New Zealand Sikh Procession Disruption: The annual Nagar Kirtan, a religious procession organized by the Sikh community, was disrupted by a right-wing religious group in New Zealand.
The incident marks the second such incident in less than three weeks. The right-wing group held banners saying, “This is New Zealand, not India” in an attempt to halt the religious event commemorating the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
New Zealand Sikh Procession Disruption-Turn Of Events
The incident happened in Tauranga on Sunday around 11 am. The religious procession set off from the Gurudwara Sikh Sangat and was uninterruptedly proceeding along Cameron Road towards Tauranga Boys’ College when the interruption happened.
Members associated with the Pentecostal leader Brian Tamaki and his Destiny Chruch tried to interrupt the Sikh event.
The repeated disruptions drew strong objections from Sikh organizations including the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami described it as a “challenge to social harmony.” Dhami added that it is completely unacceptable to view the religious traditions of the Sikh community with a hateful mindset. The SGPC President added Nagar Kirtan is one of the sacred religious traditions of the Sikh culture and opposing it is an attack on the Sikh faith’s humanitarian values. Dhami also commented that it is also a huge challenge to mutual coexistence and social harmony. The SGPC Chief urged the governments of India and New Zealand to take stringent actions against those responsible.