Manmohan Singh (L) & Nicolas Sarkozy (C)
Sikhs feel let down once again in history, now by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the apex European judicial body supposed to be the guarantor of human rights and human dignity.
The Court in its judgement confirmed what French President Nicolas Sarkozy had told me (Tejinder Singh) last September at the concluding press conference of the European Union/India Summit in Marseille, France.
ANGER OF SARKOZY, SILENCE OF SINGH
Standing next to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh wearing a light blue turban, Sarkozy answered this reporter’s (Tejinder Singh) question about the wearing of turbans by Sikhs in France.
Regarding the required Sikh head covering, an integral part of their religious identity, Sarkozy, replied curtly, “Sir, we respect Sikhs. We respect their customs, their traditions. They are most welcome to France.”
Visibly irritated, Sarkozy continued in French, “But sir, we have rules, rules concerning the neutrality of civil servants, rules concerning secularism, and these rules don't apply only to Sikhs, they apply to Muslims or others. They apply to all on the territory of the French Republic."
The practice by Sikhs of allowing one’s hair to grow naturally is a symbol of respect, the most important of the five outward symbols required of all Sikhs, and the turban is worn to cover the uncut hair. Sarkozy explained that the banning of turbans is not discrimination, that, “These rules apply to everybody, to everybody with no exception. There is no discrimination whatsoever.”
Making it clear to the Sikh community in France that they have no option other than to conform to the rules, Sarkozy made the paradoxical statement, “We respect their traditions and their customs and we are convinced that they too respect the laws, traditions and customs of the French Republic.”
During this whole episode, Indian Premier Singh stayed silent on the subject even though I had put the question to both the leaders.
DISCRIMINATION BEGINS EARLY IN FRANCE
In 2004, three Sikh boys, Jasvir Singh, Bikramjit Singh and Ranjit Singh, were expelled from French schools for wearing turbans. These students were the first victims of the ban instituted which prohibits Sikh students from covering their hair at school, a decision that prompted world-wide protest from the Sikh community.
The European court ECHR dismissed last month the first legal challenge, since France passed a law in 2004 banning religious signs in schools, filed by UNITED SIKHS on behalf of Jasvir Singh.
The decision, against which there is no leave to appeal, and which was communicated to UNITED SIKHS lawyers yesterday, strengthened the resolve of the Sikh community globally to rise to the challenge and defy odds to regain their right, commented UNITED SIKHS in a statement.
The Court, without requiring France to respond to Jasvir Singh's legal arguments, followed the decision it made last November in the Islamic headscarf physical education cases (which pre-dated the 2004 law), by ruling that the ban on turbans is a proportionate response to the aims of protection of the rights and freedoms of others and the protection of public order.
UNITED SIKHS filed, last December, another legal challenge before the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Bikramjit Singh, who was expelled from the school with Jasvir Singh when they refused to remove their turban in school. France has filed a response to Bikramjit’s claim and UNITED SIKHS lawyers are preparing a reply, the organization stated.
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
Jasvir Singh was 14 years old when he, along with two other Sikh students, was expelled from Michel High School in Bobigny, France for wearing a keski. The keski is a small, discreet piece of cloth, which acts as an under-turban, covering the unshorn hair that is considered sacred in the Sikh religion. It is frequently worn by young Sikhs as a prelude, or as an alternative, to wearing a larger turban.
In the appeal filed to the ECHR, UNITED SIKHS lawyers had argued that the 2004 law interfered with Jasvir’s human rights in a way that was disproportionate to the aim of the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The lawyers added, that there was no pressing social need which dictated that members of the very small Sikh minority in France should not be able to wear a discreet head-covering.
Moreover, a Sikh’s uncut hair is a much more conspicuous sign of adherence to the Sikh religion than the keski which covers it. Accordingly, requiring a Sikh pupil to remove his keski, revealing his uncut hair tied in a tress knot, makes his religious affiliation more conspicuous rather than less.
The principal of the high school had asked the Jasvir to stop wearing the keski to school, but he declined to do so because it represents a fundamental aspect of his religion, beliefs, and identity. Jasvir was initially removed from the classroom and made to sit in a separate study area in order to pursue his education. He was placed in the school canteen, where he undertook self-study and was provided with educational materials by a teaching assistant if he requested them. No teacher taught him during the period of three weeks that he spent in the canteen. This separation continued for three weeks before he was excluded from school altogether.
LEGAL REACTIONS
Commenting on the decision, Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS Director for International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy stated, "Today is the day, 264 years ago, when a Sikh martyr, Bhai Taru Singh, was scalped alive by the oppressive rulers of the day because he refused to give up his faith that required him to wear his hair unshorn. Today our lawyers learnt that the European Court of Human Rights has dismissed Jasvir Singh’s right to wear his religiously mandated turban to school, denying him a right to practice his faith."
