Qatar returns confiscated Guru Granth Sahib copies to India

Announcing their return in a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday, “Qatar authorities have today handed over to our Embassy in Doha Sri Guru Granth Sahib (two Saroops) taken from an Indian national in a case related to running a religious establishment without approvals. We thank the Government of Qatar for the same.”

MEA also appealed to all Indian citizens residing in Qatar or other countries to “scrupulously follow local laws and regulations in all matters.”

In response to media queries regarding the issue, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last Friday that India has “already taken up the matter with the Qatar side and our Embassy has kept the Sikh community in Doha abreast of developments in this regard”. “Our Embassy rendered all possible assistance within the ambit of local laws and regulations. One of them was returned by Qatari authorities and it was assured that the other Swaroop is also kept with respect,” said Jaiswal.

While Harjinder Singh Dhami, president, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Indian Ambassador to Qatar to intervene for the release of the confiscated swaroops, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal wrote a letter to the minister last week regarding the same.

Dhami called for the reinstallation of the swaroops in their original location and appealed for the establishment of gurdwaras in Qatar, similar to those allowed in other Islamic countries like the UAE.

Badal emphasised the need for Sikhs in Qatar to have the freedom to practice their religion in dedicated gurdwaras. “Appealed to S Jaishankar to take up the issue of the release of two ‘swaroops’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji from police custody in Qatar. Informed him that the Sikh ‘sangat’ of Qatar was in shock and anguish that the Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji, which is regarded as the living Guru by the community, had been made a case property,” she said in a post on X.