Historical evidence reveals that division among Sikhs promotes tyranny at the hands of their enemies. The Third Holocaust of Sikhs (1984-1994) was mostly state sponsored but caused by disunity between political and religious leaders specifically . These leaders did not consult Sikhs inside and outside of India. Innocent Sikhs living in the villages were pawns in the hands of these leaders. Rural Sikhs, excited by the hope of a Khalsa Homeland, did not thoroughly understand the repercussions of the Sikh Holocaust. Therefore, they had to bear the brunt of government and police crackdowns during the day, and raids by sympathizers at night. The Sikhs living inside of the Punjab and throughout India are the core and their protection is the responsibility of all the Sikhs around the world.

Economically, rural Sikhs in Punjab are becoming poorer day by day due, in large part, to the wrong and unsympathetic leadership. The present Sikh leadership continuously seeks financial and political gains at the cost of common Sikhs.According to Professor Chamkaur Singh, each newborn child in Punjab is burdened with a debt of Rs. 23000, as the Punjab owes Rs. 70 Billion. The Sikh leadership is engaged in pleasing non-Sikhs and the central government in order to increase their personal fortunes.Sikh principles of service have been discarded by many leaders. It is evident by the following factors: prevailing poverty in villages due to the continual division of family land holdings, extremely low educational standards, pervasive drugs and alcohol use amongSikh youth, disappearance of Sikh Bana-Bani at a very fast rate, and overall decrease of the Sikh population due to ultra-sound used to negatively impact the ratio of girls to boys.This further adds to the situation of the continuous influx of Biharis and Christian challenges to the Sikh identity. Lastly, the problems created by the Third Sikh Holocaust (1984-1994) for the families of victims still linger.

The present religious leadership is indecisive in the face of such issues as seating in langar halls, ladies touching Guru Granth before Sukhasan, Keertan by ladies at Darbar Sahib, Sikh Marriage and Gurdwara Acts, the selection of the President of SGPC and Jathedars, etc.

Guru Nanak describes poor leadership as follows:

How can a person be an enlightened leader if he has not found truth himself?
Nanak says how can the blind show the right way and not ruin ones followers?
When all are rebuffed, how can he call himself an enlightened leader?
(SGGS: 140)

In another Shabad, Guru Nanak characterizes corrupt leaders:

A person uttering falsehoods eats carcass,
Yet how is it that he still gives instructions to others?
One misleads himself
His associates are robbed of goodness
Nanak says such people are pretenders
(SGGS: 130-140)

After the Third Sikh Holocaust (1984-94), it is imperative for Sikhs to upgrade SGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal because both of them are unidirectional, under the direction of Shiromani Akali Dal President. Such power vesting is injurious to the progress of the Sikhs and Sikhism. It is better to follow consensus or decide unanimously to avoid conflict.

The Takht Jathedars were selected by the Sarbat Khalsa collectively upto 1990. Now, mainly, the president, Shiromani Akali Dal appoints Jathedars at his own discretion. Similarly, the SGPC President is appointed, and is not elected by consensus or unanimously. SGPC and Akali Dal Party should develop bylaws, policies and procedures for management and get them approved by Sarbat Khalsa. Such policies should be followed continuously, updated and approved every year. Authoritarianism is actually abuse of authority. Any decision by SGPC and Takhats must be unanimous after consulting Sikhs over a period of time.

The SGPC President and Takht Jathedars should be appointed unanimously by SGPC membership with the full involvement of Sarbat Khalsa. Their supervisor is SGPC and they must follow policies and procedures, including selection, activities, termination, job description, etc. Their term should last a fixed tenure, and normally not exceed five years over the course of their life time. They should be top Sevadars, experts in Sikh scriptures and tradition, have high character and experience in preaching of Sikh religion.These sevadars must have relentless consistency, enhanced ideas of improvement, a willingness to change, and practice new ideas for better performance and to seek new opportunities for Sikhs.They must be evaluated each year to check progress, including implementation of new techniques to spread Sikh religion and develop plan for the next year and master plan for the next five years. They must not enhance their own personal motives and selfishness. Deviation from Sikh ideology or policies should not be tolerated as the Gurus did not tolerate Minas, Pirthias, Ramrayas and Dhirmalias,

The Akal Takht Jathedar is the first among equals as Jathedar. However, as a rule, he consults other Jathedars before deciding religious matters. No Hukamnama should be announced without the approval of SGPC and Sarbat Khalsa.

