Outrage over Gurdwara Committee’s party venue plans

Sikhs who frequent the Gurdwara Sahib Leamington Warwick are outraged by plans to build a party venue adjacent to the place of worship.

The committee website states that further to the establishment of the Gurdwara – widely rumoured to be the largest Sikh temple outside of India – there are plans to build “a sports hall and a Community Centre behind the new Gurdwara Sahib (in Leamington Spa) with landscaped gardens, fountains, benches and other amenities including further car parking.”

Over the past week, hundreds of social media messages have been posted against the committee members, urging them to halt their proposed plans. The ex-committee member plans to build a party hall on existing Gurdwara grounds.

Sikh24.com states: “Even though it is becoming widely accepted that loud and boisterous parties upon Gurdwara owned property is contrary to the serene and peaceful atmosphere that a Gurdwara Sahib ought to emit, this Gurdwara Sahib’s executives appear to be going against the grain yet again.”

The news of plans to build the party hall have reached the screens of Sikhs around the world, with hashtags #SharabiKebabiCommittee (alcoholic, meat-eating committee) and #RemoveDodgyCommittee trending on Twitter.

“#RemoveDodgyCommittee Learn a basic bit of Sikhi [fundamental beliefs of Sikhism] & Respect. Even in Holy city of Amritsar [the site of the Golden Temple, the world’s largest gurdwara] the @pizzahut is vegetarian,” tweeted Vikram Singh.

The Panth Matters, a Twitter account devoted to issues relating to the Sikh panth (religious path), tweeted: “#RemoveDodgyCommittee for whom, $$$$ [money] mean more than Sikhi”.

The Panth Matters also posted images of a document discussing the situation and questioning why the gurdwara committee had not informed the Sikh Sangat (the worldwide Sikh community) of their plans to construct the banquet hall, which would serve alcohol.

Simran Thakral, a final-year undergraduate studying Politics and International Studies, empathises with the outrage community members feel.

She commented: “The building of a party hall in which alcohol will almost definitely be served goes against the most basic teachings of Sikhism, which forbids all sorts of intoxication.”

However, as a frequent visitor to the local Gurdwara, she is not surprised by this incident. She expressed her agreement with the Sikh residents of Leamington and Warwick who were campaigning against the construction of the party hall. However, she says that these sort of conflicts are not new.

She stated: “I’m not surprised by the incident. In recent years, we have seen the commercialization of religion everywhere.”

The Boar is awaiting comment from the General Secretary of the Gurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick.