The Civil Aviation Ministry has amended a recent order banning Sikh employees from carrying kirpans at airports. Now Sikhs will be allowed to carry kirpans in airplanes as well as airports in India, but with this the government has also added a condition.
According to the new conditions, any Sikh traveler can carry a kirpan with him, but the blade of the kirpan should not be more than 15.24 cm and 6 inches long. With this, the total length of the saber should not exceed 9 inches. Sikhs are allowed to keep kirpans only if they travel in India in an Indian airplane. Earlier, the order of the Ministry of Civil Aviation had banned the keeping of kirpans of Sikh employees and passengers at airports. which has now been removed.
Recently, Sikh religious organizations had raised their voice against the Sikh employee from carrying kirpan under the new rules at the Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport in Amritsar. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chairman Harjinder Singh Dhami had written a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia about the government stopping Sikh employees from keeping kirpans at the airport.
Dhami wrote in the letter that “the religious freedom of Sikhs is being attacked in our own country. The Center should never forget that Sikhs have been at the fore in sacrificing this country’s independence and the culture of the country continues even today because of Sikhs.
The kirpan has special significance in Sikhism, among the five things a Sikh has to wear, the kirpan is considered the most important. The kirpan is considered a sign of bravery and courage. The Sikh ties the man around the waist or keeps it with him in a purse or bag.