Personal, community concerns drive Surinder Dhaliwal campaign for San Jose District 8

Ritu Jha-

Surinder Kaur Dhaliwal is running for a council position in District 8 of the city of San Jose

Dhaliwal, who sees herself as a leader like her father, the late Sukhmander Singh Dhaliwal (one of the founders of the San Jose Sikh Gurdwara), left her job at Google while going through a spiritual awakening in a problematic time.
“I’m going through a divorce and am a victim of domestic violence which continues as my ex-husband, Komal Sangha, through false allegations has taken custody of my son,” Dhaliwal told indica in an email interview. She described her experiences and eventual disillusionment with the legislative process in the family court system as one of the factors that led her to stand for elections.

Dhaliwal began speaking at San Jose City Council meetings and before the Santa Clara board of directors about her experience of being alienated, and erased, from her son’s life.

“One day, one of my aunts suggested I run for San Jose City Council. I spent a couple of days thinking about it and then committed myself to the possibility,” she explained.

Dhaliwal came to the US in 1979 at age 3, with her mother and two older sisters. Her father, who was already here, went on to help set up the gurdwara. Her mother still lives close to it.

Dhaliwal listed three local and international issues that the current council member, Domingo Candelas, has not correctly addressed.

The top issue involved his backing a contentious Buddhist temple in the district, funded by the nonprofit A Khmer Buddhist Foundation, an effort driven by Lyna Lam and funded by her husband, billionaire Chris Larsen.

“The community (was) very clear they didn’t want it in their neighborhood, but Candelas voted for it in a unanimous vote,” Dhaliwal wrote. “The way I see it, our present council member voted against his constituents.

Another issue Dhaliwal described as concerning was the current council member’s failure to support calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Across the globe, people are protesting for a ceasefire, and for the massacre of innocent people to end,” Dhaliwal argued. “Americans want to stop funding a genocide and displacement of millions of people from their homes with our tax money. I hope the City of San Jose will soon come out and support a ceasefire.”

Another local issue she dwelt on was that of the mental health crisis in California.

She cited the case of a suicide close to the San Jose Gurdwara.

“The holidays are a particularly difficult time for many and the war in Gaza adds an additional weight of pain and suffering for all of us with a conscience,” she wrote.

Dhaliwal has had her share of problems with members of the community, among other deals having to deal with a temporary restraining order by another council hopeful, Sukhdev Bainiwal.

Dhaliwal described it as the fallout of a fracas at the gurdwara during an election in 2019 for a new committee. She said there were allegations and cheating on the part of members who didn’t want to give up their positions and that intimidation and threats were involved.

Dhaliwal claimed she was assaulted by Jesse (Raju) Powar in the Darbar Sahib (Prayer hall) when stood up to take a picture with the mayor (then Sam Liccardo). According to her, despite the witnesses present, the people involved had denied the assault.

Dhaliwal said that she has had a challenging 18 months, during which she has not been able to see her son. But she was grateful for the community support she received as she fought the Prabandak Committee.

According to court documents provided by Bainiwal’s team, it shows Kaur has a previous history of serving in jail, has faced domestic violence, and is not pleased with her doctor. Her opponent asked how could a city clerk put her on a ballot without looking into her past disturbing records and mental issues.

The court documents show the restraining order was taken because she has been alleged of “repeatedly causing disturbances and disruptions when she enters the premises of the gurdwara and engages in physical and verbal altercations with, and harasses, directors and officers of the Parbandhak Committee, security officers, volunteers, and/or members, and/or makes false allegations about those individuals.” Despite being informed on October 5, 2023 that she should not enter the gurdwara, she continued to come over, causing a disturbance as recently as December 3.

The documents said she has a history of threatening people, including her psychiatrist Katherine Loring Taylor, who took a restraining order against her last December, after Dhaliwal became upset with the medications prescribed, asserting it interfered with her connection with Guru Nanak.

According to Kaur, she is a victim of domestic abuse. She alleged her ex-husband brainwashed people into thinking that she was mentally ill, just to get hold of her son.

“I am not mentally ill, I do not have bipolar disorder or ADHA,” Kaur told indica, she just wanted to move on from her husband’s abusive behavior. They officially separated in 2021.

 

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