1. What do you make of the term ‘militant sikhs’ being used to describe your group across much of the mainstream media?
The Sikh men, women and children who attended the rally were exercising their democratic right to peacefully protest. It is sad and hurtful that terms such as "militants" and "extremists" have been used by the mainstream media. This is in contrast to the way that same media has reported other protests for example the student protests in London this year in which the students were protesting in respect of increased tuition fees. These protests involved considerable violence and damage to property, smashed windows, attacks on the Police, graffiti on walls and attempts to break into Government buildings but the media did not describe all protesters as militants or extremists. Rather the media differentiated the majority of peaceful protesters from the "small minority of troublemakers" and the "small hand of people that caused disorder".
The rally in Dudley lasted approximately six hours and remained largely peaceful and involved those attending sitting down in front of the Sikh Cultural Centre and reciting prayers to raise awareness of the gross sacrilege that was taking place. The vast majority of those who attended remained peaceful.
2. Did you envisage the protest would turn violent?
No. There was unfortunately a small element of disorder which was isolated in nature. Whilst we consider that there was considerable provocation and goading by the attendees of the party which led to isolated instances of disorder, the the Satkaar Campaign does NOT condone any such behaviour and is, and will always remain, a PEACEFUL movement that makes all attempts to resolve issues through raising awareness and dialogue. Representatives of the Satkaar Campaign and other Gurdwaras remained in full dialogue with the West Midlands Police before and during the rally.
All attempts were made by the Satkaar Campaign and Sikh leaders in the Midlands Gurdwara to highlight that the protest was a peaceful event, a peaceful protocol was released in advance and distributed on the day a copy of which can be found on our website. There were also several discussions in advance on the Sikh television media. The majority of attendees focused on chanting and reciting prayers. Continuous attempts were made by the majority who attended the rally to maintain calm and focus during the rally.
A similar rally held at Grays Sikh Community Centre in Essex on 16 October 2010 in which the Satkaar Campaign issued the same protocol was entirely peaceful in nature and passed off without any incident.
3. How long have you been in conversation with the Sikh Cultural Centre about the consumption of meat and alcohol on the premises?
The Akal Takht Sandesh was issued in April 2006. This edict provides clear guidance to global Sikhs that buildings owned or associated with Gurdwaras must not serve alcohol or meat. All Gurdwara’s have been sent a copy of the Sandesh and are aware of it.
The Satkaar Campaign made contact with the Guru Nanak Singh Sabha (GNSS) Dudley Gurdwara committee (which owns and runs the Sikh Cultural Centre) back in January 2011. Concerned Sikhs from the UK sought to meet with GNSS Dudley Gurdwara committee several times in the last five months leading up to the protest. A coalition of the leading Gurdwara’s and Gurdwara Council’s sought to meet with the Dudley Gurdwara committee on 8 April 2011 by way of a meeting arranged through the West Midlands Police. The Dudley committee refused to sit down with the representatives of those other Gurdwara’s on the spurious basis that there was no agenda for the meeting. The Dudley Gurdwara representatives in the presence of the West Midlands Police promised to hold a meeting with those other Gurdwara representatives within a week but subsequently refused to sit down to discuss the matter with anyone.
All attempts at dialogue and negotiation were made with the GNSS Dudley committee by the Satkaar Campaign and other Sikh community leaders from the midlands. The Sikh community had no alternative but to peacefully protest against the party booking on 28 May 2011 following the refusal of the Dudley committee to even sit down to talk about the matter.
4. What was the attitude of those in charge of the Sikh Cultural Centre to your simple request?
The attitude of the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara committee can only be described as deliberately defiant and an attempt to play with the sentiments of the Sikh community. The GNSS Dudley committee should have at the very least sat down to talk about the matter with the representatives of the other Sikh Gurdwara’s in the midlands region who had sought dialogue with the committee with a view to resolving the matter of the Sikh Cultural Centre and avoiding the need for the Sikh community to protest.
As you may be aware from our press release of 29 May 2011 the initial party booking made for 28 May 2011 was made by a family in respect of a pre-wedding function. A peaceful rally was originally called by the Sikh community to take place outside the Sikh Cultural Centre on that date to raise awareness of the sacrilege that was to occur in the sacred properties of the Gurdwara and how this is offending and hurting Sikh sentiments.
However members of the family who had booked the party on 28 May 2011 contacted representatives of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara West Bromwich to arrange an emergency meeting with representatives of the local Sikh community. The meeting took place on 25 May 2011 and was attended by representatives from various Sikh Gurdwaras in the West Midlands.
At the meeting the family members explained that they were aware of the rally and that they had been told by representatives of the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara that the protesters were only a handful of "fundamentalist" Sikhs wishing to stop all Sikhs having parties in Dudley. However, having understood the nature of the rally, which was merely against such parties taking place on Gurdwara owned or related premises in line with principles and edits of the Sikh faith, they too agreed that hosting the party at the Sikh Cultural Centre in Dudley was against the principles of the Sikh religion.
