Sikh body condemns teenager's hair shearing in Edinburgh
Telugu Portal (India)
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Chandigarh, Nov 17 (IANS) The apex body of the Sikh politico-religious affairs Friday condemned the shearing of hair of an Edinburgh-based Sikh teenager by a group of white youths and called upon the British government to take urgent steps to prevent such incidents.
Expressing serious concern over Tuesday's incident where the unnamed Sikh teenager was subjected to racist verbal abuse and was knocked down to the ground before his hair was forcibly cut, Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar said the assault was "nothing less than an act of terrorism which must be universally condemned".
In a statement here, Makkar said the incident was "part of a disturbing rise in crimes against the Sikh people in Europe and other western nations".
Cutting hair is against the basic principles of the Sikh religion.
Hard line Sikh organisations, including the separatist Dal Khalsa International, have also condemned the incident.
The organisation's general secretary Kanwarpal Singh Bittoo said this was "yet another in a series of outrages targeting Sikhs after 9/11".
He said the assault on the 15-year-old boy was "further signal of the rising western intolerance against Muslims and other identifiable minorities".
Both Makkar and Bittoo called on Britain to ensure "exemplary punishments for the culprits to discourage future incidents".
The Sikh leaders however ruled out any reprisal attacks against British nationals in India. Makkar said Sikhs are peace-loving people and committed to the well-being of all humanity.
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