The Hindu : French Sikhs protest move to ban religious signs in schools

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 01, 2004

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International

French Sikhs protest move to ban religious signs in schools

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, JAN. 31. An estimated 3,000 members of the Sikh community, waving placards, singing hymns and shouting slogans protested here today against the French Government's plans to ban "ostensive" religious signs in public schools.

The turnout was strong despite a cold wind and intermittent rain.

Busloads of Sikh men, women and children came from Holland, Germany, Britain, Belgium and from as far away as Canada, in support of France's 6,000-strong Sikh community.

The Sikhs will be affected by the Government's intention to ban the wearing of all "ostensive" religious symbols from State schools.

The draft Bill, which was adopted by the French Cabinet on January 28 and which will be tabled for debate in Parliament on February 3, is seen primarily as an attack against the Islamic head scarf worn by Muslim girls. The French are deeply attached to the idea of a secular republic which maintains a strict separation of the church and the state.

"The Sikhs have become collateral damage in this tug-of-war between those wanting a strict application of secular principles and those in favour of total freedom of religious expression," said sociologist Jean-Pierre Langelot.

Chain Singh, the leader of the Sikh community in Paris, told The Hindu : "We are discussing the question with the Education Ministry. The Government appointed a special commission to discuss the issue but the Sikh community was not called to give its views. They did not even know of our existence. But several thousand Sikh soldiers died to protect France during the last war when they served in the British Army. We expect better treatment from the French Government."

The French Education Minister, Luc Serry, has suggested that the Sikhs could wear transparent nets to cover their hair. The Sikhs have completely rejected this suggestion as "insulting."

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