VISION: To be the leading online source of Sikh inspiration for everyday life.
MISSION: SikhNet is a source of inspiration that nurtures spiritual growth and supports a Sikh lifestyle, serving a global and diverse community in the spirit of Oneness and Chardi Kalaa.
SikhNet is a global virtual community for Sikhs and all those interested in the Sikh way of life. We offer the Daily Hukamnama from the Golden Temple, the largest online collection of Gurbani Kirtan, Sikh-related news and inspirational content, as well as animated Sikh stories and online courses on the teachings of Sikhism. SikhNet broadcasts temple services and devotional music through the SikhNet Play radio. We provide these spiritual education and resources in a non-judgmental, neutral environment intended to inspire and uplift all who participate. SikhNet is a tax exempt 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation in the USA operating exclusively for religious, charitable and educational purposes.
SikhNet's leadership
Our policy for the SikhNet News is "good news, good will". We avoid posting political news or news that's negative in nature, rather we focus on what can inspire and inform. We do our part to create unity instead of division, we do not take sides and we do not promote or condemn any Sikh group. Our ideals are to be universal, uniting, inspirational, uplifting and neutral, and that's why we focus more on what can inspire us to be more spiritual human beings rather than on controversy and politics.
How SikhNet is funded
As an educational non-profit organization, SikhNet has a strong commitment to make the resources on our website free and available to everyone. We do not charge fees for our services nor do we sell advertising. SikhNet relies on funding from users, sponsors and grantors. SikhNet uses these funds to employ a 100% virtual, globally diverse team. We currently have 16 staff members who are a combination of full-time and part-time employees and contractors located in the United States, Canada, India, the United Kingdom and Peru. Our staff is as diverse as our user base. Donations also fund the necessary technological infrastructure to keep our website, apps and related services in good working order.
What SikhNet does
SikhNet is one of the largest Sikh websites in the world, receiving over 900,000 visits per month. The most popular feature is SikhNet Play, followed by the Daily Hukamnama and many other services such as the SikhNet News, SikhNet Animated Stories, Inspirational Videos, Sikhiwiki, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib online and our downloads (Bani files, kirtan audios, Gurmukhi Fonts etc.). Explore the World of SikhNet.
It is the policy of SikhNet to provide equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and to make employment decisions consistent with the principles of equal opportunity.
SikhNet expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability or veteran status.
At SikhNet we couldn't do it without volunteers. The SikhNet staff and the international "cybersangat" deeply appreciate the English Hukamnama translators and transcribers, the SikhiWiki article contributors, the "voices" for the SikhNet Animated stories, and the many members of the SikhNet family who send us news articles, comments and feedback. Thank you so much to our donors who make this all possible. Donate Now!
Before the World Wide Web
SikhNet is truly a labor of love. In the early personal computer days, in 1983, the first incarnation of SikhNet was a Bulletin Board system (BBS) started by Guruka Singh Khalsa, as the first computer presence for Sikh Dharma. Some of us used clunky Teletype terminals that printed slowly - we had no computer screens to look at. Others used early computers like the Kaypro (anyone remember CPM?). The whole thing was run on a server through GEnie and we connected at 300 baud! Harbhajan Kaur and Mahan Singh in Millis, Massachusetts were the coordinators. The technology we used then seems primitive now, but at the time it was very exciting to us cyber-pioneers.
From February 1986 until October of 1994, SikhNet was online as a computer bulletin board system (BBS) running on a 10 Mhz IBM XT clone computer with a 1200 baud (later 9600 baud) modem. Guruka Singh used an early version of open-source BBS software (RBBS v.15) which I had hacked severely to customize it for SikhNet. We had about 100 users, 20 of whom were quite active. The logon screen consisted of a large kanda done in ASCII art.
Ravi Har Singh Khalsa stayed up late many a night, with his recently broken leg propped up on cushions, writing a dedicated Clipper program for accessing SikhNet. It was called "SikhNet-Zapper". We didn't have "live chat" at that time, but we had an early discussion forum and announcements from 3HO & Sikh Dharma International were posted for all to read. We could download files and transcripts of the Siri Singh Sahib's talks all over the world, and each day a new quote from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, or the lectures of Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan greeted each member who logged on to the system. These were simpler days before the internet, and required a separate physical phone line for each user to "dial in", so wasn't yet as interactive as what we are used to in today's internet.
During this time, SikhNet's host computer moved from Columbus, Ohio to Yosemite, California to Espanola, New Mexico as Guruka Singh and his family moved from place to place.
For ten years, SikhNet was up and online 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, but it finally stopped in October 1994 when Guruka Singh was no longer able to serve as the Sysop (System Operator) and it was taken offline.
The Birth of the SikhNet website
The website and organization that you now know of as "SikhNet" was founded by Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa and launched on the internet on Vaisakhi day (April 15th) in 1996. The chosen name of "SikhNet" was inspired by the BBS system that Guruka Singh had pioneered and run from 1983-1994.
In his early 20’s, Gurumustuk Singh had a fascination with Internet technology. He built the original HTML SikhNet website pages intending to establish an online platform where Sikh youth from around the world could connect, support and dialogue with each other.
From its inception, SikhNet.com provided an educational environment where its audience could learn about the Sikh faith, ask hard questions and engage in a new kind of community experience: one that brought Sikhs from different countries in contact with each other, outside of the traditional family and Gurdwara structures.
