SARBAT KHALSA INC. BY-LAWS

1. Definition:

Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi is an autonomous organization embodying the Panch-Pradhani (Lead of Five Chosen Ones) concept in the light of Gurmat, without being tied to any particular country or place, representing Sikhs all over the world with complete transparency.

2. Mission:

Always remain active in imbibing and establishing all aspects of life as bestowed by Gurmat. It will work to find global solutions to the problems Sikhs face in all the fields. It will always remain dedicated to the supremacy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the chardikala (high spirit) of Sikhs, and the well-being of all.

3. Process Flow for the Organization Structure:

The following is the step-by-step process for the continuity of Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi as an organization:

3.1: Various Sikh Organizations from all over the world will apply to get registered themselves with Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi through the online form.

3.2: Panj Piyaare of the Panj Pardhani Council, based on eligibility criteria (Ref: Article 6), will approve or reject the application for registration. (Note: To begin the Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi process, the acting Panj Piyaare of the acting Panj Pardhani Council will be appointed by the Think Tank team of Sarbat Khalsa. The acting Panj Piyaare cannot be nominated for Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat)

3.3: Nominations for the representatives of Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat can be made in the following two ways:
i: Approved Sikh Organizations would send nominations for their representatives for Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat, who must possess any one of the expertise mentioned in Annexure Table-2. Sikh Organizations should only send nominations from their region. One organization can send up to two nominations.
ii: For individuals not nominated by any Sikh Organization but who have contributed immensely to the Sikh Society in any of the expertise defined in Annexure Table-2, anyone from the Sikh sangat can send a written request through e-mail to be recommended for Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat nomination. If the Panj Piyaare of the Panj Pradhani Council agrees to the individual's name, his/her nomination will be accepted.

3.4: Panj Piyaare of the Panj Pardhani Council will approve or reject the nominations sent by Sikh Organizations based on eligibility criteria (Ref: Article 7).

3.5: Upto Five Hundred Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives will be finalized from among the approved nominations. The number 500 is divided as follows- 175 from Punjab, 75 from Rest of India, and 250 from other countries. The distribution within these three regions is based on the Sikh population (Ref: Annexure Table-1). The selection of representatives from among the approved nominations is done based on the sequence of priority (Ref: Article 8). This process will be accomplished under the leadership of the Panch Pardhani Council. The tenure for the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives is five years.

3.6: Among the representatives of Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat, there will be Twenty-Five Gursikh Core Committee members. They will be from among the volunteers or from those recommended by other Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives. For selection, the first priority will be given to the expertise mentioned in Annexure Table-2, and the second priority to region representation mentioned in Annexure Table-1. This process will be accomplished under the leadership of the Panch Pardhani Council. The tenure for the Gursikh Core Committee members is five years.

3.7: The Gursikh Core Committee members, excluding themselves, will agree on the names for the Panj Piyaare of Panj Pradhani Council from among the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives. Two among these will be from Punjab, One from the Rest of India, One from the G7 countries, and One from the Rest of the world (Ref: Annexure Table-1). The tenure for Panj Piyaare of Panj Pradhani Council is five years, but there will be a difference in the time of commencement of the term as detailed below:

i. In the first year of the Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi, the Gursikh Core Committee will agree on three new names for the Panj Piyaare of the Panch Pradhani Council, while two will be from the Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi of the previous term who have completed only two and a half years of their tenure. Being from the Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi of the previous term will give continuity to the ongoing work and deliberations.
ii. On the completion of two and a half years of the Sarbat Khalsa, two of the five members of the Panch Pradhani Council will complete their five-year term. The Gursikh Core Committee will agree on two new names in their place.
(To start the process, out of the Panj Piyaare in section 3.7.i, two will be from the acting Panj Piyaare. Thus, two from among the acting Panj Piyaare and three from the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat will be established as Panj Piyaare by the Gursikh Core Committee.)

3.8: The Panj Piyaare of Panj Pardhani Council, as selected through the above-mentioned steps, would be considered as Panj Piyaare of Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi. They will approve or reject new applications for registering Sikh Organizations (Ref: Article 3.1; 3.2), and this way the process will continue.

