The sikh concerned will go until the end or will leave

Written by Kudrat Singh MENIR

The sikh man from Sarcelles, Val d’Oise in France, who had sought justice to be allowed to keep his turban on the photograph of its driving licence, said on Friday, that he will fight "until the end". He says, if he is not granted justice, he will leave France and seek political asylum in another country. "We will fight for this cause until the end. If things don’t go the right way, I will ask for political asylum in any country ", declared Shingara Singh Mann at a press conference in Paris. Shingara Singh Mann had urged the Council or State for an urgent intervention. On Monday, the Council of State had ruled that the refusal of the prefect to accept his photograph was not valid. But according to the court, it’s decision in Mann’s favour came as a consequence of its ruling that the police prefecture had based its refusal to grant a license to Mann on grounds that were not valid. The court clarified that its decision was not concerned with whether or not Mann had the right to keep the turban. The police prefecture had based it’s decision on the a 1999 decree of the Ministry of Interior, whereas it should have referred to a decree of the Ministry for Transport, that in fact states nothing related to the driving licence. However the Ministry for Transport promptly came out with a similar decree on Wednesday- stating that the photographs on driving licenses must be “frontal and with the head uncovered.” This would reduce any chances of Mr Singh benefitting from the ruling. "I am shocked", said Mr Mann on Friday t. "For a baptized sikh like me, it is impossible to remove the turban. I would rather let my head be sacrificed than to pose for a photograh with my head uncovered” Mr. Singh, who is 49yrs old is a french citizen, had no difficulty in getting an identity card in 2000. He showed the journalists assisting the conference his card with his photo in an orange turban. The Consulate of Amsterdam did not object to him wearing his turban for the photograph. The controversy is far from getting over. The lawyers of Mr. Singh are determined to exhaust all the grounds for appeal, including the European Human Rights Courts, to put argue his case for what they feel is his right to fair treatment and his right to religion. "The question that we will pose is that of the proportionality" said Patrice Spinosi. According to them, there will be no “benefit from the withdrawal of the turban", as far as any help in identification or avoiding chances of falsification are concerened. On the other hand, the withdrawal of the turban is a serious attack on Shingara Singh Manns sense of dignity and on his right to religion. Mr Mann’s lawyer explained that by way of comparison, it would be completely "proportional" or justified to ask a sikh person to leave out the knife when travelling by air, for the sake of safety. "What surprises Mr. Singh, is that he has always had a driving licence, an identity card and a passport (now expired) with photos of him wearing a turban", he added. UNITED SIKHS Director in France who is a “white Sikh” Kudrat Singh finally added : “We support the Shingara Singh Mann’s case from the beginning because we consider Sikhs, as any ethnic minority should have the same rights all over the world. We know and all experts know these rights are protected by international Conventions. The french politicians have only won some time. We expect all the white Sikhs in France and in the West to stand up now and explain thattheir right to choose their religion includes Sikhism” Post your thoughts on the news in our forum

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