Bye-Laws

 

 

Bye Laws 

Sindhi Association of North America

Revised 2006

 

 

 

I.  PREFACE

The Constitution and its bye-laws are intended to regulate the activities of the Association. It defines clearly the specific purpose of the Association, duties and responsibilities of its members and office holders.

1.         The name of Association shall be SINDHI ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA.

2.         For the purpose of this document a Sindhi shall be considered a person who:

            a)  has roots in SINDH, or has roots in an area where Sindhi or its dialect is spoken, or speaks Sindhi or one of its dialects.     

            b) supports the preservation and growth of The Sindhi civilization, culture and language.

            c) supports the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Sindhi people.

 

II.    OBJECTIVES

1.         To create a sense of brotherhood, cooperation and cohesion amongst Sindhis living in North America.

2.         To endeavor for, and defend the historic national rights, including human rights,  and rights of self determination of Sindhi people within their existing national territory.

3.         To promote contact with Sindhis living in different parts of the world, cooperate for common goals and purposes with their organizations.

4.         To inform, educate and create awareness among Sindhis and non-Sindhis alike about the Sindhi peoples way of life and civilization; values and philosophy; language and literature; music and culture; history and heritage; arts and architecture; and rights and interests, and to work to preserve and promote a constructive evolution of the same.

5.         To work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for human rights, social justice, world peace, cultural tolerance, international brotherhood, global disarmament, the eradication of world hunger, poverty and disease, and conservation of ecology.

6.         To focus on the positive role of the Sindhi community in North America in promoting the quality of life in these countries.

 

III.    METHODS  

1.         By establishing educational and informational resources on every aspect of Sindh and Sindhis.

2.         By promoting cultural activities to preserve our heritage using all necessary means available to the Association.

3.         By organizing regular gatherings to promote a sense of identity amongst Sindhis of different walks of life or the development of mechanisms to achieve the goals of this organization.

4.         By networking and cooperating with similar institutions all over the world to create an international friendship of Sindhis.

5.         By reviewing events in Sindh and informing people about the state of Sindh and Sindhis.

6.         By providing necessary humanitarian, scientific and technological resources to Sindh and the Sindhi institutes in any way possible.

7.         By targeting resources towards humanitarian purposes such as relief efforts, educational programs, preservation of culture and historic landmarks, archeological sites, protection of race on endangered species, reforestation, prevention of cruelty to children or animals, women’s emancipation, in particular, such other purposes that relate to Sindh and the Sindhi people.

8.         By holding meetings, rallies, cultural shows, parades, and fairs to project the culture of Sindhi people through Sindhi folk music and dramas.

 

IV. MEMBERSHIP

The association shall consists of:

  1. Life member (individual or husband and wife)

  2. Regular Members with individual and family sub categories

3. Student Members with individual and family sub categories.

4. Associate Members

5. Honorary Members

 

IV.1 LIFE MEMBER

1. All members residing anywhere in North America by payment of the life membership fee can become life members of the Association.

2. Life Members shall have the same privileges as enjoyed by regular members.

 

IV.2 REGULAR MEMBERS

1. All Sindhis residing anywhere in North America by payment of the annual fee can become regular members of the association.

  1. Regular Members shall have the right to vote, nominate candidates and be eligible to hold any office of the association.

  2. Membership in this category will be valid for 12 months.

 

IV.3 STUDENT MEMBERS

1. Sindhis who are full-time students anywhere in North America can become student members upon payment of annual membership fees.

2. Student members shall have the same rights and privileges as enjoyed by the regular members.

3. Membership in this category will be valid for 12 months.

 

IV.4 ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

1. Those not belonging to the above categories but subscribing to similar aims and objectives, as of this association, shall be eligible to become Associate Members by payment of the annual membership fee and acceptance by the executive council.

2. These members shall have no voting privileges but will have all the other rights as enjoyed by Regular Members, except the right to be nominated to any position. They may however be appointed to any special purpose committees.

 

IV.5 HONORARY MEMBERS

1. Distinguished persons who support the aims and objectives of the Association irrespective of their nationality can be invited by the Executive Council to become Honorary Members.

2. Any member (s) of other category(ies) can recommend these nominations for membership of this category to the Executive Council for consideration.

3. These member (s) shall pay no fees and enjoy no voting and/or election rights. They may, however, be appointed to any special purpose committees.

 

IV.6 INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY MEMBERS

1. These sub categories are available only to regular members and student members.

2. For the purpose of the SANA membership, the "Family Membership" is defined to consist of wife, husband and their children who are below 18 years of age and reside in North America. In case of a family membership, both spouses shall have all membership rights and privileges including voting and election rights. The dependent children may enjoy all other rights and privileges.

