A controversial Sikh leader, whose edicts have sparked violence in B.C.’s Indo-Canadian community, was barred from entering Canada after arriving at the Vancouver airport this month.

Bhai Ranjit Singh, a jathedar (senior official elected to guide affairs of the Sikh community) was considered a security risk, detained for 12 hours at the Vancouver International Airport and then ordered to return.

He had been issued a visa in India after being invited to attend religious ceremonies at a Sikh temple in Abbotsford – the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar.

Community sources said the invitation was kept a secret to prevent rival factions opposed to Bhai Ranjit Singh from causing problems.

They believe, word got out and information was relayed to the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Indian media said Bhai Ranjit Singh will speak about what transpired in Vancouver on his return to Punjab this week.

He had kept his visit a “top secret” and he did not inform even his near and dear ones before leaving India, local media said.

Bhai Ranjit Singh is considered a holy man by thousands of conservative Sikhs and his refusal to enter Canada has sparked some angst in the community.

A Sikh newsletter wrote: “Many wonder if the same treatment would have been given by Canadian officials to a Christian or Jewish religious leader.”

In the mid-nineties Bhai Ranjit Singh’s directive that Sikhs stop using chairs and tables in temple community kitchens divided the community in Canada and sparked violence in B.C.

For hundreds of years, Sikhs had always sat on the floor, while eating after religious services.

This practice emphasizes religious teachings that every person is of equal value. The Sikh religion strongly rejects elitism.

A few decades ago, some Sikh Temples in Canada deviated from this practice, and introduced tables and chairs.

The tables and chairs are made identical in order to preserve the concept of equality.

Still, the practice of eating at tables is considered elitism in India, and by many conservative Sikhs.

In 1996, some Sikhs began calling for the removal of the tables and chairs, and a return to floor sitting during meals.

Some claim that the dispute over the furniture is largely symbolic, and that the real reason for the dispute is that many Sikhs are weakening their faith by accommodating to modern practices.

A riot broke out at a Vancouver temple in January 1997.

Several Sikhs were charged with various crimes, from mischief to attempted murder. Many were injured, but none died.

Bhai Ranjit Singh was also denied entry to the United States in January 1999 following concerns that his visit might inflame religious tensions in North America. Rival factions told authorities that Bhai Ranjit Singh had served a lengthy jail term in 1980 for murdering the leader of a rival religious sect, and that he has never renounced the use of violence against religious opponents.

His visa was canceled at the last moment.