Punjab Sikh Leaders Ask France to View Turbans Separately in Religious Symbols Ban

January 29, 2004

Source: Yahoo! News

http://in.news.yahoo.com/040129/43/2b6uq.html

On January 29, 2004 Yahoo! News posted an Indo-Asian News Service article that reported, "Sikh leaders and religious groups from Punjab have asked the French government to review a proposed law banning the wearing of turbans and other types of headgear in public institutions and workplaces. The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex body that manages the religious affairs of the Sikh community, has written to the French embassy in New Delhi opposing the proposed legislation. Officials at the SGPC head office in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar indicated the French government had shown a positive response to the concerns raised by Sikhs. The SGPC appealed to the French government to view the case of Sikhs separately since the turban was part of their religious headgear. Once approved by the French parliament, the law will prohibit the wearing of all types of headgear by children in public schools and at workplaces."