3. In case of Student Family Membership, the head of the household need only be a full time student to qualify his/her family for the membership.

 

IV.7 ACTIVE AND INACTIVE MEMBERSHIP

 

1. Any member except an honorary member or life member who ceases to pay annual membership fee shall be considered as an inactive member.

2. An inactive member will loose all the rights and privileges of membership.

3. An inactive member will be removed from the Association if inactivity persists for more than two consecutive years.

4. The Executive Council may consider extensions in the period of inactivity on case by case basis.

 

V. EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

1. The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by an Executive Council, elected and/or approved by the General Body; only Regular, Life and Student Members would have the right to vote at the elections and nominate, contest and/or be nominated for the Executive Council Offices.

2. The Executive Council shall consist of:

(a)

President

(b)

Vice President

(c)

Vice President Women Affairs

(d)

General Secretary

(e)

Joint Secretary

(f)

Information Secretary

(g)

Treasurer

(h)

Five Regional Secretaries, one from each zone as follows:

Zone 1.

NY, ME, PA, VA, WV, MD, OH, CT, VT, DC, DE, RI, MA, NJ, and NH.

Zone 2.

NC, SC, GA, AL, TN, AR, TX, NM, OK, LA, KY, MS, and FL.

Zone 3.

MO, IL, WI, MI, IN, IA, MN, NE, KS, SD, and ND

Zone 4.

CO, UT, WY, MT, ID, AZ, NV, WA, OR, CA, HI, AK, and South America.

Zone 5.

Canada.

 

3. The Executive Council Officers are to hold offices for two years and for a maximum of only two consecutive terms on the same post.

4. Any vacancies during the two year period shall be filled by the Executive Council by a consensus of a simple majority vote amongst, the then in - office members of the Executive Council. If a consensus is not reached, then the vacancy shall be filled by a vote of the general body.

5. The meeting of the Executive Council can be held in person, by proxy, or via communication medium such as telephone. A quorum of fifty percent is required which must include at least the President or Vice President or the General secretary or their designees.

6. Executive Council shall have the right to accept/reject any request/application for membership and appoint honorary members.

7. The General Body can approve/disapprove any decision of the Executive Council by a simple majority vote of the active members.

8. A joint session of the Executive Council and Advisory Council shall be held in or about the month of February each year. In this meeting, the President shall present a draft plan of activities for that year. The proposed plan and the annual budget of expenditures and revenues will be discussed and adopted by the Executive Council. The president will be responsible for implementing the plan.

9. The office holders must report any formal and extraordinary contact with any organization or leaders in writing. Consequent progress resulting from such contact must also be furnished in writing on a timely basis to all Executive Council members.

10. A member of the Executive Council or Advisory Council shall not make any representation or issue a political statement on behalf of SANA either in favor or against any political party or a group without prior consent of the Executive Council.

11. Each member of the Executive Council will submit a progress/status report at the annual SANA general body meeting and will answer any questions asked by SANA members.

 

V.1 PRESIDENT

1. Shall preside over all of the Executive Council meetings.

2. Will represent the Association along or with the Vice President or the General Secretary at all times.

3. Shall have the powers to form subcommittees and assign necessary tasks to them.

4. Shall issue quarterly status reports about SANA’s affairs in the months of March, June, September and December.

5. Shall be responsible to present a draft plan of activities and implement the approved plan as per the provisions of Clause 8 under Article V. Any deviations from the plan must be approved by the Executive Council.

6. Shall be responsible for the formulation and articulation of SANA policies as approved by the Executive Council.

 

V.2 VICE PRESIDENT

1. Shall take up all president’s responsibilities in his/her absence

2. Shall be responsible for liaison with Sindhi and other like minded organizations.

 

V.3 VICE PRESIDENT WOMEN AFFAIRS

1. Shall take up all Vice Presidents responsibilities in his/her absence

2. Shall be responsible for initiating and implementing SANA program that aims at increasing the participation of women in SANA activities and programs. The Vice President (Women Affairs) will be elected by only the female SANA members at the same time when the Executive council is elected.

 

V.4 GENERAL SECRETARY  

1. Shall conduct all the correspondence and be a focal point of correspondence within the Association.

2. Shall circulate a Voice/Views Communication Form (VCF) to solicit the views of all members of the SANA Executive Council and Advisory Council on matters pertaining to SANA on a bimonthly basis in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December of each year. The VCF responses shall be circulated promptly to the members of the two councils.

