Sikh pilgrims attacked by Hindu group in Himachal Pradesh

Sikh pilgrims staying at a historic Gurdwara found themselves attacked by locals last week in Himachal Pradesh (India).

Visitors from Punjab often stay overnight at Manikaran Gurdwara, which is noted for being a site Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited. On the night of 5^th March, local Hindus spread a rumour a Sikh part of the Manikaran sangat (Sikh congregation) had abused a local girl, before forming a mob attacking pilgrims.

Himachal Pradesh has recent history of issues of Hindutva (Hindu extremist) mobs destroying Mosques and attacking Sikhs. The mob formed at approximately 11pm, pelting the Gurdwara with stones before carrying out a full-scale assault on the sangat, with one Sikh man allegedly losing an ear according to local reports given on video to the Akaal Channel. Police were filmed standing by as Sikhs were attacked.

Sikh retaliation to the attack was the centre of mass focus from India’s notoriously ultranationalist “Godi media”, which is ranked 150^th of 180 countries for press freedom. However, various Sikh groups and activists have spoken out against yet another example of anti-Sikh issues in India.

Sikh body SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandakh Committee) urged police to bring tackle issues of anti-Sikh fearmongering.

Other social media content also indicated that the border between Punjab and Himachal Pardesh had been blocked off stopping people from entering Himachal Pardesh by police. This has been denied by local police.

Sangat now continue to come through and are doing darshan(paying respect via physically meeting) of Gurdwara Manikaran Sahib. However, concerns about the safety of sangat in the area remain within Sikh communities.