Sikh body voices support for Rahul Gandhi's remarks during US visit

New Delhi: A Sikh body on Wednesday came out in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks during his recent US visit about the community, saying its members have an inalienable right to adhere to and protect their religious and cultural rights.

In a statement, Khushhal Singh, general secretary of Kendri Sri Guru Singh Sabha said Gandhi's special mention of Sikhs' freedom to wear turban and worship in gurdwaras was an open recognition of their distinct religious and cultural identity.

He said the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha rightly identified the decades-old distortions in Indian politics as caste hierarchy and religion-cultural conflicts which "invariably manifested as violence and misgovernance".

According to Khushhal, political thinkers associated with the Kendri Sri Guru Singh Sabha, a central body of Singh Sabha Gurdwaras, are of the opinion that Gandhi opted for the right direction which would put an end to the politics of hate, communalisation and targeting of minorities to the extent of lynching.

At a press conference organised by the Kendri Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Gurpreet Singh from the Global Sikh Council said that Gandhi's remarks in the US showed his anxiety over the emergence of Hindutva in India.

"Gandhi said there could be a time in future. He was actually... showing his anxiety... (over) the emergence of the right-wing Hindutva that is taking shape in this country which is not allowing India to flourish," Gurpreet alleged.

Addressing a gathering of Indian-Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC on September 9, Gandhi had said, "First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial." Gandhi asked one of the Sikh attendees in the front rows for his name.

"What is your name, brother with the turban?" he had asked.

"The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a 'kada' in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That's what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions," the Congress leader had said.