One of the essential components of the five Sikh Kakars, the Kirpan, was allegedly taken away from a Sikh student at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte.
The US police attempted to confiscate the Kirpan from the Sikh teenager before detaining him when he refused.
We demand an apology from Campus Police & Univ Admn at @unccharlotte that detained a Sikh youth for his Kirpan, a quintessential part of Sikh Kakars. We are in constant touch with @IndianEmbassyUS and @MEAIndia to ensure the Amritdhari student is released with due respect. https://t.co/KWp6U7fAUp pic.twitter.com/KxPqqjoTwF
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) September 24, 2022
The BJP leader, Singh Sirsa, posted on Twitter: “Despite numerous global campaigns to create awareness about Sikh Kakaars, it’s disheartening to see the Campus Police at University of North Carolina detain a Sikh youth for his Kirpan. I condemn the discriminatory attitude of university authorities towards Sikh students.”
In addition to denouncing the event, he called for an apology from the university administration and campus police who arrested the young person.
The student who first posted the video on Twitter said that the police had handcuffed him because he had refused to let the officer to remove his Kirpan from the miyaan.
The Kirpan is an article of faith that is important to the Sikh religion, according to the World Sikh Organization of Canada. One of five articles of faith commonly referred to as the 5Ks—Kesh, Kangha, Kara, Kachhera, Kirpan—the kirpan is worn by initiated (Amritdhari) Sikhs, both men and women.
They serve as a symbol of the Sikhs’ dedication to the principles of their faith, such as equality, justice, charity, morality, and humility.