Sikhs Open School Near Paris

September 16, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Sikhs_open_school_near_Paris/articleshow/2373981.cms

Sikhs have opened a school catering exclusively to the community near the French capital in the wake of tough laws banning the wearing of traditional turbans in public schools.

The school in Bobigny opened on Saturday. Sikh men are required by religion to cover their hair at all times by a turban, an article of faith and an intrinsic aspect of their identity.

Six Sikh boys have been expelled from French schools since the controversial law banning religious symbols was passed in 2004. Several Sikh boys have dropped out of mainstream education in protest.

A Sikh entrepreneur whose son was one of those expelled after he refused to remove his turban in class built the new school, reports suggested. Some 10,000 Sikhs live in France.