Gen Z Protests: Gurdwaras Host & ‘Nihangs’ Protect Students

July

2026

When police baton-charged and tear-gassed Gen-Z led Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protesters marching towards the Indian Parliament on 20 Jul, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib (GBS) emerged as a place of refuge for injured protesters and stranded commuters caught in the unrest. With roads around New Delhi’s Parliament Street, Connaught Place, and Shivaji Stadium choked with protesters and police barricades, Gurdwara sevadars (volunteers)—even at Gurdwaras Rakab Ganj, Sis Ganj Sahib, and others—welcomed those fleeing the violence, offering them a safe place to rest. This continued for the next five days until the protests ended. Protesters came for medical aid, langar (community kitchens), washrooms, and to sleep at nights. While protesters were served, behind the scenes, on 25 Jul, Shiromani Akali Dal, Delhi Unit president Paramjit Singh Sarna revealed that former Delhi Singh Gurdwara Management Committee president, now Bharatiya Janata Party minister in Delhi government, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, wanted GBS to stop services to protesters. When the GBS management resisted, Sirsa got the outside road to the langar hall dug up so protesters had to walk over 2 kms to enter GBS. Sirsa’s action is completely against Sikh tenets and philosophy. Sarna and other Sikhs leaders also addressed the protestors from the Jantar Mantar (protest site) stage saying, ‘Not only Gurdwaras, every Sikh home is open to protesters to stay, to dine, and to rest.’ Meanwhile, as the news of police brutality towards student protesters spread, Nihangs (traditional warriors) descended upon the protest site. They said, ‘They had come to protect the young students, especially women, from police brutality.’ For the next five days, the Nihangs became an armor around the students and also regulated them. They also helped the police clear vehicles and traffic, keep protesters in check, and sometimes even reprimanded the protesters upon their misconduct. The Nihangs who came to the protest were mostly from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and other states. They spoke excellent Hindi and communicated well with both protesters and police. On 24 Jul, a video clip emerged in which Nihangs had taken offense at CJP founder Abhishek Dipke’s comment but that proved to be fake news. Meanwhile, Tripura Director General of Police Anurag Dhankar, who headed the Special Investigative Team which re-investigated the 1984 Sikh genocide in Delhi, was found dead in his office toilet at Agartala on 20 Jul. The government has ordered a magisterial probe (earlier coverage).