Sikh youth in Denmark fights to keep his religious

[sarblohsingh2004]

Vaheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Vaheguru Jee Kee Fateh !

Sikh youth in Denmark fights to keep his religious identity

Sanjay Ganjoo & Rajeev Bhaskar (PTI)

Chandigarh, April 30, 2005

A young Sikh in Denmark, who was once paid by authorities there to give lessons on Sikh culture and history to school students in the country, today finds himself fighting the court battles for refusing to part with his Kirpan, a religious symbol sacrosanct for all baptised Sikhs.

"We have decided to go in for appeal in a higher court after a Court in Copenhagen recently fined my son 3,000 kroners (about Rs 24,000) for carrying a Kirpan," says Gurcharanjit Singh Lamba, father of Ripudaman Singh who is currently pursuing his PhD in Human Genetics from University of Aarhus in Denmark.

Ripudaman had on May 24 last year visited the US Embassy in Copenhagen where the local police arrested him for carrying a Kirpan with a length more than the permissible limit (2.5 inch).

The security staff confronted Ripudaman saying he should have confessed that he was in possession of a "knife". Danish Law prohibits carrying a knife or dagger in public places unless it is part of occupational conduct.

Lamba says the police was called in despite the fact that Ripudaman had handed over his Kirpan and mobile phone to the embassy guards before entering the building.

"My son then had the choice of either paying the penalty for the violation of the relevant lasw or going to court and he preferred the latter," says Lamba, Editor of Sant Sipahi magazine and based in Jalandhar.

"The Judge of the City Court in Copenhagen recognised that 'Kirpan,' being a religious symbol, was required to be carried by a baptised Sikh but said there was no provision for this under the Danish law," he said.

Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, considered to be "mini parliament" of Sikhs, says they will take up the issue at diplomatic level and approach the National Human Rights Commission and the National Minorities Commission on this.

"This is a serious issue and no Sikh can or should be forced to compromise with his identity. We will be meeting the Danish Ambassador in Delhi and ask India's Ambassador to Denmark to take up the matter with the concerned authorities there," SGPC spokesman Dalmegh Singh said.

Minorities Commission Chairman and Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh has taken up the matter with Ambassador of Denmark in Delhi while Akal Takht Jathedar Gyani Joginder Singh Vedanti has written a letter to SGPC urging it to take up the matter with concerned authorities.

Lamba says his concern is how the small Sikh community in Denmark will deal with this issue.

Lamba says he himself had successfully fought a case 23 years ago in Patna High Court for carrying a Kirpan on Indian flights.

"Subsequently, the Director General Civil Aviation had instructed all airport authorities in the country to allow Sikhs to carry Kirpans," he recalls.