On March 14, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security(BCAS) passed a new order which allowed Sikh travelers to carry Kirpan which should be of a specific length and blade. The length of the Kirpan must not exceed 15.24cms or 6 inches and the total length of the dagger should not be more than 22.86 cm or 9 inches, as the BCAS order stated.
On 4th March, BCAS had issued a new guideline that barred Sikh employees from wearing Kirpan while working at airports across the country which was objected to by the Sikh community. Even the passengers were not allowed to carry Kirpans with them.
This led to widespread rage in the Sikh community and they claimed it showed disregard to their rights and beliefs. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami wrote a letter to the Union minister of civil aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and urged him to look into the matter immediately and withdraw the rule.
Dhami wrote, "In their own country, this discrimination is a major attack on the religious freedom of the Sikhs, which will never be allowed to be implemented. The Centre should never forget that the Sikhs have remained at the forefront in making sacrifices for the freedom of this country and if the culture of the country survives today, it is because of the Sikhs".
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The new order revokes the guideline for passengers and states that only Sikh passengers will be allowed to carry Kirpans. It is allowed while traveling by air or Indian Aircraft within India(domestic routes of fully domestic flights only", states the new order.
Recently, an employee belonging to the Sikh community was stopped from performing his duty at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport, Amritsar because he was carrying a Kirpan(Sikh dagger) with him.
