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New Delhi, August 31: The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has urged Union External Affairs Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj to take up matter of ban on kirpan in schools by Education Department in Queensland, Australia due to which sikh students are facing problems.
In a letter written to the Ms Sushma Swaraj, the DSGMC General Secretary Mr. Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that it has come to their notice that
Education Department in Queensland, Australia has banned wearing of Kirpan (ceremonial Dagger) by the sikh students due to which sikh students are facing harassment and are subjected to discrimination by the authorities concerned.
Mr. Sirsa said that last year, the school authorities after consulting the Police Department had allowed to wear Kirpan in the school premises. Now the Education Department has dismissed the decision taken by the school Principal.
It may please be noted that Kirpan is a religious commandment that an Amritdhari Sikh (Baptized Sikh) must wear in addition to four other articles of faith at all time. Even the Sikh passengers are allowed to wear it in flights.
He said that such discrimination on part of the different Government authorities in the world is against the right to freedom of religion. He said that as per human rights resolution passed at the United Nations on December 10, 1948 the world body had made a commitment for religious freedom to all human beings in the world.
He said that Sikh Community is subjected to harassment for carrying Kirpan and other articles of sikh faith in the various parts of the world and these racial discriminations are not coming to an end despite the DSGMC taking up matter with External Affairs Ministry and embassies of different countries.
Urging the Minister to urgently take up the matter with Australian authorities, Mr. Sirsa said that DSGMC is representative body of sikhs and thus is answerable to the sikh community and it hopes that with intervening of the Indian government this harassment and discrimination will come to end as soon as possible.
