(Image source from: www.hindustantimes.com)

The Indian Americans on Indian Republic Day joined expatriates and officials to outnumber and outstay Sikh separatists who had made an unsuccessful attempt to interrupt thecelebrations at the Indian embassy in Washington.

Surrounded by a large gathering of Indian Americans and expatriates, Indian diplomat Harsh Shringla unfurled the Tricolour near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the embassy.

People acquainted with developments dismissed a claim by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), which organized the protest, that its members had burned an Indian flag outside the embassy as “completely false”.

“The photos and videos of the celebrations show no such thing took place. The claim is intended to cover up their flop show,” said a person regarding the claim made on SFJ website.

“They used a different image to make their claim. No Indian flag was burnt,” the person added.

The demonstration by SFJ attracted barely around 20 people, who were entirely outnumbered by flag-waving Indians.

“This demonstrates the hollow claim of SFJ that they enjoy wide support. They are a fringe group backed by Islamabad, clearly bringing out the nefarious design of Pakistan to stir up trouble. In fact, most of the demonstrators were Pakistanis and not Sikhs,” a second person said.

Shringla, in his address, spoke about the contribution of IndianAmericans to ties between India and the United States and defined progress in bilateral relations.

Security arrangements for the event were unprecedented, with personnel from the U.S. Secret Service, the state department’s bureau of diplomatic security, U.S. park police, local metropolitan police and fire services crawling all over the flag-hoisting event.

Carrying Khalistan flags and placards condemning India, the SFJ activists began gathering around noon,but they were no match for the IndianAmericans who had been waiting for them.

The U.S. law enforcement officials stood in a line, keeping the two sides apart, as voices and tempers rose on both sides.Slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai”, “Vande Mataram” and “Pakistan murdabad” drove away anti-India and pro-Khalistan slogans from the separatists.

“SFJ’s agenda is one of hate and bigotry funded by an agency that has funded terrorism in South Asia. It’s critical we stand together against this agency (ISI),” said Jay Kansara, director of government relations at the Hindu American Foundation.

Earlier, Sikhs of America denounced the SFJ protest, saying: “Sikhs reside and have businesses not only all over India but also boast a global presence. Such theatrical protests like flag burning are detrimental to the peace-loving and harmony enhancing Sikh community everywhere.”

-Sowmya Sangam