By Black Press, Surrey Leader

Members of the Guru Nanak Sikh temple in Surrey have opted for change, voting in the Sikh Youth slate led by Bikramjit Singh Sandhar and voting out the group led by Harjinder Singh (“Thana”) Cheema that has controlled the second-largest gurdwara in North America (after the Ross Street Temple in Vancouver) for over a decade.

Results of the Sunday vote were posted online Monday morning showing 13,458 ballots were cast for Sikh Youth and 7,247 for the Cheema slate.

It was the second victory for the youth slate, who won last year only to see their win disputed in court.

In 2008, the newly elected board of directors appeared ready to revisit a bitter controversy over the use of chairs and tables in the communal dining area of the temple.

They said the temple would obey the religion's highest authorities who believe community meals should be consumed sitting on the floor to show humility and keep everyone on the same level.

 However, "accommodations" – seats and tables – would be allowed for people too old or ill to sit on the floor.

It was that issue that led to a violent clash at the Guru Nanak temple in 1997 and the departure of many followers who founded a rival temple, the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar.

It also resulted in the excommunication of then-temple president Balwant Singh Gill and five others by religious authorities in India.

The youth slate did not take power in 2008 because of a legal challenge launched by the losers, who accused the winning slate of using improperly filled-out nomination forms.

Given a choice between holding another election at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, or a drawn-out and expensive court fight over the November 2008 results, the rival groups reached an agreement to hold a second vote at the Scott Road gurdwara on Nov. 15, 2009.

The winners of Sunday's vote, most of them about 20 years younger than the incumbents, said the tables and chairs issue has been a distraction from more important concerns, such as making the temple more relevant to young Canadian-born or raised Sikhs.

Among other things, the youth slate want to introduce English into temple services and programs to fight drug use and criminal behavior by young peple.

"The time for change has come" president-elect Bikramjit Singh Sandhar said in a statement issued after the Sunday vote results were confirmed.

"The [temple members] want Gurdwara management that speaks to the real issues our community is facing today. We must all join together to save our children from drugs and gangs, to provide support and equality to women, and to ensure the best services for our seniors. We must renew our mission to serve all of humanity now that we are united."

The statement expresses concern the outcome could result in still more legal action, saying it "... now remains to be seen whether the outgoing management will give charge of the Gurdwara Sahib to the youth slate or continue to drag out the process in courts as they have done for the last three years."