If there has been one constant in Sikh history, it has been controversy and disagreement over the control and management of gurdwaras. The adage, The more things change the more they remain the same, is aptly applicable in this case. When it comes to the possibility of finding suitable arrangements to solve various structural problems in the philosophy of gurdwara management, Sikhs have been more often unsuccessful than successful. These problem has persisted for centuries, from the 1630’s to present times. A variety of factors, some within and others without the control of the community, have always throttled the efforts of those attempting to improve things. The struggle continues to this day. The goal to bring about excellence in the running of community institutions as per the Sikh Way of Life remains unrealized.

Origin and role of Gurdwara: In the lifetime of Guru Nanak, the emerging Sikh faith began to acquire certain institutional features. Three things became central to this institutional framework which was built around Guru Nanak’s spiritual message - the Sangat or the holy fellowship of community, the dharamsal and the langar or the free community kitchen.

"Dharamsal was the place where Sikhs gathered in the name of Akal, the Timeless Lord, to pray and to sing Guru Nanak’s hymns." ¹ Dharamsal eventually became the gurdwara. This term came into general use when Guru Granth Sahib was proclaimed the Guru.

According to Khushwant Singh ², "the dharamsal soon became a community center where … apart from worship, the elders met to settle disputes and to deliberate on matters concerning the community."

Gurdwara Management: Because gurdwaras have existed for close to 500 years, it is but natural that they would have gone through various stages in their evolution and development.

The third, fourth and fifth Gurus laid the organizational nucleus of gurdwaras by appointing Masands as local heads and missionaries, with powers to collect funds. The word Masand is a derivative of Masnad-e-Ali in Persian, meaning His Excellency for Provincial Governors. The Harmandir became the key Sikh shrine during the guruship of the fifth Guru, Guru Arjun. The control of Harmandir fell in the hands of Minas (followers of Prithi Chand, brother of Guru Arjun) when in 1635 the sixth Guru moved "the headquarters of Sikhism" ³ to Kartarpur, away from central Punjab. The loss of control over Harmandir resulted in many negative effects on the orderly development of Sikhism.

In due course, the hereditary Masands started to look upon themselves as centers of power in their own right and at times acted outrageously toward Sikhs. Most turned out to be corrupt and misused the offerings of sangat for personal use. Guru Gobind Singh finally abolished the Masand system by the end of 1698. Coincidently, he appointed Bhai Mani Singh as the Head Granthi in June 1699 thereby restoring the Maryada at the Harmandir. He served there until 1717. "This ended six decades of control by Minas, who by then had completely identified themselves with Hinduism." ³

Bhai Mani Singh provided wise spiritual leadership to the Sikhs. He encouraged Sikhs to ingrain the concept of the Granth and the Panth into their daily lives. These are the two fundamental doctrines that the tenth Guru gave the Sikhs for leading a life of purpose and hope. Bhai Mani Singh was successful in inculcating, in the consciousness of the community, the recognition of Amritsar as the politico-religious headquarters of Sikhism. He also helped to perfect the concept of Sarbat Khalsa and Gurmata as organizational tools for managing panthic affairs and institutions.

With the establishment of the Sikh Raj in 1799, the security and splendor of the gurdwaras were ensured. Sikh royalty and courtiers began the practice of giving large endowments. Ranjit Singh appointed Giani Surat Singh as the hereditary manager of Harmandir. No one cared to verify if the Maryada was being respected, however.

Sangat Singh ³ has stated that "Ranjit Singh caused irreparable damage to Sikhism by his dismantling of the traditional management of the shrines. Taking over of the management of the shrines by the state authorities in 1824 was destructive of the Sikh values and later paved the way for the British takeover and management of the shrines".

Mahants had custody of gurdwaras when the British assumed power in Punjab. Mahants were Bedis or Sodhis, direct descendants of the Sikh Gurus. Many Sikhs showed reverence toward these Mahants due to their lineage. Some of these Mahants lived a life of debauchery and licentiousness. They had, contrary to Sikh Maryada, introduced the Hindu custom of Puja of gods and goddesses in some gurdwaras in addition to other Brahmin practices.

