On the occasion of International Yoga Day, a video of a girl doing yoga on the parikrama of Golden Temple, Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar is going viral which is being condemned by various Sangats and Sikh leaders. According to the information received, a woman named Archana Makwana took her pictures while doing the Sirsasana yoga pose at the Golden Temple Sahib parikrama and posted it on her social media account.
A complaint regarding this was lodged by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) who strongly condemned this and said that this has hurt the sentiments of the devotees. On the orders of SGPC chief Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, a complaint against Archana has been given to the Police Commissioner Amritsar, while an inquiry has been started against the SGPC sevadars who were on duty in the Golden Temple Parikrama in the morning after allegations of negligence in duty.
An SGPC official said that action has been taken against the sevadars who were on duty at that time, Gaganpal Singh, Harjinder Singh, Palwinder Singh, and that they have been suspended. One employee has been fined Rs 5,000 and transferred to Gurdwara Garhi Sahib Gurdas Nangal. SGPC has issued instructions that if such an incident happens in future, strict action will be taken.
Archana has since taken down the post and uploaded an apology on her Instagram story and apologized for her mistake. “I was unaware that practicing yoga in the Gurdwara Sahib premises could be offensive to some as I was just paying my respect to Him & didn't mean any harm to anyone. I sincerely apologize for any hurt I may have caused and promise to be more mindful in the future” she wrote.