ABSTRACT
While the Indian authorities defended the army action in the Golden Temple in terms of India's unity, Sikhs in Britain were outraged over what they thought was the deliberate desecration of their most sacred historic shrine. Explanations offered by the community, its different set of assumptions and its language ran in stark contrast to Indian official statements. Videotapes and books explaining why the action had become necessary by the Indian High Commission to gurdwaras and many Sikh homes were brought together and publicly burnt in the gurdwara premises. A call given to boycott Indian banks and other official organizations was taken up; a gurdwara in Wolverhampton shifted its account to a British bank. A Sikh journalist wrote to the Indian High Commission to condemn the Indian army's characterization of amritdhari Sikhs.? The government of India announced visa requirements in a move to curb "Sikh extremism from abroad".8 Sikhs who had acquired British citizenship faced bureaucratic controls, besides extra cost. The Punjabi traditional games taking place in various cities were cancelled for the rest of the year.9 The photos of Sant Bhindranwale, along with Shahbeg Singh, Amrik Singh and other prominent Sikhs killed in the army action in Amritsar, appeared in several British gurdwaras.
