Sarkozy Defends Ban On Sikh Turbans At Summit With India's Prime Minister

Tuesday's issue of New Europe reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was placed in an awkward position at the press conference concluding the European Union/India Summit in Marseille. Standing next to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh who was wearing a light blue turban, Sarkozy was asked by a reporter about a French law that prohibits Sikh civil servants from wearing turbans at work, and Sikh public school students from wearing them in school. An irritated Sarkozy replied: "Sir, we respect Sikhs. We respect their customs, their traditions. They are most welcome to France. 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." (See prior related posting.)

Delhi, India Will End Helmet Exemption For Women That Originated For Religious Reasons

The government of the national capital territory of Delhi, India told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday in response to a public interest lawsuit that it plans to end the exemption for women from the requirement to wear a helmet when riding on a motorcycle. According to India Today, the exemption had a religious origin. India's national Motor Vehicles Act (Sec. 129) requires all motorcycle riders-- except for Sikh men wearing turbans, and others exempted by State government rules-- to wear a helmet.  Just as Sikh men objected on religious grounds to helmets, so did Sikh women who can only wear a chunni. In Delhi, traffic police found it difficult to distinguish Sikh women from other women in enforcing the rule. So Delhi Motor Vehicles Rule 115 was adopted that made helmets optional for all women. That exemption will now be repealed within two months.

New South Asian Congressional Caucus Launched Amid Criticism from Some Civil Rights Groups

Last week, Michigan Congressman Shri Thanedar announced formation of the 28-member "Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain US Congressional Caucus." According to India West Journal: "The group will address cultural misunderstandings, promote interfaith dialogue and harmony, and support initiatives to promote the well-being, education, and empowerment of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jains in the US." However, four Hindu, Sikh and Muslim civil rights groups issued a press release sharply criticizing formation of the caucus, saying it does not represent all parts of the South Asian community across faith, caste and ethnic lines.  The press release says in part:

"... In June of this year, Congressman Thanedar announced his intention to form a Hindu Caucus without input from the full spectrum of Hindu American civil society, including Dalit and linguistic community organizations. This caucus seems to be a new iteration of that previous announcement.”

“If this caucus is that announcement repackaged with a more inclusive label but the same makeup, it will likely combat meaningful oversight of the U.S.-India relationship, ongoing work to protect the civil rights and safety of Sikhs and other marginalized groups, and efforts to ban caste discrimination at a federal level. Moreover, given the lack of Muslim representation, it may oppose ongoing efforts to combat Islamophobia. In short, any caucus without inclusive representation from the Indian diaspora will serve as nothing more than a vehicle for Hindu nationalist policies that will inevitably harm the entire South Asian American community, including Sikh, Muslim, Dalit, Buddhist, Jain, and even Hindu Americans.

New York Court Lifts Kirpan Ban After Sikh Groups Resolve Dispute

Sikh Wire reports that on Friday, a New York state trial court judge lifted the ban he had imposed in May 2010 on the carrying ban of the kirpan, the ceremonial dagger, inside the Gurdwara in Rochester (NY). The ban was originally imposed because of a dispute between two Sikh groups. Later the ban was liberalized so that clergy could carry kirpans. According to Sikh Wire:

After protests by Sikhs in the US and elsewhere against the ban on their religious right to wear the kirpan, the Akal Takht – the supreme spiritual institution of the Sikhs in Amritsar – appointed a seven-member committee in the US to get the kirpan ban removed, and help the two warring parties at the gurdwara resolve differences.

D.C. Police Department Allows Sikh Officers To Wear Turbans, Beards

The Washington Post reports that yesterday the D.C. police force became the first police department in the country that proactively, and not in response to a lawsuit, is allowing Sikh police officers to wear beards and religious items such as turbans. The policy change came just as a Sikh reserve officer is about to graduate from the police academy. Police Chief Cathy Lanier called the change a common sense decision.  Under the new policy, turbans must match the police uniform and beards must be neatly tied back. The policy also allows Sikh officers to wear or carry other religious articles, including wearing a kirpan under their clothing. SALDEF issued a press release praising the new policy and crediting 8 years of cultural awareness training of the police department with laying the groundwork for the change.

