Radical Sikhs prevent Indian high commissioner from entering gurdwara in Scotland

LONDON: A group of radical British Sikh activists prevented Indian high commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami from entering a gurdwara in Scotland on Friday.

A pro-Khalistan Sikh activist told TOI that some of them found out that Doraiswami had a meeting planned with the gurdwara committee of the Glasgow Gurdwara on Albert Drive. “A few people turned up and told him he is not welcome and he left. There was a slight confrontation.



I don’t think the gurdwara committee is too happy about what happened. But Indian officials are not welcome in any gurdwara in the UK,” he claimed. “We are fed up with the UK-India collusion. The recent tensions since the Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing have led to British Sikhs being targeted. This is to do with Avtar Singh Khanda and Jagtar Singh Johal too.”

Sikh Youth UK posted a video of the incident on Instagram which shows tables laid out with white tablecloths ready to serve langar to the high commissioner.

The video shows one of the activists having a row with a gurdwara committee member and then the committee man tries to grab the activist’s phone but fails.




Next the video shows two of the activists going to the high commissioner’s car in the car park and appearing to try and open the car door but it is locked from the inside. The car then reverses and leaves as members of the gurdwara committee do not intervene.

One of the activists who disrupted the visit said on camera: “We heard that the Indian ambassador (sic) from London and Edinburgh were going to be here. We got to the gurdwara and had langar and then we came outside because we heard their car had come up. They got to the car park and saw three Singhs stood there and turned the car around and went. This is exactly how we should greet anyone from the Indian government who comes to the gurdwara in an official capacity under any excuse of doing visa applications, or whatever it might be. We know the games they are playing. We know what has happened in Canada. It is a slap in our faces when the Canadian PM has openly condemned India and expelled Indian diplomats and our people who run our gurdwara committees openly invite them.”

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