admin note: This article contradicts much of the information that has been posted from other news sources including the videos posted in this thread. It differs regarding who initiated the conflict, who attacked first. However, in the interests of giving equal time, I uploaded this article. It is told from the point of view of those who oppose the current gurdwara management committee.
Attack leaves Sikh community reeling
by Anna Gustafson, Editor
A dispute over leadership at a South Richmond Hill Sikh temple erupted into violence last Sunday, and the clash between worshippers armed with swords and cricket bats has shaken residents now questioning the future of their community.
The fight that began around 11 a.m. at the Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center at 101st Avenue and 114th Street injured at least 10 people, ended in the arrest of seven individuals and sent waves of shock into a community where people said they were worried the thousands of peaceful people who go to pray at the temple will be judged by the violent acts that landed the temple in headlines across the city.
“This is supposed to be a holy place,” said Sandeep Singh, a Richmond Hill resident who worships at the temple that was founded in 1998. “Nothing can be worse than this. Come by on Sunday, and you’ll see 3,000 people praying. You have one person ruining this, but the whole community gets blamed for it. People are laughing at us. It’s so shameful.”
Sandeep Singh and others are blaming Jarnail Singh, the president or immediate past president of the center, depending on with whom you are speaking, for the violence because they said tension has built in the temple community since he did not step down after his one-year term as president was expected to end in December. Two weeks before he was slated to leave office on Dec. 31, 2010, Jarnail Singh filed a lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court that aimed to have more worshippers involved in the election of a president.
“It was not an open process, and the general public should be allowed to have a voice,” Jarnail Singh said. “The temple was very closed. The last 12 years they’ve had no membership, and we wanted to try to open the membership. They didn’t want that.”
Following the suit’s filing, Queens State Supreme Court Justice Augustus Agate issued a temporary restraining order that kept Jarnail Singh in power while the court reviewed the case. On April 18, Agate denied the motion.
However, to confuse matters more, he also denied a counter motion to dismiss the case. An attorney for the defendents has asked the judge to clarify the ruling, but Agate has yet to do so.
Since Jarnail Singh filed the suit, residents said there have been minor altercations in the temple because of disagreements over leadership, but they paled in comparison with Sunday’s events.
The two sides inevitably weave different narratives, with Jarnail Singh saying he and his worshippers were attacked by a mob of people wielding weapons, including swords, cricket bats and metal rods, and those on the other side saying they were waiting outside to pray but were afraid to enter the temple because they heard armed individuals were waiting to pounce on them once they entered. Upon entering, they said they were attacked by those inside. Balwinber Ghorodra, for example, said his finger was broken and head was injured in the melee.
The individuals arrested and variously charged with riot and assault were from both sides of the dispute.
“We asked the police to come because we heard people inside had guns and baseball bats,” said Raghbir Singh, a former temple president.
“People wanted to go inside and pray but they were so scared. There were women and little children who were very scared.”
Mohinder Singh, another past president, said about 250 people had been waiting to pray.
“The people inside had the weapons, but those going in had to defend themselves,” he said. “If they didn’t fight back, they would’ve had their throats cut.”
Officials did not have the exact number of injuries sustained in the brawl, but residents said at least 10 to 15 people were injured. No one was fatally harmed or killed.
As for the future of the temple, residents said they are very concerned about next Sunday. Jarnail Singh said he plans to be there to worship, as did those who oppose him.
Sandeep Singh said worshippers want the argument over leadership to end so they can pray in peace and so the memory of this fight can fade from public scrutiny.
Residents noted it has been especially hard for Sikhs following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, after which Sikhs, some of whom wear turbans, were targeted as Muslims and injured or even killed.
This new incident, they said, does little to help the effort by many Sikh leaders to educate the public on their religion.
“We want people to know who we are, and we are not violent,” Sandeep Singh said.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20460581&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=575596&rfi=8