Historical evidence of unity and the decision making process:The Guru conferred leadership on the Khalsa, thus the loyalty is owed to the cause of Khalsa and not to an individual.Five Khalsa brothers (panj piara) can make decisions because Guru is present in them.Such spirit can even now be applied at any organizational level. Sikhism unites Sikhs together to strengthen their cycle of understanding, leading them to touch lives to change for the betterment. In Sikhs, spiritual leadership comes from the Guru Granth Saab, where as temporal leadership is guided by the Panth.Thus, Sarbat Khalsa or Panth controls all Sikh affairs.Sikh religion progressed due to cohesion in Sikhs, their unity and strength of purpose. Inspired and determined leadership was provided by Gurus in the beginning and devoted Sikhs after the Tenth Guru.Common people were attracted to join the Sikh religion embracing equality, liberty and fraternity. Thus, Khalsa is made of common people, i.e. a plebeian society and still exists as such.

The Sikh philosophy advocated the removal of inequalities related to social, economic, political, and religious rights.Such egalitarian spirit of the Sikhs provided equal treatment for all its members.Sikh leadership was passed onto the most deserving Sikh, serving the community and not to a rich person or having the most votes. There are no dictators in the Sikh religion. Equality of all Sikhs is inherited in Sikhism. The idea developed by the whole Sangat has higher value. When the Sikhs call one another by the name of Bhai (brother), they are all equal in status, showing the spirit of brotherhood, and fraternity. Such devoted ones serve all the Sikhs equally for all of them are the image of Guru or God.

There are several examples in Sikh history showing that division leads to failure. For example, ‘Tat Khalsa’ separated from Bandai Khalsa after Banda Bahadar and Bhai Mani Singh brought them under one umbrella of Sarbat Khalsa in 1721. On the other hand, Kapur Singh became the next Sikh leader due to his service to the Sikhs in 1733. After first Sikh Holocaust (Chhota Ghalu Ghara) of 1746, only a few Sikhs were left. It is evident from the Sakhi of Buta Singh and Garja Singh which occurred in 1739 near Tarn Taran. Whenever two Sikhs met, they used to feel very happy. An old saying of that time still prevails among Sikhs today:

Whenever two Sikhs met
Two eyes of one and the two eyes of the other one – became four
Thirty-two teeth of one and thirty-two teeth of the other Sikh – became sixty-four
Ten fingers of one and ten fingers of the other – became twenty
Thirty-five million skin hair of one and thirty-five million of the other
–stood still with happiness!

At present there are more than 24 million Sikhism in the world, who still respect one another by saying – Sat Sri Akal and feel happy seeing one another and come together.

Possible Solutions: Public service(seva), or volunteerism is supreme in Sikhism. Minor differences in purpose and need do not deter Sikhs from getting involved in solving mutual problems. Extension of pardon, trust, common touch, humility and forgiveness are the best healers, and these practices are healing the Sikh motherland after the third Sikh Holocaust. Sikhs have to realize where they come from, where they are today, and where they are going tomorrow. In-depth analysis of the facts will help Sikhs to find what they did, where they failed, and how to find ways to be successful next time. However, they must resolve internal differences before taking over monumental tasks. The Sikhs have to honor sevadars who work with their hands and hearts to move forward. They must be brought into the front lines to manage SGPC and Gurudwaras. The state or federally elected officials should not get involved in local religious places. The religious places should be handled similar to the Vatican City, the religious body of the Catholic Church. The governments can help but cannot take sides of politicians.

Historically, Sarbat Khalsa managed all the affairs of the Sikhs after the Gurus. However, times have changed.SGPC should be made stronger in which Sarbat Khalsa, including all Sikhs and organizations, can participate. It can be managed independently of the government and general politicians as the Vatican City controls all Catholic churches around the world.

SGPC is a prestigious organization of all Sikhs living inside or outside of India.No state or federal government should create a separate organization, as Haryana is trying to pursue.The grievances of Haryana Sikhs should be solved immediately.

SGPC members must be elected according to merit and not according to the number of votes received.SGPC must support education, open schools for Bachelor degrees in nursing, dental, pharmacy, computer science, basic science, etc., to help practice Bani – Bana, promote Sikh news media, promote Sikh religion and political awareness among the Sikh masses, provide financial help to poor Sikh families to open businesses on a returnable basis, etc., build and maintain hospitals, and clinics in villages, send Sikh preachers to perform Amrit ceremony,and send preachers throughout the world to help stop alcoholism and drug abuse as churches help anybody seeking help. Influential and educated Sikhs do not get involved due to fear of offending anyone and retaliation.However, they should be encouraged and listened to.