"Yet we have faith that we will win the battle to win the hearts and minds of the French government," she added.
Jasvir Singh’s London Lawyer, Stephen Grosz of Bindmans LLP stated, “Sikhs are striving for a society in which all faiths coexist in harmony, where the expression of religion and culture is a celebration of diversity. By contrast, the Court’s decision allows states to suppress expressions of religious diversity, apparently as a means of promoting peace. It is a depressingly negative view of the state’s role in promoting religious tolerance."
Commenting on Bikramjit Singh’s case before the UN Human Rights Committee, he added, "The UN Human Rights Committee, which is also considering this issue, has called on France to justify its ban on the wearing of religious signs."
WORLDWIDE SIKHS COMMENT
Singh Sahib Gurbachan Singh Ji, Jathedar Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, head of the 400 year old temporal seat of 25 million Sikhs globally said: "This decision has hit the Sikh community in a much bigger way than France has gained from it. Sikhs have always defended the rights of others by making the ultimate sacrifice. Now the time has come for us to turn to all religious leaders to work together to put an end to this attack on religious freedom. The leaders of all the five Takhat are meeting at the Akal Takhat on 20th July when we will take a decision on the way forward."
Avtar Singh President, Shromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committe ( SGPC), the largest elected body of Sikhs commented: "The solution now is at the political level. We have left no stone unturned to achieve a result through the courts and diplomatically. There is no choice for Sikhs except to turn to the Indian Prime Minister to do the right thing."
Paramjit Singh, President, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) in a statement said, "We will fight the decision politically through the Indian Government. If the French government can honor the turban wearing Indian PM during their national day parade recently, we must surely be able to convince them that the Court’s decision cannot stand."
Gurdial Singh, a French Sikh community leader and father of Jasvir singh, bitterly disappointed with the decision, said: "The judges didn’t listen to the voice of their souls or humanity when making this political decision. They will regret one day that they have made a grave mistake by hurting humanity and snatching away from a peace loving community their right to practice their faith. On our part, the battle continues."
Kuldip Singh, UNITED SIKHS president resolved to continue saying: "The Sikh community will have to respond with all its strength. You don’t have to be a numerical majority to bring change through social politics. Guru Nanak was in the minority when he preached love for humanity to the majority communities of his day," he added, dismissing any doubts that France will take Sikhs seriously.
Jassi Singh Khangura, MLA, elected representative of the Punjab state assembly added: “I am very disappointed with the European court’s decision, coming in the 21st Century, on behalf of a developed country. The Punjab assembly has passed a resolution in favor of fighting for the turban and we will carry on fighting. There are strong economic ties between India and France and we will lobby through them. It is time to move the Sikh youth globally who will have to move French youths, the future decision makers in France."
US EFFORTS TO EMBRACE SIKHS
Calling for help of the West including the US and Canada, Kashmir Singh, a French Sikh community leader said, "The judges have shown themselves to be partial by not requiring France to reply to our case. The French government knows that the turban is part of the Sikh identity. We should work with politicians in the USA, Canada and the UK to bring a change of heart in France. In the in the end, we will change the law."
Dr. Pritpal Singh, Coordinator, American Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee said: "We condemn the judgment. We call upon all human rights organizations to stand by us. As Americans, we will seek a meeting with the Secretary of State to seek her help to make our case to the French government that we are peace loving people whose identity is under attack."
Earlier, discriminatory incidents involving Sikhs increased dramatically in the US as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. There were numerous cases of discriminatory attacks on Sikhs as they were misunderstood as allies of Osama bin Laden due to their appearance.
While the US is making the effort to remove misunderstanding and give Sikhs their legitimate place in society, it seems that in some member states of the European Union, comparable progress and acceptance has flowed in reverse.
US LAWMAKER HONDA SPOKE
US Congressman Mike Honda (Democrat-California), who represents Silicon Valley and who is involved in this issue in his capacity as Chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told this correspondent last year, “I don’t believe in sacrificing freedom in order to protect freedom. Turbans are part of the religious identity of Sikhs and we must strive to respect their freedom of religious expression. A balance can be struck between national security and religious liberties, but that balance can only be reached by consulting all the parties involved, in this case the Sikh community.”
“It would be ironic that many Sikhs, who fled their homeland seeking religious freedom, would find that America curtailed their religious freedoms when they arrived upon our shores,” Honda had added.
EUROPEAN LAWMAKER GILL
Asked to comment, Neena Gill, a member of the European Parliament had said last year, “I am astounded by the level of discrimination that is in fact growing … it is not confined to France … it is in Belgium, in Germany and it really smacks against all these initiatives that the European Commission is constantly launching.”
