SUKHBIR ASKS PM TO TAKE UP TURBAN ISSUE WITH SARCOZY

Chandigarh December 4 :
The Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal yesterday urged Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh  to intervene with the visiting French President Nicolos Sarcozy to get the ban on wearing turbans in French schools lifted .
         In a letter to the Prime Minster on the eve of the visit of the French President to india, Mr. Badal said that it was amazing that such "discriminatory  rules and laws should exist in a country like France which has been the torch-bearer of freedom of conscience as well as of liberal and democratic ethos to large parts of world. These laws give the misleading impression that the Government of the Republic of France is either unaware of or callous towards not only the sacred tenets and practices of the Sikh faith but also the proud liberal legacy and history of their own great nation." He said that there was a seething discontent in  vast sections of the Indian population in general and of the brave and patriotic Sikhs in particular . "This can not have a salutary effect on the atmosphere international fraternity."
   Mr. Badal said that "the turban is not just a symbol of cultural faith for the Sikhs but is an inalienable part of the Sikh identity as ordained by our Gurus.  Apart from being a holy and unique symbol of the Sikh faith, the turban is also an eternal reminder of the unshakable commitment of the Sikhs to the mission given to them by the Gurus - to stand out with courage against tyranny and to protect the downtrodden against injustice of any kind."
      The Deputy Chief Minister, who is also the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal,  regretted that the attitude of the Government of India to the sentiments of the Sikhs left much to be desired. Unfortunately, a feeling is gaining ground in the minds of the Sikhs all over the world that the Government of India has never appropriately represented the case of Sikhs to the Government of the Republic of France nor taken up the matter at the diplomatic levels.  "  He also said that the Sikhs all over the world were  deeply aggrieved over the way the Government of the Republic of France has been dealing with the issue.
   Asking the Prime Minister to  impress upon the visiting dignitary the need to distinguish between the ordinary rituals of a religion and inalienable practices of any religion, Mr. Badal said, "  No civilised government in the world can, in the name of equality before law,  ever think of forcing the Hindus to eat beef or the Muslim to eat pork. These are the practices enjoined upon the followers  of the respective faith by their founders and prophets."
       Mr. Badal said that "wearing of the turban is sacred practice ordained by the Sikh Gurus. To deny this fundamental human right to members of the community clearly violates the basic principle of freedom of conscience."
      Regretting that such as grave and utterly unnecessary violation should take place in a country which prides itself on its glorious record of commitment to Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, he said that the law of that country is violative of all three principles - it runs against basic liberty, threatens fraternity and outrages equality because the Sikhs are being singled out to drop a vital and inalienable symbol of their cultural and religious identity and spiritual faith.
          The SAD president said that the Sikhs all over the world  had been fighting battles in various Courts to bring this atrocity to an end, and all over the world they have spoken in one voice on the issue. "We request you to reason with the French President that the dismissive attitude of their government to the "dastaar" issue on the erroneous pretext of equality is unacceptable to the civilized world and it runs against the glorious record of the French people in respecting religious sentiments of the people all over the world," said Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal. 
Calling upon the government of India to make all out efforts to get the Government of the Republic of France to respect the religious sentiments of the Sikhs in this regard, Mr. Badal said that the country was looking forward to the visit of  the French President. He said it would be most appropriate and befitting if the above issue is resolved through your intervention during this visit.  
He asked the Prime Minster to convey "the warm feelings of cordiality in the hearts of all Sikhs for the people of France, who we strongly believe understand and respect the anguish of the Sikh over the issue."