Gatka' performer’s ouster from TV show irks Sikhs

Sikh organisations have strongly protested the ouster of seven-year-old Manpreet Singh from a reality show on a TV channel last week after he demonstrated gatka, a traditional martial art. The judge on the show reportedly found the gatka “too violent”.

Gatka Federation of India and Punjab Gatka Association have demanded that Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh take action against the organisers of the show.

HS Grewal, general secretary of Gatka Federation of India, said the incident had hurt the sentiments of Sikhs and gatka performers. Gatka, he said, was a traditional martial art not only of Sikhs but of the entire country. It was considered mother of all martial arts, he said.

“It is an art by which one becomes extremely graceful and dignified,” Grewal said, adding that Punjab Olympic Association had also recognised the martial art and the state education department had incorporated it school curriculum.
He said the Akal Takht jathedar had been apprised of the incident and urged to seek an apology from the TV channel for “insulting Sikh sentiments”.