3. Shall be responsible for legal affairs and day to day business of the Association in general and Executive Council in particular including production and distribution of the Bye-Laws of the Association, preparation of Status reports, preparation of agenda/minutes of the meeting of the Executive Council, Advisory Council and General Body etc.

4. Shall maintain all files and records that may be necessary for the Association.

5. Shall send welcoming letters to new members, along with SANA bye-laws and recent publications.

6. Shall call extra ordinary meeting of Executive Council if requested by 50% or more members of the Executive Council.

 

V.5 JOINT SECRETARY

1. Shall take up all General Secretary’s responsibilities in his/her absence.

2. Shall be responsible for establishing ties with cultural and literary organizations in Sindh and around the world.

 

V.6 INFORMATION SECRETARY

1. Shall be responsible for keeping, updating and distribution of the directory of the members of the Association.

2. Shall gather information, maintain contacts with information resources and disseminate information to the members on the regular basis.

3. Shall promote objectives of the Association and be in charge of audio visual and print activities of the Association.

4. Shall record and circulate proceedings of the meetings of the Association bodies and their activities.

5. Shall plan, initiate, maintain information and journalistic contacts with general media, like-minded organizations, institutions, interested individuals etc.

6. Shall head an "Information and Publication committee" appointed by him/her with the approval of the President.

 

V.7 TREASURER

1. Shall maintain all accounts of the Association including receipts of all subscriptions, donations etc., and keep a record of all expenses.

2. Shall be responsible for preparing annual accounts and auditing of the account reports. The annual financial reports shall be distributed in the month of March of each year of SANA membership.

3. Shall be responsible for the transfer of any fund, with the approval of the Executive Council, as required on behalf of the Association.

4. Shall send fee reminders to all SANA members in the month of March and send a list of defaulters to the President for follow up.

 

V.8 REGIONAL SECRETARIES

1. Shall be responsible for establishing ties with SANA chapter, SANA members, other non-member Sindhi’s and other like-minded individuals in their region.

2. The Regional Secretaries will be elected only by the members residing in the respective regions.

 

V.9 ADVISORY COUNCIL

1. The Advisory Council shall consist of 20 members. The members of the outgoing Executive Council will automatically become members of the Advisory Council. The newly elected Executive Council will name other SANA members against the remaining slots on the basis of experience and service to SANA.

2. The Counselors will act only as advisors to the Executive Council and will not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Executive Council.

 

V.10 PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

1. The Executive Council shall name a Publication Committee consisting of three (3) members and the editor of SANGAT for the duration of its term of office on the basis of their qualifications to produce and publish newsletters and other such publications and the willingness to serve.

2. Members of the publication committee shall act as the members of SANGAT Editorial Board.

3. The editor shall function within the framework of the objectives of SANA and the policies laid down by the Executive Council.

4. The editor will be an Ex-Office member attending all Executive Council meetings but having no vote.

 

VI GENERAL BODY

1. Shall consist of members of all categories, but only those who have the voting and election rights can participate in passing of any resolution/decision by the General Body to approve, reject, or alter the activities of the Association as carried out by the Executive Council.

2. Shall meet at least once every year during the term of Executive Council, in person or via any communication medium to set guidelines, approve actions of the Executive Council and discuss views of the membership.

3. An eight week notice shall be required for a General Body meeting except in case of an emergency.

4. Quorum for an in-person meeting shall be 33% of the total active membership and 40% of the total active membership for a non "in-person" meeting except in case of emergency.

5. Members unable to attend the General Body meeting can proxy another member to attend and vote on his/her behalf.

6. The decisions/resolutions of the General Body shall be passed by a simple majority vote of the members attending and shall be binding on the membership and the executive council.

 

VII AMENDMENT

1. Quorum for an amendment to the Bye-Laws shall be atleast 50% of the total active membership.

2. These Bye-Laws may be amended or replaced and new Bye-Laws may be adopted by a 2/3 majority of the voting members attending an in-person General Body meeting or through a ballot via a communication media as defined in section VI.

 

VIII BY-LAWS

1. These Bye-Laws shall be effective immediately. The 1996 elections be conducted on the basis of the new amendments as applicable.

2. These Bye-Laws shall be kept and maintained by the General Secretary. A copy of the Bye-Laws as amended or otherwise altered to date, certified by the General secretary which shall be open to the membership of the Association for inspection at all reasonable times and similar copy will be made available to each member of the Association at the time of new membership and/or request.

 

IX FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS

IX.1 FUNDS Funds of the Association shall be raised by:

1. Life Member (individual or husband and wife), categories if any and fees determined by EC. (The funds received for Life Membership shall be set aside towards the establishment of a permanent Headquarters as stated in Article X).

