FATEHGARH SAHIB: The UK-based Network of Sikhs Organisations (NSO) has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apprise members of a Polish delegation scheduled to meet him on September 7 of the “insulting treatment” meted out to Sikhs at airports in Poland.
In an e-mail sent to HT on Thursday, NSO director Indarjit Singh said the PM and Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur should tell the delegation about the sanctity associated with the turban. “The airport authorities in Poland should respect the sentiments of the Sikh community and put an end to the humiliating practice of removing their turbans for security checks. The conduct of the airport security staff goes against the European Court procedures,” he said.
Indarjit said Sikhs at Polish airports were being asked to place their turbans on conveyor belts like hand luggage. He said the NSO would not approach the European Court of Human Rights directly, but take up the case through a court in Poland by the middle of this month.
“If we win the case in Poland, it will be much easier to prevail upon the European Court of Human Rights to make the Poland court’s decision binding on all European countries,” said Indarjit.
SOURCE-HT
The behaviour of the Border Guard is outrageous. This behaviour is not appreciated by law abiding people of the world – shame on a democratic and a tolerant country for treating innocent people who go to Poland in this high handed manner… The PM of Poland want to promote trade with India – how about also respecting culture, tradition and religion???