By Lucy-Claire Saunders

A moderate Sikh group representing 36 temples across British Columbia stands divided after members accused its spokesperson of aligning himself with conservatives, reigniting age-old disputes and causing an internal shakeup.

Balwant Gill, the North America Gurdwara Committee’s spokesperson, was summarily demoted from the position after he attended an Operation Blue Star candle vigil in early June, the South Asian Post has learned.

The vigil is held every year to honour those who died in 1984 when then Indian Prime Minster Indira Ghandi ordered the military to remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Operation Blue Star.

Consequently, thousands of innocent people were killed in tit-for-tat killings that rocked democratic India.

Staunch moderates feel that the Sikh extremists were partially responsible for Operation Blue Star because they had fortified the Golden Temple, while the conservatives solely blame the Indian government for the assault on their holy shrine.

"Many people were disturbed when (Gill) went to the candle vigil," said Giani Harkirat Singh, who is a Sikh scholar and a former priest at the Surrey Sikh temple.

"They didn’t think it was acceptable because we haven’t gone to that reception for such a long time so why did he go now?

"He was standing with people who consider Talwinder Singh Parmar a martyr. That’s not acceptable to us," Singh added, referring to the alleged mastermind behind the bombing of Air India Flight 182.

As the spokesperson for the moderate committee, Balwant Gill is accused over stepping his boundaries by attending the vigil.

But Gill refutes all allegations that he is aligning himself with the conservatives and continues to call himself the North America Gurdwara Committee’s spokesperson.

"It’s a human rights thing," he told the South Asian Post. "I wanted to hear the human rights lawyer who came from India. I don’t have to take permission from anyone."

Permission or no permission, the North America Gurdwara Committee (NAGC) has named Kashmir Dhaliwal as its new spokesperson.

The change in rank and file suggests moderates are fighting amongst themselves, a change from the constant battles being fought against the more orthodox Sikhs, which fueled the creation of the breakaway NAGC in the first place.

The North America Gurdwara Committee was founded in 1998 in response to a controversial edict issued by the Orthodox Sikh Bhai Ranjit Singh, who proclaimed that the Langar, the community meal, must be taken on the floor - no chairs, no tables.

This seemed unnecessary to moderate Metro Vancouver Sikhs who had been using tables and chairs since 1906, when the first Canadian gurdwara was established.

It was argued that people born and raised in the West are not used to sitting cross-legged on the floor, nor do they wear clothes suited to such a practice.

B.C. also has a colder climate than India, making it uncomfortable to sit on the frigid ground, especially during the early 1900s when central heating was non-existent, the moderates said.

And in a country where folding chairs and collapsable tables are not a luxury item, it was felt the floor was an unnecessary equalizer.

Those that refused to follow the 1998 edict were ex-communicated and so the North America Gurdwara Committee was born.

Recently, moderates hoped that the visit of the Akal Takhat Jathedar, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, would reconcile the warring factions as he is head of the Sikh’s highest temporal seat.

When he arrived in Vancouver, however, the holy man refused to visit the public gurdwaras controlled by the moderates. He also re-endorsed the edict, much to the disappointment of the region’s more moderate Sikhs.

"I was disappointed," admitted Gill. "He should have gone to all the gurdwaras."

Moderate Sikhs say that ultimately the issue of how the Langar is taken is just an excuse for political power grabbing by conservative elements.

"When they lost elections around 10 years ago, they made it an issue," said Sikh scholar Singh, referring to the conservatives losing out to moderate votes in B.C. after a decade of control.

"It was never an issue before but they had created one at that time."

Murder and rioting ensued — conservatives against the moderates - all in an attempt to control B.C.’s Sikh temples, added Singh.

It appeared that the feud between the moderates and conservatives had calmed in recent years, observed Singh, allowing both sides to now fight among themselves.

This is not the first time Gill has run afoul of his moderate contemporaries.

When the wife of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a Sikh militant leader who died during Operation Blue Star, passed away, management of the Surrey temple, to which Balwant belongs, organized a special prayer.

Many staunch moderates opposed the prayer service for the militant leader’s wife and questioned where in fact the Surrey Temple’s management truly stood within the moderate fold, which seemed to be fraying at the seams.

But the moderates aren’t the only ones embroiled in infighting.

Two conservative groups are also struggling for control of their own gurdwaras.

Kushpal Singh Gill, a supporter of Balwant Gill, was allegedly beaten at the New Westminster temple by a rival conservative group in 2006.

While Kushpal Singh Gill claims he belongs to a moderate group, that faction happens to include Jaswinder Singh Garcha, who founded the International Sikh Youth Federation, which supports an independent Khalistan homeland for the Sikhs as well as the 1998 Langar edict.

These new alliances, although rocky and constantly in flux, highlight ties being made between conservatives and moderates.