School allows 6-year-old Sikh boy in class after CM steps in
BENGALURU/AMRITSAR: Amid a raging row over allowing the hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka, a six-year-old Sikh boy, who was recently asked to remove his turban before entering a school in Mangaluru, was allowed to attend classes, after the chief minister’s office intervened, people familiar with the matter said
A school in Karnataka’s Mangaluru denied entry to the boy, who was wearing a ‘patka’ turban, citing dress code and the interim order of the Karnataka high court. The court restrained students from “wearing saffron shawls, hijab and religious flags in classrooms of colleges that have prescribed a uniform”.
The parents of the boy, however, approached the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat NGO, who sought the intervention of the chief minister’s office.
Balvinder Singh from the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat said the matter was resolved after they contacted the CMO. “We want to thank the chief minister and primary and secondary education minister BC Nagesh for highlighting the rights provided by the Indian Constitution to people of the Sikh community. Members of the Sikh community are allowed to wear a turban and carry Kirpan,” he said.
The incident triggered severe backlash from several Sikh bodies, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which has termed it “an attack on the religious freedom of the community”.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said chief minister Basavaraj Bommai should take concrete steps to stop such incidents against Sikhs, adding that a delegation of the apex gurdwara body will soon meet Bommai to discuss the issues.
“The religious freedom of Sikhs is being suppressed in Karnataka and this cannot be tolerated.”
The District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has sought a report from Childline India Foundation, a non-government organisation, on the issue. CWC chairperson Rennie D’Souza said students from the Sikh community are allowed to wear ‘patka’ and ‘kara’, and a report has been sought on why the student was barred from classes.