Akal Takht asks Sikhs to launch struggle against turban ban

Amritsar, Aug 13 (UNI) The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism today appealed to all Sikhs to "launch a peaceful and democratic struggle" to put pressure on the French government to lift the ban imposed on the wearing of turbans by school students.

In a message issued on the letter head of the Akal Takht, Jathedar Joginder Singh Vindati asked all Sikhs to unite to oppose this ban. His message was directed towards Sikhs residing in every corner of the globe.

" The ban imposed by the French government was against the very principles of secularlism and religious tolerance. The turban is an important religious symbol of Sikhism, which gives the Sikhs a distinct identity", the message stated.

As part of its security measures to counter threats of global terrorism ,the French government had some years back banned wearing of headgears by students of all religions to school. This ban had led to widespread criticism from Sikh religious leaders including the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandik Committee (SGPC).

The SGPC had on a number of occasions appealed to the Indian government to take up this issue with France and get the ban lifted.

A case on this issue had also been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Jathedar in his message also regreted that the Central government had failed in its efforts to persuade the French government to lift the ban. The Jathedar pointed out that the Sikhs also had to launch a struggle in UK and Canada for the 'acceptance' of the Sikh religious symbol (turban).

UNI