In a shocking incident, a Nihang Sikh attacked a bike-borne man in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandeali with his sword upon being refused a lift to Sri Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. The Nihang Sikh stopped the bike-rider with a gesture, and then forcefully sat on the pillion seat. He then asked the rider to drop him at Sri Anandpur Sahib. Upon being told that Anandpur Sahib was not the rider’s destination, the Nihang turned furious and got off the bike. He then started attacking the man with a stick. Before the victim could realise it, the Nihang used his sword on him, resulting in four fingers of the man being cut.
The Nihang then fled into the jungle. Bystanders and those present on the scene chased him down, and after locating him, were attacked by the Nihang as well. He also attacked another person, Dhaniram (64), resulting in severe injuries to the head of the second victim. Somehow, the Nihang was captured and is currently under arrest after having been charged with IPC section 307.
The victims –Balvir and Dhaniram were taken to Anandpur Sahib for treatment. Thankfully, Balvir’s fingers have been reattached and Dhaniram too has received stitches on the head. The incident serves as yet another testimony of how some fringe Sikhs are besmirching the name of an entire community with their mindless acts of violence. In recent times, the Republic Day violence, chopping off the hand of a Punjab police officer and the violence against police at Nanded has revealed how some hot-headed Sikhs are a danger to unarmed citizens.
In Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar in 2019, a Sikh tempo driver had caught the eye of the media as he brandished his sword and threatened a Delhi police officer. Such Sikhs bring shame upon their community by using their kirpans as lethal weapons to attack innocent individuals. As explained earlier, they need to calm down and get rid of the macho-man syndrome, which drives them to unleash their kirpans at the drop of a hat. Sikhs must stop misusing the freedom accorded to them of carrying weapons, particularly kirpans. By indiscriminately attacking innocent individuals, such fringe individuals from within the community are doing themselves no good and only making life more difficult for fellow Sikhs. They must realise that they are contributing to people beginning to feel unsafe among Sikhs, from feeling safe around them. If a day such as that comes, it would indeed be the most shameful one.