By IANS
New Delhi : Representatives of the Indian Sikh diaspora Friday vowed to take to the European courts and the United Nations (UN) their fight for their “fundamental right” to wear a turban.
“Nothing satisfying has come out of the meetings between visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh so far. If Dr. Singh fails to honour our pleas, we will take up the matter with the European Courts and the UN. Our fight for wearing the turban will continue,” said Mejinderpal Kaur, director, United Sikhs, the organisation mobilising public opinion on the issue of turban.
The ban on wearing turbans to schools was imposed by the French government in 2004. Turbans were classified by French authorities as one of the religious symbols which children attending schools were barred from wearing.
“It is our religious right to wear the turban. We have no animosity towards France, but urge upon the Indian leadership to press upon Sarkozy to lift the ban on wearing turbans by students in primary and high schools, a policy decision taken in 2004,” added Kaur at a media conference.
Terming the response of the Indian prime minister as “unfortunate” that had left the community leaders “outraged”, Gurpreet Singh, another director of United Sikhs, said that the government of India had assured them it would take up the matter with Sarkozy.
The ban had led to widespread protests from the Sikh community in India and abroad. They claim that growing long hair and wearing a turban is part of the Sikh identity and not merely a religious symbol. But the French government, despite pressure from Sikhs, did not withdraw the ban.
“Apart from being India’s prime minister, Dr Singh is also a Sikh. It is a matter of shame that he is appearing so indifferent towards our religious sensibilities. What is happening, in fact, amounts to alienating a minority community,” said Gurpreet Singh.
Through a power-point presentation, the Sikh leaders tried to bring home the point that their contribution to the French freedom movement was good in more ways than one. They showed several video clippings, depicting the valour of turban-wearing Sikh soldiers.
The Sikh leaders claimed they had written to several senior Indian leaders including United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, seeking their intervention.
They were also upset, for not getting an audience with the prime minister. “It is sad that no Sikh organisation has been granted a meeting with Dr Singh or Mukherjee (External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee). We would, however, persist with our request to meet them,” said Mejinderpal Kaur.
Ahead of Sarkozy’s visit, Sikh leaders in New Delhi have been holding protests and media conferences to voice their ire against the ban, which has led to the withdrawal of Sikh students from government schools in France.
They held demonstrations in Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi earlier this week, and even submitted a memorandum to French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont in New Delhi on Jan 16. The memorandum was addressed to Sarkozy.
“The turban is an inextricable part of the Sikh identity and worn by Sikhs at all times to cover their unshorn hair, a mandatory article of their faith. As a part of the core identity of a Sikh, the ban on turban in schools essentially amounts to banning the practice of Sikh religion in France,” the memorandum stated.