‘This is Punjab, not India’: Woman with Indian flag painted on face claims denied entry to Golden Temple; SGPC clarifies after video goes viral

Tribune News Service

GS Paul

Amritsar, April 17

A controversy erupted when a woman claimed that she was allegedly denied entry to the Golden Temple because she was sporting a temporary tattoo of Tricolour on her face, a general practice by visitors who get it done while going to watch ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony at Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post every evening.

SGPC has submitted an apology if any of its employees misbehaved with any visitor, yet the Sikh body has strongly condemned the narrative being created against the Sikhs on social media about the viral conversation between the female devotee and the sewadar (SGPC employee) deputed at the shrine.

Khalistanis taking over Golden Temple!

Woman denied entry to Golden Temple because she had a India 🇮🇳 flag painted on her face! The man who denied her entry into Golden Temple said this is Punjab, not India 😡 @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/bnzUzEqLvM

— JIX5A (@JIX5A) April 17, 2023

SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said the issue was being blown out of proportion to give it a political colour.

“We are apologetic over misbehaviour on the part of any of our employees towards the visitors. Taking a prompt action, we have ordered an inquiry into the incident. Yet his bad behaviour should not be stretched to make it a patriotic issue and defame the Sikh religion,” he said.

He said many attempts had been made, in the recent past, to tarnish the image of Sikh religion and challenge its principles under the deep-rooted conspiracies. “Every religion has its principles and codes that have to be followed,” he said.

Clarifying the instance, Sarbjeet Singh, sewadar at the parikrama (circumambulation), claimed that he had intercepted the female devotee only as she was inappropriately dressed. He said that he had apprised her about the ‘Gurmaryada’ (code of conduct) of the place which has to be followed by every visitor, but “my advice was misinterpreted and presented in a wrong way on the social media”.

The issue gained momentum when a 40-second video clip went viral on social media captioned as ‘Khalistanis taking over Golden Temple!’

After focusing on the tattoo on her face, she was seen complaining to a man, who reportedly accompanied her, that the sewadar had interrupted her.

A heated exchange words started soon after the man questioned the sewadar. “Sardar jee, you stopped this gudia (girl) from entering. What was the reason,” he asked.

It was being claimed that the sewadar reportedly objected over the flag painted on her face. The man further questioned him “Is it not India? To this, the sewadar said, “No. This is Punjab”.

The woman, too, entered into the argument saying he was talking bakwaas’ (nonsense) as if the Golden Temple was not in India.

This was enough to arouse the tempers of the sewadar who tried to stop them from capturing the instance on mobile camera.

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