The long and bitter battle at Guru Nanak Foundation of America, one of the largest Gurdwaras in the Washington D.C. area, reached another low Friday night when Montgomery County police shut down the Gurdwara and sent everyone home.

This recent episode started Monday night when a letter was sent to the resident Raagi Jatha by the Gurdwara management’s attorney, stating that their services were “suspended indefinitely” without pay and that they must vacate the premises immediately. The reason stated was lack of funds.

The opposition sangat members of GNFA had their attorney send a response to the management stating that the Raagi’s contract with the Gurdwara requires six months notice before termination.

There was no response from the management until Wednesday when they prevented the Raagi Jatha from doing keertan. Then, on Friday afternoon, the chairman, his lawyer, and a police officer removed the Raagi Jatha from the Gurdwara on grounds that they were trespassing. In addition, the Raagi Jatha has been forbidden to step foot on the Gurdwara premises.

Although the attorney for the opposition has stated that the Raagi’s dismissal was unsubstantiated because GNFA has funds in excess of $100,000, the reason why the management would not allow the Raagi Jatha to perform “free” keertan is unknown.

This did not sit well with the sangat, especially the disenfranchised opposition. Word spread like wildfire in the Washington area. GNFA’s youth - teens, college students, and young professionals - gathered at the Gurdwara to discuss the tragedy. At the same time, GNFA’s young moms and their small children, who learned keertan from the Raagis, organized a sit-in protest. Both groups carried signs of protest and passed out yellow ribbons to express support for the Raagi Jatha.

As the number of people sitting-in swelled, the police were called by the management. The management asked the police to disperse the loud crowd who were now singing nam simran. The opposition argued that they had a right to free speech.

The police finally told the crowd that if they did not disperse, they would have to shut down the Gurdwara. All of a sudden, there was a loud “YES!”

And so they did. The Guru Granth Sahib was laid to rest and everyone - the opposition, the management, the visiting Raagis, the sevadar, and anyone left in the divaan hall - was escorted out of the building and ordered to go home.

At the end of the event, only the Guru Granth Sahib was left in the darkened Gurdwara, the police were outside the doors, and the parking lot was empty.

The GNFA problem started a year ago when the management aggressively started recruiting members. The membership almost tripled to 3200. The opposition’s fear that such a large, and they claim unverified, membership would require an impossible 33% for quorum to hold elections came true. Although GNFA had the largest membership turnout for elections, over 500, it still was not even close to the over 1000 needed for quorum. As a result, and according to the GNFA By-Lays, there were and possibly never will be any more elections at GNFA. The management claims that the opposition are a minority and do not represent the views of the Gurdwara.

The court case is still pending.