Two gurdwaras and Eight mosques attacks after London
blasts
London, July 11, 2005
Ashok Gupta
NRI press
More than 70 incidents of violence,
two gurdwaras and Eight mosques attacks
were reported across Britain after the
London Blast.
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran would
collect latest information on this front from the
Indian High Commission in London. Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, who is keeping a close tab on developments
in United Kingdom, is likely to be briefed tomorrow
on the subject.
Indian government requested the British
government to take necessary steps to apprehend the
perpetrators of these attacks and protect the community
against any further expression of racial tension,
reports Press Trust of India.
"NRI Sikh community in the UK has
carved out a highly respected place for itself in
the British society through its industriousness and
commitment. They have enriched the political landscape
and contributed significantly to economic society,"
Navtej Sarna, spokesperson of India's Ministry of
External Affairs said here yesterday.
National Commission on Minorities Chairman
Tarlochan Singh spoke to Mr Saran this morning and
urged him to take up the matter of safety of all Indians
with the British authorities. The External Affairs
Ministry issued the two statements after Mr Tarlochan
Singh’s conversation with the Foreign Secretary.
Mr Bhaur and Mr Manjit Singh, also senior member
of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC),
said the suspected reprisal attacks on gurdwaras in
the UK were least expected in a country like Britain.
''After 9/11, some NRI Sikhs were targeted in the
US because they were mistaken as Arabs. But attacks
on gurdwaras in Britain are shocking because the British
have 200-year-old ties with the Sikhs since Mahraja
Ranjit Singh's rule in Punjab. Also, Britain is home
to about 500,000 Sikhs with a number of the community
members elected or nominated to the British Parliament,''
Mr Manjit Singh said.
Mr Bhaur said the SGPC would also request the British
High Commission in Delhi to convey Indian Sikh concerns
to the British government.
BBC, speculating that 'Islamic terrorists'
and 'British home-grown Muslim extremists' as the
likely perpetrators of Thursday's bombings.
