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Editorial
Arnie, you missed the chance!
California
governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to veto AB 504, popularly
known as the California Kirpan Bill, has been nothing less than a
shock. Clearly, Arnie did not engage with the core of the issue, and
was either not educated or misled about the import of the bill that
would have brought the state of California remarkable positive
publicity.
Sikhs across the
world had hailed the proposed Californian legislation to train law
enforcement personnel about Sikhs and the religious significance of
carrying `kirpans' and were hoping that other countries would follow
suit. It would have also added to the Human Rights activists'
efforts at preventing "wasteful arrests" of people from the
community.
Be that as it
may, the fact remains that the organizations which took the lead,
notably the Sikh Coalition, did a remarkable job in pushing the bill
this far. But the development also shows that the community needs to
build its political base, penetrate into the US system, and ensure
that its voice of reason and sanity reaches the corridors of
decision making and that it is seen as part of the efforts to
rebuild a new, egalitarian America.
The Arnie veto
is a crisis, a jolt, a disappointment. But there is no denying the
fact that the Arnie veto is also an opportunity. What the
development underlines is the need for the Sikh community to
multiply forces with other interest groups, minority groups and
rights activists. We need to learn to work the system even better.
Foremost of all, we need to network among ourselves.
While the
community did hail the development when the Warren Furutani's Bill
was cleared in the state legislature to ensure that the Sikh
community should not live in fear of arrest by law enforcement for
carrying the `kirpan' which is an integral part of their religious
faith, we saw little proactive efforts by various organizations to
work collectively through various stages.
Often, one or
the other organization pushes for one or the other item on the
community's agenda, but missing is the collective functioning. There
is an argument that such initiatives are often a close-group
exercise and cannot be widened, but that seems to be a specious one.
There was no pressure on the Governor's office from the collective
community networks, or at least Arnold Schwarzenegger thought the
fall out of the veto will be easily handled.
That the veto
comes just days after the National Heritage Academies in the US
allowed Sikh kids to carry kirpan in 61 schools is all the more sad.
True, the Sikhs
are winning case after case on this battle front. Sukhmeet Kaur, a
Sikh student in the 8th grade, pushed the issue after the Endeavour
Charter Academy at Springfield in Michigan told her to remove her
kirpan during school hours or not to come to school at all. That
brought us the NHA victory.
In Quebec, the
Sikh boy's case has focused attention on the Supreme Court's
decision to allow Sikh students to wear kirpan to class. In 2006,
the Supreme Court upheld a Quebec Superior Court ruling that said
Sikhs were allowed to wear the kirpan at school.
The issue of
whether Sikhs should be allowed to wear the kirpans, an inherent
part of their religion, to school or to their work places or in
public places, used to spark fiery debates some years ago.
Increasingly, the Sikhs have shown that they have been equal
partners in the growth of nations they made home while keeping
intact their religious attire. Governor Schwarzenegger had the
chance to put his stamp on this widely known fact.
Sikhs’
determination to adhere to their symbols is clear from the fact that
a Sikh delegation had recused itself from a meeting with Pope
Benedict XVI because members of the community were asked not to wear
kirpans during such a meeting.
We totally agree
with the Sikh Coalition’s observation that “the Sikh voice was still
not strong enough to overcome the whim of one man.”
As for the
remark that “It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to get even a
basic education bill passed,” all we need to add is that it is a
shame that Governor Schwarzenegger also must share. We gave him a
chance. He chose to miss the bus.
14
October 2009
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