Business deal causes dispute between local Sikhs

By Sabrina Rodriguez, Eyewitness News

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Emotions ran high outside the Guru Nanak Mission of Bakersfield Sunday morning. The Mission is one of four Sikh temples in Bakersfield.

"There's a lot of people over there that as soon as we get in (to the temple) there's going to be a melee and none of us want that," said Mission member Ajaib Gill.

On the "other-side" was Buck Dhesi, who explained why they were there. "We are here to pray at our temple. We've been praying here since 1992. They're trying to bar us," accused Dhesi.

Turns out, it's not a difference in religion or culture that's dividing these groups. "(We) are same the people," said Dhesi. "Punjabi, Sikhs, (we) belong to same religion."

The reason for the dispute appears to be political.

According to long time Bakersfield resident and Sikh Gurcharam Dhillon, two years ago, two of Bakersfield's Sikh temples, Guru Nanak Mission and Sikh Center on Planz Road, got the idea to combine their limited resources and merge into one group. "Thought was what (can we) do together for the benefit of this community. Maybe we can combine these two corporations, " explained Dhillon. "We know each other, we trust each other, we can pray together."

But Dhillon says some people didn't like the merger and that's why the disagreement began. He says a lawsuit has been filed to decide if the merger should stay.

For the most part, the disagreement has been peaceful; but that changed about a month ago when both sides started fighting with each other. According to Dhillon, the violence has been getting worse each week. It not known how bad the violence will get, but both sides agree it needs to stop.

"It hurts," Gill said about the growing conflict and how it's dividing their congregation. "If they want to come back and be a part of this temple I would love it," he said. "Come back and make things the way they were."

Dhillon adds that conflicts should not start at a temple, "That's a place people go to have peace of mind. That's where you go and pray. You don't go there with the intention to fight."

He also says there's another reason for the fighting to stop. "It's not a good image for Sikh community."

Both groups say they will let the court decide whether or not the merger stays in effect, but it's not known the lawsuit will be settled.

with thanks : source : http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/51207037.html

SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A Sikh web portal