Indian High Commissioner stopped from entering gurudwara in Scotland

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI(AA) - India raised an issue Saturday with the UK Foreign Ministry and police after Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami was stopped from entering a gurudwara in Scotland, according to an official statement.

The High Commission of India in London said it raised the “disgraceful incident” at the Glasgow Gurudwara with authorities where elements from outside Scotland “deliberately disrupted” a planned interaction organized for Doraiswami.

“On September 29, 2023, three persons- all from areas outside Scotland-deliberately disrupted a planned interaction organised by the Gurudwara Committee for the community, the High Commissioner and the Consul General of India. This interaction was to discuss community and consular issues,” it said.

"One of the non-local extremist elements attempted to violently force open the HC's car door - a matter that will require suitable police consideration. It is due to the quick reaction of one of the organizers, who physically intervened at the car door, that a bigger incident was avoided," it added.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), India’s top Sikh religious body, also condemned the action.

“The UK Envoy should not have been stopped from entering the gurdwara and that gurdwaras are for every religion,” said SGPC’s General Secretary, Gurcharan Singh Grewal.

The incident comes amid a diplomatic row between India and Canada regarding the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Colombia.