DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to initiate a dialogue with the UAE government to sensitise it about the religious significance of the five articles of faith, especially the 'kirpan', for the initiated Sikhs. In a letter to the minister, the Bathinda MP said she was making this appeal in the wake of a recent "advisory" by the Indian Embassy in UAE directing Indians not to carry sharp objects while visiting the country in view of Article 405 of the UAE penal law which prohibits the same.

This move has caused deep distress and mental agony to Sikh travellers and residents alike, Harsimrat said, noting that there have been instances of Sikhs being detained and compelled to remove their 'kirpan'.

She also cited a recent case of an elderly man being detained in Abu Dhabi for wearing the 'kirpan' and turban.

Badal asserted in her letter that such incidents had caused distress within the Sikh community as they contravened the rights of Sikhs to practice their faith besides raising serious concerns about the protection of religious freedom for minorities in the UAE.

"The Sikh community has always contributed positively to societies worldwide, including in the UAE, and demand the freedom to practice its faith in accordance with its tenets. "Denying Sikhs the right to wear their five 'kakkars' (Sikh articles of faith worn by baptised Sikhs), particularly the 'kirpan', is a curtailment of religious freedom and contrary to the principles of mutual respect and pluralism that India stands for," she said.

The former union minister also requested Jaishankar to consider sending a high-level delegation, including representatives from the National Commission for Minorities and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), to engage with UAE authorities and relevant international agencies and sensitise them about Sikh articles of faith. She asserted that the 'kirpan' was a sacred symbol and an inseparable part of Sikh identity mandated by Sikh tenets since the time of Guru Gobind Singh.

"Its significance is spiritual and symbolic, representing the duty to uphold justice and protect the oppressed, and not as a weapon for aggression or harm. The 'kirpan' is worn at all times by 'Amritdhari' Sikhs (initiated Sikhs) as a matter of religious obligation and conscience", she added.

(editor@dailyworld.in)