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Turbans
and the Garda
Sat Hari Singh Harrington
Sat Hari Singh Harrington, the Acting
President of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Sikh
Association of New York, has written this wonderful missive to the
Irish minister arguing how the denial or refusal to allow a Sikh to
sport his turban after induction into the Garda force was against
everything that the Irish culture and ethos stood for. In fact, Sat
Hari Singh Harrington has even argued that the hat that the Sikh
recruit was expected to wear is miles removed from anything Irish,
something that the minister too needs to learn.
Minister Conor
Lenihan T.D.
Leinster
House,
Dublin 2
Dear Mr. Lenihan,
You have
rejected an Irish born Sikh of immigrant parents the right to
practice his religion and be part of Ireland's
national police force. Mr. Minister you have also said that
immigrants to the country must accept Ireland's culture.
I as an Irish
person of the Sikh faith think that your understanding of Irish
culture is superficial at best. The culture of Ireland cannot
be minimized or trivialized to what kind of hat one wears. Nor is
Ireland about what faith one practices, as even the faith of Ireland
has changed over the millennia. I think that the Celtic tradition of
tolerance and hospitality takes precedence over any understanding of
Irish hats and their importance in Irish culture.
Does anybody see
anything Irish in the Garda's headgear? The hat looks like the
head-coverings used by most European and American police forces. It
is a legacy of the British occupation. There is in fact nothing
Irish about the Garda hats. I challenge you Mr. Conor Lenihan to
show how they are distinctly Irish.
Turbans are worn
by Sikh police officers and elsewhere, most notably the London
Metropolitan Police, where it was not found to conflict with
''things English''. Your view Mr. Minister of Integration is a
throwback and re-expression of sectarianism. No doubt religious
minorities in other parts of Ireland
especially those not part of the Irish Republic are looking with
interest at your statements.
It is time for
such shallow definitions of culture to no longer be the basis of
national policies. All over the Western world accommodation is seen
as an important part of culture.
The Irish have
assimilated thousands of Norman, Norse and English people, words and
concepts into Irish culture and this made it a distinctly Irish
culture. When St. Patrick came he was met with hospitality and no
one told him how to dress or what to wear when he was in Ireland. The
Jews of Ireland were one of the most active participants in the
Irish struggle for independence, and the Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin
Lord Briscoe is fondly remembered. Ireland has benefited from
countless immigrants, Eammon DeValera the long time Prime minister
and patriot was half Cuban, and born in New York City, no one told
him to adopt an Irish surname, nor said his foreign birth made him
less Irish than others. James Connolly, another noted Irish patriot
and martyr was born in Scotland, no one told him to speak with an
Irish accent. Daniel O'Connor was a Freemason. Many Irish patriots
were Protestants as well.
Ireland is a
unique blend of peoples from many lands who have expressed Irish
culture in many ways. Irish culture is always changing. That process
will not stop by government fiat. The kind of hat you wear is a
superficial aspect of Irish culture and a degrading barometer of
one's Irishness.
Mr. Conor
Lenihan you have demanded that the Irish born Sikh in question to
forsake his religion to be Irish according to your lights. This is
not freedom, but violating an essential right to freedom of
religion.
But it must be
remembered the person applying for the police reserve is an Irish
born citizen. This young man is not an immigrant; he is Irish born
and bred. He became Irish by the oldest known method, birth, just as
you did Mr. Lenihan.
It was in
response to the very specific call to the minority races and
communities in Ireland to
volunteer for Garda service that he decided to apply, and this Irish
hat condition was not disclosed prior to his application. The Sikh
applied for the Garda because he thinks of himself as Irish and Ireland
as his home. He therefore he wants to serve his people and his
homeland and maintain his religion, just as you want to serve the
Irish people and keep your faith. No restrictions were put on him
during the application and training process because of his religion
and none should now, as he wishes to be serve the Irish community he
was born into.
Do Irish men
have the right to practice their religion in the Irish
Republic?, or is there a religious test for the Irish police force?
Are you Mr. Lenihan in charge of such religious tests? Is this act a
warning to minorities in Ireland?
This may seem
like a small matter but it is not, it is a fight for a deeper
understanding of what Irish culture is and whether tolerance and
understanding are more important that English type uniform hats.
Sincerely,
Sat Hari Singh
Harrington
Acting President of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Sikh Association of
New York
12 September, 2007
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