The family members explained that subject to finding an alternative venue at short notice they would be prepared to cancel their party. Having found an alternative venue the family duly cancelled its party booking at the Sikh Cultural Centre. This in turn led to a press release on 25 May 2011, cancelling the original peaceful rally.
However, for some reason which can only be interpreted as a defiant and deliberate attempt to play with the sentiments of the Sikh community, another party booking was arranged at the Sikh Cultural Centre by the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara to take place on 28 May 2011. This was confirmed by West Midlands Police to Sikh community leaders on the evening of Friday 27 May 2011. It is widely believed that the booking was made by a committee member of the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara itself although this has not been confirmed.
5. Do you think your campaign is one supported by a majority of British Sikhs?
The Satkaar Campaign has widespread support amongst the mainstream of Sikh Gurdwaras, Sikh organisations and the grass roots of the Sikh community. The Satkaar Campaign is UK Sangat (community) led reform movement. The Satkaar Campaign has worked closely with a number of Gurdwara’s and Sikh organisations based in the midlands and beyond in relation to the Dudley matter.
6. West Midlands Police have launched an investigation into the weekends events and are looking to identify individuals relating to the violent outbursts. Will you work with the police in identifying those individuals?
The Satkaar Campign was in full liaison with the West Midlands Police prior to and during the rally. We understand from media reports that the Police has launched an investigation regarding the weekends events and look forward to the outcome of the same in due course.
7. What’s next for the campaign?
The Satkaar Campaign will remain focused on raising awareness of the gross sacrilege that a small minority of Gurdwara committees in the UK are continuing to commit by permitting the consumption of meat and alcohol on Gurdwara owned or related premises. The Satkaar Campaign looks forward to working positively with all Sikh communities to eradicate such practices from all Gurdwara premises throughout the country.
The Satkaar Campaign is just that: a campaign. It is not a formal group or organisation. It is neither a registered charity nor a private association, nor does it have any formal office or office-bearers. The Satkaar Campaign is a UK Sangat (community) led grassroots Gurdwara (Sikh religious place of worship) reform movement focussed on preventing the gross sacrilege of parties, meat, alcohol and tobacco being permitted on the holy Gurdwara premises or any premises funded with the Sangat's donations which is against the basic tenants of the Sikh faith and specifically against the Sandesh (edict) issued by the Akal Takht (supreme temporal authority of the Sikh religion) in 2006.
The Satkaar Campaign strongly disagrees and takes offence at the term ‘militant Sikhs’ which has been used to describe members the Sikh community who attended the rally in Dudley last Saturday. The rally was attended by approximately 500 Sikhs young and old alike including men, women and children from across the country. The attendees included representatives from leading Sikh Gurdwaras in the midlands.
The Satkaar Campaign strongly disagrees and takes offence at the term ‘militant Sikhs’ which has been used to describe members the Sikh community who attended the rally in Dudley last Saturday. The rally was attended by approximately 500 Sikhs young and old alike including men, women and children from across the country. The attendees included representatives from leading Sikh Gurdwaras in the midlands.
The Sikh men, women and children who attended the rally were exercising their democratic right to peacefully protest. It is sad and hurtful that terms such as "militants" and "extremists" have been used by the mainstream media. This is in contrast to the way that same media has reported other protests for example the student protests in London this year in which the students were protesting in respect of increased tuition fees. These protests involved considerable violence and damage to property, smashed windows, attacks on the Police, graffiti on walls and attempts to break into Government buildings but the media did not describe all protesters as militants or extremists. Rather the media differentiated the majority of peaceful protesters from the "small minority of troublemakers" and the "small hand of people that caused disorder".
The rally in Dudley lasted approximately six hours and remained largely peaceful and involved those attending sitting down in front of the Sikh Cultural Centre and reciting prayers to raise awareness of the gross sacrilege that was taking place. The vast majority of those who attended remained peaceful.
2. Did you envisage the protest would turn violent?
No. There was unfortunately a small element of disorder which was isolated in nature. Whilst we consider that there was considerable provocation and goading by the attendees of the party which led to isolated instances of disorder, the the Satkaar Campaign does NOT condone any such behaviour and is, and will always remain, a PEACEFUL movement that makes all attempts to resolve issues through raising awareness and dialogue. Representatives of the Satkaar Campaign and other Gurdwaras remained in full dialogue with the West Midlands Police before and during the rally.
All attempts were made by the Satkaar Campaign and Sikh leaders in the Midlands Gurdwara to highlight that the protest was a peaceful event, a peaceful protocol was released in advance and distributed on the day a copy of which can be found on our website. There were also several discussions in advance on the Sikh television media. The majority of attendees focused on chanting and reciting prayers. Continuous attempts were made by the majority who attended the rally to maintain calm and focus during the rally.
