Sabha is in ICU. You are invited to the Funeral.
Karminder Singh Dhillon, PhD (Boston)
Sabha is in ICU. You are Invited to the Funeral.
Karminder Singh, PhD (Boston)
Yes. That is the state of affairs of Sikh Naujwan Sabha Malaysia – if a recent WhatsApp post – issued under the names or 13 distressed folks is to be believed.
Let’s refer to them as the Desperate Gang of 13 (DG-13) for ease of reference.
There are reports that the WhatsApp post contains names that should not be there. More important are the names that are not there, but should be there; they are the Funeral Directors. The puppeteers. The hidden hands. More of these masterminds later.
The post is titled ‘Taking Sabha out of troubled waters’. Taking Over Sabha by Creating Trouble may have sounded more apt. After all, if one dozen crocodiles claimed there were helping ‘Take a cow out of troubled waters’ one would be suspicious – even if lots of crocodile tears were shed in making the case for the poor cow’s slaughter.
WILL THE NAUJWAN PLEASE STAND UP. The oldest member of DG-13 is over 80 and the youngest touching 60. That’s not bad in itself. I am in the same age range and as members of this bracket we acquire the right to talk about ICUs and funerals. But that doesn’t give us the right to wish either on others. That’s the domain of the Creator.
The Punjabi language has an idiom ਚਲੇ ਹੋਏ ਕਾਰਤੂਸ। Spent bullets in English. At least 3 have served unmolested as Jathedar of the Sabha and others have served in the Exco repeatedly and over many terms. They had their days. And their days are over.
There is a so called Gyani amongst the DG-13 who is more accurately an Agyani. There are more ironies.
People who did nothing worth remembering during their own long tenures are now suddenly invigorated and energized to take Sabha “out of troubled waters.” People who carry fake titles are inspired by a need to declare that the current jathedar is “fake” and should thus be removed from office.
People who are into their sunset years are desirous of saving the sunrise of tomorrow. People who are the root cause of the problem are now pretending to be part of the solution. People who are acting as agents of the masterminds are faking independent thought and action. People who split the Sabha in just 6 months they took over the Exco by dragging it into the DG controversy are now screaming “unity” at the top of their lungs.
The list is long.
WHATS THE REAL STORY.
Actually it’s not complicated. Power grabs in Sikh institutions are naked but rarely complex.
Two years ago, Jathedar Dr Jasbir Singh fired Labo for his Agyani ways while acting as leader of the Khande de Pahul team of the Sabha. He was dishing out dubious instructions to the newly baptised and impressionable Sikh youth – instructions that were part of his agenda pertaining to Bachittar Natak Granth (DG). For all intents and purposes, Labo was the local advocate for DG.
Labo saw himself as the Malaysian version of the DG-parkash advocating and nonsense spewing Jathedar of Patna Sahib – Iqbal Singh. The shameless Iqbal who got thrown out recently after a video of his “amritdhari” son spewing cigarette smoke while intoxicated on drugs and liquor to the max got viralled.
So obnoxious is Iqbal Singh’s nonsense that the Global Sikh Council issued a statement some months ago titled “Iqbal Singh Panth Dokhi”- Iqbal Singh the Curse of the Panth.
This Iqbal Singh is also the hero of the one group in Malaysia that has had the gall to do a Parkash of the Bachittar Natak Granth (DG) in Titiwangsa gurdwara in December 2016. This gurdwara has been under their control after a power grab in 2015.
They have circulated videos of the Academy chieftain holding a microphone into which the now sacked Panth Dokhi is advocating the parkash of DG on par with our one and only Guru – Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
After being kicked out of Sabha, Labo ran to the Academy – and they devised the plot to overthrow Jathedar Jasbir at the 2018 Sabha AGM. If they succeeded, Labo would get his revenge with Jathedar Jasbir and the Academy would be able to use the Sabha for their DG agenda.
