One religious leader was killed and 30 people wounded in a clash between two rival Sikh sects in the Austrian capital Vienna on Sunday. Deep religious and caste divide among Sikhs was the provocation.
That set of a series of violent protests a continent away in Punjab. Two people have died and curfew has been declared in four cities. Road and rail traffic has been severely affected.
The tremors of Sunday's shootout in Vienna is being felt thousands of kilometres away in Punjab. Train bogies were burnt, a key highway blocked and cars and shops set on fire as parts of Punjab came to a standstill.
This after a leader of the Dera Sachh Khand sect died of his injuries following a clash in a Vienna gurdwara.
The provocation -- the followers of the sect touching the feet of their leader Niranjan Dass, the current head of the sect.
This angered the higher caste Sikhs who say the act was disrespectful to the Guru Granth Sahib who they consider a living Guru. They targeted their anger at the group's leaders and matters soon got out of hand.
The Dera was started 70 years ago, members of this sect mostly from the Dalit Sikh community do not wear turbans but believe in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Their supporters run into lakhs and have a strong presence in Punjab's Doab belt but they aren't considered true Sikhs by some other groups.
On Monday as they came out in large numbers, tension soon spread. By noon, key towns in the state like Ludhiana, Phagwara , Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur were under curfew.
After a morning of violence, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm:
"All the revered Gurus of Sikhism preached the values of equality, brotherhood and harmony. Invoking the teachings of the Gurus, I appeal to all sections of the people in Punjab to abjure violence and maintain peace."
A worried Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal echoed the prime minister's words.
"The incidents through the day should not have happened," said Prakash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab.
There are several such deras across Punjab, each headed by a religious leader and most members belong to the lower castes.
Monday's images bring back memories of two years ago, Punjab burnt as supporters of a sect -- the Dera Saccha Sauda clashed with Sikh groups who accused their leader of insulting the 10th guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
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