New protocols in place as Gurdwaras reopen after lockdown

Gurdwaras across the world are now reopening after lockdown rules have been eased in Sikh diaspora nations.

In Malaysia, Canada and the UK all places of worship have been allowed to open with social-distancing protocols and limits on congregation numbers in the last week. In the USA, the decisions are still filtering through state-by-state, whilst in Australia places of worship were allowed to open in mid-May. Dates for larger worship are provisionally set for July in most countries.

However, many Gurdwaras across the world have actually been open to some extent and been maintaining social-distancing and extra hygiene protocols throughout the pandemic, due to the fact they have become centres of langar (Sikh communal kitchen practice) distribution for locals. During the seva (selfless service) that goes into langar preparation for distribution, sevadaars (selfless servants) would expect to be able to do darshan (have meeting of) Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj (Sikh scriptural Guru), in the form of bowing to the Guru in darbar (meaning court, referring to main prayer hall).

Even in Gurdwaras that are not being used for langar seva, the daily prayer practice of taking Guru Granth Sahib Ji to darbar and back was continued by in-house granthis (translated as knowledgeable ones, referring to those in charge of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji’s keeping).

Currently, Gurdwaras are set to keep to allowing only this interaction of darshan for Sikhs, with other practices such as kirtan programs (devotional music for a larger crowd) are being held back until next month or later.

In the UK, Gurdwaras such as London’s Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall have been preparing by sending out information on the new protocols in Punjabi and English.

The Naam Simran group of the UK have also created a short video (below) guide for sangat (Sikh congregation) on how to go about attending a Gurdwara during this period.

Sikh Council UK have been leading efforts to guide Gurdwaras through reopening with these new procedures through direct interaction. As well as providing one-to-one advice and training guidelines, SCUK sevadaars (selfless volunteers) have also helped create a variety of posters as reminders, available for free and distributed to Gurdwaras across the UK.

The opening comes after a tumultuous period in the UK in regards to preparations to have Gurdwaras open up. The announcement of a government appointed Sikh task force to lead up preparations was vastly criticised for being headed up by Jasvir Singh, a Sikh political and networking personality that has no experience running Gurdwaras or prayer programmes. Even when amendments were made to include groups/individuals with actual Gurdwara experience, the exclusion of Sikh Council UK from this process was seen as a strange snub by the government, especially as SCUK were holding online discussions featuring 90+ Gurdwara representatives across the UK, and in contact with hundreds more. Jasvir Singh did eventually resign from his position but sited the reason as “bullying” from Sikh organisations, based on the backlash from some sections of the community about his selection, which many believe is due to his familiarity with government officials, rather than his expertise, which is what angered many UK Sikhs.

Gurdwaras in outside of the UK in the west have not made as many public announcements about reopening as their British counterparts, but many are now prepared for more sangat to attend.

The Khalsa Diwan Society that run Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar in New Westminster announced “Programs have restarted at the Gurdwara Sahib with precautions in place. You can continue to watch live or attend programs in person (if you are well).”

In the USA, the Sikh Coalition have been helping Gurdwaras prepare in the last few weeks for reopening, providing guidance and access to ask questions to medical experts.

The Sikh Press Association will continue to provide updates on Gurdwaras reopening as they come in.