When you are in another country follow their laws. When you migrate to
another society you should try to assimilate as mich as possible---and do
not try to change the culture and ethos of the host society.

Isn't it simply fair that the Sikhs should return to India---their ancestral
land where they will be unfettered to practice their culture and tradition
to the fullest extent. Why must France give in to the demands of minority
groups that do not want to blend, at least a little bit, with the host
country?


Ditto for the Muslims and other communities who try to take advantage of the
liberal mien of a secular society and try to advance their antiquated
religious practices.


Will India allow a French woman wearing shorts and blouse to walk the
streets of Bombay, Calcutta or Delhi? And how about these French ladies
walking the streets of Peshawar, Medina, Riyad, Kabul, Dhaka, Islamabad,
Khartum, Tehran........?


Think about this.


AK


>From: asok dasgupta
>Reply-To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
>To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [mukto-mona] France bans religious signs:Sikhs there look forward
>to Indian PM for help
>Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 07:57:17 +0100 (BST)
>
>It is not very uncommon to come across people who are
>not that very religious to adhere to their religious
>signs. But if any legal bar is put against religious
>signs the question goes beyond religion perhaps since
>it can then be interpreted with the call to loose
>one's identity.
>French Sikhs now look forward to Indian PM who too
>happens to be a Sikh for help in the face of loosing
>their right to wear turbans or patkas in in public
>schools in France.A report published in the Indian
>Newspaper Hindustan Times,September7,on this issue is
>pasted following the link below.
>We may note here that French Sikhs are not of French
>origin really. They are Indians mainly from the Punjab
>region of India.They practice Sikhism.Some religious
>signs a Sikh must stick to as was ordained by their
>religious authorities. Those Sikhs who now live in
>France find suddenly that they are not supposed to
>continue that practice at least in some public places.
>France is held in high esteem by the people of the
>world for its long struggles for justice,liberty and
>equality. Even during the recent war in Iraq its
>President was not on the side of the USA in sharp
>contrast with the stand of the British Prime Minister.
>Was it that urgent for the French authorities to
>select this moment at least to declare war against
>religious signs? Or, was it necessary to make the
>world understand that they were not of that strong
>liberal oulook as the world might have thought of
>them?
>
>=Asok Dasgupta,Kolkata=
>
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>http://hindustantimes.com/news/181_990794,00050003.htm
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>..................................................
>Defiant French Sikhs urge Indian PM's intervention
>..................................................
>Ranvir Nayar (Indo-Asian News Service)
>Paris, September 6
>Faced with expulsion of almost all the Sikh students
>in Paris, the Sikh community of France has urged
>Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene
>urgently in the issue.
>
>Almost all the Sikh students were turned away from the
>gates of most of the French public schools when they
>reopened on Thursday after the summer break.
>
>However, the mood in the community has become defiant
>and indeed hardened on the issue of their children
>being allowed to wear turbans or patkas (kind of
>skull cap) in public schools in France.
>
>The Sikhs were caught off guard when their children
>were asked by teachers or principals of various
>schools to either remove their patkas or turbans or
>leave the school. The school authorities have been
>citing a new law that bans any religious sign to be
>worn openly in public-funded schools of the country.
>
>Sikhs here cite Manmohan Singh's assurance last week,
>during a visit to the Golden Temple, that his
>government would take all the necessary measures to
>resolve this problem.
>"India is a huge country and has a lot of clout in the
>world. If our prime minister insists on something, it
>will definitely have a lot of impact on the French
>government.
>
>"So, the prime minister should send a special envoy to
>Paris without any delay since the issue is extremely
>complex and the future of all our children is at
>stake," Kashmir Singh, a leader of the Sikh community
>in Paris, told IANS.
>
>"We really need to find a solution urgently; otherwise
>we could risk a situation where our children could be
>expelled from their schools and lose at least a year,
>a move that would have a serious impact on their
>future," says Chain Singh, another leader of the
>community.
>
>"We were surprised as well as let down since we had
>been assured by the French authorities regularly over
>the past six months that an amicable and honourable
>solution would be found for Sikh students. However,
>now we find that our children's future is entirely
>uncertain and that we have been totally misled," says
>Gurdial Singh, one of the prominent Sikhs of Paris.
>
>Gurdial Singh too has also had to see his 15-year-old
>son Bikramjeet Singh turned away from the school last
>week since he refused to take his turban down.
>"There have been numerous such instances in the last
>few days and we know that our battle to keep our faith
>will be long and hard and that it has only just
>begun," says Kashmir Singh.
>
>On Sunday, the Sikhs called an emergency meeting of
>the children and parents affected by the new law. At
>the meeting, the mood was predominantly defiant as
>most speakers not only emphasised the importance of a
>turban or a patka for a Sikh but also urged the Sikh
>community to adopt a common position that does not
>succumb under the tremendous pressure that the new law
>is bound to bring on them.
>
>Even the children present at the meeting rejected any
>thoughts of compromising on the turban. "I will not
>give my turban even if I have to forgo the school for
>it," says Dharmavir Singh, a teenaged student of a
>school in Bobigny whose principal told him to look for
>another school.
>
>"Even if we lose a year doing this, at least it will
>resolve the problem for the Sikhs in this country once
>and for all. At least, I can be sure that my future
>generations will not have to fight this battle," says
>Bikramjeet Singh, another student.
>
>The Sikhs say that they will organise protests, go to
>court and take any other peaceful action that will get
>their children back into the school and help the
>community establish its rightful presence in France.
>
>"We will once again take to the streets to make our
>demands heard. All we want is the right to live
>honourably," says Chain Singh.
> -^-^-^-^-^-^-^
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