3.9: During the tenure, if one or more of the Panj Piyaare is not able to perform duties for various reasons, in such a case, the Gursikh Core Committee will select replacements among the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives belonging to the same region. The replacement for the vacant positions in the Gursikh Core Committee will also be made in a similar way. The replacement positions will be for the duration of outstanding tenure, not for five years.

3.10: If, due to external reasons, the representatives of the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat cannot be nominated in a region/country, in such a case, the seats of the representatives of that region/country shall remain vacant. With which the total number of representatives of Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat will become less than 500. However, 25 members of the Gursikh Core Committee and Panj Piyaare of the Panj Pardhani Council number will always be kept intact by increasing representation from the rest of the regions. (Article 3.10 shall apply only in case of an exception arising out of external causes)

4. Impartiality Clauses:

4.1: Since the Panj Pradhani Council is the approval authority, Panj Piyaare cannot be nominated again to avoid a conflict of interest.

4.2: Just as the approval of Panj Piyaare of Panj Pardhani Council is mandatory for the registration of a Sikh organization and for the nominations of Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives, similarly, the approval of Panj Piyaare is mandatory for retiring any registered organization or Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representative for not meeting the eligibility criteria.

4.3: Registered organizations or Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives can retire from Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi whenever they want.

4.4: Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi will utilize the money on necessary projects as per the transparent funding policy and will have a policy of financial audit as per international standards. The process of establishing and implementing the Committee on Funding and Financial Audit Policy shall be under the supervision of the Panj Piyaare of the Panj Pardhani Council (Ref: Article 5).

4.5: An IT Security policy will be devised to manage the website, social media accounts, data protection, and other IT assets. The process of establishing and implementing the IT Security Policy shall be under the supervision of the Panj Piyaare of the Panj Pardhani Council (Ref: Article 5).

5. Process Flow for Panthic-Matta:

5.1: To consider any suggestions on policy or any matter, a committee will be constituted under the supervision of Panj Piyaare of Panj Pardhani Council. It will be a five-member committee, of which two members will be drawn from the Gursikh Core Committee and three members from the other representatives of the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat. Committee members will be appointed based on the expertise required for the issue or policy. If desired, this five-member committee can add more members for more information or expertise. Additional members may be from among the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives or from outside. However, the responsibility of presenting the proposal will be on a five-member committee, which the Panj Pardhani Council has appointed.

5.2: For any clarification or information regarding the five-member committee's suggestions, the Panj Pardhani Council may send the proposal back for reconsideration.

5.3: Any approval or Panthic-Matta will be considered passed only when Panj Piyaare of Panj Pardhani Council unanimously agrees to it, who will deliberate in the light of Baani of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. This will also save Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi from majoritarianism.

5.4: In the event of disagreement within Panj Pardhani Council, all Panj Piyaare will present their opinion to the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat in writing in the light of Baani of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The issue can be considered again by the next appointed Panj Piyaare of the Panj Pardhani Council. If consensus is reached, the Panthic-Matta will be presented.

6. Eligibility Criteria for the Registration of Sikh Organizations:

6.1: The Sikh organizations or management committees, who believe in the Baani of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji as the perfect Guru, have full faith in the continuity of Ten Guru Sahibs and Khande-Baate Ki Pahul.

6.2: Those Sikh organizations or management committees whose administrative body or head is selected by the Sikh Sangat associated with it with defined rules without any political interference.

7. Eligibility Criteria for the Nominations of Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat Representatives:

7.1: The Singhs & Kaurs, those who believe in the Baani of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji as the perfect Guru, have full faith in the continuity of Ten Guru Sahibs and have themselves partaken Khande-Baate di Pahul.

7.2: Singh or Kaur must hold expertise in one of the areas specified in Table-2.

7.3: The nominated candidate should not be an active member of any political party.

(In order to lead, the nominated person should be living as per Gurmat principles and should ideally possess the virtues of humility, Nirbhau [fearlessness] & Nirvaer [without enmity].)

8. The Sequence of Priority for the Selection of Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat Representatives from among Nominations:

8.1: Region (Country / State / District) specific nominations will get priority over expertise.

8.2: Nominations of smaller regions with lesser allocated representative numbers will be finalized prior to regions with a higher number of allocated representatives.

8.3: Within the region, the first priority will be given to expertise with nominations in a lesser percentage than the required number. The second priority will be for women's nominations, and the third for nominations of younger age.

