Sikh Community Faces Backlash After Murder, Kirpan Debate Intensifies

Amandeep Singh, an educator with the charity Basics of Sikhi, is proud of his community’s deeply rooted place in British society.

“We’re a community that has probably been celebrated as one that is very successfully integrated into the British value system,” he said. “We’ve worn kirpans for hundreds of years and since we’ve been invited to settle in this country,” he said.

But in the last few days, Singh continued, something had shifted for Sikhs across the UK in response to the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak by Vickrum Digwa, 23. “At least 15 people have been accosted on the streets by collectives of white individuals surrounding Sikhs and asking, ‘Have you got a kirpan?’, trying to stir up racial tensions.”

After recent incidents in which older Sikhs have had their turbans knocked off in racist assaults, many were fearful that the same might happen again, he said.

Like Singh, other Sikh and anti-racist leaders have condemned the murder unequivocally, but also warned that inflammatory political rhetoric after the conviction was fuelling a backlash against the wider community.

Digwa was sentenced on Monday to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years. When police arrived at the scene, he falsely claimed that Nowak had racially abused him and knocked off his turban, leading officers initially to arrest and handcuff the seriously injured teenager before they realised the extent of his injuries.

In a joint statement, Sikh community groups condemned what they called “a moment of madness” by one individual, while stating that the wider Sikh community had since faced considerable abuse and hate.

“We really feel for Henry’s family,” said Kuldeep Singh Deol, former president of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick and an IT consultant. “The wider Sikh community is really upset as things have unfolded. Last night the police bodycam footage came out and I think that’s actually made things even more painful for everyone to take in.

“This isn’t representative of the Sikh community. This was one man.”

As well as widespread “disgust” and “betrayal” among the Sikh community at Nowak’s killing, there were fears of what the political reaction could bring.

The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, has called for “pure cold rage” over the case, which has sparked widespread criticism.

Under current law, practising Sikhs are permitted to carry a kirpan, a small curved blade worn as an article of faith, for religious purposes. But Reform UK have vowed to ban them if they get into government.

The prosecution told the jury at Southampton crown court that while Digwa was wearing a small kirpan under his clothing around his neck, which met his religious obligation, he also chose to carry the much larger knife.

The Crown Prosecution Service described both blades as kirpans and said the judge, who described the weapon Digwa was carrying as a “large Sikh dagger”, accepted that assessment.

But the Sikh Federation said the blade used by Digwa was not a kirpan, while the Sikh Press Association said plans were under way to ensure every initiated Sikh in the UK was addressed directly regarding kirpan rules and responsibilities.

“The kirpan basically means ‘kirpa’, meaning grace, and ‘aan’, meaning defence,” Deol said. “It should never be used in anger. It should never be used to attack anyone. It’s supposed to be there to protect the needy, protect those that are being attacked.”

Sikhs were angered and saddened that Digwa’s actions had cast a shadow over the wider community. “This person has brought the Sikh community into disrepute and we’re really upset about that.

“I talk about the history, 150 to 200 years with the United Kingdom, and it’s only taken one case. Some of the stuff that’s coming out from politicians and some of the rightwing views are just really painful to read.”

There are already longstanding anxieties within the Sikh community across the country. According to the British Sikh Report 2025 released in January, 49% of surveyed Sikhs said they were worried about rising anti-Sikh sentiment, while 50% were concerned misinformation on social media could cause hostility towards Sikhs.

Both Deol and Singh warned a ban against the kirpan would unfairly penalise the wider community, and reiterated that the weapon used was not one.

“None of that takes away from the senseless loss and violence that Henry and his family have gone through,” Singh said.

Jayanti Shah, an anti-racism campaigner and community organiser in Southampton, said the wider political climate had heightened concerns that cases like this would lead to collective blame of minority communities.

“Just because one person who is bad is from a particular religion or particular belief doesn’t mean all of that religion and all of that belief should be condemned,” he said. “It is not the whole community. All communities are not homogeneous.”

He warned that minority communities have already changed their behaviour – becoming more cautious in public – following the 2024 summer race riots.

Singh said his grandfather was part of a wave of Sikhs to arrive in the UK during the 1920s and serve in the army. He was among several Sikh leaders to point to quotes by Winston Churchill praising the contribution of Sikhs to the war effort.

Singh said the Sikh community had a clear message to the rest of the country: “We stand with you in condemning the horrible, grotesque violence that that young lad had to endure. We stand completely in solidarity with the British public at large. But please understand that those actions do not reflect the Sikh faith in any way.

“And that’s not just words. Our history confirms that. Our rich and dignified history confirms that.”