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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. 

People praised Mr Singh on social media for highlighting the issue:

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.

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He described how some Sikhs living in India and the Punjab are fearful of the police, who they do not see as a source of protection. He said a number of Sikhs have been killed during peaceful protests.

Local media in India is filled with bias, according to Mr Gill. Some articles refer to protesters as "radical groups" and there have been claims Sikhs have used their swords to intimidate, which Mr Gill says is untrue.

"There are videos and pictures of the police acting in an incredibly savage way," he said. "The police are firing watercannons at people who are sitting down peacefully, and you can even hear gunfire during one of those incidents."

He added: "The lack of coverage in Britain will further add to a growing sentiment about how much our government values what Sikhs have brought to the country.

"There are thousands of Sikhs in Britain that are established members of the community here, we feel very welcome, we love this country, but when something that's important to us isn't viewed as important to the rest of the nation it hurts."

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