• I.S. Saluja

NEW YORK (TIP): Sikh organizations across the world have condemned the recent incident of heckling of Indian Ambassador to the USA Taranjit Singh Sandhu at a gurdwara in New York by a small group of Khalistan sympathizers. In a statement issued on Monday, November 27 from Washington, D.C., Sikhs of America said gurdwaras are places of worship and should be free from personal political views.
“We urge the management of the gurdwara to take strict action against these miscreants so that peace-loving Sikh community in New York can come to gurdwaras freely without any fear or pressure,” Sikhs of America’s founder and chairman Jasdip Singh Jassee and its president Kanwaljit Singh Soni said in the joint statement.
“Ambassador Sandhu went to the gurdwara to pray and the management honored him with a siropa. After that, a handful of miscreants tried to disrespect him and violated the peace and sanctity of the gurdwara. Gurdwaras are places of worship and should be free from personal political views,” the statement said.
“Sikhs of America, the leading Sikh organization in the US, strongly condemns the disrespect of a Sikh devotee, Ambassador of India to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu in a gurdwara in Long Island, New York, yesterday,” it said.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Harmeet Singh Kalka said this instance had dented the image of the entire Sikh community and should be condemned.

“Sandhu, besides being an envoy of the Indian Government, has also been the representative of the Sikh community on foreign soil. Only a handful of Sikh community members have been vitiating the atmosphere by indulging in such incidents without realizing its repercussions and problems for the common Indians living abroad,” he said.

The SGPC general secretary, Rajinder Singh Mehta, said at least the gurdwaras should be free of such political views as they were the places of worship. “There could be differences of opinion among the Sikh community, yet a gurdwara was not an appropriate place to rake up such an issue and insult the Indian diplomat. The Indian government too should clarify its stance on the issue of killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” he said.

Delhi Akali chief Paramjit Singh Sarna too slammed the incident. “Some of these persons with vested interests intend to bring disrepute to the entire Sikh community. No Sikh who is aware of Sandhu’s legacy could do what they did,” he said. ‘

Sarna underscored Ambassador Sandhu’s lineage as a grandson of none other than Sikh stalwart Teja Singh Samundri, who had played a vital role in the Gurdwara Reform Movement during the British era. The SGPC’s headquarters in fact is housed in a building named after Teja Singh Samundri.

“For the Sikhs, Sandhu is and will always command high respect not only because of his legacy, but also because of his high geopolitical competence. We condemn the hecklers,” he said.
(With inputs from TNS and PTI)