LONDON: India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswami, was heckled by a small group of Sikh radicals in Glasgow, Scotland, on Friday.
During an event hosted by the Sikh Gurudwara Committee in a Glasgow Gurdwara for the Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami, two pro-Khalistani activists turned up and physically intimidated the local Sikh community. They also tried to attack Doraiswami in his car and filmed this and shared it on their social media accounts and said 'he was not welcome'.
The person who heckled Doraiswamy and asked him to leave, went on camera to say that they needed to protect their religious rights and were upset with what was happening in Canada. They also admonished the Gurudwara members for inviting him.
"Three persons, on September 29th, all from areas outside Scotland deliberately disrupted a planned interaction organised by the Gurudwara Committee for the community, the High Commissioner (HC) and Consul General (CG) of India. This interaction was to discuss consular issues and community issues,’’ read a statement issued by the Indian High Commission, London.
The organisers who included senior community leaders and a member of the Scottish Parliament, were threatened by these three. To prevent the situation from escalating the HC and CG left.
"One of the extremists attempted to violently force open the HC’s car door – a matter that will require suitable police consideration. It is due to the quick reaction of one of the organisers, who physically intervened that a bigger incident was avoided," according to the statement.
The High Commissioner of India has reported the incident to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Metropolitan Police.
"The vast majority of British Sikhs are amazing people but this tiny aggressive minority are not representative of them. The UK government needs to do more to deal with these extremist fringe elements," said Colin Bloom, former advisor to the British government.