UK religion advisor’s report on Khalistani extremism biased: British Sikh group

By Press Trust of India: A British Sikh group launched a report within the UK Parliament complicated on Wednesday to assault a current impartial religion overview which had warned in opposition to the “subversive, aggressive and sectarian” actions of some pro-Khalistani activists within the UK.

The Council of Sikhs in Law committee, chaired by Professor Satvinder Singh Juss, alleged that the overview by Independent Faith Engagement Adviser Colin Bloom submitted to the federal government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in April was “not independent and impartial”.

“The Bloom Review has damaged the hitherto excellent relationship between the Sikh community and the British government, and risks continuing doing so, if it is not set aside by the British government,” the report claims.

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“The Bloom Review proceeds on the basis of assumptions that are flawed and misconceived and betray an alarming lack of understanding of the Sikh community, such that it lacks the very ‘faith literacy’ which it recommends the government to adopt in the future,” it provides.

In his overview entitled ‘Does Government ‘do God’?: An impartial overview into how authorities engages with religion’, Bloom had warned that there’s a “small, extremely vocal and aggressive” minority of British Sikhs who may be described as pro-Khalistan extremists, selling an ethno-nationalist agenda.

“It felt as though Colin Bloom was in the dock for some sort of trial, and the findings are very much critical of his independent review,” mentioned Lord Indrajit Singh, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO), just about Wednesday’s report launch occasion.

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However, the intense points Bloom rightly raises, have largely been dismissed by Sikhs in Law. Sikhs will need to have an trustworthy dialog about fringe parts in the neighborhood who’re bringing disrepute to the broader British Sikh group with their unhealthy behaviour, he mentioned.

“They purport to represent ‘the Sikh community’ with politicians and the civil service, but the reality is they only represent themselves,” he said.

The Bloom Review had specifically called on the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs, which is chaired by Britain’s first female Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill and has the first turbaned Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi as its vice-chair – both from the Labour Party, to review organisations allowed to exert influence in parliamentary affairs.

Recently, British Sikh peer Lord Ranbir Singh Suri stepped down from the APPG after raising concerns about the “entities concerned”.

Gill has been approached for a press release associated to the veteran peer’s exit however is but to reply.

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chingkheinganbi mayengbam

Published On:

Jul 19, 2023