The question of Sikhs carrying their articles of faith continues to reoccur globally. While some Western countries, such as Canada, now allow turbans and even kirpan (traditional sword) in military services and flights, the acceptance is not universal. In India, Article 25B of the Constitution allows Sikhs to carry the kirpan. Yet, it took significant effort to implement the rule for passengers in domestic flights. The rule books define the kirpan as a dagger with its blade not more than six inches. In early 2022, citing security risks, the right-wing Hindu Sena filed a petition in the courts to disallow Sikhs from carrying the kirpan on domestic flights. On international flights, barring Canada, kirpans are disallowed. Amritdhari (initiated) Sikhs are required to surrender their kirpan before their flight and it is carried in a separate box, delivered to them after they land. The Delhi High Court dismissed the petition saying the government notification was issued after ‘due deliberations’ and that the issue agitated in the plea is ‘entirely a matter of policy decision.’ Now a Sikh pilot has filed a plea to allow Sikh employees to wear the kirpan. Angad Singh, 23, works as a pilot with InterGlobe Aviation that operates IndiGo airlines. On 11 Dec, a division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Abhay Mantri, issued a notice to the Union government and the companies InterGlobe Aviation and IndiGo directing them to file their replies by 29 Jan 2024.
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