School in Punjab makes turbans mandatory for all

TURBAN ISSUE: The Hindu parents have reacted sharply to the order.

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Sangrur: The Akal Acedemy, a school in Cheema Mandi has asked its students, irrespective of religion, to wear turbans.

However, the Hindu parents have reacted sharply to the order issued on Thursday and a hartal was observed in the town on Friday against the orders.

"We requested the school authorities not to implement the order but they refused. They even said that we can take away our children from the school if we want,” says parent. Gore Lal.

The new rule has met with stiff resistance from non-Sikh students. “We are Hindus. We are not supposed to wear head gears but the school authorities seem adamant on turban issue,” says another parent, Ashok Kumar.

One may have heard of controversies over wearing turbans in France. However, this one is at home, in Punjab. The school authorities say the turban is part of school uniform and is mentioned in the prospectus. They add that students who don't wear turbans will be fined.

“It is a part of the dress code. It's mentioned in the prospectus,” says School Principal, Swarb Kaur.

The police have stepped in to prevent any violence as emotions run high. “We will not let any untoward incident happen. We will try and resolve the issue amicably,” says Station House Officer, Police Station, Sunam, Harjinder Singh.

The Akal Academy has 1,400 students and around 20 per cent of them are Hindus while the rest 80 per cent are Sikhs. The school authorities insist the rule on turbans will not be changed and add that those students who don't want to wear the headgear, can leave.