Hindu, Muslim groups back protest over Bargari sacrilege

JALANDHAR

: The four-monthold protest over sacrilege of the

Guru Granth Sahib

at Bargari village in Faridkot has largely been identified with Sikhs. Some have even called it a gathering of radicals. On Sunday, however, the protests saw participation by a few hundred Hindus,

Muslims

and at least one Left-leaning farmer union.




Photos of Hindus and Muslims at the protest site have gone viral and have largely received positive comments on social media.

“People stopped me at several places and took pictures or selfies,” says Kotkapura resident Naresh Singla whose picture with a tilak on his forehead and carrying a Sikh flag while riding a bike has gone viral. “I have been participating in every protest after the sacrilege cases were reported in 2015 as we have great devotion for the Guru Granth Sahib.”

Hindu

businessmen from Ludhiana joining the Sikh protestors
Maximum sacrilege cases reported from Ludhiana

Singla runs a small business in Kotkapura. It is well-known that many Hindus revere the Sikh holy book. They also offer prayers at gurdwaras.

The Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, set up after the Congress came to power in Punjab in 2017, had found that 162 cases of alleged sacrilege were reported in Punjab, mostly in 2015. The maximum cases – 20 – were reported from Ludhiana, followed by 18 in Amritsar, 16 in Jalandhar and 11 each in Bathinda and Tarn Taran.

The commission’s report has sparked a major political row with many Sikh groups demanding that the accused be booked. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) has called the commission a sham and rejected its findings.

“I am part of group of around 150 Hindu businessmen from Ludhiana who reached the protest site in their own vehicles. First, we participated in the protest rally at Kotkapura and then sat in the Bargari morcha for a couple of hours,” says Shivam Sood, who runs his grocery store in the industrial city. “My father visits a gurdwara daily. We wanted to express solidarity with Sikhs who have been demanding justice for sacrilege.”

Around 500 Muslims from Ludhiana have also visited Bargari. “We wanted to stand by the Sikhs who have been seeking justice for sacrilege and the police firing cases of 2015. As traffic was heavy and we walked towards Bargari, Sikh protestors not only gave us respect but also took selfies with us,” said Suraj Deen.

A handful of Muslims from Malerkotla town in Sangrur visited the protest site along with Sikh protestors on Sunday. “We have been participating in earlier protests too. Our community is looking for justice in the

Quran

sacrilege case. We stand for justice and no holy book should be defiled,” says Gaamdeen Sufi.

Expressing solidarity Communist Part of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation also participated in the Bargari protest on Sunday. “It is not an issue of religion but of justice. When a crime takes place why should the culprits be protected? We may have differences with politics of those leading the Morcha but on we express solidarity with their demand for justice,” says party spokesperson Sukhdarshan Natt.