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Florida jail inmate case: Sikhs
protest against cutting off hair
WSN Network
 JACKSONVILLE,
Fla.: Filled with rage at clear violation of human rights by none
other than the state, Sikhs joined forces with the America Civil
Liberties Union and marched outside the Duval County Jail Sunday
after a Sikh inmate was forced to cut his hair and have his face
shaved despite several protests and representations to avoid such a
fate.
Jagmohan Ahuja,
36, held since April 29 on three misdemeanor charges relating to
violation of protective order and violation of probation, was forced
to cut his long hair, cut his beard and shave his mustache. His hair
was cut and his face shaved in July.
Not paying heed
to the sentiments of the collective Sikh community, the city's
attorney on Monday released a statement saying, "When an inmate's
religious practices compromise the safety and security of our
corrections facilities, safety and security must take precedence."
The Sikhs are
strongly pressing for changes to the clause and organisations like
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) and United
Sikhs were taking a lead in the fight saying the practice followed
in jails was "completely against our religion". Ahuja is now serving
a three-year sentence.
"It's
essentially like saying, 'I don't care about your religion. I don't
care about who you are,'" said Rajbir Datta, national director of
the SALDEF which has been following Ahuja's case.
"The state of
Florida convicted him and sentenced him to three years in jail. Not
three years plus violate his religious rights," said a United Sikhs
representative.
Media's requests
for a telephone interview with Ahuja were denied.
Sikhs across the
world recall the sacrifices made by heroes of the Sikh nation who
gave up their life and were tortured to a brutal death because they
refused to part with their hair. The Sikh community is fighting and
strategising intensely in current times to impart similar values to
their young ones and a case like this one has only reiterated the
need to tell not just the community's young but even other
communities about the tenets of the Sikh religion that demand
preservation of hair.
The Jacksonville
Sheriff's Office claimed it was "committed to respecting and
accommodating the religious beliefs of all our inmates population"
but insisted that in the specific case, "safety and security" took
precedence in line with a "long-standing policy that mandates
sentenced male inmates have short hair and wear no head coverings."
Many other
correctional facilities throughout Florida and the United States
have similar provisions and Sikhs may be in for many such fights,
particularly because such policies have been determined by courts to
be lawful as Sikhs were not on the picture and no one paid attention
to the fact that the clauses would be in direct conflict with a
major religion of the world, particularly to its core tenets.
The Florida
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is considering legal
action against the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Back in the days
of Gobind Singh, turbans were worn by men of wealth and status, and
the Sikhs adopted the turban for all men, poor and rich alike, to
reject the idea of a caste system. No wonder repressive regimes
often persecuted Sikhs by cutting off their hair.
8 October 2008
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