TARPON SPRINGS, Florida: Mrs. Tajinder Kaur Gill, has resigned her office as vice ‘President of Sikh Council of North America. In her resignation letter sent to President, Harbhajan Singh Ajrawat, she wrote that: “Looking at the whole situation since the last annual convention held in Cleveland, Ohio, in May 1986, and taking into account, on one hand some unconventional and unhealthy developments which have come to the fore and as have also recently been reported in the media, and on the other hand, considering the present day overwhelming importance of the entire Sikh Panth, its wellbeing as well as its religious and political interests in India and abroad being in grave danger, I have come to the conclusion that the time has come when at least an organization like the Sikh Council of North America be made stronger to be heard as a loud Sikh voice in America, therefore. I am of the opinion that S.C.N.A. be thrashed out and refurbished on proper Sikh footing according to the great Sikh traditions found in its glorious past whereas petty personal interests and egotism are now drawing a zero .

The need of the hour, as I see, for all of “as Guru’s Sikhs, and above all else, for the sake of the “Panth Khalsa” is to shun off all past as well as presently prevalent personal jeolousies, prejudices,  grudges, illwills, enmities, party political rivalries, oppositional  groupings, regionalism factionalism and self-destruction internal devisive bickerings giving rise to leadership crises in our organization.

Mr. President, let me say this that these unhealthy and very harmful tendencies, prevalent amongst most of our Sikh organizations animate mainly from our own selfish motives, selfish ends and our own vested interests which in turn bring about, in sequence, the “power games”. Very typical of our so-called leaders, so often featured in the media.

It seems to me as if the present day so called Sikh leaders in India and abroad were devoid of the seriousness of the ‘Panthic Cause’ it looks as if they themselves were in crises, no wonder they (the leaders) have scant following and have many questions to answer to the America workers, the Sikh youth and the Sikh sangat.

Mr. President at this stage we must not go astray. We have resources and we have a sound purpose. Our Sikh cause is a great one indeed and a truthful one too, only we lack a United Sikh force and strength. No doubt, as usual, the odds against us are very heavy but I believe with Panthic unity, integrity and intensity of purpose, we must forge ahead on our way to the culmination of our assured.

Mr. President, I hope I have touched the heart of the problems which we all Sikhs face today’s going back to my point of writing, I wish to create a precedence, a paramount importance and sense of identity to the present day grave political concerns and economic interests of the Sikh panth while on the other hand not forgetting but steadfastly upholding with confidence the Sikh tenets, and Sikh ethos which make up the Sikh fundamentals, the core, constituting and serving the basis of our great religion and to this and I wish to see that the constitution of SCNA should be rehashed. I believe this can only be done by reorganizing this very important Sikh body in the true sense.

I, therefore, resign from the office of the vice-president of the SCNA as well as from the Education and Research Committee so that the reorganization programme of the SCNA can take place in due course.

I personally do thank all the delegates and all the Sangats of the member Sikh Gurdwaras who so kindly catapulted me into the office of the vice President ship of the Sikh Council of North America.

I sincerely hope that yourself and the National delegates would be able to understand my view point”.

Article extracted from this publication >>  March 6, 1987