The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which administers Sikh places of worship in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh, has asked that the web series Grahan be banned because it represents a Sikh character in an “objectionable manner.”

The Disney+ Hotstar series is set in 1984, when riots erupted in New Delhi following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Members of the Sikh community had been assaulted and their homes had been set on fire by mobs. In Delhi alone, almost 3,000 Sikhs were killed. The eight-part series will premiere on Thursday.

On Monday, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President Bibi Jagir Kaur stated, “In the web series, the allegation of Sikh genocide is being levelled against a Sikh figure, which is extremely condemnable and false.”

The online series, Kaur claimed, was being used to “rub salt in the wounds of Sikhs” and “hurt Sikh feelings.” She believes the performance will have an impact on society’s “community peace.” The chairman of the committee requested that the new Information Technology regulations be implemented by the Centre in order to stop “such sensitive and unacceptable tendencies.”

According to PTI, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee also asked that Sikh representation be included to the Central Board of Film Certification so that problematic portions involving the community may be deleted from any film. She also threatened legal action if the online series was made public.

Nirpreet Kaur, a witness to the rioting, has already issued a legal notice to the show’s producer Ajay G Rai and CEO of Disney+ Hotstar Sunil Ryan, according to Kaur. She said, “The SGPC also endorses this notice.”

According to ANI, the legal notification was sent for allegedly distorting the narrative of the riots in the programme in a “deliberate” attempt to damage the Sikh community’s emotions. The notice’s authors, Nirpreet Kaur, Satnam Singh Gambhir, and Jasmeet Singh, have requested an apology from the show’s producers.

Some individuals turned to social media to express their displeasure with the series. According to a spokesman for the Shiromani Akali Dal, the show “hurts Sikhs with its insensitivity and appears to be an attempt to protect powerful individuals.”