DSGMC writes to US ambassador

Amritsar: Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has written letters to Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and US ambassador to India, Richard Verma, urging them to take steps against external forces that see the "turban" worn by members of the Sikh community as a suspicious act in the name of security checks in America.

DSGMC general secretary and former MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa told TOI on Thursday that the removal of turban in the name of security check of Indo-Canadian Sikh Jasmeet Singh at an American airport was an unfortunate incident.

He also mentioned about the incident that took place on February 9 wherein a Mexican airlines had asked actor Waris Ahluwalia to remove his turban before boarding flight. Sirsa said he had mentioned in his letter to Swaraj about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with the Sikh diaspora during his foreign visits but it had not helped to resolve the issue.

In his letter to the US ambassador, Sirsa wrote about the contribution made by Sikhs in developing US in many ways.

He said he had appealed to the security agencies to not look at Sikh's turban with suspicion but as a symbol of religious faith.