Woman with her cheek painted in tricolour 'stopped' from entering Golden Temple, controversy erupts
Amritsar (Punjab), Apr 17: A video has surfaced on social media purportedly showing a woman being stopped from entering the Golden Temple because she has the colours of the national flag painted on her face, triggering a row on Monday.
A man who is partly seen in the video is heard asking an SGPC employee at the temple complex entrance, "Is this not India?" The employee replied that "it's Punjab".
According to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which is the apex religious body of Sikhs, the sewadar asked the woman to follow the decorum (maryada) of the religious place.
The SGPC said it has started an investigation into the matter and alleged that some people are deliberately giving a wrong twist to the incident.
The sewadar reportedly objected to the flag painted on the woman's face.
It is a common practice among many visitors and tourists who go to watch "Beating the Retreat" ceremony at the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post every evening to get their faces painted with the colours of the national flag.
SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said the painting "was not a national flag as it did not have Ashok Chakra on it".
"The Sikh community has great respect for the national flag since the majority of the people who sacrificed their lives for the nation during the freedom struggle were Sikhs," he said.
Grewal said Sikhs are patriots and they can make any sacrifice for the sake of the motherland.
Grewal expressed regret over the incident and said, "All people, they may be from anywhere around the world or from any religion, are welcome here. The incident happened when a lady devotee who was stopped by the SGPC sewadar and asked to follow Sikh maryada that led to some arguments between them."
"Due to this this incident, if anybody has felt hurt, I express regret," he said, while adding that violation of Sikh code of conduct cannot be tolerated at any cost.
Referring to the narrative being created against the Sikhs after the incident, he said, "No one should try to malign the image of Sikh community by posting objectionable videos on social media."
The incident happened on Saturday, he said.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami also condemned the narrative being created against the Sikhs on social media after the video went viral on social media.
The SGPC president said it was not right to make fabricated and baseless comments on social media to tarnish the image of Sikhs and defame the management of the organisation over an incident.
"Sachkhand Sri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) is a universal place for people of all religions and the pilgrims who reach here are respected. But it is sad that anti-Sikh forces are leaving no stone unturned to tarnish the image of Sikh institutions. Spreading false propaganda on any incident is an act of breaking the brotherhood, which should be avoided," Dhami said.
Dhami said that every gurdwara has a code of conduct, which is mandatory for people to follow.
"Sometimes people deliberately act against the maryada, due to which the watchmen and sewadars keep alerting the pilgrims," he said.
1) A girl was stopped from entering Golden Temple because she had an Indian flag painted on her face.
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) April 17, 2023
The man who denied her entry into Golden Temple said, this is Punjab not India. pic.twitter.com/IfUi74poIk
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I remained truthful with the script: Anubhav sinha responds to 'IC 814' controversy
New Delhi: Despite the controversy surrounding his latest web series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, director Anubhav Sinha remains confident and grateful. The series has been accused of misrepresenting the religious identity of the five terrorists who hijacked the Indian Airlines flight in 1999. In response, the OTT platform added a disclaimer specifying the real names of the perpetrators.
Sinha, while speaking about the controversy, emphasized that he remains focused on the positive reception the series has received. "Pyaar bahut zyada aa raha hai. All the praise, love, and pats on the back make everything else fade away," Sinha said, adding that he avoids engaging in controversies and prefers to concentrate on his work. He highlighted that the project was intensely researched and that he remained truthful to the script throughout its development, which began in June 2022.
Several survivors have shared their experiences post the release of the show, and Sinha noted that while he hasn't been active online, he is aware of the discussions. He mentioned that, like his previous films Mulk (2018), Thappad (2020), Anek (2022), and Bheed (2023), he approached this project with a purist mindset. "Many are calling this my best work to date, and people are binge-watching it with their families, which I am happy to know from the platform data," he said, expressing his gratitude.
Reflecting on his first web series experience, Sinha admitted that initially, he was concerned about the format being shown on a small screen. However, he said that the overwhelming response, with the series trending in 42 countries, has been gratifying.
Looking ahead, Sinha revealed that he has 4-5 scripts in the pipeline but plans to take a break, possibly at a hill station, to relax before starting afresh.
