AS THE BAN VIRUS SPREADS

From Canada, the phenomenon later reached other nations such as the UK, the US, and Australia

2017

January: India’s Consul General in Toronto, Dinesh Bhatia, visits Dixie gurdwara, a temple once considered a bastion of extremist elements.

February : Sikhs for Justice writes to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs complaining about such visits by Indian officials.

December 30: Ontario Gurdwara Committee announces ban on Indian officials visiting 15 temples in the province.

2018

January 4: Some gurdwaras in British Columbia and Alberta join the ban.

January 5: Similar ban in proposed in the United Kingdom.

January 7: Gurdwaras in Quebec join; a similar announcement relating to gurdwaras in the United States is issued in New York.

January 10: MEA states it takes “no cognisance of fringe elements which spread hate and communal disharmony.”

Mid-January: Members of managements of three gurdwaras announce this was not a decision taken by their executive committees, refute ban. This includes Dixie Gurdwara.

January 22: Gurdwara in Melbourne, Australia, announces ban.

January 25: Two more gurdwara managements in Ontario state they were not consulted while imposing ban; say they “never consented” to decision.