By James Lamont in New Delhi
Published: May 25 2009 08:07 | Last updated: May 25 2009 10:44
An intra-religious attack on a Sikh temple in Vienna sparked riots across the Indian state of Punjab on Monday causing Wal-Mart to delay the launch of its first cash-and-carry store in the Indian city of Amritsar.
Angry protests broke out in the Punjab towns of Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala after a shoot out between feuding Sikh communities during a prayer service in Vienna on Sunday.
It has also sparked fears of a return to violence for a state that witnessed widespread killings among the Sikh community in the 1980s.
The worst protests took place in Jalandhar where mobs set alight coaches in the railway station and demonstrators cut off national highways. Coaches and bank premises were also attacked. The army has imposed a curfew on the city.
"It is a very unfortunate and disturbing development that two groups of people owing allegiance to different families have set up confrontation amongst themselves and let the Gurdwara (temple) to be made the place where attacks and counter attacks have taken place," SM Krishna, India’s new foreign minister, said in New Delhi.
The riots forced Bharti Enterprises, the Indian conglomerate, and Wal-Mart, the US retailer, to delay the launch of a joint-venture cash-and-carry store in Amritsar. The store had been expected to open on Tuesday.
An official at Bharti Wal-Mart said she could not say when the launch would now happen.
"It's too early to say when. We just have to wait and watch," Arti Singh, vice president for corporate affairs, said. "Hopefully the situation will settle down quickly and we'll launch soon."
The Bharti Wal-Mart centre, named Best Price Modern Wholesale, will be the first of between 10 and 15 planned wholesale facilities in India, measuring about 50,000-100,000 sq ft each, and employing about 5,000 people over the next seven years.
Punjab, one of India’s most prosperous states, is in the north west of the country on the border with Pakistan. Its people have contributed heavily to India’s military, business and agriculture, but they have suffered a turbulent history since India’s independence 62 years ago.
The outbreak of violence in the state will stir memories of attacks in the 1980s, when hundreds of people were killed in strikes by Sikh extremists. Punjab is home to about 15m Sikhs, a community that represents in total about 2 per cent of India’s population.
Monday’s protests were launched by followers of the Dera Sach Khand sect and various Dalit, or lower caste groups, after news spread of the Vienna attack on Sant Niranjan Dass, the head of the Dera sect. His deputy Sant Ramanand died in the attack.
