Says, deliberate targeting of Sikhs is not in national interest
Amritsar: Taking notice of an initiated Sikh woman asked to remove her Sikh Kakaar Kirpan and not allowed admission to the examination center of Rajasthan’s Judicial Services competitive exam held at a center in Jodhpur today on June 23, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami termed it as a big violation of the country’s constitution. He said that strict legal action should be taken against the officials of the examination center who stopped the Sikh girl advocate Armanjot Kaur attending the judicial examination while wearing Kirpan, whose arbitrary action has put her future at stake.
Dhami said that according to the Constitution of India, Sikhs have full right to wear Kirpan and as per the Sikh Rehat Maryada, no Amritdhari Sikh can separate the five Sikh Kakaars (symbols of faith) from his/her body. He said that for some time Sikh candidates are being targeted in the country and there are frequent incidents where initiated Sikhs are asked to remove their religious symbols and denied admission to the competitive examinations when they protest or oppose.
The SGPC President termed this phenomenon as a big discrimination against the Sikhs in their own country India and said to give all support to the Sikh woman. He said that the Sikh organization is with the victim Sikh woman.
Dhami said that this discrimination against Sikh candidates hurts their psyche, as such criminal treatment of candidates before the paper has a profound effect on their performance as well. He said that even though everyone knows that the Kirpan is a part of the five Kakaars of Sikhs and it is also an expression of Sikh identity, fundamental rights, still treating Sikhs with hatred is highly condemnable.
Dhami demanded from Rajasthan Chief Minister Shri Bhajan Lal Sharma to intervene in this matter immediately and asked him to take strict action against the guilty officials who stopped the Sikh girl from entering the judicial competitive exam. He also demanded from the Chief Minister that special arrangements should be made by the state government to get this paper held on June 23, 2024 for Advocate Armanjot Kaur, a Sikh candidate of the Rajasthan Judicial Services competitive examination.
However, SGPC spokesperson said that in the Rajasthan Judicial Services competitive paper held today at Jodhpur, Jalandhar resident Sikh candidate Advocate Armanjot Kaur was prevented from going to the examination center wearing Kirpan. Sikh girl’s father Baljit Singh informed the SGPC that his daughter had gone to Jodhpur today to attend the competitive examination for Rajasthan judicial services, where the officials of the examination center asked her to remove the Kirpan to enter the examination center. But the Sikh girl objected to this and did not remove the Kirpan, so she was deprived of the opportunity to take the exam. Baljit Singh also informed that a petition has also been filed in the High Court of Rajasthan at Jodhpur in this matter and a legal battle will be fought for justice. Baljit Singh said that justice should be done to his daughter so that there is no such discrimination against anyone else in the future. Advocate Armanjot Kaur is currently practicing law under a Senior Advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and looks forward to serving in the field of Judiciary in the country.
