Golden Temple row: SGPC downplays ablution video of a Muslim man, past yoga incident involving a Hindu woman raises questions of double standards

Recently, an undated video surfaced of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, showing a Muslim man performing ablution in the Sarovar. The video has gone viral on social media. Netizens have called it an insult to the Sikh holy site and said that the Muslim man did this to show his religion as superior.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has downplayed the matter, calling it a minor mistake by a Muslim man. SGPC Chief Secretary Kulwant Singh Mannan said, “The Hindu community, and obviously Sikhs, know the limits. But people of other religions sometimes make mistakes.”

This is the same SGPC that objected to social media influencer Archana Makwana performing yoga at the Golden Temple. An FIR was even filed against Archana. At the time, the SGPC stated that people come here to pay obeisance with devotion, but a young woman performing yoga there hurt the religious sentiments of the congregation.

The two cases have been presented in starkly different ways, particularly the SGPC’s response, which reveals a double standard. When a Muslim man visits a Sikh holy site and demonstrates his religious practices, the SGPC considers it a minor infraction. However, when Archana Makwana performs yoga, the SGPC files an FIR against her for hurting the religious sentiments of the community.