However, solutions aimed at nurturing “unity in diversity,” the European Union’s frequently appearing slogan, are already working in the United Kingdom, one of the member states of the European Union, and across the Atlantic in the United States.
Highlighting the integration and diversity that prevails across the English Channel, Gill, who was born in Punjab, India, said, “If you look at the United Kingdom, you can wear a turban not only in mainstream jobs but also in the police, the army, the air force or the navy. There is no restriction. In fact, the army has special days when they try and recruit people from the Sikh community and the Dastar (turban) is not a problem for them, so I really think we do need to raise awareness, especially from the European Commission in these particular years of Equality and Intercultural Dialogue. We have to target the resources at these issues to ensure that there is greater awareness across the EU in accepting people of different appearances.”
The root cause of the discrimination and a pragmatic solution to root it out was aptly summed up by Jennifer Handshew, a seasoned public relations professional in New York who had told this journalist, “I feel that ignorance and fear are the primary factors that fuel this discrimination and believe that education and awareness will help people better understand what the turban means to the Sikhs.”
What Handshew and others suggest provide a succinct analysis and a solution, but for now, the door to a respectable life in France for Sikhs has been slammed shut by the ECHR while French President Sarkozy had set the ball rolling last year in the presence of Indian Premier Manmohan Singh, himself a member of the Sikh community.
Comments
I don't agree with your premise that "...a Sikh’s uncut hair is a much more conspicuous sign of adherence to the Sikh religion than the keski which covers it" or that "...uncut hair tied in a tress knot, makes his religious affiliation more conspicuous rather than less."
I think the opposite is true. Long hair --- braided, in wild dredlocks, or hanging free --- is less conspicuous than a head wrap. Never the less, it is wrong to enforce turban removal, cofi removal, yarmulka removal, or hat removal for the sake of France's insistence on secularism, supposedly a unifying force in that country. France as a nation is brutally exclusionary in its dealing with residents of former colonies who now try to make a living in France. The liberal image the French promote is not matched by national policy. They treat Arabs and Africans from their former colonies like unwanted bastard children. Brits are more tolerant with transplants from elsewhere in the faded empire. Gill's right. F Franc
Sikhs were tratiors to Muslims and Hindus and faught as Sepoys for the British, killing their own people and Muslims and Hindus.
Akhbar, it were sikhs who were being slaughtered by the muslims and the hindus prior to the Indian Mutiny. No Community sided with sikhs when they were hunted down and scalps removed. You can only be a traitor to someone if that person or community is a friend, not a foe.
Can a Mass-emigration be possible to Quebec(canada) on ground basis of Refuge?
Akbar - I'm not sure what 1857 has to do with the issue at hand, however it would appear you either have a very limited grasp of the events in 1857 or are misrepresenting them. As any historian can tell you the 1857 "Mutiny" (aka War of Independence) wasn't a case of Sikh warriors vs Muslim and Hindu Sepoys. Sikhs joined the Colonial British for reasons such as an (a) aversion to a new Mughal Emperor (given how the Mughals had murdered many Sikhs including Sikh Guru's this was understandable. (b) Eastern Brahmins (who were providing religious justification for an uprising) were openly hostile to Sikhism and (c) The same sepoys who'd "mutineed" had helped the British invade Punjab and had then murdered/raped & abused Punjabi's. Moreover you seem to be forgetting that other Muslims (such as Jatt Muslims & Pathans) and Hindus (including Rajputs and Gurkhas) had all fought alongside the Sikhs in quelling the 1857 uprising.
I feel sorry for the sikhs . But try to understand that french laws who treats every body in a an equal way . The country has no official religion and is not a secularism country like India . Education is given to create a spirit that's shows that doctrins like religions is less important than the human values like equalty and the respect of others .
If education at school creates group of singh pupils or muslims or hindus . Later they will stay in a group and to OBTAIN their demands they will not hesitate to ask the support of a religious group . But if they are educated in a french way they will be a man or a woman before being affiliated to religious groups .
In India do not forget all the ethnic group violences and the problem of minorities !
So try to change our India before shouting in a foreign country . And I read the comment there I see that there are inimities between sikhs , muslims and hindus why all are indians ! Simply U have been educated in a religs way that'sbad
Balou response Pt1 - Balou, You are mistaken to say that the French law treats everyone equally, allow me to elaborate myself. For the Sikhs the long hair and associated turban are both an article of faith stipulated both by the prophets (Guru’s) and by the Sikh religious authorities, thus they can’t be compromised for devout Sikhs. The argument put forth goes that Christians are not permitted to wear the crucifix either – True – However neither Jesus nor any of the apostles directed all Christians to wear the crucifix, thus it is not a religious requirement but a tradition and the choice of the individual. Therefore in short the argument falls down as you are not comparing like with like.
