Sikh leadership gets shakeup at temple

Thousands of Sikhs cast their ballots in a court-ordered election at the Sikh Temple Gurdwara on Tierra Buena Road that resulted in a leadership shakeup.

Some 73 board members were approved in election results announced Monday including 53 new board members, said Tejinder Dosanjh, who described the election results as a change in leadership for the temple.

"This is a victory for the congregation," said Dosanjh.

Dosanjh, 54, fought a court battle with the Sikh Temple board that resulted in a court-appointed special master to oversee the elections.

"I didn't think everything was fair, the way they were doing it, so I wanted the full participation of the members," said Dosanjh.

Court filings alleged that elections had not been held at the temple, known as a gurdwara, since 2002, in a move designed to perpetuate the board.

But the gurdwara board also asked for an election official to be appointed to supervise the board of directors elections, court records show.

Legal issues were resolved last year when a Sutter County Superior Court judge appointed a special master, Al Carrion, a Yuba City attorney, to oversee elections at the temple that were held Saturday and Sunday. Dosanjh said the elections had a 72 percent turnout.

Didar Bains, the current president of the Sikh Temple, said he was glad to see people interested in joining the gurdwara's board.

Bains said he will serve out the rest of his term this year, then turn over everything to the "newcomers."

"We had a fair election, it's done, and everybody should be happy now," said Bains.

The top vote-getter, Jasjit Singh Kang, 38, said Sikhs have diverse views. He believes the election was a good way to ask the community what they wanted.

The gurdwara's election result may have been a vote noted around the country, if not the world, because many Sikhs first come to the Yuba City temple as immigrants before moving to other areas of the country. Dosanjh said he had received calls from India, Vancouver and New Jersey inquiring about the results.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter John Dickey at 749-4711 or jdickey@appealdemocrat.com.