Sikhs protest against attacks on their religion in India

LONDON: Over a thousand Sikhs staged a noisy protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on Thursday and called upon the international community to intervene and save the Sikhs in India from the “repression and deeply-rooted anti-Sikh bias” of the Indian establishment.
Various Sikh organisations jointly staged the ‘Sikh Lives Matter’ protest which was attended by Sikhs from all over the UK. They were carrying banners and posters condemning the desecration of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib — the holy book — in the village of Bargari, near Kot Kapura, Faridkot district. Following the desecration, protests were held across the Punjab. The police brutalised the protesting Sikhs and nearly a dozen were killed while over 150 were seriously injured.
There have been wide scale strikes and protests in the Indian Punjab and Sikhs all over the world have condemned the desecration and the killings, blaming it on the racist policies of Narendra Modi government, his Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and extremist Hindutva groups such as the RSS and Shiv Sena.
On a working day, the London protest saw a huge turnout at the demonstration attended by Sikhs of all age groups who continued to recite the holy scripture while condemning the Modi government for disrespecting their religion on almost routine basis.
The protest started at the pavement outside the Indian High Commission but soon a group of enraged youth staged sit-in on the road outside. The police wanted the protesters to leave the street and return to the designated area but the youth resisted, demanding justice and attention of the British government.
They said that British media was ignoring them and so was the British government which had invited Narendra Modi for an official visit in three weeks. The sit-in brought traffic to a standstill in large parts of London as thousands of cars were seen stuck across the areas of Temple, Holborn and Aldwych.
The protest turned violent when the police used force in order to remove the protesters and used horses, batons and specialist officials to push them out of the main street.
The protesting Sikhs resisted and as a result the clash continued for nearly an hour. Three protesters were arrested and at least two policemen were also injured. Sikhs organisations said that at least five protesters received serious injuries. The police officials were seen freely using force to pressurise the demonstrators and pictures circulated on social media showed several youth being pinned down on the ground. One police officer was pictured being led to a police van with blood pouring down his face.
The Sikh Federation said that the Punjab Police had used lethal force against the peaceful Sikh protesters while they were undertaking their morning prayers in Kotkapura. “In appalling and horrific scenes, hundreds of Sikhs exercising their democratic right to peacefully assemble and protest were beaten, dragged away and arrested. The police initially used batons to attack thousands of the peaceful protesters and then resorted to use of water cannons to disperse the protesters. Later they opened fire with live ammunition killing two unarmed Sikh protesters and injuring dozens of others. The protests followed the desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh Holy scriptures or the living Guru of the Sikhs. We demand the arrest of those responsible for the desecration. Many have recalled the events of 1984 when there was a complete disregard for Sikh lives and widespread police and army brutality.”
Its spokesperson Jas Singh told this correspondent that India was committing crimes against Sikhs and other minorities while the world was looking the other way. He called on the western governments to pay attention to the plights of minorities in India and hold the Indian government accountable.
The United Sikhs Association said that the police overreacted and should not have beaten up the peaceful protesters. They said that India is a racist country which is actively working on a policy to criminalise its minority communities. It said that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom had criticised India for its treatment of religious minorities and had added it to a “watch list,” annoying the South Asian country.
The police said in a statement that it was aware of a planned demonstration at the Indian High Commission. “Whilst it was initially a peaceful protest the demonstrators blocked the roadway at the Aldwych and caused significant disruption to the central London road network. Police liaison officers attempted to negotiate with those present in order to facilitate peaceful protest and minimise the disruption to the public. Additional officers, including those from the Mounted Branch, were mobilised to the area and a small group of protesters became violent towards the police.”