Sikhs condemn attack on Nankana Sahib

Sikhs living in various parts of India have been outraged by the attack on the Nankana Sahib gurudwara in Pakistan and have demanded that the Indian government take up the matter with Pakistan at the highest level and ensure arrest of the culprits and their prosecution.

A mob had on Saturday pelted stones at Nankana Sahib, birthplace of Nanak Dev, who was the first guru of the Sikhs.

A delegation of Sikh intellectuals and religious leaders is expected to meet the Pakistani high commissioner in Delhi and lodge their protest.

"Sikhs are hurt and they want the Pakistani government to take immediate action against the culprits," Prahlad Singh Chandoke, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, told rediff.com.

Manjit Singh Calcutta, former secretary of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, suspects the attack was the handiwork of vested interests, who own land in the gurudwara premises. "There is a new management in place. Someone from the outgoing management could have engineered these attacks," he said.

Dr S S Noor, professor of Punjabi in Delhi University, while condemning the incident said, "Someone who does not want the two countries to come together could be behind the attacks."

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said that Nankana Sahib is a symbol of humanity as Guru Nanak is revered not just by Sikhs but the entire world. "The BJP condemn the incident in the strongest terms and requests Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to personally intervene and ensure follow up action."