Why Cultural Understanding is Vital For Peace - What happened in New Zealand is not peaceful

The streets of South Auckland, recently became a theater for a deeply jarring confrontation. On a Saturday afternoon in December 2025, a peaceful Nagar Kirtan—a traditional Sikh religious procession—was met by a group calling themselves the “True Patriots of NZ.” As the Sikh community moved forward with hymns and offers of free food, they were blocked by approximately 50 protesters performing a Haka. Banners reading “This is New Zealand, not India” were unfurled, and shouts of “Jesus is our true God” echoed through the air. For many watching, the scene was a painful irony. The Haka, a sacred Māori expression of identity and challenge, was being used as a shield for exclusionary rhetoric. Meanwhile, the Sikh community, which has been part of the New Zealand fabric for over a century, was being treated as a foreign “invading force.” This incident is a symptom of a much larger issue: a lack of mutual understanding that threatens to create a racial divide where there should be a bridge. To move forward, we must take a “deeper dive” into the shared history, values, and contributions of both the New Zealand people and the Punjabi diaspora.