On June 24, 2026, ‘Gurdwara Singh Sabha’, a historic monument approximately 125 years old, located in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura district, Pakistan, was completely demolished by alleged Islamic jihadists. This site bore witness to the ‘Singh Sabha Movement,’ which drove reforms within the Sikh faith and fostered a new era of progress. The movement played a pivotal role in the late 19th century by addressing issues regarding Sikh scriptures, tackling social evils and spreading the light of education.
Farooqabad, formerly known as Chuharkana, is situated near Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Following the Partition, the complex was used in 1960 to rehabilitate refugees arriving from Bharat. This recent incident has sparked widespread concern regarding the preservation of Sikh religious and cultural heritage.
History bears witness to the many arduous phases the Sikh community has endured. From the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and the invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali to the horrific riots during the 1947 Partition of India, the community has faced immense challenges; yet, even in modern times, incidents of attacks, vandalism and violence against Sikh individuals, Gurdwaras and religious sites continue to occur across various countries.
A timeline of such major incidents between 2016 and 2026 raises a troubling question: why is the Sikh community being subjected to violent attacks in places where they have been living peacefully? Just days earlier, on June 17, 2026, a ‘sevadar’ named Jagannath and his wife, Asma Vanti, were shot dead inside a Gurdwara in the Babu Mohalla area of Mardan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. On October 16, 2025, a video surfaced showing the assault of a Sikh youth in Maharashtra’s Beed district. The video went viral on social media, depicting a brutal attack on the young Sikh man by Muslim extremists. It is alleged that during the incident, the youth’s turban was removed and he was publicly beaten and threatened. This event sparked widespread reactions across social media and within society.
On October 3, 2025, an attack took place at the home of a Gurdwara ‘Granthi’ in Punjab following a dispute involving children. According to the victim, Manpreet Singh, several individuals, including one Sabib Khan, forced their way into his home. Triggered by a quarrel between young schoolchildren, a Muslim mob, including tempo driver Sabib Khan, stormed the ‘Granthi’s’ residence and launched an assault. Members of the mob struck the ‘Granthi’ in the stomach with a shovel and subjected the women of the household to vile verbal abuse.
Similarly, on April 13, 2025, a young man of Pakistani origin was accused of allegedly behaving inappropriately inside a Gurudwara in Germany. He had also shared a post under the name “ABDALI” on the social media platform TikTok, prompting the local administration to take cognisance of the matter. On January 21, 2025, the shop of a Sikh shopkeeper in the Sultanpur Patti area of Kashipur, Uttarakhand, was attacked. According to the victim, his turban was also knocked off. It is reported that some Muslim women were also involved in the attacks.
On December 22, 2024, a young man named Faiz attacked a Sikh individual with a knife following a road dispute in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Faiz, a Muslim youth, had been stopped for riding his bike at high speed; angered by this, he launched a violent attack. A Muslim mob attacked a Sikh family with stones, injuring six people. A heavy police force was deployed to the scene to handle the situation. As tension escalated in the area, incidents of stone-pelting occurred, resulting in injuries to six members of a Sikh family. A large police contingent was deployed to bring the situation under control.
On June 24, 2024, Manmohan Singh, a Sikh shopkeeper, was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in the Yakatoot area of Peshawar, Pakistan. Following the incident, various Sikh organisations demanded that the safety of minorities in Pakistan be ensured. On May 15, 2024, an incident involving an attack on Jeevandeep Singh in the Talapara area of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, came to light. The police arrested Raja Khan, Nafees, and two other accused individuals. The incident sparked a discussion regarding fears of violence based on religious identity.
On July 1, 2023, an incident occurred at a Gurudwara in Sukkur, Sindh province, Pakistan, where individuals forcibly entered the premises, disrupted a religious ceremony and caused a dispute regarding the sanctity of the Guru Granth Sahib. Pakistan’s National Commission for Minorities also expressed concern over this incident. In another similar incident on June 18, 2022, the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, was attacked with bombs and weapons. Two Sikh devotees lost their lives, and several others were injured in the attack. Subsequently, armed assailants stormed the Gurdwara and opened fire. This incident was condemned worldwide.
On April 28, 2022, a dispute arose regarding the ‘Guru ki Sarai’ Gurdwara in Rajpura, Patiala district, Punjab. The local Sikh community alleged that the Gurdwara’s property had been encroached upon and converted into a mosque. They claimed that a Sikh family had been looking after the site since before the Partition, but was later intimidated and forced to leave.
On October 8, 2021, terrorists shot dead Supinder Kaur, a Sikh headmistress, inside a government school in the Eidgah area of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. This incident shook the entire nation. The Sikh community held a peaceful march demanding justice and appealed for measures to ensure the safety of minorities.
On May 27, 2020, an incident of vandalism occurred at the Gurdwara Arjan Dev Ji in Derby, United Kingdom. Assailants damaged the main entrance of the Gurdwara and left a threatening message on the wall. Following the incident, local Sikh organisations demanded that the administration enhance security and take strict action against the perpetrators.
In April 2016, an explosion occurred during a wedding ceremony at the Nanaksar Satsang Sabha Gurdwara in the German city of Essen. Several devotees, including an elderly Sikh ‘Granthi’, were critically injured in the attack. Police arrested two youths; one of the accused, identified as Yusuf T., was alleged to have links with a Jihadi Islamic extremist organisation. This incident raised concerns regarding the security of Sikh religious sites in Europe.
On January 21, 2023, a Sikh family was attacked in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, following a dispute over parking. During this attack, Harvinder Singh and Satinder Singh were assaulted, and their turbans were desecrated. The police registered an FIR against Mazan Gogi, Asif Nanna, Khor Shahi, Salman, Iqbal, Anwar, Saidi Bibi, and Zubada Zaidi.
These incidents make it evident that acts of violence, vandalism and targeted attacks against individuals from the Sikh community, Gurdwaras and religious sites are frequently occurring in various countries. Ensuring an impartial investigation into each such incident, taking legal action against the perpetrators and guaranteeing the safety of all religious communities is a fundamental responsibility of any democratic system. Religious freedom, mutual respect and equal adherence to the law are the most effective means to prevent the recurrence of such incidents; however, in all these common occurrences, the perpetrators belong to a specific community, namely, followers of Islam, suggesting an intense hatred towards non-Muslims and an unwillingness to abide by any laws regarding non-Muslims in their respective countries. At present, no international voices are being heard on this issue; all NGOs are silent.