Balou response Pt2 - Secondly you speak of secularism and equality in France, again if you look below the surface you will see that (as in India) the Nationalist Right Wing in the guise of the National Front is a powerful political force. They and much of the nation’s fabric are very anti-Arab (Muslim) and anti-African, thus it is a natural progression to extend this to other minorities too.
Balou response Pt3 - You speak also of respect for other and the creation of religious cliques being a threat. You are right that children need to mix with different races and faiths and learn to respect them. However this is where you again are mistaken, nobody (French-Sikh) is talking about faith schools or about teaching Sikhism to in secular schools, but the right of Sikhs to wear their turbans in mixed faith schools. This is a very important point - if you want to teach respect for others then you must respect their right to their own religious attire and practices (as long they aren’t forced on you personally). Otherwise you are teaching children to discriminate against diversity.
Balou response Pt4 - In addition if you want to have a society that respects diversity then outlawing turbans or hijabs in public (secular) life is the wrong way to do so. I would have thought that we’d want nobody to be afraid of the hijab or turban, however by outlawing them sends a message that there is something wrong with them, which in turn feeds prejudice from a young age!! Lets not also forget that thousands upon thousands of Sikhs fought and died for French freedom in WWI (the graves are clear to see across the French countryside), so such moves also smack of ignorant ingratitude!
I find Rep. Honda's statement about Sikhs fleeing India on grounds of religious oppression self-serving and ignorant. The reasons for most Sikhs emigrating is they wanted to give their families a better life economically or because they were kicked out due to political reasons, as most secessionists are (for wanting a separate nation "Khalistan".)
Heck, judging by the standards of tolerance for religious diversity, Sikhs are better off in India (or even the U.S., U.K. and Canada) than a place like Europe.
Thank you for your continued efforts in raising awareness of this issue Tejinder. This is a mind boggling decision, hard to believe. Manmohan Singh's silence is also unbearable and incomprehensible. This is a critical time in history not just for Sikhs but for freedom of religion worldwide.
Jaanusgirl.. don't talk anything if you are not fully aware. As for Khalistan, yes I want a Khalistan too cause I know how Sikh holocaust happened from 1980 -84. Everyone knows about Operation Bluestar but what about Operation Woodrose and Black Thunder. Why did Gurbachan Nirankari challenged Sikh faith by claiming himslef supreme than Guru Granth Saheb and Guru Gobind Singhji. Sikhs are not a vote bank in India and hence are treated such. If you are talking about so much patriotism for India.. just let me know the number of people from your family serving the Indian Defence forces...and then we shall talk enjoying the corrupt civilian life is easy. Watching the corrupt news channels and taking decisions is easy but when you don't know the truth i suggest you to keep your mouth shut.
The french did not object to the turbans when Sikhs fought to save France. Young Sikhs gave away their lives to save France and its so called liberalism. And I cant understand why people compare Sikh turban to christian cross or muslim hijab etc. For Sikhs its part of the attire. It symbolises standing up for peace and to protect the weak against oppressors... just as we helped france in 2nd world war.
Hey guys, france has ruined its face in the world. Secularism is another religion. French need to understand that by stopping people from practising their religion, they will be creating problems for themselves. The Sikhs will never bend and will fight for the right of their turban till the end. United Sikhs, keep the battle of advocacy up, find more partners and drag the French to the highest level of scrutiny. Gurdev (MI)
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Clearly reading this article, it shows how incumbent France has become and reflects their hypocracy. Sikhs themselves don't believe in promoting Burkhas and one can't compare the Sikh Turban to that of a Burkha. Secularism the new religion in countries like France is nothing but a butt of joke for which France will have to pay a heavy price. People of France wake up!
If every one in this world looked the same, what kind of world would this be,
If i wear a turban does it hurt anyone, does it hide my face, does it show dissrespect, NO IT DOES NOT, it shows dedication to my religion and my religion stands for: to respect others, humanity (brotherhood), Equality: All humans are equal before God – No discrimination is allowed on the basis of caste, race, sex, creed, origin, color, education, status, wealth, etc. The principles of universal equality and brotherhood are important pillars of Sikhism
if french people go to diffrent places in the world should they change for others,
the french President Nicolas Sarkozy as no brain, he is the most stupid person iv heard of, does he have any friends? what a piece of s%#t
I think the Sikh's should keep the French laws if they are for a good purpose as they are benefitting from their country. Why should the French make all these exceptions to their rules to hundreds of religious practices from all sorts of minorities. People can believe what they want but when it affects the life of their country surely they have a point? This is France not India.
This also has gone too far in the UK where Moslems demand to stop work (and still get paid) and have a room to pray to Allah during the working day.
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