City Sikh body writes to Centre on 'kada' ban

The Sri Guru Sungh Sabha, the umbrella body of gurudwaras in Mumbai has written to Prakash Javdekar, Human Resource Development minister protesting the alleged religious discrimination in IITs and CBSE exams after some incidents of practising Sikhs and other Sikh children being asked to remove their Kada and Kirpan was reported.

Recently, a Sikh teacher had protested against two children being asked to remove Kada before they sat for IIT exams. The letter asks the ministry to direct IITs and CBSE not ask the members of the community to remove kada or any other of the five compulsory Ks that a practising Sikh has to have.

"We fail to understand how a kada or any other K can harm anyone," wrote Manmohan Singh, General Secretary of the organisation. Kulwant Singh, vice president of the community said, "This has hurt religious sentiments of Sikhs. Who has given the IIT examiners and other senior staff to go against the letter and spirit of the constitution, which clearly guarantees under Article 15 — prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion.