A medic administers the first shot of Covishield vaccine to Dr Rajesh Sharma, after the virtual launch of COVID-19 vaccination drive by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at Civil hospi...
Devotees arrive to offer prayers on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, at Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal felicitates Faridkot BJP President Vijay Chhabra as he joins SAD in Faridkot.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers burn copies of the new agricultural reform laws as they celebrate Lohri festival during a demonstration against the central government, in Amritsar.
Students, wearing traditional Punjabi dresses, fly kites to celebrate the Lohri festival, in Amritsar.
Students, wearing traditional Punjabi dresses, offer groundnuts and sweets as part of a ritual to celebrate the Lohri festival, in Amritsar.
Farmers on their tractor march towards Delhi, to join the main agitation against the Center's farm laws, in Amritsar. Farmer organizations have planned to carry out a tractor march...
People take part in a candle light march to pay homage to the martyrs of farmers' agitation against farm laws, in Bathinda
Kites prepared by kite-maker Jagmohan Kanojia at his home-workshop, ahead of the Lohri and Makar Sankranti festivals, in Amritsar.
Police stop farmers as they try to stop the ongoing Punjab BJP President Ashwani Sharma's function during their protest, in Jalandhar.
A rickshaw puller with the Tricolor during Congress party's protest march in support of farmers' ongoing agitation against the new farm laws, in Amritsar.
Workers carry egg trays at a poultry farm at Chabba village, near Amritsar.
A worker feeds chickens at a poultry farm at Chabba village, near Amritsar. Following the confirmed reports of avian influenza (H5N1) or Bird Flu-related deaths of migratory and ot...
A worker feeds chickens at a poultry farm at Chabba village, near Amritsar. Following the confirmed reports of avian influenza (H5N1) or Bird Flu-related deaths of migratory and ot...
Members of various govt employees' unions stage a protest against the state government over various demands including permanent jobs, in Amritsar.
Sikh devotees take part in a 'Nagar Kirtan' (religious procession) to mark the 355th birth anniversary of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, in Amritsar.
Farmers and their supporters burn an effigy during their protest against the Centre's new farm laws, in Amritsar.
Students along their family members hold placards during an agitation in support of farmers' protest against the recent agricultural reform laws, in Amritsar.
Sewadars (volunteers) clean the holy pond at Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple, on a cold foggy morning, in Amritsar.
Devotees, not adhering to social distancing norms, arrive at Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) to offer prayers on the first day of the New Year, in Amritsar.
What is the genesis of recent violence in Punjab and Haryana? Is it true that it all began in a Gurudwara (a Sikh temple) in Vienna?
Technically, the attack in Vienna was not in a gurudwara, but in a Gurdehera -- also commonly called a dera -- of the Dera Sachkand, a Ravidasi organisation. This is a new Ravidasi temple that has only recently been set-up on Rudolphsheim Street which also houses the only Gurudwara in the Austrian capital, which is said to be controlled by radicals loyal to Khalistan.
It is being suggested in some press versions, as in this Hindustan Times report, that "at the centre of the conflagration is a battle for the control of cash-rich overseas gurdwaras and an assertion of religious identity by Dalits who form roughly 29 per cent of Punjab’s three crore population. The new Ravidasi place of worship apparently took away a chunk of the offerings and the "tensions came to a head when visiting sect head Sant Niranjan Das was allegedly attacked by pro-Khalistani Sikhs" on Sunday, May 24. While Sant Niranjan Das, the sect-head, was injured, his second-in-command, Sant Ramanand, was fatally injured in the attack and the news of the latter's death on Monday ratcheted up the already inflamed passions of the Dera followers in Punjab and Haryana.
The ostensible reason for the attack in Vienna is said to be the alleged disrespect shown by the Dera leaders to the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book. But intelligence agencies are probing the possibilities of a larger conspiracy to stir up trouble between the Ravidasis and the Sikhs in India.
What exactly is Dera Sachkhand?...
