Bengaluru College cites High Court order, asks Sikh student to remove Turban
Bengaluru: In the background of the ongoing Hijab row in the state, Times of India reported that the Mount Carmel PU College in the city asked a 17-year-old Amritdhari (Baptized) Sikh girl student to remove her Turban in compliance with the dress code prescribed by the institution.
The College claimed that it was following the interim order released on February 10, by the Karnataka High Court which states, “Pending consideration of all these petitions, we restrain all the students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls (Bhagwa), scarfs, hijab, religious flags or the like within the classroom, until further orders”, in the point 10 of the released order.
According to TOI, the college authorities asked the student to remove her Turban on February 16, stating the HC order. However the student refused to comply, it is learned. The parents of the Sikh student have clarified that the College had been accommodating thus far and had not discriminated against their daughter. They insisted that the state government and High Court needs to issue clarifications about the interim order.
As per the IANS report, the issue began when G. Sriram, deputy director of PU Education, who was inspecting the college during practical exams on Monday, directed two students to remove their hijab as per the court order. This led to outrage among the students and they demanded that the order be applied equally to all students without any exceptions. Parents of college students who were asked to remove hijab by the authorities have demanded that the order of the High Court must be enforced equally on all students.
According to the Times of India Report, a Mount Carmel PU College spokesperson said, "We have had no issues with the girl wearing the turban so far. When the college reopened on February 16, we informed all students about the high court order and we went on with our normal activities. On Tuesday, when the DDPU (North) visited the college he found a group of girls in hijab and told them to come to the office and told them about the high court order. These girls have been demanding now that no girls should be allowed to wear their religious symbols and therefore the Sikh girl also should not be allowed to wear the turban. We spoke to the girl's father and later mailed him. We informed them about the order and told them to abide by it. The father responded that it (the turban) is an integral part of their life. We did not want to interfere, but the other girls have been insisting on uniformity and hence we sent the mail," they said.
The student’s father Gurcharan Singh, who is a senior level employee in a major IT company and has been living in Karnataka for the past 17 years, told the TOI that he told college authorities she would not remove her turban.
"She has never faced any discrimination in the college till now. Now, also they seem to be caught in a piquant situation while responding to the high court order," he told TOI.
He wrote to the college that the high court order did not mention anything about ‘Sikh turban' and it should not be misunderstood. "However, I am also in touch with our community advocates and various organizations," he said, urging the authorities to allow his daughter with her turban to attend classes. After the latest interaction with college authorities, Gurcharan Singh has approached senior advocate HS Phoolka and sought his opinion.
"I am sending my opinion to him that neither the HC order nor government order bars Sikh turban," said Phoolka, when contacted by TOI on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday, the college met the girl's father but the meeting was inconclusive
Gurcharan Singh has apprised Jeetendra Singh, administrator of Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Ulsoor, Bengaluru, about the issue.
The content of the letter revealed by the TOI states, "Asking a Sikh to remove his/her turban is a big insult to a Sikh and entire Sikh community. We also stand by those Muslim girls/women who want to cover their head with scarf/dupatta as a part of their faith and request authorities to allow them to do so as it was already practised in our country and it does not cause any trouble to other people. The colour of the scarf and dastaar (turban) can match the uniform of the institution," he wrote.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
