Jagmeet Singh: Sikh charity calls on British media to provide coverage of
treatment of Sikhs in India

'The lack of coverage in Britain will further add to a growing
sentiment about how much our government values what Sikhs have brought
to this community'

Jagmeet Singh interrupting Sian Williams live on-air BBC

Sikhs are being persecuted because of their faith - and the media is
completely ignoring their plight, according to campaigners.

In recent weeks, tensions with police have increased in the Punjab amid
protests at the alleged desecration of the Sikh holy book, the Guru
Granth Sahib, in an number of villages in the region.

Clashes with police last week left two Sikhs dead and scores injured
in Kotkapura, Punjab, according to The Tribune India. Reports allege
police used teargas and water cannons to disperse the crowd, as well as
firing at protesters, leading to the deaths. Police said they acted in
self-defence and "used minimal force".

Protesters were demanding the arrest of those responsible for tearing
up pages from the Sikh holy scripture, Guru Granth Sahib.

The warning follows a Sikh man's on-air protest on British television,
in which he attempted to highlight the lack of media coverage of the
violence against Sikhs.

Appearing on Sunday Morning Live, Jagmeet Singh, from the educational
charity Basics of Sikhi, said: "I have to say Sikhs are being killed in
Punjab and nobody is reporting it. Please report it."

Jasveer Singh Gill, a spokesman for the Sikh Press Association,
said: "Jagmeet was protesting about the lack of mainstream media
coverage, particularly in the West, about something that’s been going
on in India, and Punjab specifically.

"What Jagmeet did in pushing for coverage of what's going on in Punjab
isn't about the deaths that have occured recently, it's about something
that's been going on for many years.

"For a number of years now, unarmed Sikhs have been killed during
peaceful protests. This is what Jagmeet was trying to highlight on the
show.

Basics of Sikhi, an educational charity based in the UK, later accused
presenter Sian Williams of belittling Mr Singh.

A BBC spokesperson said: "On live TV unplanned things happen and this
was dealt with professionally and appropriately by Sian."

The Sikh charity also linked to a petition against the BBC, signed by
76,000 supporters, urging them to end the "media blackout" on violence
against Sikhs in India.

Mr Gill said that while India portrays itself as the largest democracy
in the world, a lot of its practices would be considered undemocratic,
"especially the use of the army and police" towards protesters.