On 29 Sep, three Sikhs from the National Sikh Youth Federation allegedly blocked the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Dorwaiswami, from entering the Gurdwara at Glasgow, Scotland. This took place soon after the Canadian PM pointed fingers at India over the murder of a Sikh activist in British Columbia. Indian media played up the supposed Khalistani link. The next day the Glasgow Gurdwara condemned the incident. National advocacy charity Sikhs in Scotland gave a different version of events, as did Baaz News. Colin Bloom, who earlier wrote a report critical of Sikhs, jumped into the discussion, demanding an apology. The question was, if Gurdwara is open to all, why was the High Commissioner stopped, whether it was a fallout of the Trudeau statement, and whether those stopping the visit were Pro-Khalistan. Scotland police have now ended a probe into the matter and found no criminality on the part of Sikhs who stopped the visit. The police stated Doraiswami was invited by Pam Gosal, Conservative Member of Scottish Parliament. The reason for stopping the visit seems to be that while everyone is welcome at the Gurdwara, it must not be converted into a space where governmental meetings are conducted privately without the community’s consent. Government official visits to Gurdwaras and recognitions are a state tactic which started during the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and continued including during the 1984 invasion of Darbar Sahib (“Golden Temple”) and Akal Takht complex.
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