The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Tuesday withdrew an award it had given to journalist Kuldip Nayar in 2006, The Indian Express reported. Its decision came after several Sikh groups expressed their disapproval over an article he wrote last month, comparing Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale with Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was convicted of rape in August.

The decision was made at an executive meeting in Fatehpur Sahib. The committee had given Nayar the Shiromani Patrkar Award for his writing.

“There was resentment in the community over the use of foul language against Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in an article written by Kuldip Nayar,” the committee said. “So, we have passed a resolution to withdraw the honour conferred to him in 2006.”

The committee also condemned the use of the word terrorist to describe Bhindranwale in Nayar’s autobiography Beyond The Lines. The body had declared Bhindranwale a martyr in 2003. The Sikh body Damdami Taksal, which was once headed by Bhindranwale, has called for a ban on the book.

Bhindranwale was a major leader of the Khalistan movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which has been demanding a separate homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region of South Asia. He was killed during the controversial Operation Blue Star inside the Golden Temple in June 1984.