Op/Ed: The Banning of the Burkini – implications for Sikhs and religious minorities in France

Sikhs have been struggling for many years to be allowed to wear the dastar or turban in France. Though there is no ban on wearing the turban in public and private spaces, there are severe restrictions in relation to public buildings. And so for example, under the official state policy of secularism , unlike the UK not only are ethnic minorities officially recognised, Sikh children are not allowed to wear turbans or even parkas/bandanas in school premises. There are similar restrictions in transport, where Sikh taxi drivers are required to display a photo without the turban and other spheres where official documents are a requirement.

It was through campaigning by the French Sikhs and other international sikh campaigning groups like Sikhs for Justice and United Sikhs that 3 years ago the UN  human rights committee passed a resolution that the French Government was in contravention of the UN charter on human rights and that they were ordered to change their policies. Needless to say, nothing the French government failed to comply with. If the situation was already difficult for Sikhs, then I fear the banning of the ‘burkini’ or overgarment associated with Islam that some  women chose to wear to cover their bodies whilst going for a swim in beaches and other public places, will make things even more dire.

Sikhs are very comfortable with the general principles of secularism, after all it was a policy that was widely practiced by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh during the period of the Sikh rule in Punjab during the 19th Century.  There is a brand of secularism that seeks to show no favour to one faith over another,  but the actions of the current French government to ban any expression of religious expression is totally unacceptable.

Courtesy: The Independent (Vantage)

Forcing somebody to wear religious garb seems to be to be the same as forcing people to wear ‘secular’ clothing! How can it be morally acceptable for a women to be allowed to wear a bikini that reveal  almost the entire body in public and yet if a women choses not to openly display her body in public she is criminalised? Not only is this ‘law’ stupid it is playing into the hands of the religious fundamentalists whose narrative is that the west has degenerated into a pornographic objectification of women’s bodies and that also it is the enemy of Islam.

The war against terror is not against peoples choice of clothing but those who deny the God given gift to every human being of free will. It is only through educating our children about equality and social and environmental justice, of the virtues of tolerance, compassion, universalism, non-violence, peace, dialogue, human and animal rights,  etc that we can hope to defeat terrorism and religious fanaticism.

I fear what the so-called war on terror and Islamic religious fundamentalism is simply a front for the assertion of  fascism. Attacks on Muslims and other minorities  and displaced people’s across the world have become normalised. From the US and the anti-immigrant racist vitriol of Trump, to the actions of the French in Europe, From Putins aggressions on the borders of Russia to Modi’s Hindutva in India we are seeing neo-fascism raising its ugly head.

One of the lessons of history is that when the elites are faced with an economic crisis like the one we are seeing unfolding with the collapse of the fraudulent neoliberal capitalist economics, then to divert attention away from them, the most vulnerable in society become the scapegoats. And policies such as the ones adopted by the French banning the so called ‘burkini are simply a smokescreen to obscure the real crisis, which is related to jobs, health, education and security. So I say, we should not be banning ‘burkini’s’ or ‘Turbans’ in France, but intolerance and greed. It is so sad to see a nation with wonderful republican and revolutionary traditions, of art and culture, degenerating into allowing such contemptible policies to be established.

The greatest tragedy of the French situation os that it appears to have totally abandoned it libertarian legacy. Today political parties of both left and right appear to be   competing with each other to show who is beast able to deal with the so called Islamic threat. Shame on both the right . No doubt the Paris and Niece bombings have shook the nation, but you don’t deal with terrorism by criminalising and alienating a whole community. The historic truth is that during the imperial period France chose to colonise large sections of North Africa and in the process invited Muslims to become part of the French republic.

The fact is that whether we are talking about the relatively recently establish French Sikh community or the more established French Muslims, if they chose to speak out against the ongoing discrimination they face and/or to assert their religious identity, this should not be seen as a threat but a challenge to work harder at social inclusion. To afford minorities the basic human right to practice their faith freely and to maintain their cultural traditions, as long as this does not deny others the same right, lies at the core of a modern democratic society.  The tragedy is that, a country that claims to be the paragon of high culture is revealing an ugly and unsophisticated underbelly of bigotry which needs to be challenged.

3 COMMENTS

  1. If this is to be true then the Westerner should also be allowed to wear their beach suits lie Biknis in Middle eastern Countries.
    There should be other things also like

    1) Inter marriages
    2) Freedom to change one Religion
    3) Absence of lone wolf attacks.
    44) Love for French People
    5) Love for the French Nation.
    44) Loyalty to French state

    • I think you should just concentrate on getting Indian State to love the Sikh nation and start putting pressure on the French to allow Sikhs to wear their dastaars and kakkars without interference as is their human right.

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