Caste row over membership of gurdwara in Canada

The 900 members of the Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Temple are dalits while the duo belong to jat community, which now makes up much of Metro Vancouver’s Sikh population.

The tribunal in British Columbia province dismissed the complaint as it found it does not have jurisdiction over temple membership, Canwest news agency reported.

Also citing a prior decision regarding the United Native Nations, it agreed that the temple should se allowed to restrict membership to a minority group in order to promote the community’s welfare.

Sahota and Shergill argued that by denying them membership, the temple was promoting the ‘evil caste system,’ according to the tribunal ruling.

The decision, released this week, was hailed as an affirmation of temple members’ right to gather as a “minority within a minority.”

“Since the decision has come out, the members are feeling quite empowered by it,” said gurdwara spokesman Jai Birdi, adding the complainants were welcome to attend the temple’s religious ceremonies and social programmes.

“Our vision is that one day the community’s confidence will increase to the point that they are not feeling oppressed and then there will no longer be a need to restrict membership,” he said.

The Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Temple was formed in 1982 to meet the needs of Dalits who “felt that they weren’t fully welcome in the existing temples,” Birdi said.