NZ Sikhs remain unruffled despite Brian Temaki antics

Community express faith in government, police

Recent attempts by a far-right politician Brian Tamaki to disrupt a spiritual procession by Sikhs living in New Zealand has failed to ruffle the Sikhs as members of the community express faith in the government and law enforcement authorities of the country.

Days after a spiritual procession of Sikhs living in New Zealand was disrupted by a group of over 50 members of a far-right group, Sikhs living in the country have expressed their full faith in New Zealand government and the local police.

The incident occurred on December 20, when a nagar kirtan, a spiritual procession, organised by the Nanaksar Sikh Gurudwara was making way through the locality with official permission and was interrupted by protestors in Manurewa suburb of South Auckland.

The protestors belonged members of the True Patriots of NZ group linked to Brian Tamaki, founder of Destiny Church and a far-right politician.

As per videos on social media, people in blue T- shirts were seen blocking the road performing a traditional Maori Haka in front of the procession and halting the kirtan from moving forward. Slogans like “This is New Zealand, not India,” “Jesus is the only way,” and “Kiwis first” were raised by the protestors. 

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Haka is a Maori cultural dance representing identity, pride and unity often performed by a group stamping feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.

However, the Sikhs in New Zealand say they remain unfazed by the attempted disruptions and that they have full faith in New Zealand government and police. 

“When the protest took place, the police intervened as we had already taken permission to conduct our kirtan. Sikhs and other Indians have a big community here in New Zealand and people here respect us a lot. Even during Covid-19, the government helped us a lot. The issue has become an international issue as Sikh organisations from different countries have been putting pressure on the government to do something. But, we have a lot of trust in the government that they will take some action,” Jitendra Pal Singh, a Sikh of Indian origin residing in Auckland, tells Media India Group. 

In the videos from the protest that were seen on social media, the police present through the standoff had positioned itself to avoid escalations. 

Singh adds that despite proper permission taken from the police before conducting the kirtan, protests were held. 

“New Zealand is a multicultural country. People here celebrate multicultural programmes and they invite people from different cultures and every religion. When we Sikhs do a kirtan, we do not just pick flags and go on the roads without taking permission from anyone. We speak to the government and the police beforehand and seek permission,” Singh adds. 

Singh maintains that Tamaki is neither a representative of the people of New Zealand or the Maoris, but is just an attention seeker who goes around doing protests for no reason. 

“Brian Tamaki is not a representative of the people of New Zealand, or Maoris. This is not the first time he has done something of this sort. He has been involved in anti-migrant activities before. Last year as well he burnt the flags of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims and has been specifically targeting Indians or for that matter people who are from Islamic countries. He believes that all those residing here should assimilate into Christianity,” Singh says. 

In June this year, Tamaki had organised a march in Central Auckland where he claimed that the spread of non-Christians was getting out of control in New Zealand. During the protest, participants had reportedly tore and trampled on religious flags and symbols of the Hindus, Buddhist and Islamic communities and performed haka after the act.

The latest incident has also sparked an outrage in India. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal have urged the Centre to take up the issue with the New Zealand government. 

Badal has also requested the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to raise the matter with the New Zealand government and ensure that strong measures are taken to protect the rights of the Indian population.

For Sikhs in New Zealand, the prompt intervention by police has sent a strong signal that their rights and well-being would be protected in the country and this message will go a long way in removing any panic or long-term impact of the theatrics by Tamaki to stir trouble.