Glasgow Gurdwara admit “mistake” after protesters enforce Indian State ban in Sikh spaces
A Scottish Gurdwara have admitted a “mistake”, after an incident which saw Sikh sevadaars (selfless servants, volunteers) enforce a ban on Indian State official events in Sikh spaces this past week.
The “mistake” statement (made in Punjabi) was made two days after the incident on 29th September, which saw Indian diplomat Vikram Doraiswami set to be the central figure for a formal event hosted by Glasgow Gurdwara (not to be confused with Singh Sabha Glasgow Gurdwara), which was said to be based on discussing visa services.
Sevadaars (selfless servants) of UK based educational and activist group National Sikh Youth Federation, including Scottish residents, turned up on the day to protest after being given inside information by Glasgow sangat (Sikh congregation) about the event, in effort of protesting against it.
Indian State representatives were issued with a national ban in the UK from holding official visits/events in Sikh spaces in 2018. The ban was put in place months after India’s arbitrary imprisonment of Scottish Sikh blogger Jagtar Singh Johal, and was done in collaboration with dozens of Canadian Gurdwaras. Similar stances are in place with Gurdwaras in the USA, Australia and beyond.
Support within panthic (Sikh community/path focused) spaces for such bans has been reaffirmed in recent weeks after Canadian authorities revealed Indian diplomats were complicit in the murder of respected Sikh leader and Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) activist Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A video of the incident shared by NSYF went viral on Friday 29th September, with it depicting the protesters filming a set-up put in place to welcome the ambassador, before later approaching a car that turned out to be the diplomat. Upon being approached by a Singh (Sikh man) protester, the car containing Indian State officials quickly drove away.
Watch the video here.
Despite the largely benign nature of the incident, Indian media reacted in typically sensationalist fashion, claiming the incident was a sign of “extremism”. This viewpoint was amplified on social media by Indian State propagandists like Charlotte Fleetwood of the Indian nationalist supporting thinktank The Henry Jackson Society and government faith advisor Colin Bloom, who has received mass criticism for a baseless report on ‘Sikh extremism’ earlier this year. Bloom was quickly paraded on Indian media platforms to condemn the incident and claim it as another example of so-called “Sikh extremism”.
Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said of the incident:
“Calling such acts ‘extremism’ is to use the same terminology tagged on Jihadi suicide bombers and Nazi murderers for what was clearly a simple protest. Anyone can disagree with what the NSYF did in Glasgow, but they cannot categorise it within ‘extremism’ by any definition.
“This desire to label it this way both seems to stem from and also be for the benefit of the desperate Indian State agenda to portray Sikhs as violent extremists to justify the draconian human rights abuses carried out on the community across the world; from extrajudicial murders in Canada to arbitrary imprisonment in Punjab.
“From a Sikh community perspective, the reaction of various community groups shows the actions were widely supported. This is also why a Glasgow Gurdwara committee member admitted setting up an official Indian ambassador visit like that was a ‘mistake’.”
Local community group Glasgow Sikhs quickly released a social media post in support of the protest and ban enforcement, as later did national community group Sikhs in Scotland. Scottish community figure and activist Dr Sharandeep Singh also spoke vocally against depictions of the protest.
A statement from Sikh Youth UK and the Sikh Human Rights group was also issued on behalf of various Sikh groups, which stated such protests are a “minimal obligation” after evidence of India’s ongoing targeting of Sikhs. NSYF spokesperson Shamsher Singh who was among the protesters released a video statement for Sikhs, addressing false claims the protest was stopping someone coming to worship at a Gurdwara.
Despite the large amount of support the protest got, Glasgow Gurdwara committee reps released statements condemning the protest on social media and directly through Indian nationalist media. Glasgow Gurdwara became the largest in Scotland when opened in 2016.
Yet, these statements were later contradicted by an admittance by a committe member the invitation of an Indian State official in formal capacity was a mistake, particular given recent revelations about India’s interference in Sikh diaspora spaces. The statement also said they were deceived about the reason for the visit, with earlier claims suggesting it was just a “personal visit”, despite a clearly formal set-up evident in the video of the incident.
Various MPs joined Indian nationalists to tweet about the incident as “unacceptable” and endangering safety of the Indian representative. Of these MPs, tweets from Labour Party’s David Lammy and the Conservative Party’s Priti Patel were particularly criticised.
Many also raised Priti Patel’s undeniable connection with Hindu extremist group the RSS (and its international version the HSS), which ties in with a series of anti-Sikh actions the former Home Secretary of the UK has been involved in. This includes aiding an Indian attempt to extradite three British Sikhs (#WestMidlands3) and trying to deport the wife of India’s British Sikh political prisoner Jagtar Singh Johal, both of which were prevented through strong legal challenges. Read more on Priti Patel’s history of anti-Sikh actions here.
Jasveer Singh added:
“The reaction of Indian media and there go-to Western speakers like Colin Bloom is to be expected. However the reaction from UK MPs among other Western political representatives is an example of the serious lack of understanding within government when it comes to connecting grassroots Sikh actions to wider issues of India’s well-known human rights abuses.
“After intelligence network Five Eyes have found evidence of Indian diplomat’s involvement in the murder of a Sikh activist in Canada, to then act surprised and shocked about Sikhs protesting against an Indian diplomat being hosted at a Gurdwara shows an issue of cognitive dissonance.”
Media inquiries- media@sikhpa.com.
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