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The Nagar Kirtan (religious procession), organised by the Sikh community to commemorate Guru Gobind Singh's birth anniversary, was reportedly heckled by a local right-wing religious group in New Zealand on Sunday.
The incident occurred in Tauranga, a city located about 225 km from Auckland.
Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, have condemned the incident.
What happened?
According to local sources cited by Hindustan Times, the procession started at 11 am on Sunday, January 11, from the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat temple and proceeded towards Tauranga Boys’ College via Cameron Road. The police had strengthened security measures in advance as possible interference by a Christian group was anticipated.
However, despite these precautions, members associated with Pentecostal leader Brian Tamaki and his Destiny Church attempted to hinder the procession, the HT report noted. They staged a protest in front of the procession by performing a traditional Māori haka, a tribal dance, and displayed banners that read, “This is New Zealand not India.”
“WHOSE STREETS? KIWI STREETS.” and “The True Patriots Are Not Backing Down" read the captions in a video of the incident Tamaki shared. It further remarked, “Today in Tauranga, our True Patriots answered the Sikh Parade with a haka…not violence, not silence, but peaceful defiance. Our chant rang out across our streets: ‘Whose streets? OUR streets. Whose streets? KIWI streets".
The event concluded without any major untoward incident, owing to effective coordination between the police and volunteers amid the demonstration.
SGPC President reacts
While strongly criticising the opposition by some local residents in New Zealand to the Nagar Kirtan, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami stated the procession was conducted peacefully by Sikhs in keeping with their religious customs. He mentioned that such an incident had taken place for the second time in the country, which he said had caused deep disappointment within the Sikh community.
Dhami said it was “unacceptable” to view the Sikh community’s religious traditions with hostility, noting that Sikhs have consistently made exemplary contributions toward promoting global brotherhood. He urged the governments of New Zealand and India to take the issue seriously and to initiate strict action against those responsible.
The SGPC chief stated, “Nagar Kirtan is a sacred religious tradition of Sikhism, and opposing it is not only an attack on the humanitarian values of the Sikh faith but also a challenge to social harmony and mutual coexistence."
He added, “Sikh community living in every country has always coexisted peacefully with local people and has consistently respected the laws and culture of the host nations. Despite this, deliberately preventing Sikhs from practising their religion is highly disappointing”.
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