Right-wing group disrupts Sikh Nagar Kirtan second time in New Zealand, SGPC condemns

Right-wing group disrupts Sikh Nagar Kirtan (FB: Brian Tamaki)

For the second time in three weeks, a local right-wing religious group disrupted an annual Nagar Kirtan organised by the Sikh community in New Zealand, marking the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh on Sunday. Sikh bodies, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, have expressed deep concern.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the incident occurred in Tauranga city, roughly 225 km from Auckland. The procession started at 11 am on Sunday, January 11, from the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat temple, moving towards Tauranga Boys’ College via Cameron Road, local sources said.

Police had already strengthened security arrangements in anticipation of possible disruptions by the Christian group. Despite these measures, members of a group linked to Pentecostal leader Brian Tamaki and his Destiny Church attempted to interrupt the procession.

They performed the traditional Maori haka, a tribal dance, in front of the procession and carried banners reading, “This is New Zealand not India.” However, the event concluded peacefully, thanks to effective coordination between police and volunteers.

A video shared by Tamaki carried captions: “WHOSE STREETS? KIWI STREETS. The True Patriots Are Not Backing Down.”

“Today in Tauranga, our True Patriots answered the Sikh Parade with a haka… not violence, not silence, but peaceful defiance. Our chant rang out across our streets: ‘Whose streets? OUR streets. Whose streets? KIWI streets,’” the video read.

Nearly three weeks ago, right-wing protesters had confronted a Sikh parade in Auckland, held to mark the martyrdom of the Sahibzadas, sons of Guru Gobind Singh. That incident sparked tensions within New Zealand’s Sikh community and drew strong reactions from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Akal Takht Jathedar, and the SGPC.

‘A Challenge to Social Harmony’

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami strongly condemned the repeated opposition, noting that the Nagar Kirtan was peacefully organised according to Sikh religious traditions.

He said, “Viewing the religious traditions of the Sikh community — which has always made an exemplary contribution to strengthening global brotherhood — with a hateful mindset is completely unacceptable.”

“Nagar Kirtan is a sacred religious tradition of Sikhism, and opposing it is not only an attack on the humanitarian values of the Sikh faith but also a challenge to social harmony and mutual coexistence,” Dhami added.

He emphasised that the Sikh community has historically coexisted peacefully with local populations worldwide: “Sikh community living in every country has always coexisted peacefully with local people and has consistently respected the laws and culture of the host nations. Despite this, deliberately preventing Sikhs from practising their religion is highly disappointing.”

Dhami appealed to the governments of New Zealand and India to take serious notice of the matter and take strict action against those responsible.