American Sikh body calls on New York gurdwara to act against those who heckled Indian envoy

An American Sikh body has condemned the heckling of India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu during a visit to a New York gurdwara over the weekend and urged the shrine's management to take strict action against those involved.

In a statement issued on Monday, Sikhs of America said gurdwaras are places of worship and should be free from personal political views.

Sandhu offered prayers at the Hicksville gurdwara in Long Island, New York on Sunday on the occasion of Gurpurab.

At the gurdwara, a group of Khalistani supporters heckled him and shouted questions about Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, killed in Canada in June this year, according to videos of the incident circulating on social media.

The hecklers were escorted out by members of the Sikh community.

"We urge the management of the Gurdwara Sahib to take strict actions against these miscreants so that peace-loving Sikh Community in New York can come to gurdwaras freely without any fear or pressure," Sikhs of America's founder and chairman Jasdip Singh Jassee and its president Kanwaljit Singh Soni said in the joint statement.

"Ambassador Sandhu went to Gurdwara Sahib to pray and the management of Gurdwara Sahib honoured him with Saropa Sahib. After that, a handful of miscreants tried to disrespect him and violated the peace and sanctity of the Gurdwara Sahib. Gurdwaras are places of worship and should be free from personal political views," the statement said.

"Sikhs of America, the leading Sikh organisation in the USA, strongly condemns the disrespect of a Sikh devotee, Ambassador of India to USA Taranjit Singh Sandhu in a Gurdwara in Long Island, NY yesterday," it said.

Sandhu received a warm welcome at the Hicksville gurdwara against the perceived notion of opposition from Khalistanis.

In his speech, Sandhu, who was accompanied by India's Consul General in New York Randhir Jaiswal and Deputy Consul General Varun Jeph, highlighted growth in the India-US partnership across healthcare, energy, IT, new emerging technologies, semiconductor and education sectors.

The Indian envoy also spoke about the historical linkages between Sikh Gurus, Sikhs and Afghanistan. He noted that Afghan Sikhs have shown how to face adversities.

He mentioned that three Saroops of the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib were brought from Kabul to Delhi in August 2021 after the Taliban took over the war-torn country.