Source: The Hindustan Times, November 12, 2000


AMRITSAR, INDIA: A poster brought out by Punjab unit of RSS has raised yet another controversy, as radical Sikh organizations have reacted sharply on it. The poster, both in Hindi and Punjabi, has been seen in various parts of Amritsar. The poster in Punjabi carries the insignia of “Omkar” at its bottom, which gave a sufficient reason to the Sikh organizations here to denounce it. “Omkar” is the syllable “Om” in Gurumukhi script, and signifies in the Sikh religion the oneness of God. According to Kanwar Pal Singh of Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organization, the RSS should not carry Omkar in its literature as they do not believe in one God the way Sikhs believe. Secondly, it should have been on the top of the poster as is done by Sikhs. Interestingly, the Hindi version of the poster has a standard Sanskrit Om instead of the Gurumukhi Omkar. This is also at the bottom of the poster.