Trouble at Vaisakhi Mela

What should have been a great day for families and an opportunity for Sikhs to celebrate the birth of Khalsa, was spoilt by a stabbing in Handsworth park - Birmingham. Read HERE for full story.

There are all sorts of rumours flying about, concerning what happened and why. To be honest i'm not interested in adding further fuel to this. It's a shame that this attack took place, that too on the day Sikhs were celebrating the birth of Khalsa. It's about time Sikhs put politics aside and showed some unity. There is no dispute that cannot be resolved through dialogue, particularly as both parties are Sikh.

The incident has led to several arrests over the last couple of days. There is speculation that the mela maybe cancelled going forward, even mela's at Wolves and Coventry are under doubt as we stand. It would be a shame if due to the actions of a few, thousands will not be able to celebrate going forward.

The Handsworth Mela is notorious for attracting trouble, mainly between Sikh and Pakistani "boys". Like other melas there is plenty of anti-sikh behaviour by the Sikh youth (drinking and smoking). Maybe this incident will awaken them, and get them to sort themselves out.

The previous week there was a incident at the Smethwick mela when some Pakistani boys attacked women,old men and kids with hockey sticks, after a few of them had been involved in a scuffle with some Sikh boys earlier in the day. Again the mela is open to anyone, but surely these boys turn up every year to cause trouble, and this needs to be stopped. I'm not saying that the sikh lads involved are clear of any blame, but the fact is the Pakistani youth shouldn't really be causing trouble at such an event. Melas themselves are usually an excuse for the youth to mingle with the opposite sex, which is one of the reasons i find them a waste of time, money and resources. We need to be educating the youth on Sikhi, not encouraging the activities that go on in mela's.