Gurdwaras in Canada ban entry of Indian officials

In an unusual move, fourteen gurdwara management committees in Ontario province of Canada have imposed a ban on the entry of Indian government representatives to gurdwaras under their control, using a local law against trespassing. The decision was taken at a meeting at Jot Parkash Gurdwara in Brampton on December 30. However, there will be no ban on any Indian official paying a personal visit to any gurdwara run by these committees.

When contacted, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said he had no information about such a decision. He said no one could be stopped from entering a gurdwara. But a spokesman of the concerned gurdwara committees in Canada, Amarjit Singh Mann, said: “We have just made it official. Indian officials were not allowed to speak or organise any function in any of these 14 gurdwaras even in the past. But that was a kind of unwritten understanding within the community. But now we have made it official as we



found that Indian government officials were trying to interfere in our functioning. But our decision will nullify all such attempts by Indian government.”

In recent years, the Indian High Commission in Canada has been making attempts to improve ties with the Sikh diaspora there, which had been affected since Operation Blue Star in 1984. The latest development has come as a setback to these efforts. Series of meetings were held by these committees since December 9 before taking the final call.

A press note released by the gurdwara management committees to explain the decision read, “Pursuant to the Trespass to Property Act (1990), the management of these gurdwaras reserves the right to bar entry to officials of the Indian Government, including but not limited to Indian elected officials, Indian consular officials and members of organisations who seek to undermine the Sikh nation and Sikh institutions.”