Sikh candidates for SGPC should represent a variety of professions.Election procedures should be reviewed for the removal of political pressure; Sikhs can follow the selection process used by the Catholic Church in electing a new Pope.SGPC candidates should be screened, continuously, year after year, for service, Bani – Bana, and experience.Candidates’ names should be released to the whole concernedmembership. All projects should be completed on schedule.The schedule must be developed by the SGPC, not by federal or state governments. The only help needed from the state government at the request of SGPC is to have police along with SGPC sevadars at polling stations to avoid conflict and violence. Quality and character of SGPC members should be screened. Gurdwara funding promises of candidates should never be considered in the election process.The president of the SGPC may be selected unanimously in an open meeting, first by nomination and seconding by at least five people.Then the whole membership should unanimously approve one of the candidates as president.Similarly, the Jathedar of the Akal Takht should be selected.

The president as well as the Jathedars should be independent decision-making entities supervised by the SGPC. They can work together in service of the whole Sikh community. A person as well as ones relative having two positions gives rise to conflict of interest. SGPC related individuals should not get involved in any kind of political struggle at a SGPC site or at any Gurudwara site. The SGPC employees or members should not be allowed to run for any election. Should they choose to run, for state or federal election, they should be required to first resign their SGPC position. On the other hand, no political candidate, (MP or MLA), should be allowed to run for SGPC membership.Such persons should resign their position in order to run for the SGPC. It is possible another Singh Sabha movement may be needed to improve the SGPC.

SGPC should take charge of its affairs.Only Gursikhs should be made SGPC members. In order for any Sikh to be a valid voter for the SGPC, that person’s name and his/her parents’ names must contain Singh or Kaur in it. Only Sikhs should be voters and candidates for SGPC and Akali Dal positions. Other religious people must not participate in Sikh body elections. Bribery in the form of money, drugs and alcohol should not be allowed during election time. Further, the government at any level should not get involved in SGPC affairs. Government officials should only become involved when a crime is committed, so a thorough investigation can be done.

A person winning or losing the election must know he still has an obligation to support the majority cause. He must not throw mud on the opponent.Such is the essence of democracy. Law of the land must be followed by Sikh leaders as well.

A visitor to any Gurdwara can see the extent of the funds being collected. Therefore, no Gurudwara should be in the deficit. The present leadership should use these funds for purchasing land and helping other Sikh causes. Debt of Gurudwaras,job discrepancies, leasing land to favorable trusts at low prices.

Damage to life, property, liberty and defamation of character, fighting on the stages, removing of turbans on the stages, stopping traffic, protesting, unfortunately, reflect poorly on the whole Sikh community. Such activities must be stopped by court action. Sikhs should conduct debates to understand the issues with respect in order to reach a conclusion with collective wisdom, specifically involving disengaged Sikhs who suffer innocently.

The stages in all the Gurudwaras and Takhts, belong to all Sikhs. A single party can’t control freedom of speech at any Sikh shrine. Hired hitmen (in the garb on Sikh Bana), who draw kirpans and sticks in pious places, can be dealt with in the courts. The victims should file cases against such people and ask for jail terms and compensation. The top leaders of the party of attackers should also be included in such cases.

Conclusion: Getting rid of "I Am" ness, or haumai, and developing a committed team of sevadars (volunteers) in all spheres will move all Sikhs forward.These sevadars should endevor to demonstrate the following team qualities: having a clear purpose, applying the given strengths of each member, working together as a group toward a common goal, solving problems together, achieving desired results, working to meet the needs of Sikhs, striving to exceed expectations, having fun while completing assigned tasks, celebrating success after finishing a project, having a clear head sevadar, having open and free discussions, supporting each other on the way to a shared dream, working through conflict, being kept informed of all aspects and information, taking personal responsibility for performance and quality, not letting individual members have their own way, deciding consensus as compared to voting, not to try to seek credit at the expense of other sevadars’ hard work and recognizing other members for their contribution.

There are several Sikh organizations and individuals calling for unity. Highly intelligent, educated and concerned Sikhs should start working together and encourage the SGPC, Akal Takht and the Akali Dal with the help of the Sikh masses to take action on one problem at a time.Few devoted Sikhs can pursue this pious task.Sikh leaders must place Sikhs and the Sikh religion ahead of themselves, be honest with people so the problems can be solved collectively, involving the ethical responsibility, individual respect and collectively.

The Sikhs are known to come together to solve problems. There is a real revolution of modernization going on in India.Sikhs should not miss the boat due to inside fighting and disunity.

Unity is the future for all Sikhs.The future vision is: one day all Sikhs will work together by consulting one another and accomplish goals as a united people with a united voice. Now is the time to set aside differences. Sikhs come from different regions and different countries. There is a need to come together with a common purpose and a shared dream. Sikhs will achieve higher goals with a united voice.Sikh unity is the key to the future.

NOW is the time to work together and create an open environment to discuss challenging issues and create positive solutions.Sikhs need support from one another to create an environment of unity in which their children may have a better future along with others leading to ‘Sarbat da Bhalla.’