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Written by: Surinder Singh Seehra Part I - The
Formative Years 1988-1991
In
a meeting on December 18, 1987 the local sangat of Mercer County decided
to setup a Sikh Religious Association in the Hamilton area. The
association was named as Central Jersey Sikh Association (CJSA), Inc. I
was asked by the Sangat to lead an Interim Working Committee, which
consisted of seven members. The Working Committee gave main emphasis to
organize regular Kirtan programs, hold education classes for children to
teach Sikh History, Gurmukhi and Shabad Kirtan. Other tasks given to the
Working Committee were to formulate constitution and by-laws, get the
association registered as a non-profit religious association and raise
funds towards the purchase of a permanent place for the CJSA Gurudwara. In
January 1988, regular Kirtan programs and education classes were started.
In addition, a constitution sub-committee, which consisted of Working
Committee and other members from the Sangat, was formed to write the
Constitution and By-laws of CJSA. Once the Constitution was written, the
association was registered with the State of New Jersey as a non-profit
Religious Association. The
Bulletin of the CJSA was also started in 1988 and continued thereafter to
this day. Thus, during the first year of its existence, the Working
Committee was successful in setting up a strong foundation for CJSA. In
1989, the CJSA Sangat asked the Interim Working Committee to continue
serving the community for another year. In addition, Council of Trustees
was formed and seven new Trustees were elected. The Chairman of the
Council of Trustees now headed the association. In 1990, seven new
trustees were elected and added to the Council of Trustees. Therefore,
starting in 1990, CJSA had a full complement of 21 trustees in accordance
with the requirements of the Constitution and By-Laws. Also in this year,
CJSA started participating in the Sikh Day Parade in New York and
Tri-state Sikh Games. CJSA
would not have been successful without the contribution made by our
ladies. Some of the ladies,
such as Manjit Kaur Bhalla, Satinder Kaur Chawla, Jasbir Kaur Dhillon,
Inder Kaur, Nirpal Kaur and Rajmohan Kaur were in the forefront in the
various committees, whereas others worked in the background. They prepared
Langer for the Sangat, brought the children to the classes and helped in
other activities required by the association. The names of the few who
played an important role are Amarjit Kaur Bharj, Ravinder Kaur Dhillon,
Satwinder Kaur Dhillon, Anita Dhiman, Ravinder Kaur Guleria, Sadhna Kaur,
Gurinder Kaur, Gurcharan Kaur Seehra and Parvesh Kaur Sethi.
Kirtan Diwans:
During
the first year (1988), Kirtan Diwans were held in Sangat’s homes at
least once a month. Two Gurpurbs, Shahidi Gurpurb of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji
and Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji were celebrated with the
recital of Akhand Paath. Kirtan Diwan for Guru Nanak Dev ji’s Gurpurb
was held in a rented hall.
During
1989-1991, the Kirtan Diwans were still held in Sangat’s homes. However,
the frequency of the Kirtan Diwans increased from once a month to twice a
month. For
the recital of the Akhand Paaths and other Kirtan programs, the main
emphasis of the Working Committee was to involve as many Sangat members as
possible. The participation of the Sangat members for the recital of
Gurbani in the Akhand Paath developed in to a strong team of skilled
Paathi’s. Education
Classes: Children’s education classes in Gurmukhi, Sikh History and Shabad
Kirtan started in October of 1987 with a total of about five students. The
formation of CJSA encouraged a large increase in the number of children
participating in these classes. Classes
were held once a week for two hours on Saturdays in Sangat’s homes
during 1988 and at the Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville during 1989
and 1990. In 1991, CJSA moved the classes back to Sangat’s homes. In
1991, the participation increased to about 20 students in three age
groups.
