Following suit on the ban imposed 15 Gurdwaras in Canada and over 100 in USA over the entry of Indian officials, now nearly 20 Gurdwaras and 15 Sikh organizations in Australia, have followed suit and barred Indian government representatives.
The UK-based Sikh Federation had proposed a similar ban in gurdwaras there.
The gurdwara committee and Sikh organizations issued a joint statement on Sunday at Guruduara Miri Piri in Plumpton, announcing a ban on ‘sarkari activities’ in their premises and during functions. They clarified that the ban would not apply to officials visiting in their personal capacity as part of the congregation.
‘Step is to ensure no Indian influence on Sikh institutions’.
The joint statement clarified that the ban only pertained to “their (officials) speaking from the gurdwara stage, their honouring inside gurdwaras or carrying out other official activities”. However, they have clarified that this “ban” would also extend to office-bearers of “anti-Sikh organizations” like RSS, VHP and Shiv Sena.
“It should be noted that this step is not to restrict their access to the Guru, but to ensure that the Sikh institutions remain free of any Indian influence. Gurdwara Sahib is always open to all and any person is always welcome to pay obeisance to the Guru,” they said.
While justifying the ban on their official activities, the Sikh activists stated that when atrocities on Sikhs were on, Indian officials abroad continued to harass Sikhs who raised human rights issues and threatened to block their visas. The joint statement also pointed out that police officials who eliminated Sikh youths in fake encounters were still being protected and Sikh political prisoners were not being released even after completion of their jail terms.
Notably, it was in third week of November 2017, when Indian high commissioner and consul-general faced protests when they went to a Gurdwara in Tarneit, a suburb of Melbourne. The protesting Sikhs had raised the issue of alleged torture of UK national Jagtar Singh Jaggi Johal and alleged that fresh round of hounding of Sikh youths had started in Punjab.
The protesters had also said that Indian officials could visit the gurdwara anytime as devotees, but they would protests if they came with the purpose of keeping tabs on Sikhs and profiling them. It was after this protest by Sikh youths in Australia that gurdwara committees in Canada and US had announced ban on Indian officials, to stop them from carrying out any activities.