Glass around Ambedkar statue vandalised in Phillaur, SFJ claims responsibility

A glass around the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar was found vandalised in Nangal village in Jalandhar’s Phillaur during the wee hours on Monday. The incident has drawn attention after the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) claimed responsibility for the incident.

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The statue, encased in glass, was discovered with Khalistan slogans and provocative graffiti scrawled across its cover. The inscriptions “Sikhs Are Not Hindus” and “Trump Zindabad” were painted on the glass, while two flags, one saffron and the other blue, bearing similar messages, were taped to the casing.

In a purported video, SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannu took responsibility for the defacement. He criticised Dr Ambedkar, accusing him of contributing to the erasure of Sikh identity through his role in drafting the Indian Constitution.

SFJ's statement on social media further condemned Ambedkar for categorising Sikhs as Hindus under Article 25(b) of the Constitution. They demanded the removal of Ambedkar's statues from Punjab before his birth anniversary on April 14.

Addressing the incident, Jalandhar SSP Gurmeet Singh confirmed the vandalism and stating that an FIR is being filed. “The statue was well covered, but some mischievous elements wrote objectionable things on it. We are working on a line of investigation and expect a breakthrough soon,” he said.

This is not the first such incident involving the defacement of Ambedkar statues in Punjab. Earlier this year, a statue of Ambedkar was similarly vandalised in Amritsar.