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South Carolina gurudwara opens doors to new building
By Mata Press Service
Story notes and credit:
PJ Randhawa (WIS-NBC)
South Carolina has a governor, Nikki Haley, who was raised in a Sikh family.
South Carolina has a population of approximately 200 Sikh families.
And now Columbia, South Carolina has a new Sikh temple - but not without it’s (more than) fair share of controversy.
Until recently, the Sikh Religious Society of South Carolina’s gurudwara project found itself deluged by allegations of tax impropriety.
These centered on Ajit Singh Randhawa, the father of the governor of the state.
Last year, Governor Nikki Haley denied rumors that she and her father, the president of the Sikh Religious Society (South Carolina), were about to be indicted for tax fraud relating to the temple's finances.
Though the IRS officially denied the claims, Haley's legal team filed a lawsuit against the blogger who initiated the rumors last year, according to WIS-NBC.
It appears, however, that case may be close to a resolution.
"We have an apology from that person already, that 'yes, we were given the wrong information, we're sorry about that,'" said Dr. Ajit Randhawa, President of the Sikh Religious Society of South Carolina.
"We're still trying to figure out what his motive is," said Singh. "Why he's trying to malign our temple."
Meanwhile, according to WIS-NBC, leaders of the Sikh Religious Society say at least five lawsuits filed by contractors who claim they weren't paid for their work on the temple have been resolved. And all payments made in full.
Governor Haley declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Though she is no longer Sikh herself, she recently reflected on the importance of culture and community.
"It was this community that taught me strength with grace," she told the congregation. "This is the community that shows what true love, peace and faith looks like and so I am a proud daughter of this community and a proud daughter to say these are the people that raised me."
The opening of this 6,200 square-foot structure represents the expansion of a very visible minority in South Carolina.
"This was the community that taught me service, that taught me how blessed we are to live in this country," said Haley.
PJ Radhawa was born in Manitoba, Canada to Punjabi Sikh immigrants, she is a political correspondent for WIS-NBC in Columbia, South Carolina.
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