23 January 2012
Last updated at 02:31 ET
The Sikh community has launched an online petition against Leno
The Golden Temple is the holiest Sikh shrine
India anger as Jay Leno Golden Temple jibe riles Sikhs
The Sikh community has launched an online petition against Leno(This is a VERY mature way of dealing with the situation, and I hope it comes to Jay's attention, and I hope he makes a sincere apology, and will learn from this incident that making fun of the religion of peoples of other cultures is simply W R O N G - you get to make fun of only your religion; ONLY your very own religion do you get to make fun of, because you should know it well enough to know both its strengths and its weaknesses; one cannot hope to know enough about another religion (unless one has devoted 1,000's of hours to its study AND practice, and has spent endless hours talking with that religion's strongest adherents, and also, its most strident critics (who can only come from the faith tradition itself).
India has condemned a comment by US comedian Jay Leno on the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
A Leno skit showed the temple as the summer home of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Mr Romney has faced taxation questions over his huge wealth
and many Sikhs are angry the temple has been depicted as a place for the
rich.
The Sikh community has launched an online petition and an Indian minister called the comments "objectionable".
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi told reporters:
"It is quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a comment
has been made after showing the Golden Temple."
Mr Ravi said the Indian embassy would take up the matter with the US state department, the Press Trust of India reported.
He said: "The Golden Temple is the Sikh community's most
sacred place... The American government should also look at this kind of
thing.
The Golden Temple is the holiest Sikh shrine
"Freedom does not mean hurting the sentiments of others... This
is not acceptable to us and we take a very strong objection for such a
display."
The skit appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC television on 19 January.
The online petition organised by members of the US Sikh
community says Leno has been guilty of derogatory comments on Sikhs
before. It adds that "Jay Leno's racist comments need to be stopped
right here".
Petition signatory Simran Kaur says: "Jay Leno must apologise
and promise not to make any direct or oblique references to Sikhs or
their places of worship."
Leno has not yet commented on the matter.
Mr Romney has been criticised by rival presidential
candidates over his reluctance to release taxation records, which will
reveal his earnings and the taxes he pays.
On Sunday he agreed to release his income tax records for 2010 and estimates for 2011.
