The Latest Turban Uproar

The latest controversy about racial profiling in Europe concerning Pro Golfer Jeev Milkha Singh’s coach has me a little confused and frankly a tad embarrassed.

You can read the story here but the gist of it is that the sikh gentleman was asked by the airport authorities in Milan to remove his turban during the security check. Offended by the same, he has accused the country of stripping him of his dignity and being racist.

Being a sikh myself, I do understand where he is coming from. The turban is supposed to be the pride of a sikh and its removal is interpreted as a gross insult. Having said that, one does need to be a little more outward looking and see the context of the incident. To an airport security personnel, who gives orders for all passengers to remove jackets, shoes, headgear etc. as standard procedure, it wasn’t a case of deliberately maligning someone. If I were to go through a security check wearing a helmet, I would most certainly be asked to remove the same and this is probably how the person saw it.

In my opinion, this is most certainly not a case of Racism. To build it into one and embarrass the diplomatic relations of a country would be  hasty and unnecessary. It is important for us to see things from the other point of view and choose one’s battles wisely.