By Asian Pacific News Service

The road that winds into the village of Siahar cuts through burnt out wheat fields where Punjabi villagers toil for the next harvest under a merciless sun.

Avoiding a maze of cows, bicycles and donkey-carts, we pass the temple where a Sikh guru sought refuge during an ancient war before taking a sharp right under the gateway that leads to Siahara's Nanaksar Ashram. The unusually wide village road abruptly ends at a fortress like temple complex surrounded by Armalite carrying cops from the Punjab Armed Police.

A tense disquiet settles over the turbaned troop as we move around the compound taking pictures. Nobody stops us. They simply stare.

Then suddenly, 15 minutes later, the red-eyed sub-inspector sitting at the table in the shade of a tree, calls out to his men and strides menacingly towards us. "Camera!" he barks as our guides explain to him in pleading tones what we are doing in the area.

You are not allowed to take pictures here, he shouts adding with swagger to no one in particular, If they were not Canadians, I would slap them first before asking for the cameras.

Refusing to budge, the officer threatens to detain us while he developed the film and destroyed the offending negatives and pictures. We break a disposable camera and hand it to him after erasing the images on two other digital cameras. 

The sub-inspector obviously relishing his task hands over the digital cameras to a youth in the gathered crowd and tells him to take it to the police guards at the arched-gateway. You can pick it up there, he barks again as we leave.

Word quickly spread through Siahar about the confrontation.

Less then an hour later, another and more senior officer arrives at the village in a Land Rover. This officer comes with an apology, the broken disposable camera and an invitation to tour the Nanaksar Ashram. The red-eyed junior inspector, he says, has been suspended for his rude behaviour and sent home.

For the villagers of Siahar, this was a small victory in a bitter religious war which they say is orchestrated thousands of miles away in Richmond, B.C. It is a war in which one person has been killed and another has gone missing.

It is a war that has pitted two holy men, Baba Harnek Singh Grewal in Canada and Baba Mann Singh, in India both of whom have hundreds of thousands of fervent followers worldwide.

Ultimately the war will decide control of a religious global empire, including 7,000 acres of land in B.C., Alberta and Ontario, a mansion in Richmond and millions in cash donations from congregations in Canada, England, the United States and India.

Lying on his hospital bed, a few days before he died, Ajit Singh, a villager from Siahar, recalled how the bullet from a 12-bore gun tore open his stomach. “I daily go to the Nanaksar Ashram to donate my services..I have two sons,” he told police who recorded his statement as doctors struggled to keep the farmer alive. In the statement obtained by The Asian Pacific Post, Ajit Singh told police that on the evening of Oct 11, 2003, he went to look for his teenage son Balwant Singh at the Nanaksar Ashram.

A large crowd had gathered at the temple grounds for ceremonies associated with the onset of a full moon and tensions between the rival factions fighting for control of the Nanaksar Ashram were high. A few days earlier, the villagers of Siahar and some 29 other neighbouring hamlets had renounced Baba Harnek Singh Grewal and acclaimed Baba Mann Singh the chief patron of the Nanaksar Ashram in Siahar.

Ajit Singh was worried for the safety of his son and his older boy Jatinder Singh, who was also somewhere in the vicinity of the temple that October evening. Ajit decided to go into the outer compound of the complex through the main gates with some village elders.

In a recorded statement filed in court Ajit Singh alleged: Gurcharan Singh Granthi who was armed with a gun and was standing on a wall and he fired at me which hit me on the left side of stomach and blood started oozing. Ajit Singh was rushed to the Ludhiana hospital where he died on Oct 25. The bullet which had torn open his stomach had also shattered his spine.

Several other villagers were injured in the deadly riot of Oct 11 in Siahar. Some were shot, others were slashed with swords and attacked with bricks. One of them was Acchhru Ram an old man who lived alone in Siahar after his family deserted him. Described as a key witness in the case, Ram disappeared from his ramshackle home in February about four months after the riot.

Both sides in the dispute are blaming each other for his disappearance. Ram was among several villagers who have filed police reports saying the order to open fire and killed members of their group came from Canada.

In their uniformed allegations filed with Punjab police, Indian courts and The Punjab Human Rights Commission they state the riot erupted after a Harnek Singh follower raised alarm in a loud voice that they have received message from Canada from Baba Harnek Singh on telephone that whosoever is supporting Baba Mann Singh should be done to death and also raised lalkara (a war cry) that the supporters standing in the courtyard should not be spared and should be killed.

As police rushed to the scene of the riot which had by now attracted hundreds of people from nearby villages, those alleged to have opened fire fled along with their friends.

They remain in hiding fearing reprisals.

From Edmonton, where he has another temple, Harnek Singh has denied the allegations describing them as false and concocted adding that his name is being dragged into the incident because of a deep rooted conspiracy hatched by his opponents who want to grab control of the religious empire he oversees.

The Richmond-based preacher has also asked Indian courts to stop police from arresting him when he goes to India so that he can help in the investigations. In the meantime he stays in Edmonton.

