A watchdog for the United Kingdom’s charity sector has allowed a gurdwara to keep boards featuring the word ‘Khalistan’. The Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Slough was found not to violate the regulator’s political guidance for charities operating in the country. Here’s what happenedread more

A gurdwara in the United Kingdom (UK) has been allowed to keep boards featuring the word “Khalistan”. The watchdog for the UK’s charity sector ruled that it had found in its investigation into Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Slough that the “Khalistan boards” did not violate the political guidance for charities operating in the country.

The case arose in 2019 when an Indian journalist came across a “Khalistan board” in the premises of the place of worship. However, the committee of the gurdwara reportedly defended the use of these plaques as “religious” rather than political.

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Here’s what happened.

The row over ‘Khalistan boards’ in UK gurdwara

In 2019, an Indian journalist visiting the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Slough, in the Berkshire county of southeast England, found a large “
Khalistan board” inside the premises.

She filed a complaint with the Charity Commission, which regulates the UK’s charities.

Gurdwaras are registered as charities in the UK as they are for public benefit.

The British Charity Commission’s guidance does not allow advocating political party or state.

The “complex and sensitive matter” of displaying Khalistan banners or plaques at the gurdwara was raised with the independent watchdog for review.

Last December, the commission told the trustees of the gurdwara to take down the plaques by March 10, 2025. However, they were never removed, reported Times of India (TOI).

The Gurdwara’s management tried to portray the Charity Commission’s ultimatum as “bullying” and “interference in Panthic affairs,” reported Khalsa Vox.

The ultimatum led to a meeting among several Sikh organisations and three Sikh MPs — Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Preet Kaur Gill and Jas Athwal — with top officials at the commission to resolve the issue.  

UK commission allows ‘Khalistan boards’ at UK gurdwara

Five years after the issue was flagged, the UK’s commission has decided that the boards can stay, noting that the word “Khalistan” has an important religious meaning, while it is a political term for some.

The panel concluded that the charity was acting within its religious objectives, as the Khalistan boards did not promote material calling for a political state.

“After a number of governance concerns were raised with us about Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Slough, we opened a regulatory compliance case to further assess these and engage with the trustees,” a Charity Commission spokesperson was quoted as saying by PTI. 

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“As part of this case, a complex and sensitive matter was raised regarding the display of ‘Khalistan boards’. Following substantial review of evidence and consultation with a number of sector representatives and stakeholders, we have determined the display of the boards in itself not to be in breach of our campaigning and political guidance for charities,” the spokesperson added.

As per TOI, Dabinderjit Singh, lead executive for political engagement at the Sikh Federation UK, said he told the commission “the word ‘Khalistan’ on its own means ‘land of the pure”. That is different to ‘Khalistan Zindabad’.”

“They have reached a decision about the Slough one so our interpretation is any gurdwara can display this word,” he added.

Speaking to the Indian newspaper, staff at the Slough gurdwara said that the two Khalistan boards have been there for nearly 50 years.

Gurdwaras in Birmingham, Derby, Leicester and London also display the word.

The development comes amid India’s concerns about rising
activities of Khalistan supporters in the UK. Last month, during his London visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged his British counterpart Keir Starmer to take action against “extremist ideology” that “misuse democratic freedoms to undermine democracy”.

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With inputs from agencies