The renowned Australian organisation, Australian Hindu Association (AHA) has revealed how four Victorian Gurudwaras had jointly planned a pro-Khalistani, anti-India and anti-Hindu event that took place on February 20, 2022, in Australia in the memory of Khalistani supporter Deep Sidhu. Sidhu, a Punjabi actor and one of the accused in the 2021 Republic Day riots had recently died in a road accident. It also revealed that these Gurudwaras regularly organise incendiary pro-Khalistani, anti-India, and anti-Hindu speeches and events to radicalise young Sikhs on the foreign land.
On 20th February 2022, a Sikh Gurudwara in Australia showcased an Anti-India/Hindu poster blatantly in between two so-called Khalistan flags. The poster had hate-filled slogans like ‘End Hindu Fascism’ and ‘India kills Sikhs’ printed on it. It also bore the image of the deceased Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu, one of the accused in the 2021 Republic Day riots. The poster was found hanging at the entrance of the Craigieburn Sikh Gurudwara in Australia.
Entrance of a Gurdwara in Australia. Nestled between 2 Khalistan flags are pictures of Deep Sidhu with the words “End Hindu Fascism.” Deep Sidhu died in a car accident. He was an accused in the violent 2021 Indian Republic Day attack on Delhi’s Red Fort. pic.twitter.com/7Hi7TYX4Mn
— Australian Hindu Media (@austhindu) February 20, 2022
The Australian Hindu Association (AHA), first brought this to the fore on February 21 by tweeting, “Entrance of a Gurdwara in Australia. Nestled between 2 Khalistan flags are pictures of Deep Sidhu with the words “End Hindu Fascism.” Deep Sidhu died in a car accident. He was an accused in the violent 2021 Indian Republic Day attack on Delhi’s Red Fort.”
Gurudwaras plan and execute the pro-Khalistani and anti-India/Hindu event
Now, according to an exclusive report by Australian Hindu Media (AHM), the media wing of the Australian Hindu Association, four Victorian Gurudwaras, Craigieburn, Tarneit, Plumpton, and Miri Piri Deanside had planned and executed the aforementioned event organised in the memory of now-deceased Khalistani supporter and accused 2021 Republic Day Riots, Deep Sidhu.
According to the report, on the evening of Friday, February 18, 2022, representatives of the management committees of Tarneit, Miri Piri Deanside, and Plumpton Gurudwaras, as well as several Khalistani activists, met for several hours at Tarneit Gurdwara to finalise plans for the event. It was decided at this meeting that the car rally taken out in memory of Deep Sidhu would end at Craigieburn.
The report said that though Gurdeep Singh Matharoo, Secretary of the Craigieburn Gurudwara told the media house that his Gurdwara had no role in the activities’ planning, AHM’s sources confirmed that members of Craigieburn’s management committee were fully involved in the organising of the activities.
On Sunday, February 20th, the car rally began practically simultaneously from two places — Tarneit and Keysborough Gurdwaras – shortly after 9 am. Khalistani flags and slogans were prominent throughout the rally.
Notably, Tarneit is the Gurdwara where the then Indian High Commissioner Dr A M Gondane and Melbourne Consulate-General Manika Jain were heckled on 19 November 2017, and anti-India slogans were hurled.
The report further mentioned that the four posters were already up when the car rally participants arrived at Craigieburn Gurudwara just after midday on Sunday, February 20, 2022, according to sources. At around 3:30 p.m., the Deep Sidhu memorial service ended.
Though the members of the Craigieburn Gurudwara’s management committee were present at the memorial service, they purportedly claimed that they were unaware of the posters.
Role of these Victorian Gurudwaras in the radicalisation of young Sikh youths
The AHM report further goes on to talk about the role of these aforementioned Gurudwaras in nurturing Khalistani extremists and the radicalisation of young Sikh youths in Australia.
Residents of Indian origin who live near the four Gurudwaras independently told AHM that the gurudwaras have become a breeding ground for the radicalization of young Sikhs. According to them, fiery pro-Khalistani, anti-India, and anti-Hindu speeches and gatherings are often held at these Gurudwaras.
AHM went on to share a post from Plumpton Gurudwara that urged the “Khalsa Panth” to be “…prepared by wearing weapons…” to the event on 23 March 2022.
The report further shared various other images to show the Gurudwara’s connection with Khalistani supporters.
According to report, all four Gurdwaras receive significant government funding and are also recognised charities. This is despite gurudwaras publicly participating in and financing non-charity activities like the Khalistani movement and Indian farmer demonstrations, as well as spreading hatred towards Hindu organisations like the RSS and VHP, reports AHM.
