Injustice of the Desecration of Guru Granth Sahib Ji
What is the Guru Granth Sahib Ji?
The holy Sikh Scriptures of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji are on the highest pedestal of the Sikh faith. It contains actual verses said by the 10 Gurus compiled over six centuries. Any harm to the Holy Scripture is the considered the worst insult to a Sikh. In gurdwaras, the scripture is wrapped in a beautiful cloth, which is only taken off when reading the scripture during prayers. When reading or touching the scripture, it is necessary to wash hands, cover the head with a piece of cloth, and remove shoes.
What’s the Issue?
On a turn of unfortunate events towards the beginning of 2015, there were multiple incidents of Guru Granth Sahib Ji being torn, burned, and belittled. Not only was the Guru Granth Sahib desecrated, but gurdwaras were vandalized as well.
These incidents sent shivers down the spines of Sikhs. All their lives they have been taught to respect the scripture and give it the highest priority. In many cases, the men who were doing this were not identified. Along with burning the holy scriptures, money was also stolen from the gurdwaras.
Seeing these chains of events, agitated the Sikh community. All this was done by the Indian government to divert attention away from current issues at the time such as Bapu Surat Singh Ji.
Following the attacks on the religious scriptures, Sikhs retaliated. To shatter the protesting going on, the Indian government opened fire on the Sikhs using water canons and brutal police force. After this event, the government ordered a media blackout to hide their unpleasant deeds. Many men, women, and children were left brutally injured. Speaking out against the vandalism of the Holy Scripture left many in despair.
Due to the media blackout, many outside countries did not know what was going on in Punjab. This led to many petitions being launched in order for the word to get out. Jasdeep Kaur of London, U.K., started a petition since BBC News did not cover any of the problems in Punjab. You can sign this petition (warning: may be graphic) and help her get 150,000 supporters. Please sign this petition and get BBC to cover this story and turn the spotlight on the worlds biggest democracy and the crimes it’s committing against it’s own people.
What Are My Thoughts?
Coming from a religious family, all my life I have been taught the importance of God. To see my Guru get disrespected in such a way sends chills down my back. When these events started surfacing social media such as Facebook, it was appalling to watch. It is sickening to see the ways of this country towards its own people. Not once, not twice, but on multiple accounts our Guru was desecrated.
