TORONTO: A group of Sikh war veterans were denied entry to a _ British Columbia Legion hall on Remembrance Day.
Four Sikh \ veterans were barred last week from entering a Canadian Legion branch in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey because they were wearing turbans.
Sikhs are required by their religion to wear turbans and this is not to be regarded as a hat and worn to cover the unshorn hair which Sikh religions enjoins them to keep.
Harbhajan Minhas and three other baptized Sikhs who served in India during World War I donned their medals and joined the parade and cenotaph ceremonies for Remembrance Day.
But when they got to the Newton Legion branch after the parade, they were told they couldn’t go inside because Legion policy bans men from ‘wearing headgear on private organization property.
“Two gentlemen at the (entrance) said] couldn’t go inside,” Minhas, 69, told reporters after the incident*] looked at him and he said I couldn’t go inside with the headgear,” said Minhas, who emigrated from India eight years ago.
‘The branch president, Frank Underwood, said he respects the Sikh veterans, but said his Legion’s bylaw, dating from 1946, bans headgear out of respect for the Queen and war dead.
Underwood said he is trying to organize a special membership meeting to discuss the 1946 branch rule that kept a group of orthodox Sikhs out of the Legion because of their turbans. Sheila Fine stone, Secretary of State for multiculturalism said on Nov.14, my personal feeling is that its unacceptable and it doesn’t reflect our open society, our diversity Meanwhile, the Alberta Human Rights Commission ruled last year that Red Deer Legion members were within their rights to prevent a Calgary Sikh from wearing his turban in the Legion canteen because it
‘Was a private area.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 19, 1993
