New Delhi: It looks like Sikh men sporting turbans or other kinds of headgear for religious reasons are especially vulnerable to discrimination.In one of most recent such cases, Jashkawar Gill, a new face in the Indian wrestling scene ran into trouble because of his headgear. Gill’s debut at the international level ended on an unexpected note after the organisers of a world ranking tournament in Turkey did not allow him to participate in the wrestling match wearing a ‘patka’, reported the Indian Express.A patka is a small piece of cloth that men use to cover their heads with, instead of a turban.According to the Indian Express report, international wrestling rules permit players to sport headgear, provided it doesn’t harm the opponent during the bouts. But in this case, the referee insisted that Gill tie his hair like women players. The sportsman’s refusal to comply on grounds of religion resulted in a walkover.“I told the referee that I have long hair and I need to tie it with the patka. I tried convincing everyone there that this is for a religious purpose. Even my coach tried talking to everyone but nothing worked. They did not allow me to compete with it,” the report quoted him as saying.Jagmender Singh, chief coach of the Indian freestyle team, was reported as saying that their efforts to reason with the Turkey Wrestling Federation, came to naught. However, a spokesperson from the Federation was quoted as saying, “It was not our fault. There was a delegation from UWW [United World Wrestling] to conduct the tournament and all the rules were applied. It was not in our hands to change those rules. The Wrestling Federation of India should ask UWW why their wrestler was not allowed to compete.”It would be useful here to recall that, earlier this year, the Supreme Court had observed that it was necessary for the Sikh community to wear a turban. The observation was made while the apex court was hearing a plea by Jagdeep Singh Puri, who had challenged a local cycling association’s rules requiring him to wear a helmet to participate in a competition.In May this year, Navdeep Bains, Canadian minister of innovation, science and economic development was asked to take off his turban at an airport in the US during a security check despite passing through the metal detector without any trouble.In January, Jaswinder Singh Dhaliwal, while playing pool in a Canadian Club, was asked to remove his turban by a woman who, heckling him with racist remarks, threatened to “rip” off the head gear.
