Fremont Gurdwara Sahib

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The Gurdwara Sahib of Fremont, California (also commonly referred to as the Fremont Gurdwara or the Sikh Temple of Fremont) is a center of Sikh worship. Although it is located in Fremont, a city in southern Alameda County, it serves the greater San Francisco Bay Area consisting of the counties of Alameda County, Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, San Francisco County, Contra Costa County, Santa Rosa County and Solano County. Officially, the Gurdwara's Supreme Council extends registered membership to all those who live in the Bay Area, as well as locations in the California Central Valley such as San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County. The Gurdwara is also one of the most influential in the entire world.

Fremont Gurdwara Sahib is a 501(c) (3) tax exempt nonprofit organization, located in the city of Fremont in Northern California, USA. It was established in 1978 and is one of the most prominent and influential Sikh gurdwaras in the world. The Gurdwara sahib is open 7 days a week and holds daily programs for local Sikhs and visitors to pray and seek blessings. It has more than 9000 registered members.

Since its establishment, Fremont Gurdwara has been consistently involved in providing help and sharing (Vand Chakna) with the needy and homeless people around the world, especially during disasters. During Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami in Thailand, and the earthquake in South Asia, Fremont Gurdwara donated thousands of dollars, food, clothes, blankets and items to keep up personal hygiene.

Fremont Gurdwara Sahib plays an integral part in the lives of Bay Area youth Sangat by offering a Khalsa School for students, Kirtan, Santhiya, and Gatka classes, and even SAT classes for students in high school. The Fremont youth Kirtan jathas and the local akhara, the Guru Tegh Bahadar Shastar Vidya Dal, are award winning groups that regularly attend and compete in national and international symposiums, competitions, and tournaments. Fremont Gurdwara Sahib is also well known for other youth programs such as the monthly Sikh Phulwarhi, annual Sikh Children Day, and its active participation in International Turban Day. The Gurdwara hosts bi-annual Gurmat camps taught by teachers and ustads from Khalsa School Surrey, and every summer a santhiya camp is run by Damdami Taksal to teach the local youth gurbani santhiya.

The Gurdwara also routinely holds rhensbaee programs, a monthly Asa di Vaar Kirtan, and Sunday evening Naam Simran sessions by AKJ, and there is daily Simran from 12:30 - 4:00 AM.

1 Controversy
2 Website
3 Live Broadcast
4 Other Gurdwaras in the Bay Area

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Controversy

In the mid-1990s five Sikh men belonging to the congregation sued the five member Supreme Council of the Gurdwara in an attempt to unseat the men from their seats of power, and re-elect a new Council. The plaintiffs alleged that the Supreme Council had been voted in unfairly and did not deserve their seats, in addition, the term of the seats of the Supreme Council should have passed already, and a new Council should be elected. The Supreme Council, in a court battle that lasted for several years, held up in their argument that the seats of the Supreme Council, as tradition would uphold, are held under life terms. The Judge, the Honorable Julia Spain, of the Alameda County Superior Court favored with the plaintiffs and ordered that an election be held after membership of the congregation can be validated, and additional elections would be held every year from that point, unless the newly elected Supreme Council, along with a vote by the Congregation would decide otherwise. The Gurdwara meticuously gathered a list of the members of the congregation, and an election was finally held after the sitting Supreme Council ran out of appeals. The election resulted in a completely new Council. Recently, as of 2008, several of the original Council members were re-elected into the council, forming the current majority slate of the council.

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