I have been warned in court for the email I wrote last month. The case is still being heard. It continues on Vesakhi Day - 14th. April. I shall only be allowed to report on it after its conclusion.

Two other cases/incidences have cropped up this month - both in Brisbane, Queensland related to hair and turbans of Sikhs. A private school has refused entry to a Sikh boy unless he cuts his hair and removes his turban. The school is being taken to court by the Sikh community. The Security Checkers at Brisbane Airport refused to let 13 turbanned Sikhs through unless they removed their turbans for security purposes! The Brisbane Courier newspaper is even doing a 'survey' asking the public if security personnel should insist on everyone being asked to remove their headgear for security - missing entirely the point about religious observances. They do not realise, in their ignorance, that to us it is equivalent to asking us to strip for security every time we need to board a plane!!!

On the issue of a Sikh cutting his/her hair, or removing the hair of their children, the points below have been spelled out by the Australian Sikh Council, the Blackburn Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Craigieburn Gurdwara Perbhandak comittee, in recent correspondences...

1. The Hukmnama of Guru Gobind Singh Ji to the sangat/congregation of Kabul specifies : 'never have any connections whatsoever with those who practice female infanticide or celebrate the cutting of children's hair. (translated from Panjabi)
2. Rehat Maryada (section 4, Chapter 10, Article 16)
'A Sikh should in no way harbour any antipathy to the hair of the head with which his child is born. He should not tamper with the hair with which the child is born... A Sikh should keep the hair of his sons and daughters intact.'

Once again thank you all who responded positively especially some institutions nationally (especially Australian Sikh Council, the perbandhak committees of Blackburn Gurdwara and Sardar Shergill from the Craigieburn Community) and internationally, United Sikhs. I like to thank especially United Sikhs and their legal counsel in Perth S. Sukhwant Singh Ji, for all their assistence to date.

One interesting email from a Sikh psychologist from Maryland, USA said that it is normally 'fear' that clean-shaven parents have because keeping of the hair of their children belittles them as they have already gone against the tenets of Sikh teaching by removing their hair. So, even against the wishes of their children, they forcibly cut their hair or use emotional blackmail to encourage their offsprings to cut their hair.

I have a fair amount of cleanshaven Sikh friends around the world. Some are probably better Sikhs than keshadhari/amritdhari Sikhs I know of, because they are honest, upstanding, humble, decent and very sewa-orientated folks. I also know a great amount of 'sehaj-dhari' Sikhs especially amongst semi-Hindu and Sindhi families. Sikhi in my view empowers the individual and as such the right to self-determination must be maintained BUT, a principle of the faith cannot be portrayed as being insignificant or outdated unless the 'panth', or the collective conscience of the people say so and I do not think the 'collective conscience' of the Sikh faith can ever allow this principle to be watered down.

7/2: ABC interview on Sikh Music : Very interesting interview on National Radio about music in Sikhi. Unfortunately it was a 'live' interview (not recorded) and tended to be more on the lighter side!

10/2 Asa Di Var with Kulvinder and son Sunny at new Simran Centre near Narre Warren, Dandenong. Kulvinder and family are recent migrants to Australia from Malaysia. The family as a whole does wonderful soulful kirtan.

17/2: Footscray Music Festival, Melbourne.: Two hour concert with Dheeraj, Jamel, my grandchildren Saffal and Sahiel, Lucy on flute; Andrew, and newcomer Jenny on violin. About 300 turnup at 3pm. on a hot Sunday afternoon - outdoors but in shade. A very pleasant afternoon. Footscray Arts Centre - amphitheatre.