European Parliament Says Sikh Members Cannot Wear Kirpan In Building

Asian Image reported yesterday that security authorities at the European Parliament in Brussels have decided that the Sikh kirpan (ceremonial dagger) is a security threat, and so have refused to allow Sikh Parliament members to enter the Parliament building wearing their religious daggers. This prevented a new All-Party Sikh Interest Group from holding their planned first meeting in one of the Parliament's main rooms.

Amtrak Bus Driver Refuses To Allow Sikh Student To Board Wearing Kirpan

In Davis, California last Saturday, an Amtrak bus driver barred a Sikh college student from boarding the bus that connects with a train in Sacramento because the student was wearing his kirpan (Sikh ceremonial dagger). According to the Davis Enterprise, 20-year old managerial economics student Harsimran Singh had often worn his kirpan on this same bus. This time however, the driver called police when he spotted the 9-inch kirpan, and refused to allow Singh to board unless he would place the kirpan in his back pack and store it in the bus luggage compartment.  The Sikh faith requires wearing the kirpan next to one's body.

Via Rail Will Allow Sikhs To Carry Kirpans; Sikh Wins Suit Against Bally

VIA Rail, which operates Canada’s passenger rail service, has reached a settlement with a Sikh student who had been removed from a passenger train for wearing a kirpan (Sikh ceremonial dagger). CBC News reported yesterday that the settlement, obtained through the Canadian Human Rights Commission, includes a refund of the fare paid by the student. More broadly, it involves a change in VIA Rail policy-- already implemented in January-- that allows Sikhs to wear ceremonial daggers on board trains. Student Balpreet Singh said: "I'd have been happier if [Via Rail] had just spoken to me, tried to understand the situation and resolve it...."

Meanwhile, in Fresno, California, a consent decree approved last week orders Bally Total Fitness to pay "Devin" Singh Dhaliwal, a Sikh, $24,000 in damages. The health club must also provide its Fresno managers with training in equal opportunity hiring practices. According to the Associated Press, in a job interview Dhaliwal was asked where his parents were born, what his religion is, and whether he is a Muslim.

DC Police Get Training To Understand Sikh Community

Yesterday's Panthic Weekly reports on a cooperative program between the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) and the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department (MDP). The program is training all 3,000 MDC police officers to understand the Sikh religion and is making suggestions on how to interact with the Sikh community in non-emergency, non-crisis situations. SALDEF's training program has previously been used in other agencies and police departments as well.

Religious Group Lacks Standing To Sue For-Profit Board For Breach of Duty

The Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard reported yesterday on a state trial court decision denying standing to the religious non-profit organization Sikh Dharma International in its lawsuit against the head of the for-profit natural foods company, Golden Temple, and three members of the Unto Infinity board. Unto Infinity was charged with overseeing the businesses operated by the Sikh spiritual community created by Yogi Bhajan. Golden Temple has 330 employees in Oregon, 100 in Europe, and annual revenues of $125 million. The lawsuit charges that defendants are breaching their fiduciary duties through enriching themselves at the expense of the community's assets. Still pending before the court is the question of whether individual Sikh ministers who are members of Sikh Dharma International have standing to pursue the claims separate from the organization. The court is expected to issue its preliminary views on that issue before a scheduled May hearing.

DOJ Requires Georgia County To Provide Extensive Training To Prevent Religious Bullying of Sikhs and Others

Last week (Nov. 18), the Justice Department announced an extensive agreement between federal authorities and the DeKalb County, Georgia school district requiring the district to implement polices and procedures to prevent and respond to religious and national origin harassment of students by fellow-students. The Resolution Agreement (full text) supplements a May 2013 agreement (full text) that settled a lawsuit brought by a Sikh student who had been repeatedly harassed and bullied. (2013 Sikh Coalition release.) That agreement required implementation of a safety plan for that student and anti-harassment training.  Last week's settlement (Sikh Coalition release) grew out of the Justice Department's continuing examination of the school district's harassment policies. Among other things, it requires the school district:

to develop and implement annual age and position-appropriate trainings on religious and national origin harassment for all students, staff who interact with students (including administrators, teachers, counselors, and bus drivers), and District-level administrators who interact with students or who are involved in addressing harassment or bullying in the District. The District will implement separate student- and staff-specific trainings....

