All Amritdharis Banned from Rochester NY Gurdwara Sahib

This was forwarded to me by SPN member Tejwant Singh ji Malik, though I knew of this story yesterday from Gyani Jarnial Singh ji "Arshi" The story published in Punjabi in Rozanna Spokesman, has been translated by Kirpal Singh (USA).

I do hope that we can make sense of this development. It betrays logic and sense.

In the Rozana Spokesman of June 13
S. Tarlochan Singh Dupalpur of San Jose has reported as follows;

“In the Sikh circles this news will be read with a lot of sadness that in the city of Rochester located in the New York State, a local judge has clamped a ban on the entry of all Amritdhari Sikhs into the Gurdwara of Rochester. And the tragedy of the situation is that this ban has not been clamped upon the request of any non-Sikh Society or organization. Rather this ban has been gotten clamped by the present day Clean Shaven Organizers of this Gurdwara.

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Bhai Simranjit Singh and Bhai Ajit Singh related to this Gurdwara has reported that in the month of February this year, the present day Gurdwara Organizers very silently and secretly; by presenting the Gurdwara as a Private Chruch in legal papers, had gotten it declared as a private property. And then in reaction to the Sangat’s anger to such a surprise move, the Organizers filed a case in the local court complaining that” the Sikh with Turbans and Kirpans are bothering us.”

According to the Sikh congregates, it were Santokh Badesha, Bhupinder Mehta, and Maghar Channa, the three Clean Shaven Trustees who have submitted their affidavits in the court stating that for a Sikh there is no requirement to be a Sabat Soorat or to be an Amritdhari. All that one need is the internal Sikhi.

The Trustee by the name of Harbhajan Purewal has also submitted a similar affidavit. The Organizers of this Gurdwara are intentionally distorting the Sikhs traditions and practices. Furthermore, Badesha, who personally never wears a turban, always makes fun of the Sikh principles even in his normal general talk. According to Bhai Ajit Singh, Badesha always describes the Turbaned Sikhs as dwarf minded.

It should be remembered that it is the same Gurdwara, where after a conspiratorial distortion of Prof Darshan Singh’s CD a complaint was sent against him to Akal Takhat.

The local Sikh Sangat of this Gurdwara has appealed to the entire Sikh World to help them out in this dire situation, in order to put a stop to the out-of-control activities of the present day organizers. …. (Translated from the Original Punjabi News attached herewith)
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/united-states/31104-all-amritdharis-banned-rochester-ny-gurdwara.html
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31104

To read the Actual PUNJABI News & to see the Photographs please

CLICK on the following link;

http://rozanaspokes man.com/fullpage .aspx?view= main&yview=2010&mview=Jun&dview=13&pview=3

 
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Original Punjabi version, Rozanna Spokesman, June 13,2010

I hope an appeal has been filed before the High Court while giving reference to the Punjab High Court verdict two years before defining who the sikhs are and also criminal action is filed against these clean shaven distgruntled criminal bringing shame to sikh community.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31104
Best regards

Mohinder ji

Shame will need to serve a higher purpose for the time at hand. The event occurred in the state of New York where laws that govern the chartering of gurdwaras versus churches. It seems that the laws are different for gurdwaras. Which may explain why the trustees behaved in secret.

Actually I am finally understanding this myself. A gurdwara by definition is open to all -- no exclusion by caste, creed, religion, gender and etc. But a church can have its own articles of incorporation and decide for itself who belongs and who does not. Basically the trustees were able to avoid a public proceeding. That is how they got away with this. And why they did it in secret.

Overall the courts will apply laws pertain to articles of incorporation and financing. The courts will not extend to issues of membership, faith or dogma. A fair amount of research needs to be done on how they got away with this, and I hope that amritdharis are doing it. If the trustees followed the law there may be nothing that can be done as the separation of church and state is according to exact lines. No court will hear a case about what what is a "church" or who the "church" believers are or how they should practice their religion. Very different from India, Kuwait, or most other countries. The lawyers will have to get these crafty individuals on the grounds of business conspiracy or defrauding the court in a civil matter, and that is a question mark.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31104

I have posted this on facebook so that the great spider web of personal connections there can at least know this happened. Please everyone else make this information public so that the people who are pleading for your support will at least feel their brothers and sisters are standing beside them.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31104

On another note: Rozanna Spokesman -- according to some the big bad wolf of heresy and its "nefarious" editor now nder indictment in India for "hurting the religious sentiments of SGPC" and "black deeds" --- broke this story. How nefarious and how black ? -- my question.

SSA,
For goodness sake are these people for real ?, how can they make such ludricous claims about turban wearing sikhs. In my opinion it does not even sound or look sikhi having all clean shaven people in the Gurdwara. I personaly think there is more to this than we know, its like they are starting a new way to portray the real sikhs to look bad. I feel sad after reading this.

[Please not name of gurdwara is " Gurdwara of Rochester" and not not Richmond park Gurdwara.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31104


and this is true, amritdhari sikhs are not able to go to gurdwara and there is no other gurdwara in rochester.

can you correct the name. It is Gurdwara of Rochester"

This is really sad what is happening at rochester. Why not SGPC and Akal-Takht Jatehdar take stringent actions against these persons.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31104
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network - Think Discuss Share Learn Evolve http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31104
But unfortunately, these institutes are unable to lead Sikh-Panth.
The only solution now is to create awareness among people/masses about these nefarious activties.

Kulbir

Many thanks for catching that error. Sometimes I get fixations. The change has been made. You are a saviour.

This is not a gurudwara. I'm not sure what it is, but it's not a gurudwara.