8.4: If the nominations for an expertise are not available within the region, the numbers for a particular expertise can be increased from the number proposed in Annexure Table-2. However, region-wise representative numbers cannot be increased from the numbers mentioned in Annexure Table-1.

9. Continuous Improvement:

For reforms in the functioning of the Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi, a five-member committee (Ref: Article 5) under the supervision of the Panj Pardhani Council will be constituted, after every two and a half years, which will work for proposals on necessary amendments. The committee will deliberate during the months of July and August of the third and fifth years. The Panj Pardhani Council will examine and approve it before the end of October. Consistency in Ideology, Transparency in proceedings, Improvement in Representation of Sangat, and Upholding the Sovereignty of Sarbat Khalsa should be the guiding principles for proposals and final amendments for reforms.

10. Timelines for the Process Flow:

10.1: The last date for the Sikh Organizations to get registered with Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi is 1st December of the fifth year of the term. Panj Pardhani Council will check the eligibility and approve/reject all applications within two weeks. The Panj Pradhani Council will resume reviewing registration forms for Sikh institutions from 15th April onwards. (Sikh organizations can fill out the registration form anytime except from 1st December of the fifth year to 15th April of the first year, four and half months, and the Panch Pradhani Council will simultaneously keep on approving/rejecting the same after checking the eligibility.)

10.2: The Gursikh Core Committee will propose updating Table-1 with the latest population figures to arrive at final region-wise representation by 1st December of the fifth year of the term. Panj Pardhani Council will review and approve within fourteen days.

10.3: The Last date to submit nominations for the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat Representatives, either by registered Sikh Organizations or through recommendations of distinguished individuals, is 5th Jan of the fifth year of the term. Panj Pardhani Council approves or rejects the nominations by 12th Jan of the same year.

10.4: Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat Representatives are finalized by 14th March (1st Chet as per the Nanakshahi Calendar). This date will be considered the start of the first year and the five-year term.

10.5: Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat Representatives who would like to volunteer to become part of the Gursikh Core Committee will send their names to Panj Pardhani Council by 20th March of the first-year term. Panj Piyaare of the previous term will finalize the names of Gursikh Core Committee members based on Table-1 & Table-2 by 31st March of the same year.

10.6: The Gursikh Core Committee agrees on the three names for Panj Piyaare on 14th April (1st Vaisakh as per the Nanakshahi Calendar). The other two will be from the previous term who have yet to complete their five-year tenure.

10.7: Registration for new Sikh Organizations and nominations for the Sarbat Khalsa Panchayat representatives starts again from 15th April of the first-year term. More and more Sikh Institutions are open to registering themselves with Sarbat Khalsa.

10.8: The Gursikh Core Committee will agree on the names of two of the Panj Piyaare of Panj Pardhani Council by 1st December of the third year. The term for these two Panj Piaayre starts on 14th December (1st Poh as per the Nanakshahi Calendar).

10.9: By 31st August of the third and fifth year of the Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi term, proposals for amendments in the By-Laws will be made as per Article 5. Panj Pardhani Council will review and approve them by 31st October of the same year.

11: Annexure:

Table-1 shows the region-wise representation.
Table-2 shows the expertise (skill) based representation.

12: Pictorial Representation of the Organization Structure:

The names of the members who contributed to the formulation of the Sarbat Khalsa Jathebandi Concept and its By-Laws through dialogue are listed below in Gurmukhi alphabetical order:
Dr. Onkar Singh (Phoenix), S. Kuldip Singh (Richmond BC), Prof. Gurcharan Singh (Florida), S. Gurpreet Singh GP (Bahrain), Giani Jagtar Singh Jachak (New York), S. Jagdhar Singh (Bengal), Sdn. Jasbir Kaur (Ohio), Dr. Jaswant Singh (Phoenix), S. Tejinder Singh (Delhi), S. Nirmal Singh (Victoria BC), S. Parampal Singh (Fresno), Dr. Prem Singh (Shimla), Dr. Brij Pal Singh (Patiala), S. Mohinder Singh Talib (Delhi), Sdn. Mandeep Kaur (Dubai).

Date: 1 Vaisakh, Nanakshahi Samvat 556 / 14 April 2024