Rahul Gandhi Sparks Controversy: Claims India’s Fight Is About Sikh Rights to Wear Turban and Visit Gurdwara

Rahul Gandhi Sparks Controversy: Claims India’s Fight Is About Sikh Rights to Wear Turban and Visit Gurdwara

In Virginia, while interacting with the Indian community recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a bold and controversial statement that the real fight in India is not about politics; it is about religious freedom and the protection of regional identities.

Addressing the people, Gandhi turned to a Sikh and asked him his name; he told the audience that the root problem in India is whether Sikhs of his type are free to wear a turban or ‘kada’ and practice their religion by visiting Gurdwaras. He clarified that the fight was not only regarding Sikhs but extended to every religion.

“It is not a political fight; that is superficial,” Gandhi said. He clarified that the actual fight was to be able to practice the cultural and religious codes of conduct. “The fight is about whether Balinder Singh here, as a Sikh, can wear his turban in India, wear a kada, and visit a Gurdwara,” he said.

He then extended it to regional identities, pointing to the different Indian states represented in the audience, including Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Kerala, which he represents as a Member of Parliament.

“These names are not mere words; they are the encapsulation of your history, your language, your tradition, and your imagination,” he said, underscoring that these are part of what make India.

He critically attacked the RSS, saying that the outfit spreads the ideology that belittles the value of some states, languages, and religions. “The RSS is essentially saying that some states are inferior, some languages are inferior, and some religions are inferior,” he said.

He drew attention to the threat from this ideology about the cultural diversities of India, arguing that all languages—whether Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, or Manipuri—carry equal weight in the rich history of India.

“How would you feel if somebody told you that you couldn’t speak Tamil?” he asked, to press upon the point of importance regarding linguistic identity.

He did so with a question about the future of India: “Whether India is going to remain a free country, whether you can believe what you want, speak what you want, practice what you want, or a handful of people in the government will decide what you should do.”

“The problem is they don’t understand what India truly is or its history,” said Gandhi in attacking those he feels would steamroll the varied cultural landscapes that make up India.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Sikh’ Remarks in US Ignite Controversy, BJP Cites 1984 Riots

His comments have since become an uproar of heated debate, as critics emerged to accuse him of stirring division, while his supporters claimed he was standing up for the rights of India’s minorities and diversity.