Every gurudwara manages its own affairs and there is no central body in England at present. This situation is currently being addressed by a small number of regional gurudwara committees but its progress is hampered partly by the disparity and mismatch of constitutional issues inherent in the governing documents of the gurudwaras.

To celebrate 300 years of Sikhism, its achievements and contributions to the world stage but England in particular, a consensus has emerged to embark on a fresh initiative to provide a vehicle by which all expressions of Sikhism can be collated and presented to social policy makers.

The benefits of the work of the organisation will benefit everyone beyond the current planned life of the project by means of opening access to opportunities for individuals and groups alike to participate in and influencing decisions affecting their lives.

The project, whilst a new activity can be considered as one that is in its early stages of a large and long term scheme. The draft Trust Deeds have been consulted upon twice so as to allow the fullest of participation by potential users.

Other bodies consulted about the project include Inner Cities Religious Council, Local Authorities, Network of Sikh Organisations, Sikh Community & Youth Service, Sikh Missionary Society, World Sikh Foundation and leading members of other faiths..

Sikhism contains amongst its principles the unambiguous dictum requiring Sikhs to harness and build upon the qualities of individuals regardless of their mental or physical state. Men and women have an equal status, a practical example of this is the use of the first name - it can apply to both, the distinction between sexes being indicated only by the use of Singh or Kaur as the second name. In the pure form of Sikhism there is no ‘family’ name - this minimises the discrimination one can suffer resulting from traditional references to caste as practised by sections of the non-Sikh community.

At first glance, to the untrained eye, this may appear to be a faith group application, closer examination will reveal the true nature of the bid i.e. a project costing less than £200,000 (or 4.6p per person) but allowing nearly 1% of the population in England to access and be accessible to the widest cross-section of people in celebrating a shared heritage and not for the propogation of a religion. The legacy of lasting benefit that we will be left with is one that bonds all sections of the community by enhanced understanding of cultural values in a non-judgmental manner.

Sikhs 2000 is the working name of the project described above to be run by an umbrella organisation being established as a charitable trust to overcome the current unmet need of the Sikh profile in England - which many believe is insufficiently raised at relevant decision making forums. The fundamental objective of the organisation is to work with other partners in advancing the role of not only Sikhs but also of other sections of the community through integrated cross-community action in the year 2000. This will be in order to develop and build the capacity of the Sikh community as an integral and constituent part of a wider community.

It is the intention to formally adopt SIKHS IN ENGLAND as the Trust name upon registration with the Charity Commission. It is to be an apolitical organisation as defined by the Charity Commission.