British Sikh police took aim at the Irish police force, an Garda Siochana, for refusing to allow members of the force to wear a turban, declaring them 40 years behind the times.RTÉ’s Morning Ireland just finished up a non-debate on the subject (apparently there are no head-to-head discussions permitted on Ireland’s national broadcaster anymore, which is sad) between Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe and Irish Independent columnist Kevin Myers.
Nothing surprising in the arguments of either participant — Cuffe: diversity, hooray; Myers: multiculturalism, booo-hiss. But in his examples of police forces which, Myers argued, were better examples of integration, with “one force, one uniform”, he listed the New York Police Department.
Which struck me as not quite right. And a quick check did indeed reveal Jasjit Singh Jaggi here, directing traffic somewhere downtown and in his turban. It came after a prolonged legal/political battle that wound up at New York City’s human rights commission, which decided for Officer Jaggi in 2004 and affirmed the right of Sikhs to serve as police and wear the turban.
So if the NYPD is a good example of an integrated force - and I think there’s good evidence it is - Myers will have to reverse his position, it seems.
ADDS: Thanks to ‘anonymous’ for pointing out that I had a typo in the headline.
Also, a few people emailed me to say I’m accusing the Gardai of being “racist”. For the record, I am not making that accusation. Turbanist, perhaps.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Keith Morrison // Aug 23, 2007 at 4:19 am
Good to see some facts addressing that debate!
I’ve been away from Ireland: what were the reasons (or inside scoop!) behind the BCI’s decision knocking the head off the head-to-head debates?
2 Anonymous // Aug 23, 2007 at 10:18 am
Richard, Just to let you know you’ve typod “inevitable” in the title.
3 Conall McDevitt // Aug 23, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I found this post interesting and blogged on the issue yesterday on http://www.oconallstreet.com .
Keep up the excellent writing.
Conall McDevitt
4 rupinder // Aug 23, 2007 at 4:54 pm
The Sikh wants to join the forces so that he can serve Ireland. He risks his life for the sake of the nation that he has adopted. He could possibly earn more by joining a private firm as an IT professional.
But he decides that he loves his country more than the money and decides to serve the country.
He faces greater risks - he could be subject to racial insults and maybe discrimination if he joins the force.
allow him to be integrated into Irish society. Don’t let his offer go waste.
5 Dan Sullivan // Aug 28, 2007 at 1:41 pm
rupinder, technical the person in question is just joining the Garda reserve which is a voluntary support force which he would participate in in his spare time.
I honestly think the defence the Garda have used opens a much bigger can of worms with regard to the idea that all representatives of the state must not show any religious symbols in their line of duty.
6 Jack // Sep 7, 2007 at 11:29 pm
The Turban will never become a part of the Uniform. The Gardai must not allow it to be worn at any time. The Sikh has the option of not accepting his role if he feels the decision is against his beliefs. But the rules are the rules. All the trouble this guy has caused makes me wonder how he was allowed get into the Reserve in the first place…..
7 Turloc Singh // Sep 12, 2007 at 10:14 am
Check out my blog for another point of view on Turban mish-mash.
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