Seven months has passed since the deadly October riot in Siahar but little has changed for Sukhwinder Kaur who lost her husband and her family breadwinner after he was shot that day. The family, which was already poor by local village standards, now lives in abject poverty sharing their hut with cows in an atmosphere that reeks of dung. He went to save his sons and was killed for doing that, said the 40-year-old widow who now lives on the generosity of her neighbours, who hail her husband for having laid down his life in a holy cause.

His brother told him not to go but he went and he was the only person killed, she cried. Despite the loss, Sukhwinder is proud and defiant and like her husband believes that Baba Mann Singh is her true leader.

In a stunning display of loyalty to Baba Mann Singh, Sukhwinder told The Asian Pacific Post that she has refused offers of a million rupees (C$30,000) and an opportunity for one of her sons to be taken to Canada. The offer to turn her life around, she claims, was in return for her family's silence from those responsible for her husband's murder.

"I want to protect the prestige of our village and the memory of my husband," she said.

As police probe the allegations and counter allegations and search for missing witnesses, the village of Siahar continues with its life, albeit in a wary way and in the presence of an armed police force that surrounds their beloved temple.

A two-hour bone-crunching drive from the noisy city of Ludhiana, Siahar is a serene village with wide roads, a testament to the political influence of its leaders. Here life revolves around the fields, the family and the religious elders. Among the villagers you will find a radiologist from Los Angeles, a businessman from Edmonton and others who have gone overseas but frequently return to mingle with kin.

In Siahar and neighbouring villages, passionate adherence to fundamental beliefs provide fertile ground for violent reaction. If sacred tenets and traditional practices are abused, retaliation is swift and often deadly. This is allegedly the motive behind another unrelated murder involving Maple Ridge beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu.

Jaswinder's uncle is Maple Ridge blueberry farmer Surjit Singh Badesha who is a staunch supporter of Baba Harnek Singh Grewal and one of the directors of the Richmond Nanaksar temple. Indian police have accused Badesha of hiring a gang to kidnap his niece Jaswinder and kill the rickshaw driver whom she had secretly married in her home village in 1999. Jaswinder or Jassi had married the man despite strenuous objections from her family who felt that the bridegroom was not compatible to their traditional beliefs. The 24-year-old woman was beaten, strangled and her throat slit after talking on the phone to numbers traced to the Maple Ridge area. Her husband survived the June 2000 attack.

Police in India, who have arrested about a dozen people in connection with the case want to extradite Badesha and his sister and Jaswinder's mother, Malkiat Kaur to face murder charges in Punjab. Maple Ridge RCMP have an open file on the case. Canadian High Commission officials recently met with Punjab police officials in Chandrigarh to discuss the extradition papers.  The court case involving the Indian murder suspects is in the final stages and a verdict is expected soon.

Badesha and his sister have both denied any involvement in Jaswinder's murder which has become the subject of three documentary films. Ironically the police officer who investigated Jassi's murder Inspector Swaran Singh works a few floors below Supt. Harbhaj Singh, who has been given the task of sorting out the details in the Siahar riot.

It is a curious coincidence in both cases the investigation involves orders to kill that came from Canada, Inspector Swaran Singh told The Asian Pacific Post. As Punjab police investigate the violence involving the Nanaksar sect, the religious war has its roots in a holy past. The Nanaksar Ashram in Siahar is a modest complex compared to Sikhism's architectural superlatives that dot Punjab. But whomever controls it wields a power accorded to a Saint.

In return that Saint must adhere to strict rules of the movement which is renowned for its apolitical stance and a ban on the consumption of alcohol and meat and that its holy men remain chaste.

The Sikh holy book called the Guru Granth Sahib is treated by Nanaksar devotees with great reverence. The Nanaksar movement was founded by Baba Nand Singh near Jagroan in Punjab and took root following his death in 1943. One of his closest disciples was Baba Mihan Singh of Siahar - the father of Baba Mann Singh and mentor of Baba Harnek Singh Grewal" the two holy men currently at odds. After Baba Mihan Singh founded the Nanaksar Ashram in Siahar, he went around the world to spread the teachings of Nanak, Sikhism's first guru.

The universally revered holy man taught his followers to build temples on their own time to minimize costs and as acts of sacrifice. This led to the construction of the Richmond's Nanaksar Gurdwara, on Westminster Highway under the auspices of the The Nanaksar Gurdwara-Gursikh Temple society which was incorporated on July 12, 1979. Similar temples were built in Toronto, Edmonton and Coventry in the United Kingdom.

During his latter years Baba Mihan Singh was looked after constantly by Baba Harnek Singh Grewal and Baba Mann Singh. In Sept 1994 at age 88, Baba Mihan Singh died in the Richmond Nanaksar temple - a temple built with unified community support that is now the Canadian epicentre of the religious strife.

After Baba Mihan Singh's death, Baba Harnek Singh Grewal became the leader of the Nanaksar sect. His followers called him the Prince or Maharaj-ji. His rival, Baba Mann Singh returned to Siahar where he maintained a low profile performing religious duties.

He wasn't interested in the politics or the assets of the temple and wanted to live the life of his father teaching and praying, said one of Baba Mann Singh's disciples.

