Sikh delegation told to remove turbans at Rome airport

NEW DELHI: Delhi's gurdwara management committee president Manjeet Singh GK and other members of a Sikh delegation were not cleared to board a flight from Rome after they refused to take off their turbans at the airport security check on Tuesday.

Manjeet Singh, who is also Delhi chief of Akali Dal (Badal), told TOI that the delegation had offered to let the staff touch their turbans and run a metal detector over it, but the Italian security insisted on them taking the turbans off.




The issue led to Sikhs protesting outside the Italian embassy in Delhi on Wednesday and Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal saying he would take up the matter with the Prime Minister.

Badal on Wednesday urged the central government to mount pressure on foreign countries so that turbans worn by Sikh travellers are not ordered removed for security checks at airports. "Removal of turban in the name of security check in foreign countries is a direct assault on Sikh identity. Any disrespect to the identity in any form is not tolerable," Badal said.

Ironically, Manjeet Singh was leading a delegation of the Delhi Shiromani Gurudwara Management Committee for participating in a turban awareness day to Italy. While the Sikh community is irked, Manjeet Singh had returned to the airport on Wednesday evening in another attempt to catch the flight home.

Speaking to TOI over phone, Singh described the attitude of the security personnel at Rome airport as insensitive. He said when the staff asked him to remove his turban, he tried to tell them that this was not possible as it defied the teachings of Sikhism.

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