gurdwara.

There was also a frank discussion so as to clear any misunderstandings which may have arisen. The RST committee and Satkaar Sevadaars were also in full agreement that no individuals should ever make threatening phone calls or send abusive text messages, or knowingly spread false allegations (such as the President and General Secretary of the RST committee being alcoholics) on forums/public websites in the name of promoting Gurmat Maryada. Satkaar Sevadaars explained that to the extent that any individuals have taken such actions, they could not be held responsible for their actions, and once again, Satkaar Sevadaars requests individuals to refrain from such unacceptable behaviour.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!