Pakistani Sikhs protest sacrilege of holy book in India

Karachi
Still bracing from communal violence in the aftermath of a ban on sale and possession of beef, imposed by the Maharashtra government, India’s Sikh community was the next religious minority to protest against the alleged desecration of their sacred book, the Guru Granth Sahib, in Faridkot, Punjab, and the deaths of two protestors by the Indian police’s firing.
Expressing solidarity with their community members, Pakistan’s Sikh community on Sunday organised a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club to denounce the Indian government’s failure to protect Sikh and other religious minorities residing in the country.
Addressing the protestors, Pakistan Sikh Council’s chief Sardar Ramesh Singh said the desecration of the holy book had deeply pained the Sikh community across the world.
“Rather than trying to crush peaceful protests, the Punjab police should be on a look out for those responsible for this criminal act,” he said, demanding of the Indian government to immediately identify and punish the culprits.
A council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Akhtar Baloch, asserted that it was not only the Sikh community but people of all faiths including the Dalits, Muslims and Christians who had been persecuted in India time and again.
However, he maintained that the situation was no different for religious minorities living in Pakistan either. “It is high time, a movement from the grassroots level was initiated in both the countries to promote interfaith harmony and put an end to communal violence.”
Allama Ehsan Siddique, an Islamic religious leader, also condemned the attack and demanded of the UN and other international human rights bodies to take notice of human rights abuses of the Sikh and other religious minorities in India.
“No religion allows desecration of another religion’s holy books; all the religions preach love and peace,” he said.
Parkash P Chanal, Chadan Baria, Pandit Vijay Kumar, Sardar Bhola Singh and other non-Muslim leaders and human rights activists participated in the protest.
Around a 100 torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib, a sacred text of the Sikh religion, were found from Faridkot district in Punjab province, last Monday. The book was reportedly stolen from a nearby Gurudwara in June.
An anonymous note containing a slogan used by a popular spiritual sect, the Dera Sacha Sauda, was also claimed to have been found from the place.
Sikhs belonging to Faridkot as well as the adjacent Moga district had been holding protests which had led to a partial shutdown in Indian Punjab.
Two protestors were killed while scores injured, including police officers, during violent clashes which erupted following the protests.
As per media reports, the police had used batons and water cannons to disperse the protestors and even Bathinda's Inspector General of Police was wounded in the clashes.
The police was also reported to have confirmed the arrests of Sikh leaders including Bhai Ranjit Singh Dhadriyan Wale, Bhai Amrik Singh Ajnala, Panth Preet Singh, Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala and members of the Parmeshar Dwar Trust, Nirvair Khalsa Jatha and Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj.
Similarly, around 75 members of the Sikh community were also said to have been arrested in Ludhiana over fears of protests and road blockades.
On Tuesday, a violent clash between the police and protesters at Buttar Kalan village in India's Moga district also left 19 people injured. Nearly 200 protestors belonging to the Sikh community were also arrested by policemen, who were later released, as per media reports.