True to its form, the Academy started its anti Jathedar Jasbir campaign prior to the 2018 AGM. Acting on cue, their running dog – Harnak of the Koor Vichar website, started barking out “Kala Afghana follower” venom at Jathedar Jasbir.
It is no coincidence that the owner of Koor Vichar is a nephew of the leader of the DG-13. Not being a Malaysian resident, he not only spews venom with impunity, but has no real understanding of the truths of Sabha. He writes what is thrown at him as feed by his handlers.
With due respect to the Jathedar, one wonders if he even has an inkling about the stellar contributions of Kala Afgana towards authentic Gurmat – let alone be associated with the illuminated mind that Kala Afgana was. But that is beside the point.
At the last Sabha AGM, Academy supporters, many who had become members of the Sabha just prior to the AGM showed up to do the bidding of their master’s command. They had come to throw out Jathdear Jasbir and install Academy chamchas.
Jathedar Jasbir outsmarted them by agreeing to include 10 of the DG-13 into his Exco if they allowed him to remain Jathedar. These DG-10 and their masterminds thought they had won. It would be 10 to 1 on every decision, so what was not smart about that deal?
They could claim they did things the “sabha way” meaning allowing Jathedar Jasbir to continue; and yet grab control of Sabha through this back door method.
Not only were the DG-10 not smart, they were outsmarted by Jathedar Jasbir. They forgot that if he could appoint them, he could also fire them.
THE ACADEMY TAKES CONTROL OF SABHA THROUGH THE DG-10
The first order of the “new Sabha under Academy control” was to issue a letter stating the Sabha’s support for the Bachittar Natak Granth. It had to go under the name of Dr Jasbir as Jathedar to hide the hand of the mastermind.
It was circulated to all gurdwaras and other Sikh institutions with complete disregard of the fact that Sabha had no business wading into the highly controversial Bachitar Natak (DG) matter.
Jathedar Jasbir signed the letter, probably because it served a number of objectives in favour of himself.
First, it exposed the explicit agenda of the DG-10 Academy plants who had forced themselves into the Sabha Exco through the back door. Their agenda was actually pivoted on dragging the Sabha into the Dasam Granth controversy.
Second, since the letter was authored by the Agyani Labo, it contained as many dubious facts and defective arguments as there are flies in a dumpster.
By circulating that letter, the Jathedar contributed towards exposing the nonsense that Agyani Labo truly was.
Everyone knew Jathedar Jasbir would never have signed such crap on his own accord, let alone compose it. But in doing so, the Jathedar was able to tell Sabha members that he was under siege by people with a DG focussed Agenda. And that he had signed it under duress of keeping the Exco functioning.
For more info about this letter, see article titled: False Arguments, Fake Translations and Dubious Agendas – The SNSM Letter Saga at https://sikhivicharforum.org/2018/08/08/false-arguments-fake-translations-and-dubious-agendas-the-snsm-letter-saga/
The DG-10 and their masterminds then moved on to their next agenda. This was to get Jathedar Jasbir to sign another letter condemning the sanctions imposed by a collection of Malaysian Sikh organizations led by the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) on the Academy due to the Academy’s blatant disregard of the SRM in doing a parkash of the DG in Titiwangsa Gurdwara in December 2016.
The sanction stated that the Academy should not be allowed stage time in Gurdwaras and events of Sabha.
The Sabha was party to the MGC sanction. To get the sanction lifted, the Academy was required to give a written undertaking to never attempt such blasphemous and sacrilegious act of challenging the supremacy of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Instead of doing the right thing, they decided to use Jathedar Jasbir to do their bidding.
Jathedar Jasbir however, refused to sign the second letter. And the DG-10 retaliated – and fell into the trap. As a show of their loyalty to their mastermind, DG-9 resigned enmasse and circulated their resignation letter – mainly to spread the wild allegation that the Sabha had collapsed.
The expectations of the DG 10 and their mastermind was for Jathedar Jasbir to come crawling to them.
Instead the Jathedar simply sacked the remaining DG-1, outsmarting DG-10 and their puppet masters with a single stroke – yet again.
