Sikhs demonstrate outside Birmingham consulate

LONDON: Sikhs on Sunday demonstrated outside the Indian Consulate General's office in Birmingham against Dera Sacha Sauda head's alleged act of blasphemy.

About 100 demonstrators urged the Indian government to prevent the Dera chief Baba Ram Rahim Singh from publishing what they described as "anti-Sikh propaganda".

During the protest, city councillor Gurdial Singh Atwal and members of the Federation of Sikh Organisations, UK, which organised the demonstration, met Indian diplomats and handed over a representation.

"We are protesting against sacrilegious acts committed in India. We want to voice our concerns to the Indian High Commissioner," Atwal told reporters

Dera Sacha Sauda chief has earned the ire of Sikh community by imitating the attire of tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh and the issue has snowballed into a major standoff between the two communities.