About

About Sikhiyas.

A movement of young Sikhs — in India and across the diaspora — who refuse the false choice between deep roots and global service. Anchored in Sikhi, committed to Sarbat da Bhala — the welfare of all.

I. What Sikhiyas Is

Sikhiyas is a youth movement and a structured programme architecture, operating in two registers at once. As a movement, it is a community of young Sikhs and Friends who have committed, in their own names, to the daily practice of the three disciplines (Naam Japo, Kirat Karo, Vand Chhako) and to the public ethic of Sarbat da Bhala. As a programme, it is a set of six operational arms — Seva placements, study circles, international exchanges, disaster response, ecological stewardship, and skills-and-livelihoods work — delivered through four implementing partner institutions with three decades of standing field experience.

The two registers serve each other. The programme is real because the movement holds it. The movement deepens because the programme tests it. Neither could be done well without the other.

II. The Foundational Conviction

Sarbat da Bhala — the welfare of all. This is not a closing flourish on the daily prayer; it is the operating system of Sikhi. We were not given our distinctiveness so we could keep it for ourselves. We were given it so that we would have something to bring to the table when humanity sat down together. Sarbat da Bhala is the test Sikhiyas applies to every action it takes. If a Sikhiyas programme serves Sikh youth alone, it is incomplete. If it serves humanity but neglects Sikh youth, it is deracinated. The work is to do both, in the same act.

III. The Three Daily Disciplines

The path was given to us in three commitments — deceptively simple, inexhaustibly deep. Sikhiyas treats them as the daily practice of every member.

• Naam JapoRemember the Name. Weave Naam into the architecture of the day, not its edges.
• Kirat KaroWork honestly. Earn cleanly. Refuse work that compromises others or oneself.
• Vand ChhakoShare what you have. Money, time, knowledge, access — in honest proportion to what is held.

The full unpacking of each discipline, and the route to declared Sikhiyasi membership, sits on the Become a Sikhiyasi page.

IV. The Implementing Institutions

Sikhiyas is a programme architecture, not a self-standing field operator. Every placement, every dormitory, every clinic, every restoration site, every certificate that bears the Sikhiyas name is delivered through one of four named partner institutions:

• EduCARE IndiaThe field-operations spine. Three decades of community-based work in disaster risk management, public health, and ecological restoration.
• RISHEEThe curriculum and training spine. The Regional Institute for Safety, Health, Environment and Empowerment.
• CIEELThe international cohort administration and Diaspora Scholarship vehicle.
• GlobalPEACE InternationalThe pluralistic-universal network within which Sikhiyas sits as a founding constituent partner.

Each institution is described in greater depth on the dedicated Implementing Partners page.

V. Leadership & Governance

Sikhiyas is led by two co-Directors — Navleen Kaur and Adarshveer Singh — accountable to a Council of Patrons drawn from the implementing partner institutions and the diaspora Sangat, with an Independent Ombudsperson sitting outside the Directors' line for any grievance. Full architecture, including Patron seat structure, Ombudsperson terms of reference, and Safeguarding Lead provision, is on the Leadership & Patrons page.

VI. Legal & Financial Status

Sikhiyas operates as a fee-funded programme — not a donations-soliciting body. We do not hold or accept charitable contributions. All scholarship, fee, and stipend flows are managed through the books of the implementing institution responsible for the relevant cohort, under standard commercial-services taxation in India. The formal registration name in legal and institutional documents is Sikhiyas — Sikh International Youth in Active Seva. Audited annual statements and the most recent Patrons Letter are issued in writing on request to any prospective applicant or partner.

VII. The Threefold Welcome

Sikhiyas welcomes participation at three levels of relationship. There is no second-class welcome. At Pangat, we all sit at one level.

• SikhiyasisTier One — Sikh youth committing to the daily disciplines and the Sarbat da Bhala ethic. More →
• Friends & AlliesTier Two — young people of any tradition or none, walking alongside in shared programmes. More →
• Partner MovementsTier Three — youth movements within and beyond GlobalPEACE building shared programmes on the basis of Sarbat da Bhala. More →

VIII. The Wider About Architecture

The About section is now substantially built out. Pages currently published:

• Leadership & Patrons — Directors, Patron Council, Independent Ombudsperson, Safeguarding Lead
• Implementing Partners — EduCARE, RISHEE, CIEEL, GlobalPEACE International
• The Wisdom Map — extended essay treatment of the cosmology, Halemi Raj, Begampura, Miri-Piri, and Chardi Kala
• Conceptual Daswandh — the framework of intellectual and spiritual tithing, what Sikhiyas has offered into the wider conversation, what is received in return
• The Pran — the daily Pledge taken by every Sikhiyasi, with line-by-line reflection notes and practice guidance
• Alumni — the standing relationship between Sikhiyas and those who have completed cohort programmes
• Diaspora Gurdwaras — the institutional relationship to the Gurdwara network as accompaniment, not displacement
• Sikh Student Associations — peer-institution partnerships with university SSAs
• News & Field Dispatches — the publication architecture, including the Patrons Letter and Directors' Notes
• Press Kit — for journalists, researchers, and partner-institution media contacts
• Privacy — data, retention, user rights
• Terms & Conditions — the working agreement governing engagement with Sikhiyas

The architecture above represents the v1 of the institutional document of record. It will continue to evolve — particularly as cohorts run, alumni networks form, and partnerships mature into formal Memoranda of Cooperation — but the foundational shape is now in place.