Amritsar: The executive committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), during its meeting held here on Tuesday, passed several resolutions, addressing key issues affecting the Sikh community.
The meeting raised the issues, including preventing Sikh employees carrying kirpans at airports nationwide, fabricated incidents against the Sikhs in Canada, and denial of visas to the Sikh pilgrims by the Pakistan High Commission.
Talking to mediapersons, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said preventing Sikh employees from carrying kirpans and performing duties at airports in India was a serious attack on the religious freedom of the Sikhs. “This is also a violation of the Indian Constitution as Sikhs have the full right to travel within the country, including by air, and to practice their religious beliefs, including wearing the kakaras (Sikh religious symbols),” said Dhami.
The SGPC will send a delegation to discuss the matter with the govt, he added.
Talking about the recent incident in Brampton and other places in Canada, the SGPC president said the attempt to allegedly tarnish the image of Sikhs by propagating a false narrative of an attack on a Hindu temple by the Sikhs in Canada due to internal differences and conflicts was condemned by the executive committee.
“The Sikh community respects all religions and never considers attacking any religious place,” he said, adding that the propaganda being spread against the Sikhs was not incidental, but seemed to be part of a deliberate strategy.
Expressing concern over the large scale denial of visas to the Sikh devotees aspiring to visit Pakistan for the 555th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, Dhami said the SGPC had been advocating for open visas for Sikhs, but the drastic cut had hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs. The SGPC will send a team to the Pakistan High Commission to discuss the matter.