By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
28 June 2024
Recently, a social media influencer, Archana Makwana, from Gujarat who was booked by the Punjab Police for hurting religious sentiments for performing Yog (not yoga; it’s an anglicised orthography of the Sanskrit word Yog) inside the Golden Temple premises was provided protection by the Gujarat police after she received multiple threat calls.
Golden Temple
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“No one can be allowed to act against Sikh conduct at the Golden Temple but some people deliberately ignore the sanctity and historical importance of this holy place and commit objectionable acts,” SGPC president HS Dhami had said in a statement. “Sikh sentiments and ‘Maryada’ (conduct) have been hurt by the act, so a complaint has been filed with the police,” he added.
This foolish woman’s innocuous Yog antics defiled the sanctity of the Golden Temple! Where was the Sikh Maryada when Jarnail Singh Bhindaranwale and his goons were desecrating the Golden Temple in the early 80s? The horrifying crimes and scandalous misdemeanours of Bhindaranwale have been forgotten and forgiven.
How can the place have any sanctity after being used for gruesome and scandalous misdeeds by the charlatan? Sikhs still regard him as a martyr. Has anybody from the community dared to denounce and excommunicate him? But the same hypocrites are objecting to something so casual and inoffensive.
Social Media Influencer, Archana Makwana
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Sikhs used to be pretty liberal until a few years ago. Now they too have become like Muslims and neo-Hindus. A Delhi-based Urdu journalist friend of mine, who’s a chain smoker, quipped that nowadays he was really apprehensive of smoking in public whenever he was in Punjab, lest Sikhs should appear from nowhere and beat him black and blue.
The readers may be aware that tobacco is prohibited in Sikhism. Sikhs, who didn’t mind eating halal meat, are now demanding to have only Jhatka meat because it’s written in their holy book Guru Granth Sahib that they (followers of Sikhism) must never eat halal meat. Wahe Guru!
Humans have become so petty and puerile thanks to all man-made, utterly useless religions.
Furthermore, Sikhism is not a separate religion. It’s a Panth (sect, Sampradaay, Firqa). Happy that one religion, Zoroastrianism, and its miniscule followers are still untouched by the overwhelming religiosity that has engulfed mankind. A jovial Parsi once told yours truly, ” The day even one Parsi will act fanatically, the world will collapse.”
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world’s premier publications in several languages including Persian.
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