Summer
Youth Camp:
Starting with 1988, a Summer Youth Camp was also held annually in the home
of Balaur Singh Dhillon. This was a three-days “Day Camp” in which the
teachers concentrated on teaching Gurmukhi, Sikh History and Shabad Kirtan
for a period of about four hours daily. In the afternoon, the children
enjoyed swimming. Most
of the teachers were from the Council of Trustees. In 1991, the
association decided to hold Sikh Youth Camp in Camp Lane Robbins, New
Jersey. Camp participation
became a key event in the subsequent years.
Hemkunt
Foundation Symposium: Our children also started participating in Hemkunt Foundation Symposium
starting with 1990. In 1991, four of our children won first and second
places in the Regional Competition. They were Sudeep Singh Dhillon,
Ravinder Singh Dhillon, Parveen Kaur Dhillon and Raminder Kaur. The first
place candidates also participated in the International Symposium. Parveen
Kaur Dhillon won second place in the International competition. Tri-state
Sikh Games:
In 1990, we also started participating in Tri-state Sikh Games. About
fifteen children from our association participated in these games.
Ammandeep Singh Seehra won first prize in 100-meter, 200-meter and second
prize in 400-meter race in his age group. Harjeev Singh Sekhon won third
prize in 400-meter race in his age group.
Monika and Manisha Bhanot won prizes in 100, 200 and 400-meters
races. Sukhbans Kaur Bohra won a prize in the ladies race.
Cultural
Program:
In 1990, the Council of Trustees decided to hold a cultural program.
Navjot Singh, Jasbir Kaur Dhillon and others started training boys and
girls in Bhangra, Giddha and
skits. About 20 children and 10 adults from CJSA took part in the program.
In addition, participants from GSSA, Glen Rock and Philadelphia Gurudwaras
took part in the program. This was one of the best programs in the history
of CJSA. Fund
Raising:
In 1988, an appeal to raise funds for setting up a permanent place for Sri
Gurudwara Sahib was made at Guru Nanak Dev ji’s birthday celebration.
Sangat members responded with enthusiasm and about $10, 000 were
collected. Appeals were made to the Sangat every year at this Gurpurb. At
the end of 1991, we had collected about $30, 000. Bulletin:
The Bulletin of the CJSA was also started in 1988. It reported on the
various activities, such as schedules for Kirtan and children classes, and
published articles on Sikh religion. The publication of the Bulletin has
continued through the years. This
is the first installment of a three-part article. Parts II and III will
cover the important events in the years 1992 to 2000. This article is
written from my memory and other information from Balaur Singh Dhillon,
Sukhraj Singh Dhillon, Surjit Singh Dhillon, and Rajwant Singh. Any errors
and omissions are unintentional and are regretted.
Guru
Panth Da Dass
Surinder Singh Seehra 1988 Working
Committee
President
Surinder Singh Seehra General
Secretary
Sukhraj Singh Dhillon Education
Secretary Balaur Singh Dhillon Treasurer
Sarjit Singh Bharj
Members
Inder Kaur
Hardev Singh
Satinder Kaur Chawla Election and
Rules Committee - Members
Janak
Singh
Rajinder Singh Chawla Prithvi
Bhalla
Constitution Sub-Committee-Coordinator Surjit
Singh Dhillon
Bulletin Sub
Committee – Members
Ariganjan
Singh Guleria
Joginder Singh Degun
Sutinder Singh Dhanjal 1989 Council of
Trustees
Chairman
Hardev Singh Secretary
Ariganjan Singh Guleria Working
Committee
President
Surinder Singh Seehra General
Secretary Sukhraj
Singh Dhillon
Education
Secretary Balaur Singh Dhillon Treasurer
Sarjit Singh Bharj
Members
Manjit Kaur Bhalla
Satinder Kaur Chawla
Inder Kaur Planning
& Advisory Committee. - Members
Surjit
Singh Dhillon Mohindar
Singh Bathala Election and
Rules Committee – Members
Dalbir
Singh Sethi Rajwant
Singh
Mahabir Singh Jolly Bulletin
Sub-Committee Coordinator
Ariganjan Singh Guleria 1990 Council of
Trustees
Chairman
Surinder Singh Seehra Secretary
Satnam Singh Bansal
Working
Committee
President
Sukhraj Singh Dhillon General
Secretary Surjit
Singh Dhillon Ed.