One of the first things the British did after annexing Punjab was to assume authority over Sikh gurdwaras similar to what Ranjit Singh did earlier. The British exercised overall control of the gurdwaras while details of worship, etc. remained with the Mahants thus ensuring their allegiance. The British gave legal recognition to Mahants’ ownership of gurdwaras and the attached lands. This further cemented their alliance. The British had known for some time that gurdwaras in general, and Harmandir in particular, were the nerve centers of the Sikh community. They also knew that the one who controlled these institutions would control the community. For geopolitical reasons the British had concluded that they must keep the Sikh community under check for prosperity of their rule.

The onset of the Singh Sabha Movement in the 1890’s was the catalyst that made Sikhs realize that their right to control their gurdwaras was nonexistent. Control and reform of the gurdwaras became the most burning issue for the Sikhs at the turn of the 20 ^th century. The entire Sikh community put up an epic struggle to free gurdwaras. Eventually the British threw in the towel and, through an act of the Punjab Assembly, the Sikh Gurudwara Act, was passed on July 25, 1925.

The net outcome of the Sikh Gurdwara Act, according to Attar Singh ⁴, was:

The movement for liberation and control of gurdwaras was a very costly affair for Sikhs in terms of human and financial sacrifice. Between 1920 to 1925 when the Sikhs were agitating to free their gurdwaras, 40,000 courted arrest while protesting peacefully. Up to 400 Sikhs lost their lives as a result of violence by the Mahants and police action (beatings and firings) by the colonial administration including imposition of fines and property forfeitures on Sikhs to the tune of Rs 1.6 million ⁵. In addition about 700 Sikh government functionaries in the villages were deprived of their positions for supporting this agitation.

Here is another perspective of the financial cost incurred by the Sikh community. Using a rate of 7% interest, compounded annually from 1925 to 2001, Rs 1.6 million would today yield a cash value of Rs 3.2 billion without factoring the added cost of inflation. This is a staggering amount indeed!

The SGPC ran smoothly between 1925 to 1947. The tone and demeanor of gurdwara management was low-key, forthright and progressive. In general, the SGPC met the expectations of the community and did not entangle itself in politics.

Upon gaining independence, the Indian National Congress Party, which controlled the Indian and the Punjab governments, decided to interject itself in the affairs of the SGPC using precedents set by Ranjit Singh and the British. The Congress Party could not stomach the thought of the Akalis exercising a monopoly of power over the SGPC, which they had enjoyed from day one. The Congress Party for purely political considerations wanted to have a say in the control of gurdwaras. As a result, the ruling Party decided to amend the Sikh Gurdwara Act with the aim of "transferring the management of local gurdwaras and their finances to the direct control of the SGPC. The change was enacted by the Punjab Assembly in 1949" ⁴. The Akalis were opposed to this, of course, but no one listened. This power grab centralized all decision making into the hands of the President of the SGPC. This model of governance has continued since then. Later on, the Akalis were delighted with this development as it further increased their stranglehold on the community institutions.

By making elections a statutory requirement, the British set a process in motion that has proven to be destructive of the Sikh principle of Gurmata. Hindsight is 20/20 but the Sikh leadership completely missed out on understanding the long-term implications of this change.

As previously stated, in the post-Guru period, Bhai Mani Singh worked very hard to imbed in the community the concept of Sarbat Khalsa and Gurmata. Functioning as a commonwealth, the community through Sarbat Khalsa arrived at decision making via Gurmatas. Individuals could have different opinions in the pre-Gurmata discussions, which they were required to sort out in these discussions. Once the Sarbat Khalsa had passed the Gurmata, it was unheard of that any Sikh would oppose it afterward. The idea of partisan elections or majority vote for decision making was not part of the Sikh ethos in the post-Guru period.

Now, elections to the SGPC - or any other gurdwara committee - are no different from the ordinary political elections. Bribery and voter manipulation are common features in campaigning. Those who get elected feather their own nests rather than rendering service. When it comes to the management of the gurdwaras, nothing could be more injurious to their survival as an institution than the election of unscrupulous people to positions of power and patronage. This applies equally to all gurdwaras, including gurdwaras belonging to the diaspora Sangats.

