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Justice Mota Singh advocates
Sikhs' right to wear Kirpan in UK
WSN Network
 London: Sikhs
should be allowed to wear 'kirpans' to school and other public
places in the country in accordance with their religious beliefs,
believes Sir Mota Singh, Britain's first Asian judge to be knighted.
The issue has been controversial with several instances of Sikhs
being refused entry in public places and schools for carrying the
'kirpan' or the ceremonial dagger.
"I see no
objection to a young Sikh girl or boy, who's been baptised, being
allowed to wear their kirpan if that's what they want to do. Not
allowing someone who is baptised to wear a Kirpan is not right,"
Singh told the BBC.
Sir Mota Singh
joined the English bar in 1967 and made headlines with his
appointment to the bench in 1982 when he wore a white turban in
court instead of a wig. His decision to wear a turban in court came
to be seen as a sign of a multicultural Britain.
 "I wear my
Kirpan and I've always worn it for the last 35 to 40 years, even
when I was sitting in court or visiting public buildings, including
Buckingham Palace," he said. "I think these are issues that can be
dealt with a certain amount of sensitivity," he added.
The Sikh
Federation UK reportedly regularly receives calls from worried Sikh
parents whose children have been prevented from wearing the 'kirpan'
at school and in public areas.
The federation
officials believe that objections to the 'kirpan' increased
following the September 11 attacks and instances of knife crime.
Singh said: "The fact that I'm a Sikh matters more to me than
anything else.
"If, for
instance, when I was appointed the suggestion had been made that I
could not appear unless I wore a wig and discarded my turban, I
would have refused," he said. He added: "I would have said I would
not accept the appointment, but the question never arose and no
judicial eyebrows were raised at all".
Mota Singh, who
had said that he never experienced racism in Britain when he became
the country's first Sikh and Asian judge in 1982, was knighted by
Queen Elizabeth in her New Year Honours List 2010.
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Justice Mota Singh on Sikhism
543 years ago,
when England was in the throes of the Wars of the Roses and Henry
the VIII was on the throne, and 307 years before the US Declaration
of Independence, there was born in the then far off India, a man of
peace - Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs, to whom the
religion traces its origin.
Sikhism, now the
fifth largest world religion, is a revealed religion and not, as is
sometimes thought, the offshoot of one faith or the syncretic blend
of different and often conflicting faiths.
Guru Nanak was
succeeded by nine Gurus and by this process of succession, Guru
Gobind Singh became the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs. It was Guru Gobind
Singh (until then, Guru Gobind Rai) who, on the day of Vaisakhi 309
years ago, with unparalleled zeal to raise the down-trodden and to
fight against repression and injustice, initiated the Khalsa - a
mighty force, belonging to God, of self-respecting , dauntless,
brave and disciplined Sikhs, a powerful body with a resolve of steel
accompanied by a saintly temperament, a body which in unity, loyalty
and courage.
These very
qualities will strike a responsive chord in the hearts of the
Americans - they have helped Sikhs throughout history to struggle
against overwhelming odds and survive the cruelest of persecutions.
Multiplicity of
faiths is not a tragedy, but the gift of God, who is closer to us
than we are to ourselves, and yet who lives in lives quite different
from ours. This is consistent with the command of Guru Gobind Singh
who said:
"Consider the
whole of humanity as one; we are all children of the One Father!"
Sikh are now to
be found in all walks of life - politics, commerce, the
professions. They have identified themselves with the interests of
the countries where they have settled. Their loyalty to their
countries of adoption is unquestioned. (Excerpted from the address
delivered by Justice Mota Singh, Britain's first and senior-most
Judge of Indian/South Asian origin, at the Vaisakhi celebrations.
These were hosted at the U.S. Embassy in London, England,
on April 14, 2008.)
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10
February 2010
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