Police Detains PU Students; Sandhu Appointed Delhi LG; Sikhs Harassed over Articles of Faith

The Panjab police detained Panjab University (PU) students when they objected to a program on Sikh history on their campus where the speakers included Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders. Protesters from student outfits said no organization or political ideology should be promoted on the PU campus. Among the speakers were BJP parliamentary board member and former chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities Iqbal Singh Lalpura and RSS North Zone chief Banveer Singh. Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Eternal Throne) Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj condemned the administration’s high-handedness. Meanwhile, the Indian union government has appointed former ambassador to US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu as the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi replacing Vinai Kumar Saxena. Sandhu joined BJP in 2024 and is the grandson of the Sikh stalwart leader Teja Singh Samundri who was among the founders of the Sikh apex body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Additionally, a number of incidents have taken place where Sikhs were denied their articles of faith. On 2 Mar, an Amritdhari (initiated) Sikh woman was asked to remove her turban in Ratlam district when she came to appear for the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission exam. On 8 Feb, an Amritdhari Sikh student was allegedly prevented from appearing in an examination for wearing a kirpan (traditional sword) in Kaanth town, Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh. The SGPC has once again urged the union government to issue a direction to all states to ensure respect to Sikh turbans and religious symbols at examination centers. In the US, a former Health Department inspector Navin Kohli from Allegheny, Pennsylvania has filed a federal lawsuit against his supervisors for repeated harassment over his religiously mandated uncut beard, ultimately forcing him to shave it by threatening him with unpaid leave. In another incident, a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police Department officer in San Francisco created an AI deepfake video of a Sikh coworker. The video depicted a Sikh BART officer interacting with the department’s chief who unfurls the officer’s turban to reveal a pistol. While both individuals are real people, the video was fabricated leading to questions about the culture among BART police officers (earlier coverage).