Hence, the birth of DG-13. Unable to take over the Sabha through the back door, they are now attempting to crawl in through the manhole.
DG-13 is about a naked power grab of the Sabha. Nothing complicated or complex about it actually.
THE SABHA IN ICU
That’s the claim of the DG-13. Truth of the matter is that the Sabha is not in ICU.
The Sabha is the Sabha. It is the same Sabha that was led by some of the DG-13 when they were Jathedars and Exco members.
It is an organization that people expect to do meaningful stuff for our youth, that many think it is doing a lot for our youth, and most want to see it prosper. The rest is personal assessment – between the extremes of “its doing a great job” on the one hand to “its existence or otherwise makes no real difference” on the other.
In any case, when someone is in ICU, family and friends come together to pray and wish him or her out of ICU and offer support.
It’s a different story for the ICU patient’s enemies. They start preparing for the funeral. That is what the DG-13 WhatsApp is about.
YOU ARE INVITED FOR THE FUNERAL
The DG-13 call for an EGM to remover Jathedar Jasbir is an invitation towards its funeral. A bunch of ਚਲੇ ਹੋਏ ਕਾਰਤੂਸ। [ a.k.a spent bullets make a deceitful appeal to members of the Sabha for a EGM. There, the DG-13 will attempt a power grab resolution to remove Jathedar Jasbir. If successful, the Academy would have grabbed the Sabha as they did Titiwangsa gurdwara.
The first task of the taken over Sabha will be to issue a letter saying it does not recognize the sanction on the Academy. Its main task will be to issue letters written by Agyani Labo on issues that have nothing to do with Sabha or youth – but everything to do with the Academy Agenda relating to the Bachitar Natak Granth. The Sabha will be used as a tool to fight the MGC – the next target for a power grab.
All of this will amount to a funeral of the Sabha. The DG-13 has invited Malaysian Sikh youth to take part in it.
ANALYZING THE DG-13 WHATS APP
The DG-13 WhatsApp is a collection of half-truths, complete lies, innuendoes, silly stuff and insinuations mixed with a bucketful of crocodile tears. A brief critical examination is called for. Messages from the WhatsApp are in red.
Many opportunities were given to the Jathedar to fix things, starting with the last AGM, where he was permitted to stay in place if he leads the Sabha responsibly. This he has failed to do.
This is a clear admission that the DG-13 meddled in the last Sabha AGM. They “permitted the Jathedar to remain in place” as if the Sabha was their grand father’s property. It’s called match fixing elsewhere and its criminal. It shows a lack of ethics and an attempt to take Sabha members for a ride. Those who attended the AGM came for a fair and proper election – one to be conducted in accordance with the Gurmat that Sabha preaches. But what they got was horse trading and a shameful back-door deal.
For the first time in our 60 year history, we saw the Jathedar abusing his authority.
The Sabha has seen Jathedars take away office typewriters and files after they were removed. I know because I chased one down to get back the Punjabi typewriter. One Jathedar used the Sabha van for personal use for 3 months after his own car became unusable. Another bankrupted the Sabha that one time owned a 5 mil property. I have no intention to sully the Sabha – but the point must be made that the statement by the DG-13 is cooked up.
Jathedar Jasbir didn’t abuse his authority. He outsmarted 10 bungling fellows, not once but twice. The Jathedar has the authority to fire the Exco. The real abuse of authority was by the DG-10 who forced their way into the Exco.
The Jathedar of Sabha…has gone to the extent of violating the Sabha constitution which for us is a sacred document established on Sikhi principles of ‘Nimarta’ and ‘Satkaar’, a constitution that was put in place by our founding fathers under the guidance of Sant Sohan Singh ji Melaka.
An apology is due to the sant for being dragged into this mess. Didn’t the DG-13 shred the “sabha constitution” through their back door deals at the last AGM? One wonders if “horse trading” and “trickery” and “following the master mind’s agenda” were their “Sikhi” principles of the DG-13 on the AGM day. Were these principles put in place under the guidance of “sant labo of mumbo jumbo”? And let’s not dirty the words “nimarta” and “satkaar.”