Amrik Singh ⁶ wrote, "It will be a bold man who would say that the gurdwaras have been managed as they ought to have been managed. Master Tara Singh, who came to prominence at the time of the Gurdwara Reform Movement, is on record as having said that while the Sikhs had been successful in getting rid of the traditional Mahants, it would not be easy to get rid of the new "Mahants" that were now climbing into power. History has proved him right, and the situation in regard to the management of the gurdwaras today is much more unsatisfactory and characterized by more corruption than is usually acknowledged."

In conclusion, managing gurdwaras has been a bane for the Sikh community from the early 17 ^th century onwards. The main problem has been that no formal rules were ever developed concerning what gurdwara management was supposed to be all about. From the outset, the Sikh community has been remiss in formulating a set of norms against which managerial competence of those running these institutions could be rated. Similarly, no clear guidelines were developed concerning individual attributes and skills that a person must possess before being given consideration for appointment and/or election to the managing committee of a gurdwara. In many instances, even our Gurus felt stymied in the matter of finding suitable individuals i.e. Masands who could be relied upon to manage the gurdwaras properly.

Challenge of the Canadian Diaspora Sangat: Gurdwaras in Canada are at the center of Sikh family and community life and are the first point of contact between the individual and the community which is approximately 0.50 million strong. "Almost 65% of Sikhs arrived as adult immigrants in Canada since 1963 onwards. Over 85% of these immigrants came from Punjab. The dominant Sikh culture in Canada is identical to the Sikh culture in Punjab…All immigrant groups tend to carry on with behavioural practices that they had learned in their land of origin," Manjit Singh ⁷.

The baggage of poor management of gurdwaras has also travelled with Sikh immigrants to this country. Most Canadian Sikhs were conditioned by the leadership examples in gurdwara management and related elections that they experienced in the old country. The net effect of the above is that most Canadian gurdwaras have experienced, or are experiencing, managerial malpractices and general mismanagement which are the hallmarks of the SGPC/many other gurdwaras in India. For the good of the Canadian Sikh community, a way must be found to ameliorate this situation.

To begin with the diaspora community should reflect on a Shabad by Guru Nanak:

"Jhanast jag bharist hoe dubta iv jag"

The world is on the way to ruin when sacred places become corrupt.

[Dhanasri 1, Guru Granth Sahib, page 662]

The Sangat needs to work out how to reach the goal of making gurdwaras in Canadian communities become models of Gurmat and Sikhi so that our youth will feel inspired and challenged to commit themselves to follow the Sikh Way of Life.

In order to understand the complexities of gurdwara management, it is important to list the functional requirements and associated tasks that the management of a properly run gurdwara must perform. These tasks are:

• Organizing and supervising the provision of religious services as per the Maryada.

• Financial management to ensure that gurdwara income and expenditures are managed based on sound accounting and financial principles.

• Managing real estate and doing proper maintenance of the facilities, including the interior and exterior aspect of the building.

• Providing educational facilities for the teaching of Gurmukhi and teaching Gurmat to the children, youth and adults.

• Conducting public affairs in the larger community, including dealings with the media, municipalities, police and fire departments.

• Ensuring legal compliance of laws, contracts, etc. and protection of community assets.

• Managing human resources and personnel, as also providing "corporate planning" for the short and long-term direction of the gurdwara.

• Conflict resolution to ensure smooth and peaceful operations as well as running meetings in a business-like manner.

• Participating and promoting interfaith dialogue with other communities.

Management committees of an overwhelming number of Canadian gurdwaras are not at all equipped in terms of operational readiness to handle the above tasks. There are neither instruction/procedure manuals nor gurmat seminars for adult training available in this country to assist local Sangats and its management committees for learning the techniques for gurdwara management. This is the reason that there is so much variance in terms of delivery of services - or lack thereof. Lack of standards and professionalism are two major shortcomings causing discord in gurdwaras in this country. Individual frustrations resulting from this deficiency can and do lead to serious disagreements within the Sangat.

The challenge for the Canadian Sikh community is to overcome the above shortcomings in the management of gurdwaras. If successful, the Canadian diaspora could become the role model for the community as a whole around the world.

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