A statue of Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh was vandalised in Lahore Tuesday by Tehreek-e-Labbaik extremists. An Indian minister called the ruler a great unifier, even as a Pakistani minister called the attackers illiterates.
This was the third attempt of vandalising the statue since its unveiling in 2019 at the Lahore Fort, Mai Jindan Haveli, on Ranjit Singh’s 180th death anniversary. Singh is the first king of the Sikh empire. The vandaliser, Rizwan, is allegedly a member of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). He was arrested shortly after the incident.
A video of the vandalism is being widely circulated on social media. The clip shows a man repeatedly hitting the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on a horse. First the arm falls off, and then the man pushes Singh’s statue off the horse. Two men are then seen stopping him from doing any further damage to the statue.
TLP worker pulling down Ranjit Singh's statue at the Lahore Fort. The statue had previously been vandalized by TLP workers on at least two different occasions in the past. pic.twitter.com/IMhcZmPj7e
— Ali Usman Qasmi (@AU_Qasmi) August 17, 2021
India’s Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri called Ranjit Singh ‘the great unifier of India’, adding that the incident must be strongly condemned. “This act which attempts to erase the shared history of the subcontinent shows how extremist ideologies feel emboldened in our volatile neighbourhood,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the Pakistani government has “completely failed in its duty to prevent such attacks”. “We call upon the Pakistan Govt to ensure the safety, security & well-being of its minority communities,” the ministry added.
Union minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the act, and said this “goes to show that anti-national forces are steadfast in their mission to spread intolerance & unrest, and wipe off our shared past.”
The mindless desecration of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue in Lahore goes to show that anti-national forces are steadfast in their mission to spread intolerance & unrest, and wipe off our shared past. This must be condemned in the harshest words. https://t.co/6ZPLTmvlHs
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) August 17, 2021
Former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal also said the act has hurt Sikh sentiments, and urged the MEA to intervene.
I condemn the vandalization of Sher-E-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh's statue at Lahore Fort. This has happened for the 3rd time. It has hurt Sikh sentiments profoundly. I urge @MEAIndia to intervene & ensure reconstruction of the statue at the same site along with safety measures. pic.twitter.com/ASyDQoBXSP
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) August 17, 2021
President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Manjinder Singh Sirsa later thanked the Sikh community for amplifying the voices of the culprit’s arrest and demanded strict action from the government of Pakistan.
Thanking the Sangat for supporting our voice and putting pressure on Pak govt which has resulted in the arrest of the culprit who vandalised Maharaja Ranjit Singh statue
We are hoping for a strong action from @GovtofPakistan against people who reflect hatred & bias towards Sikhs pic.twitter.com/v231aNvYsd
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) August 17, 2021
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Pakistan criticises it too
Meanwhile, from Pakistan, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry termed it a “shameful” act and said “this bunch of illiterates are really dangerous for Pakistan image in the world.”
#Shameful this bunch of illiterates are really dangerous for Pakistan image in the world https://t.co/TXoAXCQtWW
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) August 17, 2021
According to Dawn, Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar also took notice of the incident and directed the Lahore police to submit a report in this regard and demanded action against the culprit. He also ordered the statue to be restored in its original form.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, also known as Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of Punjab), is remembered for his bravery. He is also known for possessing the Koh-i-Noor diamond, in 1813 according to historians. It was Singh who beautified the holiest Sikh shrine Shri Harmandir Sahib with gold, which gave it its name Golden Temple.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)