Secretary
Balaur Singh Dhillon Treasurer
Manjit Kaur Bhalla Members
Satinder Kaur Chawla
Dalbir Singh Sethi
Ariganjan Singh Guleria Election
& Rules Committee
Coordinator
Inder Kaur Members
Sarjit Singh Bharj
Navjot Singh Planning
& Advisory Committee- Members
Hardev
Singh
Mohinder Singh Bathala
Mahabir Singh Jolly Rajwant
Singh
Manjit Kaur Bhalla
Surinder Pal Singh Jaspal
Singh Suri
Paramjit Singh
Jagmohan Singh Gill Bulletin
Sub Committee Coordinator
Balaur Singh Dhillon
1991 Council of
Trustees
Chairman
Dalbir Singh Sethi Secretary
Navjot Singh Working
Committee
President
Satnam Singh Bansal General
Secretary Ariganjan
Singh Guleria Education
Secretary Satinder Singh Dhanjal Treasurer
Jasbir Kaur Dhillon Members
Rajwant Singh
Janak Singh
Prithvi Bhalla Election and
Rules Committee
Coordinator
Rajmohan Kaur Bansal Members
Nirpal Kaur Dhanjal
Sukhbans Kaur Bohra Planning
& Advisory Committee- Members
Dilbagh
Singh Dhillon Surinder
Pal Singh
Mohinder Singh Bathala Manjit
Kaur Bhalla
Paramjit Singh
Jaspal Singh Suri Mahabir
Singh Jolly Jagmohan Singh
Gill
Surjit Singh Dhillon Bulletin
Sub Committee
Coordinator
Sarjit Singh Bharj
Part II - The
Growth Years 1992-1996
As
described in Part-I, during the first three years of its existence, CJSA
was fully established. The basic needs of the Sikh Community, such as
regular Kirtan Diwans, education classes, Summer Youth Camp, annual
cultural program, were met by the CJSA. In addition, we participated in
the other annual events, such as Tri-state Sikh games, Hemkunt Foundation
Symposium and the Sikh Day Parade held in New York City.
We also published “The Bulletin” monthly, which provided
schedules for Kirtan programs, articles on Sikh religion and other
community news. The main wish of the CJSA committee was to have a place of
their own or at least a rented place where the Sangat could have regular
Kirtan Programs and other activities. In 1991, the Council of Trustees
studied five sites. However,
none of these sites were found to be suitable. Therefore, it was decided
to continue on this effort in the coming years. After
looking at several rental halls, the Council of Trustees, in January 1992,
decided to start the regular biweekly Kirtan Diwans in the Czechoslovak
Farmers Club hall rather than in homes. This place was not the ideal place
for the Gurudwara, but was a central place with plenty of parking and away
from built-up areas where the sangat could worship in peace. However,
there were two problems with the hall. There was a bar adjoining the hall
and there were no carpets in the hall. The first problem was not
considered to be big as hardly anyone came to the bar on Sunday mornings;
there were no other halls available without a bar. In addition, the hall
management decided to keep the door to the bar closed at all times. The
second problem was solved when few of the Sangat members donated the
carpets. However, there
was no place in the hall where the carpets could be stored after the
Kirtan Diwan. Therefore the CJSA Committee members had to store the
carpets in their homes. Every Sunday morning, the carpets needed to be
picked up from the homes and taken to the hall and layed on the floor and
then covered by the white sheets. At
the end of the Kirtan, the carpets were picked up from the hall and
brought back to the home. Satnam
Singh Bansal and his family offered this Sewa. Other Sangat members helped
him in laying the carpets in the morning and picking up at the end of the
day. In August 1992, the committee decided to increase the frequency of
Kirtans from biweekly to weekly. As the Kirtans became more regular, the
CJSA committee, with the help of Czechoslovak hall management, paid for a
shed by the side of the hall, where the carpets, utensils and the speaker
system were stored. We also
continued search for new Gurudwara sites. The
CJSA Committee viewed several properties in Ewing, Hamilton and other
neighboring areas. However,
none of them were found to be suitable. The Building Committee reviewed
other options for the Gurudwara. The committee concluded that CJSA could
not afford a large lot with an existing building. At the same time, a
smaller lot with an existing building meant that there was not enough
parking or room for expansion. The committee came to a conclusion that the
best approach was to buy a tract of land (minimum 10 acres) and build a
Gurudwara on it. In 1993, the committee decided to pursue a 19 acre lot
near the Robbinsville Airport. The initial contract for this land was
signed in 1993 with Garden State Land Company. This was finalized in 1994
after successful completion of the required tests.