As the years unfolded and its audience grew, SikhNet had to continually re-invent itself, responding to the changing educational needs of its audience. When Sikh youth got married and had children of their own, for instance, new services were born, like the SikhNet Children’s Animated stories. (www.sikhnet.com/stories). Through the years, SikhNet’s longevity as a “cyber sangat” owed much to its ability to adapt itself to the ever-shifting realm of cyberspace.
With Guru's blessing, this Web site, and all of SikhNet's many services, will continue to serve us all and give us all an opportunity to connect and grow.
 |
|
|
1986 (BBS System) |
1995 |
|
|
|
|
1996 |
1997 |
|
|
|
|
1998 |
1999 |
|
|
 |
|
2001 |
|
Surf Sikhnet in the Past using the "Wayback Machine"
Make a contribution to Sikhnet
Our SikhNet Staff
Ek Ong Kaar Khalsa Michaud — Interim Exeuctive Director
Ek Ong Kaar Kaur has quietly served behind the scenes at SikhNet, on and off, for over 20 years. She first came to the company in the post 9-11 environment. She has worked in many different roles at SikhNet including: Director of Communications, Operations Manager, Director of the Learning Center, Secretary of the SikhNet Board, and now as Interim Executive Director. Ek Ong Kaar Kaur is an author and scholar on Sikh theology, and has translated passages from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib into English.
Darshan Jessop — Chief Development Officer & Operations Manager
Darshan Jessop is a professional fundraiser who lives in Santa Fe. She has been working with SikhNet as a consultant for two years and, more recently, joined our staff as Development Director. Darshan is a writer, visionary and German-certified naturopath, who is passionate about making sure people get enough to eat.
Harijot Singh Khalsa — SikhNet Stories Manager
Harijot Singh started doing contract work with the Children's Stories for Sikhnet in Nov. 2008 and became an official part-time staff member in Dec. 2009. He gets volunteers to narrate the stories, do character voices, and illustrations. If volunteers aren't available he does much of that himself as well as the sound editing. He also oversees the storyboarding and animation of the stories.
Kaylee Spinhirn — Chief Financial Officer
Kaylee started in 2017 working from her home in Reno, NV. She is our Director of Finance, she ensures we are GAAP compliant and has a broad knowledge of all accounting, financial and business principles. She is a strategic thinker who can help us make the most profitable decisions and the goal is to guide SikhNet towards long-term success. Her passion is Accounting, and it shows!
Jagjeevan Singh — SikhNet Play, Director & Strategist
Jagjeevan Singh looks after planning, designing, creating, editing, and publishing relevant content based on business objectives and users' needs required by SikhNet Play service. He develops content strategy that helps to achieve business goals. He has a good experience and technical knowlegde for about 10+ years. Video creation is another area that he supports whenever a need arises.
Amanpreet Singh — Chief Analytics & Strategy Officer
Amanpreet is taking SikhNet to a new level, helping us to become more effective in our marketing, analytics, social media presence and digital strategies, so we can reach more people around the world and increase our impact.
Siri Radha Kaur — Brand Manager
Siri Radha oversees the creative direction and brand management for SikhNet. She helped created the Wellness Webinar Series for SikhNet's Learning Center. She has a B.F.A. in graphic design from Cornish College of the Arts and over 18 years of experience in design and marketing. Her other passion is in alternative health care as a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner! Her intention is to uplift others in all that she does.
Hargobind Singh Khalsa — Website Developer
Hargobind works for SikhNet as a computer programmer to build website features and services. He has been involved with SikhNet since the late 1990's, and continues today to serve the technology needs of SikhNet's various website projects. He traveled as a digital nomad for many years, but now lives in Austin, TX.
Manraj Singh Hallan — Senior Frontend Engineer
Manraj Singh lives in Calgary, Canada with his wife Neelam and kids Baani Kaur, Guruki Kaur and Tegh Singh. After working for the University of Calgary for 10 years I joined the SikhNet family as an app developer. My background is a full stack developer and my passion is to use technology to solve problems. Aside from IT, I really love listening to and performing Kirtan.
Kiranpreet Singh Bajwa - Software Engineer
Kiranpreet completed his BSc in Computer Science at the University of Calgary in 2016 and later went on to complete his BSc in Electrical Engineering in 2019. After completing both degrees, Kiranpreet joined Manraj in developing iGurbani where he familiarized himself in Android and iOS development, worked with frameworks such as React Native, Flutter and backend systems using NodeJS and TypeScript. With this diversified exposure to software development and a thorough knowledge in Sikhi, Kiranpreet joined the SikhNet team to advance the company’s mission!
Matilde Aliffi — Backend & Data Platform Engineer
Matilde received a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham in 2019. Her research focussed on the Epistemic Rationality of Emotions and was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. During her final year of PhD she realised that philosophy and software are not as different as they seem. She discovered a passion for programming and she joined The Economist (Birmingham, UK) as a Software Engineer. She started to collaborate with SikhNet in 2021, working mainly on back-end development. She loves cloud infrastructure, programming and the buzz of the Birmingham tech community. She is passionate about teaching and worked as a lead instructor for CodeFirst: Girls, a social enterprise that pledged to teach 20,000 women to code by the end of 2020 to challenge the gender imbalance in the tech industry.
In 2022, SikhNet expanded our staff - so look for more photos and bios soon!! We deeply appreciate everyone who works so lovingly and sincerely to keep this online resource alive and well for the global Sikh community.