Canadian MP vows Bill on legal protection to Sikh symbols
Monday, 04/02/2013
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130204/punjab.htm#11
New Delhi : Jagmeet Singh, an elected ember of the Provincial Parliament of Ontario, Canada, has promised to bring in a Bill to give legal protection to the kirpan and other symbols of Sikh identity. He was speaking at a seminar on “Sikh identity-challenges and responsibilities,” here last evening. The seminar was organised by the Sikh Chetna Lehar.
Jagmeet Singh, the first turbaned member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament, said: “Sikhs are being attacked in the US and other countries due to mistaken identity. We should create awareness about the Sikh religion at the world level and no one should be targeted on the basis of his caste, creed or religion.”
On the occasion, Jarnail Singh, author of “I Accuse-Anti Sikh violence of 1984”, appealed to Sikh bodies to create a “Sikh identity protection cell” for Sikhs facing discrimination owing to their different identity and religious symbols. He said elected Sikh bodies should come forward to create a panel of lawyers for this purpose.
Human rights lawyer Gur Ratan Singh, who has been instrumental in getting permission for Sikhs to wear the kirpan while entering the Ontario courts, spoke about “Sikh activists’ network” in Toronto.