All trainings must include:

A facilitated discussion of the root causes of religious and national origin harassment and the harms resulting from such conduct, including but not limited to issues related to post-9/11 backlash and the perpetuation of negative stereotypes impacting the Sikh, Muslim, South Asian, and Arab-American communities....

Bankruptcy Court Settlement of Dispute Over Sikh Assets Approved

A federal bankruptcy court in Oregon yesterday approved a settlement agreement in a dispute over assets of a Sikh religious community.  According to the Eugene (OR) Register-Guard:

The feuding religious leaders and business leaders of the Sikh community founded by the late Yogi Bhajan agreed to drop their legal claims against each other. They will move on with an orderly give-and-take of payments and a transition to new leadership for the community’s for-profit companies, including East West Tea Company LLC.... Under the settlement agreement, former Eugene resident and prominent local businessman Kartar Singh Khalsa, will resign from the Unto Infinity management board that controlled the Sikh community’s for-profit companies and religious and educational charities.

California Board Wants Picture Of Sikh Leader Eliminated From Textbook

The California State Board of Education on Thursday voted to ask Oxford University Press to remove from a 7th grade history textbook a controversial picture of a Sikh religious leader. The book pictures Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, wearing a crown and a close-cropped beard, while Sikh doctrine requires observant men to wear a turban and not shave. The picture was taken from a 19th century painting that Sikhs say make Nanak look like a Muslim. Reporting on the decision, yesterday's San Diego Tribune says that the Board also asked the publisher to cover the picture in books already printed, using a sticker with an explanation or an alternative picture. Sikh leaders would like future versions of the book to use an alternative picture of Nanak, rather than eliminating the picture, but they and the publisher cannot agree on an appropriate version.

U.S. Army For First Time Allows Sikh To Serve While Wearing Turban

According to a press release Friday from the Sikh Coalition, for the first time in 23 years the U.S. Army has agreed to allow as Sikh physician, Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, to wear his religiously-mandated turban and long hair while serving on active duty. The decision does not represent a change in Arny policy, but instead a waiver granted at this point only to Capt. Kalsi. According to Stars and Stripes, if Kalsi is transferred to another command or deploys, he will be required to apply for another waiver from the Army’s uniform policy. The Sikh Coalition has been pressing for a broader change in Army policy and the Army has indicated a willingness to review its policy that excludes Sikhs. (See prior posting.)

British Court Says Sikh Challenge To Census Proposal Is Premature

In Gill, R (on the application of) v UK Statistics Authority, (EWHC, Dec. 12, 2019), a High Court judge in England dismissed as premature a challenge to a proposal by the UK Statistics Authority not to include a Sikh ethnic group tick box response in the 2021 census. Under the proposal there would be a specific "Sikh" response under "Religion", but those wishing to list themselves as Sikh under ethnicity would need to check the "Other, specify" box. The court agreed with the government's claim, which the court described as follows:

[T]his claim is a pre-emptive challenge to the exercise of the Queen's powers ... before the Minister has made a final decision on the form of the census questionnaire, or laid the draft delegated legislation before Parliament, and before Parliament and the Queen in Council have had an opportunity to consider it. The Defendant submits that the claim is premature, and in breach of Parliamentary privilege, as a declaration in the terms sought would not respect the separation of powers between the legislature and the judiciary.

Law & Religion UK has more on the decision.

Irish Sikh Group To Challenge No-Turban Policy of Police Reserve

Ireland's Sikh Council is planning to sue to challenge a policy of the Garda Reserve that prohibits Sikh members from wearing turbans while on duty. The Garda Reserve is a volunteer section of Ireland's police force. Today's Malaysia Sun says the planned action stems from a complaint by a Sikh IT professional who had wanted to volunteer for the Reserve.

