Glasgow Gurdwara Strongly Condemns ‘Disorderly Behaviour’ During Indian Diplomat’s Visit

Glasgow Gurdwara has strongly condemned the “disorderly behaviour” during the Indian High Commissioner’s visit to the Sikh temple. Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner to the UK, had been invited to the gurdwara, in Scotland’s biggest city on Friday to discuss community and consular issues.

But his visit was disrupted by three people “non-local extremist elements” who tried to “violently force open” the vehicle he was travelling in. The diplomat left the scene without going ahead with the visit. Indian mission in London said it had reported a “disgraceful incident” involving a top diplomat to police and Britain’s Foreign Office.

“An incident occurred on 29 September 2023 at Glasgow Gurdwara where the Indian High Commissioner was on a personal visit, facilitated by a member of Scottish Parliament. Certain unknown individuals from outside the Glasgow area attempted to disrupt this visit, following which the visiting party decided to leave the premises. After the departure of the visitors, these unruly individuals continued to disturb the Gurdwara congregation,” the Glasgow Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib Sikh Sabha said in a statement.

“Police Scotland was in attendance thereafter and have taken cognizance of the matter. Glasgow Gurdwara strongly condemns such disorderly behaviour to disrupt the peaceful proceedings of a Sikh place of worship. The Gurdwara is open to people from all communities and backgrounds, and we welcome everyone openly as per our principles of faith,” the statement added.

The incident prompted UK foreign minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan to express concern about the incident. “The safety and security of foreign diplomats is of utmost importance and our places of worship in the UK must be open to all,” she said on X, formerly Twitter.

Scotland Police confirmed it had been alerted to reports of a disturbance at the gurdwara at lunchtime on Friday. “There were no reports of any injuries and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances,” a spokesperson said in a reported statement.

The incident follows a diplomatic standoff between India and Canada over the issue of pro-Khalistan extremism. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week said that Ottawa was “actively pursuing credible allegations” related to New Delhi’s role in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The Ministry of External Affairs has strongly rejected the claims about Nijjar as “absurd and motivated”.

While the immediate trigger for the incident was the strained ties between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, sources indicate to CNN News18 that another key factor was the demand for the release of British-Sikh Jagtar Singh Johal. Johal is currently in custody in India on terrorism charges.