Instead, he stubbornly chooses to cling on to his chair. This is the silly stuff. Wasn’t it the DG-13 who ‘installed’ Jathedar Jasbir at the last AGM – by getting DG-10 installed alongside? You put him there, didn’t you? He stubbornly chooses to cling to his chair, you stubbornly slog to grab his chair – what’s the real difference?
So 2019 is NOT AN ELECTION YEAR. This year in 2019 we can only have the AGM, but without elections. This means he will continue till July 2020 until the next election. Are you prepared to wait another 1 ½ years for him to go?
Sabha members have waited for 60 years for the Sabha to be Sabha. Surely, they can wait 1.5 years. Question is can the DG-13 and their mastermind wait? So strong is their naked urge to grab power that their impatience is popping out of every sentence.
So we succeed or not, why not be done with it right now? At least we will know what the members want. Then everyone can go back to their lives.
Done with it right now? This is what I mean by the terrible urge of impatience. Every one has gone back to their lives after your horse trading and back door dealing at the last AGM. The only people who can’t seem to go back to their lives are the DG-13 and their masterminds. The desperation must truly be high to take over “right now” – not a day longer!
Sabha is in ‘ICU’… Due to ….its questionable alliances with organisations that are anti Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Donations to the Sabha have gone. Sabha itself is struggling financially.
This is the mumbo jumbo of Agyani Labo.
There are no organizations in Malaysia that are anti Guru Gobind Singh ji. Except one deviant group that wishes to go AGAINST the Hukm of Guru Gobind Singh Ji pertaining to GURU MANIO GRANTH.
All Sikh organizations in Malaysia want the Parkash of ONLY the SGGS and follow the SRM which says “no other book can be installed on par with the SGGS”. The deviant group wants the parkash of a rival granth. Labo is the spokesperson of this group.
In any case, as stated above, Sabha did issue the letter supporting the Dasam Granth. So why hasn’t millions poured into its coffers already? The truth is major gurdwaras who were strong supporters of the Sabha withheld their donations for Samelan 2018 due to that letter.
We the seniors may have initiated the EGM. But it is for you to decide. It is about you, not us. You, the youth, the future of the Sabha, together with other elders, are being given the power to choose your future.
How many youth constituted the DG-10 that forced themselves into the Exco by backdoor horse trading in the last AGM? None. How was it that the youth of Sabha were side-lined when the DG-10 oldies grabbed power, but now that they have been outsmarted by Jathedar Jasbir, the DG-13 suddenly want the youth to be there to help them in their power grab? Why the double standard?
You may hear someone say ‘why have an EGM? It is not the Sabha way. Sure. We agree. Well said. But is what the Jathedar doing the ‘Sabha Way?’ We already tried ‘the Sabha Way’ at the last AGM. Did that help? Did anything change? Did anything improve?
What the DG-13 did at the last AGM was a power grab through wheeling and dealing, a.k.a horse trading. And they have the gall to call it “the Sabha way”?
Did that help? Sure, it helped push the Sabha under a bus. It put the Sabha into troubled waters. Did anything change? Sure again. For the first time in 60 years the Sabha saw a back door takeover. Did anything improve? No. It got worse.
It takes courage to ‘do something’. We have chosen to ‘do something’. And no one will ever be able to say, “There was so much going wrong, but you people did nothing!” We have done our duty. We pray you will do yours.
Yes, there is much going wrong. The wrong lies in the people trying to grab power through pretentious ways.
Yes, I pray the youth of Sabha will do their duty – which is to turn up at the EGM or AGM and throw these power grabbers, horse traders and wheeler dealers out. Send a clear message to the masterminds that the Sabha will not be used for their Agenda.
Yes, I pray the invitation to the “funeral” of the Sabha that “is in the ICU” according to the DG-13 will become a spring cleaning exercise instead – an exercise to get rid of the trouble makers.
End.