Indians protest closure of gurdwara in Kuwait from Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, Apr 18 (IANS) Reports of closure of a gurdwara in Kuwait led to protests in the Indian capital Thursday, with community leaders demanding the reopening of the Sikhs' place of worship. Some two dozen protesters, including Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims, were prevented by police from assembling before the Kuwait embassy where they had planned to protest the closing down of the gurdwara. Officials from the Kuwait embassy said the gurdwara was closed last year as it had not obtained a permit from local authorities that regulate setting up of places of worship. This was, however, at variance with India's official stand that the gurdwara was still functioning. The Indian eternal affairs ministry Wednesday said the Indian mission in Kuwait had ascertained that the gurdwara was functioning and that a "landlord-tenant dispute" over it had been resolved. Parameet Singh Pamma, a Sikh leader of the National Akali Dal party who led the protestors, handed over to Kuwait embassy officials a memorandum calling for the reopening of the gurdwara. "Closing a place of worship of any religion is against humanity. Islam too does not permit this," Pamma told IANS. Babu Bhai, a Muslim wearing a skullcap, said: "Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims in India live in peace. We are together and will fight for the reopening of the gurdwara." Kuwaiti officials here dismissed a report in The Hindustan Times that the gurdwara's closure was prompted by sectarian strife in India's Gujarat state, in which nearly 850 people have been killed since February 27, a majority of them Muslims. "The gurdwara was closed down last year - much before the incidents in Gujarat," said Khaled Al-Razni, director of the Kuwait embassy's information office. "The affair of Gujarat is an internal matter and Kuwait has a policy of not interfering in any country's internal affairs. Kuwait's Constitution guarantees the freedom to practise religion to all persons, including non-Kuwaitis, Al-Razni said. "Some people just rented a house and later converted it to a gurdwara. It was allowed to function as there were no complaints." In the absence of complaints from people living in the residential neighbourhood where the gurdwara is located, the local municipal council "did not take any notice" of its existence. Later, following complaints of "inconvenience" from neighbours, the gurdwara was shut down. Kuwait is home to 320,000 Indians - the largest expatriate community in that country. Among them are more than 13,000 Sikhs. "Relations between the Indians and the Kuwaitis are tremendous," said Al-Razni. "Indians hold important positions in our society and they are an essential and important part of the Kuwaiti system and culture." Ties between the two sides, however, have been rocked in recent weeks by the elopement of a Kuwaiti woman with her Indian lover. Although Kuwait initially said the woman, Dhalal Al-Azmee, could remain in India after her marriage, recent reports have said that her deportation has been sought on grounds that she is mentally unstable. -Indo-Asian News Service =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
