SGPC seeks MEA intervention says NYPD stopping Sikh troopers from rising beard is violation

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Tuesday objected to the coverage of the New York Police Division (NYPD) of stopping Sikh policemen from rising their beard. He wrote a letter on this regard to the Indian Ambassador to the USA (US) Taranjit Singh Sandhu and likewise sought intervention from the Union minister of exterior affairs S Jaishankar.

In his letter, Dhami stated the NYPD coverage of stopping a Sikh policeman from rising a beard sighting questions of safety was not rational.

“Stopping Sikh policemen from rising beards on the idea that it posed a security problem concerning using gasoline masks is fallacious. Even when a Sikh trooper has a completely grown beard, the gasoline masks can simply be worn by tying the unshorn beard whereas serving on such an obligation. An instance of that is the Sikh troopers serving within the Indian Military, one of many world’s prime navy forces”, Dhami stated.

“Initiated Sikhs don’t reduce hair, and holding hair unshorn for a lifetime is among the commitments in the direction of the Sikh faith and the Gurus (masters). By adopting such a discriminatory coverage, the Sikhs are being pressured away from their faith by the NYPD, thus additionally limiting employment alternatives for the initiated Sikh neighborhood in a democratic nation just like the US”, Dhami added.

In a rustic just like the USA, the non secular beliefs and customs of Sikhs are now not a matter of introduction, and the neighborhood has the best to observe their faith, he added.

The SGPC president requested the Indian ambassador to boost the problems along with his counterparts within the USA. He additionally requested that the Indian Embassy within the USA at Washington DC to additionally observe up on this case to make sure that such a discriminatory coverage of NYPD is amended to guard the rights of the Sikh neighborhood.