Glasgow Incident: 'Disorderly Behaviour' Strongly Condemned by Glasgow Gurdwara During Indian Diplomat's Visit

Digital Desk: The Glasgow Gurdwara has "strongly" denounced the incident in which Vikram Doraiswami, the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, was prevented from attending a scheduled interaction at the religious site on Saturday. The Gurdwara called the incident "disorderly behaviour" by unidentified individuals outside the Glasgow area.

"On September 29, 2023, at Glasgow Gurdwara, while the Indian High Commissioner was paying a personal visit made possible by a member of the Scottish Parliament, an incident took place." The Glasgow Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib Sikh Sabha released a statement saying, "Some unknown individuals from outside the Glasgow region attempted to disturb this visit, after which the visiting party opted to depart the premises."

It also said that the "Scotland Police have taken notice of the situation and that the "unruly individuals" have continued to disturb the gathering of people."

"Glasgow Gurdwara strongly condemns such disruptive behaviour in a Sikh place of worship. The Gurdwara is open to people of all communities and backgrounds, and we welcome everyone openly by our religious principles," the statement continued. 

The following comes after some "extremist elements" disrupted an engagement between Indian High Commissioner to Britain Vikram Doraiswami at the Glasgow Gurudwara.

Scotland Police has responded to the event and stated that an investigation is underway to determine the entire circumstances surrounding the occurrence. The Indian High Commission had previously stated that it had complained to UK authorities about the "disgraceful incident" at the Glasgow Gurudwara in which individuals from outside Scotland "deliberately disrupted" a planned encounter for the Indian High Commissioner to Britain, Vikram Doraiswami.

Several British MPs have also condemned the incident. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the UK's Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific, stated on Saturday that she was "concerned" to learn that Indian envoy Doraiswami had been barred from meeting the Gurudwara Committee in Glasgow.

Trevelyan stated on X (previously Twitter) that the security and safety of foreign locations are of the utmost importance and that places of worship in the United Kingdom should be available to all.