Sikh panel plans protest outside US embassy

CHANDIGARH - The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the mini-parliament of Sikh religion, Tuesday said its members will protest outside the US embassy in Delhi Dec 23 against turban checks at American airports.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said committee members will ‘gherao’ (lay seige to) and protest outside the US embassy Dec 23.

The Sikh leaders would protest against incidents of people from the community being subjected to humiliating experience at US airports in the name of security, he said.

Singh particularly objected to Sikhs being asked to remove their turbans during security checks at US airports.

He referred to senior Indian diplomat Hardeep Puri being asked last month by officials at Austin airport in Texas to remove his turban for a security check.

The SGPC and the ruling Akali Dal in Punjab have sought the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is also a Sikh, to take up the issue with the US administration and stop Sikhs’ turban checks.

The matter was also raised by Akali Dal MP from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal with US President Barack Obama during his visit to India last month.