During the years 1994-96, the building plans were prepared, got
approved by the Council of Trustees and were sent to the Washington
Township for approval. A
problem surfaced in May 1993 when the IRS notified CJSA that they
couldn’t find any record of its tax-exempt status. Therefore, with the
help of our accountant, Mr. Sanjiv Sahni, all the necessary papers, which
included some amendments to the articles of the constitution, were filed
with the IRS. In November 1993, we were notified of approval of CJSA as a
tax-exempt religious organization.
Throughout
these years, CJSA continued participating in the Sikh Day Parade in New
York City and Tri-state Sikh Games. In 1995, the committee decided to
participate in March of Dimes walk and help raise funds for the cure of
children diseases. This participation also promoted visibility of the
Sikhs in the Mercer County. This practice continues to this day.
In 1995 we also started to a have annual CJSA picnic and games in
the Mercer County Park. This practice continued throughout the years. During
these years, two important events occurred which changed the future of the
CJSA. The first event occurred on December 25, 1993, the day of 3rd
Annual Cultural Festival. As the children were returning from the final
Bhangra practice, their car met a tragic accident. Three of the children,
Kamaljit Singh Bathala, Jaswinder Singh Guleria and Naveen Kataria died on
the spot. Two other children, Harjeev Bhalla and Jasmeet Singh Nagi were
seriously injured. Harjeev Bhalla later recovered fully and carried on
with his life. However, Jasmeet Singh Nagi could not recover completely
due to loss of some of his memory functions. This tragedy had a major
impact on the lives of children and adults of the CJSA community. The
second event occurred in 1996, when, due to a conflict in Sikh values
between the conservatives and the liberals, several trustees resigned from
CJSA. This split led to the formation of second Sikh association that is
at present functioning as ‘Sikh Sabha’. This event was a blow to all
the CJSA Sikhs and especially to some of them who had invested a lot of
time to keep the community together. As
in the past, CJSA ladies continued to make major contributions to the
organization such as Langer organization in the hall and the camps as well
as making important contribution to the education of the children.
Kirtan
Diwans:
In January 1992, CJSA decided to hold Kirtan in Czechoslovakian Farmers
Club hall. In August 1992, it was decided by the committee to increase the
frequency of the Kirtans from bi-weekly to weekly.
This practice continued throughout the years. In 1993, the
committee decided to celebrate five Gurpurbs with the recital of Akhand
Paath. The participation of the Sangat members for the recital of Gurbani
in the Akhand Paaths continued throughout the years. Therefore, because of
this practice, many of the Sangat members became skilled Paathi’s. In addition, as a result of the education classes, many of
the children started to recite Shabads during the Sunday Kirtans as well
as providing special Kirtan Diwans during Gurpurb celebration.