Over the years, the Nanaksar sect grew into a C$20 million religious global empire with a 7,000 acre land bank in B.C., Alberta and Ontario and thousands of more acres in India. It had little debt and annual donations from the faithful ran into millions of dollars. That cash was used to buy agriculture land yielding even more profits.

Financial records obtained by The Asian Pacific Post show that the Nanaksar Gurdwara-Gursikh Temple collected C$1,201,269.54 in donations between July 2000 and June 30, 2001. The income from farm leases held by the temple society for the same period of time exceeded C$350,000. The Edmonton branch of the society alone had assets of C$5,088,090.

But behind the scenes of what seemed to be a model and thriving religious enterprise a revolt was brewing. In November 2000, an Alberta police officer found Harnek Singh Grewal slumped behind the wheel of a vehicle at the West Edmonton Mall. His breath test showed a reading of .160, twice the legal limit. Grewal, who claimed to be a labourer in court, plead guilty to one count of being over the legal blood-alcohol limit. He was fined C$600 and handed a 12-month driving suspension.

When word of this case began to seep through the community, others started coming forward with tales of drinking parties on temple grounds. The schism in this Sikhism sect hit the headlines in late 2002, when dissidents in the Richmond Nanaksar temple filed a petition in the B.C. Supreme Court to oust Harnek Singh Grewal as their leader.

The dissidents made explosive allegations in court documents claiming that the 67-year-old Grewal had lost C$45,000 in temple money while gambling in Las Vegas, consumed alcohol on temple grounds, promoted the philosophy of free sex and abused donations by building a million dollar mansion in Richmond for himself and his 25-year-old bride from India.

The dissidents wanted the B.C. Supreme Court to remove the directors of the temple society, stop Grewal's involvement with the temple and appoint an independent auditor to check the society's financial affairs. Grewal and the temple directors denied all the allegations.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Laura Gerow disagreed with every major point advanced by the dissidents saying they were merely challenging the succession of Grewal to the position of high priest of the sect in 1994. “After reviewing the material, I have concluded that the basis of this action is a religious dispute about whether Maharaj Ji is the appropriate successor,” wrote Justice Gerow in her reasons for judgment last May. The court has no role in religious matters, she ruled saying the petitioners had advanced no evidence to back up their statements. The court also said there was no need for an auditor to review the temple finances.

The dissidents, having lost their battle in the B.C. courts, then took their complaints to the Body of Sikh Holy Men in Punjab or the Sant Samaj, which formed a panel to probe the allegations of misconduct against Grewal. Last January, Grewal, was excommunicated for allegedly drinking liquor and participating in objectionable activities in Canada.

Baba Sarbjot Singh Bedi who heads the body said the panel had given Grewal an opportunity to appear before it but he did not show after indicating he would come.

After the excommunication, a spokesman for Grewal in India said his group has rejected the decree by the Body of Sikh Holy Men because “Baba Harnek Singh is a saint and not a member of any Sant Samaj from which he could be ex-communicated.”

The spokesman said the Sant Samaj and other organisations had approached Grewal several times with a membership offer, which he had refused saying the saints should not become part of such unions or associations and should only concentrate on religious activities.

In an interview with The Asian Pacific Post, Baba Sarbjot Singh Bedi who issued the excommunication decree said if Grewal is a saint he should act like one. “We based our decision on him pleading guilty to charges involving liquor consumption in a Canadian court,” said the articulate Bedi.

“Sikhism is very clear on this issue, the ideals of our Gurus forbid such people from being religious leaders and religious authorities.”
“He has no business being a religious leader and it behooves the community in India, Canada and elsewhere to follow the teachings of our Gurus,” said Bedi.

Grewal's case has now been forwarded to the Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh religious body for final resolution.

Villagers at Siahar gather to send a message to Canada

The overflowing crowd of villagers who had gathered at the Guru Hargobind temple in Siahar had a message for the visiting Canadian media group.

This temple is now their primary place of religious worship as the Nanaksar Ashram, a few kilometers away remains a no-go zone watched by heavily armed members of the Punjab police.

The women gather to sit behind the visitors. The men gather to another side. An awkward silence fills the hall as everyone looks at each other. Smiles are few. 

Baba Mann Singh takes his place at the top of the hall flanked by his disciples. After what seems like like a long five minutes, a villager stands up and addresses the crowd in Punjabi. He is a village pachayat or council member.

At the end of his short speech, in which he thanks us for visiting the village, the villagers stand and shout in unison every drop of blood in this village is for Baba Mann Singh.

This is the message they want us to take back to Canada.

After a simple meal of chapattis, dahl, yoghurt and pickles, Harminder Pandher the businessman from Edmonton explains that there could be a simple end to the religious strife.

“Nobody here, not the villagers or Baba Mann Singh, is interested in the millions of dollars or the assets held by Harnek Singh Grewal,” he said. “They claim that our biggest agenda to oust Grewal is because we want the money and the land in Canada and elsewhere.”

“All we want is our Nanaksar Ashram in Siahar. This is our holy place they can keep the rest,” said Pandher, Baba Mihan Singh's grandson.

“Anyway what do they want here now Harnek cannot come here his followers cannot come here.. This village and the surrounding villages will not allow that.”

The Grewal faction declined comment.