Fake notice of Golden Temple goes viral

No such notice was issued, governing body of the Golden Temple (SGPC) clarified that it was fake.

A notice allegedly from Amritsar’s Golden Temple (Sri Harmandir Sahib)has gone viral on social media, amid rising tensions between India and Canada over the Khalistan issue, particularly among the Sikh community in Canada. According to the viral notice, all overseas gurudwaras must immediately cease supporting any anti-India activity that calls for a separate nation and supports any form of terrorism using the Sikh religion, particularly the banned terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International. 

The notice reads, “We condemn any form of terrorism by Babbar Khalsa International and other organizations using Sikh religion to defame India. The Sikh community in India don’t need any coward agents residing abroad, demanding justice or a separate nation for us. The majority of Punjab still resides in Pakistan, including the Nankana Saheb. The terrorist organizations have never demanded the larger Punjab in Pakistan, which exposes their real anti-Indian intentions. Such organisations also kept quiet when our Sikh community was under attack in Afghanistan, and never provided any help or justice, which is their motto. We request entire Sikh community in India to follow the democratic path to achieve any political aspirations and vicissitudes for our community. The Sikh community stands with our beloved motherland for whom, our great Guru’s have sacrificed their lives to protect the unity, integrity and sovereignty of it. We hereby notify that, all international Gurudwaras must immediately stop supporting any form of Anti-Indian movement, which demands for a separate nation and supports any form of Terrorism using Sikh religion.”

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Fact Check-

We first searched for news reports on the Golden Temple which mentioned a notice of this kind, but did not come across any credible articles. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) is a body which is responsible for the management of Sikh places of worship in Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. Later we looked on the SGPC’s website for any announcements or notices like the one referenced in the claim, but we were not able to find anything. We even checked their social media handles also but could find any relevant post.

For further clarification we reached out to the SPGC office and they informed us that, “It is fake. No such official document has been issued by us”.

A notice with the Golden Temple’s letterhead condemning any form of terrorism by Babbar Khalsa International and other organizations using Sikh religion to defame India was found to be fake.

Conclusion–

Fact Crescendo found that a fake notice is being falsely linked to the Golden Temple. No such notice was issued, governing body of the Golden Temple (SGPC) clarified that it was fake.