Pentagon Chaplain Hosts First Ever Sikh Program

Huffington Post reports that the first ever program at the Pentagon to recognize the Sikh faith was held last Friday. Hosted by the Pentagon Chaplain, the program  celebrated Vaisakhi, described by Valarie Kaur who spoke at the program as a celebration of "the founding of the Sikh community as the Khalsa, a spiritual sister and brotherhood."

Sikh Man Says California's Assault Weapons Ban Violates His Religious Beliefs

A lawsuit filed in a California federal district court this week by a Yuba City man alleges that California's ban on assault weapons, as well as its ban on carrying loaded firearms in one's vehicle and certain other places, violates the free exercise rights of plaintiff, a Sikh.  The complaint (full text) in Khalsa v. State of California, (ED CA, filed 3/12/2013) alleges:

Mainstream Sikh doctrine since the time of Guru Gobind Singh requires that Sikhs be at all times FULLY prepared to defend themselves and others against injustice. Some splinter groups attempt this by wearing symbolic miniature daggers in their turbans, to comply with this requirement. But mainstream Sikhs believe that the requirement is a literal and true moral duty.

Citing attacks and threats on Sikhs since 9/11, plaintiff also claims that the Second Amendment protects his right to be reasonably armed  in places and at times in which he and other Sikhs are likely to be attacked-- in his home, on the streets and in his temple. News10 reports on the lawsuit.

Canadian and Indian Governments Express Concern With Pro-Khalisan Activity By Canadian Sikhs

Last week, Canada's foreign minister John Baird in a visit to India promised to do "whatever we can within the limits of the Constitution" to prevent  extremist activity in Canada by Sikhs who want to create a separate Sikh state of Khalistan in the Punjab area of India. As reported by the Toronto Star, Baird made the comments at a press conference along with India's external affairs minister S. M. Krishna. The government of India has been  pressing Canada to take action against the separatists. Reflecting the views of the Indian government, the Indian Overseas Congress has said it wants all Khalistan insignia to be removed from Sikh Gurdwara’s in the United States and Canada. (SikhSiyasat Network, 9/14). In a press release, the Indian Overseas Congress claims that Canada's tax laws justify the call for removal of Khalistan insignia, since tax-exempt organizations generally cannot devote more than 10% of their resources political activities. (SikhSivasat Network, 9/18). Meanwhile, Canada's Sikh Coalition criticized attempts to limit pro-Khalistan activity, saying that it is an attempt "to silence any political discourse on the current state of Punjab by associating political discussion with extremism."

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Robbins v. Toole, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160274 (SD GA, Nov. 14, 2014), Georgia magistrate judge allowed an inmate to proceed with his complaint that he was not being given food that meets his religious requirements.

In Malipurathu v. Johnson, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160529 (ND OK, Nov. 13, 2014), an Oklahoma federal district court dismissed complaints by a Sikh inmate that he was not permitted to obtain a halal diet until he listed his religion as Sikh/ Islam.  Plaintiff never requested that the Department of Corrections add the Sikh religion to the list of those entitled to a halal diet. The court also dismissed various complaints about the content of halal meals served to plaintiff.

In Snodgrass v. Robinson, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 161517 (WD VA, Nov. 17, 2014), a Virginia federal district court refused to dismiss a Muslim inmate's complaint that he was not permitted to participate in the 2013 Ramadan fast.

In Amos v. Stolzer, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 161557 (ED MO, Nov. 18, 2014), a Missouri federal district court permitted a Muslim inmate to proceed against a jail sergeant, but not against other defendants, in his complaint that he was denied halal food, a "hardback" Qur'an, a "prayer rug" and access to religious services with an Imam.  His Establishment Clause claim based on the absence of Muslim clergy on the authorized clergy list was dismissed.

In Pegues v. Billingsley, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 161842 (CD IL, Nov. 19, 2014), an Illinois federal district court permitted a "vegetarian Ethiopian Jewish" pre-trial detainee to proceed with his complaint that he has been denied pastoral care from any religious volunteers, and has been denied the opportunity to meet with religious leaders in retaliation for his filing complaints.