Giani Darshan Singh continued to provide his services during all
the years. Education
Classes: Children’s education classes in Gurmukhi, Sikh History and Shabad
Kirtan, which started in October of 1987, continued throughout the years
1992-96. For the first few years, classes were held in the hall after the
regular Kirtan. In 1995, the committee felt that the space in the hall is
not sufficient to hold three classes simultaneously in the hall.
Therefore, the classes were moved to Hightstown High School where three
rooms were rented for a two-hour period. Although the cost for this new
approach was higher, the students made excellent progress in the school
setting. This arrangement continued during 1996.
Summer
Youth Camp:
In 1991, the association decided to hold a Sikh Youth Camp in Camp Lane
Robbins, New Jersey. In 1992
and the following years, the participation in the camp became a key event
for the youth. In 1993, the length of the camp was increased to 5 days. In
1995, the camp was held in collaboration with Garden State Sikh
Association and the duration of the camp was increased to 7 days. In
addition to the learning of Gurmukhi, Sikh History and Shabad Kirtan, the
children also learnt turban tying and participated in various games. The
older children participated in debates on current Sikh issues. In 1995,
the participation in the camp increased to 72 children of all ages.
Sri
Hemkunt Foundation Symposium: As during the previous years, the children continued
to participate in Sri Hemkunt Foundation Symposium. Some of our children
again reached the international level competition after winning in the New
York Zonal competition. During this period, Hemkunt Foundation, for the
first time, allowed participation of two first position winners from CJSA
in the competition.
Tri-state
Sikh Games:
As during the previous years, our children and adults continued to
participate in the Tri-state Sikh games. Many of our children won
individual prizes in races. In
spite our low membership, a few of the times, our teams won third place
ranking among all the Gurdwaras participating in the games. Cultural
Program:
As in 1990 and 1991, CJSA held another program in 1992. We were all ready
for another program on Christmas day in 1993. However, due to a tragic car
accident, three of our beloved children were killed and two others were
seriously injured. The
participation of local public of different school districts in the
memorial services and support to the individual families reflected how
valuable these students were in their respective schools. They were deeply
missed and honored by everybody. The
cultural program was cancelled that year and for the next two years.
Cultural program was held again in 1996, but not with the same
vigor as during 1990-92. As in the previous years, children from other
Gurudwaras also took part in the program. Fund
Raising:
As we starting thinking about a Gurudwara site, fund-raising became an
important issue. During the years 1993-94, in addition to raising funds
during April and November, Sikh community at large was approached. By the
time of signing the contract for the purchase of land, CJSA, with the help
of whole community, had sufficient amount of available funds to pay for
the property in cash. More funds were needed to prepare the drawings and
start construction for the building. Therefore, the fund raising
committee, visited the neighboring Gurudwaras. As a result of these
efforts, CJSA had over $100,000 in the bank at the end of 1996.
Bulletin:
The quality of the monthly Bulletin continued to improve over the years
with the inclusion of selected articles from the Sikh Review. In 1996,
CJSA committee decided to change the frequency of the Bulletin from
monthly to bi-monthly. A special memorial issue was published in December 1994 on
the first anniversary of the tragic car accident. This
is the second installment of a three-part article. Part III will cover the
important events in the years 1997 to present and will be published in the
next issue. This article is written from my memory and other information
from Janak Singh and Jaswant Singh Sandhu. Any errors and omissions are
unintentional and are regretted. Guru
Panth Da Sewadar
Surinder Singh Seehra 1992 Council of
Trustees
Chairman
Janak Singh Secretary
Ajit Singh Working
Committee
President
Sutinder Singh Dhanjal Secretary
Satnam Singh Bansal Treasurer
Ravinder Kaur Dhillon Ed.
