Trials and tribulation of Neville Road

Not much has changed since the last posting on this blog; at least on the surface… but there are always underlying currents which reflect the aspirations for the future guardianship of a community.

Two Sikh temples have provided interesting examples of guardianship. The temple on Neville Road saw the un-ceremonial exit of the former board of trustees just they tried to grapple with a useful agenda of change. There were notable but well guarded dissention between the outgoing trustees themselves but they realised to their great pain that their ammunition had run dry. They had promised much but the fundamental change that they were capable of delivering did not materialise. Visits to the temple highlighted the following signs of distress:

-          The trustees had lost the confidence of the more influential members of the congregation. However, very little effort was put in to win it back. The trustees went into the elections with their eyes shut but secretly hoping that their mandate could be retained by a notable application of aggression and bullying; a concern that was felt by people within the congregation and a few independent observers.

-          There was also a realisation that much as the outgoing trustees wanted to redress some of their own shortcomings; they had come to accept a natural end to their role as custodians and stakeholders of the temple at a time when other aspirations outside the temple started to look more appealing. There is no suggestion that the powerbase of the temple had been used to gain visibility and respect but community leadership can be a useful adjunct to other bigger and more visible roles in public life.

-          Sections of the community with significant presence were largely ignored or under-consulted, notably young people and women.  Modern Sikh youth in a evolving British society are highly motivated and conscientious but they are unable to forge a partnership with leadership which is mostly unable to win their confidence. There is a gaping chasm between Sikh leaders and the youth in Sikh society; it will widen further unless leadership strives to find new and innovative solutions to gain the trust of the younger members of the society.

In most cases and not just reflecting the debacle at Neville Road, Sikh leaders tend to define the eligibility of the youth to engage with the leadership by virtue of their ability to demonstrate command and compliance to religious symbolism. In almost all cases the leadership has not questioned its own claims to legitimacy and their own capacity to engage with young people. Generalisations can prove to be hazardous but it most unlikely that Sikh youth wish to become the temple managers of tomorrow. They have other aspirations and perhaps, even ambitions about the role and place of their communities in the wider society.

Indeed, have Sikh leaders examined their role in Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘big society’? The answer does not lie in Sikh leaders proudly going to Downing Street for tea. It lies more in inviting Mr Cameron for tea at local community functions where local stakeholders are carefully selected and represented. This is a good time for Sikh leaders to ‘calm down’ and to allow the younger members of their communities to take the lead in discussing the agenda for community action with David Cameron.

Sikh leaders should define their success in terms of how they need to become agents for change and not as blockages to change.