2. Annual subscription per following schedule in US Dollars

(a) Regular Individual Member (fees as determined by EC)

 

(b) Regular Family (fees as determined by EC)

(c) Student Individual Member (fees as determined by EC)

 

(d) Student Family Member (fees as determined by EC)

(e) Associate Member (fees as determined by EC)

 

3. Donations

4. Sales of Association productions and publications

5. Cultural exhibitions and social events.

 

IX.2 ACCOUNTS

1. Treasurer shall operate the accounts of the Association and draw any amount of money with the approval of the Executive Council subject to the funds available.

2. The Financial Statements shall be audited once a year and will be available to the members for scrutiny every year.

3. The Treasurer, with the approval of the Executive Council, may transfer part of the funds to individual member of the Executive Council, any chapter or head of the sub-committee, as the need may be, for their own operating costs. This applies to funds collected as regular membership dues.

4. The fiscal year of the Association shall terminate on the 31st day of December in each year.

 

X HEADQUARTERS

1. The Headquarters of the Association shall be located in the city of residence of the General Secretary or as approved by the Executive Council.

2. Meetings of the General Body and/or the Executive Council can take place anywhere in North America or as approved by the Executive Council and/or General Body.

3. The Association shall have the goal of ultimately establishing a permanent Headquarters in a central location in the future.

4. Association may approve setting up branches or chapters in the various regions of North America; these will, however, always work under the supervision of the Executive Council.

 

XI FORMATION OF EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

1. Office of the Leadership Group shall be elected and/or approved by the General Body on or before December 31st of every second year of the Executive Council’s term.

2. The regional Secretaries will be elected by members from their respective regions at the same time as Executive Council is elected.

3. The Executive Council shall be responsible to conduct elections every two years.

4. The Executive Council may nominate a panel of candidates from the Advisory Council, or may seek nominations from General Body for these offices. All candidates must agree to accept the candidacy and if elected and/or approved to perform duties as required by these Bye-Laws and amendments made there to.

5. The Executive Council shall appoint the Chair of the Elections Commission on or before the 30th of July of the election year. The Commission Chair will appoint two (2) additional members of the commission with the consent of Executive Council.

6. The General Secretary after consulting the treasurer shall circulate a list of members whose dues are outstanding by 30th June of the Election year.

7. The cut-off date for voter eligibility will be 15th August of the election year. Only those members whose annual dues for the election year are paid and their membership form has been received (from new members) and accepted before this date will be eligible to vote in the SANA elections. Members who do meet this deadline will enjoy all other membership rights and privileges.

8. The list of eligible members to vote will be issued by 1st September of the election year.

9. The candidate nomination must be received by 15th September and the last date of nomination withdrawal will be 15th October of the election year. A member can only contest for one office.

10. The Election Commission after verification will prepare and circulate the final list of all eligible voters amongst all candidates on or before 21st October.

11. The Election Commission will distribute election ballots to the eligible members on or before 7th November with the return deadline on 10th December of the election year.

12. All ballots received by the Elections Commission on or before 10th December will be counted. After the ballot counting, the Commission will announce the results by 15th December of the election year.

13. The new Executive Council shall resume work from January 2nd of the following year.

14. The Election Commission will monitor the membership drive to determine the eligibility of each new member. Any candidate adopting to unbecoming practices that may artificially influence the outcome will be disqualified. The commission shall immediately circulate any complaint from any member amongst its members and the Executive Council upon it’s receipt. A two thirds majority vote of the Elections Commission is required for any disciplinary action.

 

XII SANA CHAPTERS

A new article which defines the relationship between SANA chapters and the SANA central organization is being added to encourage formation of SANA chapters and allow flexibility in their operation.

1. The chapters are defined by a formal association of at lease five (5) SANA members in any city or region as approved by the Executive Council.

2. The local chapters will be free to decide on their own local organization structure and enact any procedural rules to address their unique requirements. However, such procedural rules must not be in the areas which are covered by the SANA Bye-Laws.

3. The SANA Executive Council has the right to require an amendment or repeal of any chapter rules to maintain SANA as a unified organization of North American Sindhis.

4. All chapters should be approved by the President after consulting Executive Council and then they will be functioning.

5. All Chapters should hold meetings and send report/s on their activities to the Executive Council at least once a year.

 

XIII OTHERS

In case of dissolution of this Association, assets of the Association after satisfying all of its liabilities, shall be earmarked for the promotion of Sindhi Language and shall be given to any North American University(ies) and/or any other non-profit organizations in the world.