SURREY, B.C., CANADA, March 11, 2001: Excommunicated from the Sikh community in June of 1998, Giana Rattan Singh Girn, a Sikh leader, was recently readmitted to the fold after atoning for his sin. Apparently Girn used tables and chairs to seat people while feeding them in a community kitchen. This act was a violation of Sikh doctrine as dictated by Akal Takht, the primary seat of Sikh religious authority in the Punjab. Sikh community members are required to sit on the floor when participating in a langar, free feeding. For his atonement, Girn listened to Sikh devotionals for one hour each day, dusted devotees’ shoes at the Temple in Surrey, cleaned utensils at the community kitchen and donated money to the Golden Temple. This issue of sitting on the floor has led to violent clashes among temple factions not only in Vancouver, but in several other American and Canadian cities.
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