Dr. J. S. Spellman was invited to speak on “understanding the Sikh Turban and Kirpan’ two issues which he has been closely connected with during the last 13 years.
He was introduced by Mr. Bhupinder Singh Kalra, of Chicago who eulogized the academic achievements and his contributions of Dr. Spellman to Sikh faith, The learned doctor soon made it clear that he had recently undergone a change of heart as far as Sikhism was concerned. Even though he retained many of his earlier convictions regarding Sikh religion he now could no longer rely on faith but would depend upon evidence instead “I have some reservations…many a thing I said previously in court I accepted because of Sikh scholarship documents available to me… now lam taking much less on faith, I want to see more evidence and lam sorry to say that a lot of evidence is just not available” said Dr. Spellman adding “if 1 am to give evidence again I might give it differently,”
Throughout his presentation, Dr. Spellman kept coming back to the question of scholar ism and Sikh research, It was evident that the recent censorship of some Sikh Scholars was weighing heavily upon the Doctors’ mind.
His presentation on “Turban and Kirpan” was well received by the audience. He emphasized that in spite of many cases having been won there were still many ahead. Dr. Spellman said as a boy as people consider the sword as a weapon, Judges and officials will be opposed to its being worn with the dress. Even the Indian Parliament had disallowed S. Simranjit Singh Mann to enter the House with the Kirpan. He personally thought of the Kirpan as a symbol of faith to wearer and his community, a symbol which represented a spirit of freedom and a fight against oppression. The critical factor will be how to frame the questions relating (6 the issue and how we answer them.
On issues of the wearing a turban, he related cases where a Sikh electrician in the US had been disallowed the wearing of a turban instead of a hard hat which is a occupational requirement The Sikh had lost the case in 1981 but this was only due to the “appalling lack of research on Sikhism by Sikhs because in 1978 the US. department of labor had in fact issued a special exemption of wearing hard hat to the English and Sikh Dharma which the Sikhs were not aware of.
Dr. Spellman, who has been closely associated with Sikh religion and has testified in numerous cases has a clear understanding of Sikhism in one of his testimonies stated “Sikhism: is certainly a religion but is far more than a religion it is also a people it is considered by same to be a nation it is decreed, it is also an ancestry, it is all these things because like Judaism and Hinduism and unlike Buddhism and Christianity it significantly influenced by the practice of the people rather than focusing on a specific feature,”
On the Kirpan his position is “it is a symbol an article of faith, it is requirement and it is an infringement upon the freedom of religion not to permit the carrying of the kirpan,”
Dr, Speliman’s testimonies have certainly made it possible for Sikhs in Canada and North America to practice their religious beliefs and have contributed to the understanding of Sikh religion in the legal world but as a scholar he is bitter about the resent admonishment of Sikh scholars whom he supports. This was clearly evident from the general tone of his presentation. He sometimes gave the impression that because of this resentment he no longer felt obliged to retain some of his Previously held convictions about the Sikh religion and if called to testify again he almost threatened to renege on some of his previous testimonies,
Will Sikhs too Spellman?
Article extracted from this publication >> October 1, 1993