Secretary
Balaur Singh Dhillon Members
Sarjit Singh Bharaj
Jasbir Kaur Dhillon
Hardev Singh
Election & Rules CommitteeCoordinator
Surinder
Singh Seehra Members
Prithvi Bhalla
Paramjit Singh Planning
& Advisory Committee - Members
Rajmohan
Kaur Bansal
Bhupinder Kaur Bathala
Sukhbans Kaur Bohra Nirpal
Kaur Dhanjal
Dilbagh Singh Dhillon
Jagmohan Singh Navjot
Singh
Surinder Pal Singh
Jaspal Singh Suri 1993 Council of
Trustees
Chairman
Surinder Singh Seehra Secretary
Jasbir Kaur Dhillon Working
Committee
President
Ariganjan Singh Guleria Secretary
Sutinder Singh Dhanjal Treasurer
Manjit Kaur Bhalla Ed.
Secretary
Balaur Singh Dhillon Members
Rajmohan Kaur Bansal
Dalbir Singh Sethi
Ajit Singh Election & Rules CommitteeCoordinator
Ravinder Kaur Dhillon
Members
Sarjit Singh Bharj
Hardial Singh
Planning
& Advisory Committee - Members
Bhupinder
Kaur Bathala,
Narinder Pal Singh Bhasin
Sukhbans Kaur Bohra Nirpal
Kaur Dhanjal
Dilbagh Singh Dhillon
Surjit Singh Gandhi Mahabir
Singh Jolly
Hardev Singh
Janak Singh 1994 Council of
Trustees
Chairman
Balaur Singh Dhillon Secretary
Hardial Singh Saini Working
Committee
President
Ajit Singh Secretary
Narinder Paul Singh Bhasin Treasurer
Rajwant Singh Ed.
Secretary
Surinderjit Singh Sandhu Members
Satnam Singh Bansal
Preet Kaur Khalsa
Hardev Singh
Election & Rules CommitteeCoordinator
Sarjit
Singh Bharj Members
Manjit Kaur Bhalla
Dalbir Singh Sethi Planning
& Rules Committee – Members
Bhupinder
Kaur Bathala Ravinder
Kaur Dhillon
Sukhraj Singh Dhillon Surjit
Singh Gandhi
Ariganjan Singh Guleria
Akbal Singh Hunjal Mahabir
Singh Jolly
Surinder Singh Seehra
Jasbir Singh Sethi 1995 Council of
Trustees
Chairman
Sukhraj Singh Dhillon Secretary
Manjit Kaur Bhalla Working
Committee
President
Hardial Singh Saini Secretary
Surjit Singh Dhillon Treasurer
Gurdip Singh Chhabra Ed.
Secretary
Sukhbir Singh Chrai Members
Narinder Paul Singh Bhasin Gurjit
Singh Gill Jasbir
Singh Sethi Election & Rules Committee Coordinator
Surinder Singh Sandhu Members
Satnam Singh Bansal
Rajwant Singh Planning
& Rules Committee – Members
Mandeep
Singh Arora Sutinder
Singh Dhanjal
Surjit Singh Gandhi Ravinder
Singh Goomer
Ariganjan Singh Guleria
Akbal Singh Hunjal Mahabir
Singh Jolly Preet
Kaur Khalsa
Dalbir Singh Sethi 1996 Council
of Trustees Chairman
Jaswant Singh Sandhu Secretary
Sukhraj Singh Dhillon Working
Committee
President
Rajwant Singh Secretary
Sukhdev Singh Walia Treasurer
Jasbir Singh Sethi Ed.
Secretary
Sukhbir Singh Chrai Members
Param J. S. Dhillon
Surjit Singh Dhillon
Dharam Singh Election & Rules Committee Coordinator
Balaur Singh Dhillon
Members
Surinder Singh Sandhu
Surinder Singh Seehra Planning
& Rules Committee – Members
Mandeep Singh Arora Satnam Singh Bansal Gurdeep Singh Chhabra Sutinder
Singh Dhanjal
Gurjit Singh Gill
Ravinder Singh Goomer Akbal
Singh Hunjal
Preet Kaur Khalsa
Hardev Singh
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