A massive controversy has emerged since it has been revealed that the Kartarpur Gurdwara Darbar Sahib management committee has used cigarette packaging as wrappers to pack and distribute Kadah Prasad to devotees visiting the shrine located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. This came to the fore when one of the devotees opened the Prasad wrapper, only to find a label of ‘Gold Street International’ brand of cigarette printed on the inside.
Social media has been rife with images of the pinni prasad packet, which, interestingly, carries the photograph of Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, with ‘Blessings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’, and also an image of Gurdwara Jyoti Jyot Asthan, Sri Guru Nanak Dev, Kartarpur Sahib on the outside. Whereas, on the inside, there was a cigarette advertisement by Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), the parent body of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC).
Photos of cigarettes are used in the wrapping paper for distributing Prasad to devotees at Kartarpur & Nankana Sahib.
— The Turban Talk (@turban_talk) December 17, 2021
This is utterly unacceptable & an insult to our religious values. This should be immediately stopped. @parbhandak look into the matter @rsrobin1 @vikramsahney pic.twitter.com/0rbEknELsF
Since the consumption of Cigarettes and Tobacco is considered a cardinal offence in Sikhism, the members of the Sikh community have been outraged by the use of cigarette packaging as wrappers to pack the prasad in Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.
The President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa has taken to Twitter to condemn the incident calling it a conspiracy to hurt the faith and harass minority Sikhs in Pakistan. “Sikh sentiments hurt repetitively in Pak This time Sangat given Kadah Prashad in Cigarette wrapper pages at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib. This smacks of a conspiracy to hurt our faith & harass minority Sikhs in Pak. Earlier, they allowed models to shoot at Gurdwara Sahib premises,” Tweeted Sirsa.
Sikh sentiments hurt repetitively in Pak
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) December 17, 2021
This time Sangat given Kadah Prashad in Cigarette wrapper pages at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib. This smacks of a conspiracy to hurt our faith & harass minority Sikhs in Pak. Earlier, they allowed models to shoot at Gurdwara Sahib premises pic.twitter.com/P1G1RXqs9Q
In his subsequent Tweet, the BJP leader shared the picture of the wrapper and urged Pakistan PM Imran Khan to take strict action against the Gurdwara managing authority.
We will not accept such hurtful actions and demand from @ImranKhanPTI Ji strict action against Gurdwara managing authority
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) December 17, 2021
Such actions embarrass Sikhs all across the world esp when Sikhism is so much against tobacco@ANi @republic @ZeeNews @TimesNow @thetribunechd @punjabkesari https://t.co/R4vhcxOOC0 pic.twitter.com/lu2WoS8ko0
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), on the other hand, said in its defence, that an enquiry was carried out after the incident at Kartarpur gurdwara was brought to their notice three days ago in which it was revealed that this was the work of some anti-social elements who probably never wanted the Kartarpur corridor to be opened, said PSGPC chief Ameer Singh.
“We never used such packaging to distribute the prasad at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. We have carried out an enquiry into the incident and based on that, we can say that this is the doing of some anti-social elements who don’t want Kartarpur Corridor to start,” PSGPC chief Ameer Singh was quoted by the Hindi daily, Livehindustan, as saying.
Pakistani Model’s ‘bare head’ pictures at Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara triggers controversy
It may be noted that only last month, another controversy had erupted after a Pakistani model had taken pictures, with her ‘bare-head’, at the premises of the shrine. The owner of an online clothing store named Mannat in Pakistan had posted multiple pictures of the model’s photoshoot on the social media account as an advertisement for the clothing brand.
It is notable here that both men and women are required to cover their heads while visiting a Gurudwara.
The Sikh Community had criticized the advertisement and said that the pictures of the Pakistani model posing ‘bare head’ with back towards the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib have hurt the sentiments of the religious community.
President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Manjinder Singh Sirsa had then too demanded strict action against those who misbehaved in religious places of the minorities in Pakistan. He stated that the model posing without covering her head inside the Gurudwara premises is akin to ‘beadbi’ or sacrilege.
A member of the team that posted the pictures of the Pakistani model has issued a video message after the controversy and tendered an apology after the backlash. The model and the clothing brand had also tendered an apology.
