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Jathedar backs nihangs booked for disrupting Christian event in Amritsar
Urges Punjab govt to withdraw case, seeks Centre’s intervention to stop conversion in border district of Amritsar
A day after nihangs were booked for disrupting an event organised by Christian missionaries at Daduana village in Amritsar district, Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Tuesday said the case against them should be cancelled as they were only opposing forced religious conversion.
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Nihang leader Baba Major Singh and nearly 150 of his supporters were booked on the complaint of a local Christian leader, identified as pastor Raja. The case was registered under Sections 295, 296, 427, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code at Jandiala Guru police station on Monday.
Nihangs are Sikhs who strictly follow the Khalsa code of conduct.
Taking note of the police action, Giani Harpreet Singh said, “For the past some time, so-called Christian missionaries have been forcibly converting Sikhs through fraudulent practices. Sikhs and Hindus of Punjab are being misled and converted. This is happening right under the government’s nose. Though there are provisions in the law to book for superstitious practices in the name of religion, no government is ready to act against them (missionaries) due to votebank politics.”
Backing the nihangs, the jathedar said, “For six months, complaints are being lodged by Sikhs that these people (missionaries) are practising forced conversion by misleading members of other communities but the administration has not acted. Sikhs are not against any religion or its values but against hypocrisy and superstitions even within own their community. After the administration did not act, when nihangs attempted to stop the event (at Daduana), a case was registered.”
He said the law does not permit forcible religious conversion but it’s surprising how a large-scale campaign is being run in the border area of Punjab. He urged the Centre to intervene and stop this practice.
He said the Punjab government should cancel the case against the nihangs immediately as the Sikh community stood with them. “We have convened a meeting at Sri Anandpur Sahib on September 5, and a resolution will be passed after a discussion on this issue.”
He said families of Sikhs and Hindus from backward classes are being targeted.
“Punjab is a border state and we came to know that foreign funding is coming here to run these religious campaigns. This is unfortunate and the Centre needs to control it immediately,” he said.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also took note of the registration of the case. SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the nihangs first politely asked them not to hold the function, but they remained adamant and forced the nihangs to take action against them.
