UK Sikhs push back against Khalistani elements, laud Modi's steps for community
Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Jan, 2022 12:34 PM
New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Amidst heightened activities by Khalistanis, the Sikh community in the UK has started pushing back against anti-India forces in country.
At the heart of this push back is Southall in London, which remains among the largest hubs of Sikh community in the UK and has a distinction of hosting the country's largest and most prominent gurdwaras.
In an unprecedented move, the community leaders gathered at Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Park Avenue, and challenged the prevailing anti-India narrative propagated by Khalistanis and their backers.
They passed an unprecedented resolution thanking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for doing so much for the Sikh community and helping to bridge the misunderstandings.
They especially thanked Modi for announcing December 26 as Bir Bal Divas and declaring it as a public holiday.
In a congregation, community leaders and gurudwara committee office bearers challenged those who are pushing factually incorrect narrative about India and the Modi-led government.
They also challenged them to disprove their views, which has no political agenda or motive.
Sikhs in the UK consider this as a bold step within the community, which had so far kept silent and chose to not to confront a handful Khalistanis propagating anti-India narrative without any consequences from the local agencies.
The community, which is broadly fed up with Khalistani lies, have been fearful of bullying by Khalistanis and have been desisting from speaking up openly against them.
Priti Patel, the senior-most minister in the UK Cabinet stressed that while strong encryption was important for privacy, there was a need to balance data security with law enforcement requirements.
The pandal at the cricket ground in Slough is quite unprecedented in the UK as the pujas in the country usually take place in community halls and not in an open ground.
Borge Brende said that with the increasingly strong probability of global growth falling short by at least one percentage point from projections, the magnitude of the decline is comparable to the agonising global recession of the early 2000s.