A similar rally held at Grays Sikh Community Centre in Essex on 16 October 2010 in which the Satkaar Campaign issued the same protocol was entirely peaceful in nature and passed off without any incident.
3. How long have you been in conversation with the Sikh Cultural Centre about the consumption of meat and alcohol on the premises?
The Akal Takht Sandesh was issued in April 2006. This edict provides clear guidance to global Sikhs that buildings owned or associated with Gurdwaras must not serve alcohol or meat. All Gurdwara’s have been sent a copy of the Sandesh and are aware of it.
The Satkaar Campaign made contact with the Guru Nanak Singh Sabha (GNSS) Dudley Gurdwara committee (which owns and runs the Sikh Cultural Centre) back in January 2011. Concerned Sikhs from the UK sought to meet with GNSS Dudley Gurdwara committee several times in the last five months leading up to the protest. A coalition of the leading Gurdwara’s and Gurdwara Council’s sought to meet with the Dudley Gurdwara committee on 8 April 2011 by way of a meeting arranged through the West Midlands Police. The Dudley committee refused to sit down with the representatives of those other Gurdwara’s on the spurious basis that there was no agenda for the meeting. The Dudley Gurdwara representatives in the presence of the West Midlands Police promised to hold a meeting with those other Gurdwara representatives within a week but subsequently refused to sit down to discuss the matter with anyone.
All attempts at dialogue and negotiation were made with the GNSS Dudley committee by the Satkaar Campaign and other Sikh community leaders from the midlands. The Sikh community had no alternative but to peacefully protest against the party booking on 28 May 2011 following the refusal of the Dudley committee to even sit down to talk about the matter.
4. What was the attitude of those in charge of the Sikh Cultural Centre to your simple request?
The attitude of the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara committee can only be described as deliberately defiant and an attempt to play with the sentiments of the Sikh community. The GNSS Dudley committee should have at the very least sat down to talk about the matter with the representatives of the other Sikh Gurdwara’s in the midlands region who had sought dialogue with the committee with a view to resolving the matter of the Sikh Cultural Centre and avoiding the need for the Sikh community to protest.
As you may be aware from our press release of 29 May 2011 the initial party booking made for 28 May 2011 was made by a family in respect of a pre-wedding function. A peaceful rally was originally called by the Sikh community to take place outside the Sikh Cultural Centre on that date to raise awareness of the sacrilege that was to occur in the sacred properties of the Gurdwara and how this is offending and hurting Sikh sentiments.
However members of the family who had booked the party on 28 May 2011 contacted representatives of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara West Bromwich to arrange an emergency meeting with representatives of the local Sikh community. The meeting took place on 25 May 2011 and was attended by representatives from various Sikh Gurdwaras in the West Midlands.
At the meeting the family members explained that they were aware of the rally and that they had been told by representatives of the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara that the protesters were only a handful of "fundamentalist" Sikhs wishing to stop all Sikhs having parties in Dudley. However, having understood the nature of the rally, which was merely against such parties taking place on Gurdwara owned or related premises in line with principles and edits of the Sikh faith, they too agreed that hosting the party at the Sikh Cultural Centre in Dudley was against the principles of the Sikh religion.
The family members explained that subject to finding an alternative venue at short notice they would be prepared to cancel their party. Having found an alternative venue the family duly cancelled its party booking at the Sikh Cultural Centre. This in turn led to a press release on 25 May 2011, cancelling the original peaceful rally.
However, for some reason which can only be interpreted as a defiant and deliberate attempt to play with the sentiments of the Sikh community, another party booking was arranged at the Sikh Cultural Centre by the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara to take place on 28 May 2011. This was confirmed by West Midlands Police to Sikh community leaders on the evening of Friday 27 May 2011. It is widely believed that the booking was made by a committee member of the GNSS Dudley Gurdwara itself although this has not been confirmed.
5. Do you think your campaign is one supported by a majority of British Sikhs?
The Satkaar Campaign has widespread support amongst the mainstream of Sikh Gurdwaras, Sikh organisations and the grass roots of the Sikh community. The Satkaar Campaign is UK Sangat (community) led reform movement. The Satkaar Campaign has worked closely with a number of Gurdwara’s and Sikh organisations based in the midlands and beyond in relation to the Dudley matter.
6. West Midlands Police have launched an investigation into the weekends events and are looking to identify individuals relating to the violent outbursts. Will you work with the police in identifying those individuals?
The Satkaar Campign was in full liaison with the West Midlands Police prior to and during the rally. We understand from media reports that the Police has launched an investigation regarding the weekends events and look forward to the outcome of the same in due course.
7. What’s next for the campaign?
The Satkaar Campaign will remain focused on raising awareness of the gross sacrilege that a small minority of Gurdwara committees in the UK are continuing to commit by permitting the consumption of meat and alcohol on Gurdwara owned or related premises. The Satkaar Campaign looks forward to working positively with all Sikh communities to eradicate such practices from all Gurdwara premises throughout the country.
