11 wounded in Vienna Sikh Temple shooting

[grumbler]

Sikhtarian violence at its worst.

Well-played, sir.  Bravo.

[Syt]

Reuters: Riots in India after Austrian Sikh killing

CHANDIGARH, India (Reuters) - Two people died in protests in the Indian state of Punjab Monday and demonstrators torched vehicles and shops after a Sikh preacher was killed in an attack on a temple in the Austrian capital Vienna.

Authorities imposed a curfew on parts of Punjab and troops were deployed to violence-hit areas after people mainly from the Dalit or "untouchable" community protested against the Vienna incident.

Two people were killed and eight wounded in two separate incidents, Punjab chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh said.

One victim was shot by troops when a crowd attacked a village police station. Protesters also blocked state highways.

The riots started in reaction to news that at least 16 people were hurt in Vienna Sunday when six armed men attacked two preachers visiting from India during a temple ceremony.

Guru Sant Rama Nand, 57, died from bullet wounds after an emergency operation, police said. The second, Guru Sant Niranjan Dass, 68, is in a stable condition.

POLICE IN DARK ABOUT MOTIVES

Two attackers were also shot in the fight that ensued when worshippers overpowered them. They are still in intensive care.

Two more were severely wounded and hospitalized and two others are now in police detention.

Austrian police said they did not know yet about the motives for the attack.

"We assume that emotions escalated because of the content of the sermon," said Werner Auticky, head of the Vienna anti-terror department.

Dass had preached in Vienna before and there had been no incidents then, he said.

Three of the attackers were residents and had previously asked for asylum in Austria, while the identity of the other three was not yet clear, police said. Around 2,800 Sikhs lived in Austria in 2001, the time of the most recent census.

SOCIAL, RELIGIOUS TENSIONS

The guru who died was from the Dera Sach Khand, a religious sect which draws large support from the lower class Dalit community and is considered separate from mainstream Sikhism. 

Sikhism officially rejects caste but social hierarchies still prevail in the state, and followers who protested from the Dera Sach Khand identified themselves as from the Dalit caste.

Activists from a powerful political party, which draws its support mainly from Dalits, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), have joined the protests.

On top of being popular among the lower castes, Dera Sach Khand also differs from mainstream Sikhism on religious points, some of which draw the ire of pious Sikhs, analysts say.

"The Dera Sach Khand follow a living guru which Sikhism cannot accept at all," political scientist Parmod Kumar said.

"Sikhs react strongly to this and that is why the clashes between the Dera followers and mainstream Sikhs occur."

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called upon people in Punjab to maintain peace.

The riots caused U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc to postpone the launch of its first cash-and-carry store in India, which was scheduled to open in Punjab Tuesday.

[Syt]

Personally, I wouldn't want to mess with Sikhs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saragarhi

The Battle of Saragarhi was fought during the Tirah Campaign on 12 September 1897 between twenty-one Sikhs of the 4th Battalion (then 36th Sikhs) of the Sikh Regiment of British India, defending an army post, and 10,000 Afghan and Orakzai tribesmen in a last stand. The battle occurred in the North-West Frontier Province, now a part of Pakistan, which then formed part of British India.

The contingent of the twenty-one Sikhs from the 36th Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh. They all chose to fight to the death. Sikh military personnel and Sikh civilians commemorate the battle every year on 12 September, as Saragarhi Day.

[...]

"The British, as well as the Indians, are proud of the 36th Sikh Regiments. It is no exaggeration to record that the armies which possess the valiant Sikhs cannot face defeat in war" - Parliament of the United Kingdom

"You are never disappointed when you are with the Sikhs. Those 21 soldiers all fought to the death. That bravery should be within all of us. Those soldiers were lauded in Britain and their pride went throughout the Indian Army. Inside every Sikh should be this pride and courage. The important thing is that you must not get too big-headed it is important to be humble in victory and to pay respect to the other side." - Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim

[Siege]

Disturbing. These news are making me sikh.